News reporting focused on AI and machine learning, covering the companies behind these technologies, their real-world applications, and the ethical concerns they raise. This includes areas like generative AI (large language models, text-to-image and video), speech tech, and predictive analytics.
General Compute, an AI inference cloud startup, secured a $400 million loan from Upper90, marking what may be the first deal to use inference-specific chips as collateral. The financing signals growing market demand for cost-efficient AI infrastructure that runs open-source models, as investors seek alternatives to expensive GPU-based systems.
SambaNova Systems has raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation in the first close of its Series F round, led by General Atlantic. The round comes roughly five months after the company's $350 million Series E and launch of its SN50 chip. CEO Rodrigo Liang said additional investors are expected in a second close soon. The company also announced that JPMorganChase has selected SambaNova as an inference infrastructure partner, deepening its ties with Intel through a co-development partnership.
Brendan Foody, co-founder of AI talent platform Mercor, publicly accused Sequoia of using a dual-pricing structure that inflates headline valuations while the firm invests at a lower price. Foody said he has seen several rounds where Sequoia invests in two tranches at different valuations, with founders then misrepresenting the higher valuation to employees and angel investors. Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire defended the practice as rare and driven by market dynamics.
Cerebras completed its initial public offering on Thursday, raising $5.5 billion after pricing shares at $185 each the previous evening. This price exceeded the updated range of $150 to $160 and followed an expansion of the offering to 30 million shares. Pre-market activity shows strong demand from retail investors, pointing to a significant opening jump, with the company achieving a fully diluted valuation of $56.4 billion.
Former Google, Meta and OpenAI researchers have started Recursive Superintelligence with over $650 million in funding and a $4 billion valuation. The six-month-old firm aims to create AI that improves itself. Backed by investors like GV, Greycroft, Nvidia and AMD, it joins efforts to automate AI development amid recent advances in code-writing AI systems.
Amp, a startup in Menlo Park, California, has secured more than $1.3 billion to build a global pool of specialized computer chips for AI training. Founded by Anjney Midha, the company aims to provide access to computing power for startups, universities, and others excluded by tech giants like Amazon, Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator, with partners such as Periodic Labs and ElevenLabs joining the effort.
ElevenLabs disclosed new backers for its $500 million Series D round, including BlackRock, Wellington, D.E. Shaw, Schroders, NVIDIA, Salesforce, Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, and Hwang Dong-hyuk. The voice AI firm reported surpassing $500 million in annual recurring revenue after growing from nearly $350 million at the end of last year. Valuation jumped from $6.6 billion in September to $11 billion in February.
Cerebras Systems plans to sell 28 million shares at $115 to $125 each in an IPO that could raise $3.5 billion and reach a $26.6 billion market cap. The move benefits recent investors from its February Series H and OpenAI executives with stakes. Strong demand shows banks receiving $10 billion in orders for the shares.
Anthropic has partnered with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, and other investors to launch a new firm that assists companies in integrating its AI model Claude. The venture includes $300 million each from Anthropic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman, plus $150 million from Goldman Sachs. This move highlights growing Wall Street interest in AI amid competition and upcoming IPOs.
Anthropic revealed a joint venture for enterprise AI services with partners like Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, valued at $1.5 billion. Hours earlier, OpenAI announced plans for The Development Company, raising $4 billion at a $10 billion valuation. Both aim to deploy AI through preferred access to investors' companies and forward-deployed engineers.
OpenAI has gathered more than $4 billion for a joint venture named The Deployment Company to aid businesses in deploying its software. Nineteen investors participated, including TPG, Brookfield Asset Management, Advent, and Bain Capital. The effort connects to prior reports on an internal project called DeployCo and builds on OpenAI's Frontier enterprise platform and alliances with major consulting firms.
Major banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley face internal risk limits from massive loans for AI data centers. They seek to transfer default risks to other investors amid deals like a $38 billion package for Oracle facilities. Political resistance, including in Maine, heightens uncertainties for these projects.