According to the latest valuation in April, OpenAI's ChatGPT is worth nearly $30 billion. However, more competitive solutions are appearing on the market. One of the more interesting ones is the Israel-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup AI21 Labs. The company has just completed another funding round, raising $155 million from tech giants, like Nvidia and Google. Although the company's valuation is more than twenty times lower than OpenAI's, ChatGPT may have reasons to worry.
AI21 Labs Valued at $1.4 Billion after Latest Funding
The Israeli startup announced this week that it successfully closed a $155 million Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to $283 million. The latest round raised the company's valuation to $1.4 billion. In addition to big names like Nvidia and Google, investors also include Samsung Next and Walden Catalyst.
According to information released by AI21, the funds will be used to develop services based on text-based generative AI and their use in enterprises. The company has its own large language model (LLM) called Jurassic-2 and operates in a segment that directly competes with OpenAI. The model is mainly used for creating business applications that utilize text and developing an assistant that supports reading and writing in multiple languages.
AI Fueled by Huge Investments
Although AI21 Labs' funding is one of the larger ones recently, it doesn't make as big an impression in the rapidly developing artificial intelligence industry. Especially when compared to the news in January about OpenAI being funded with $10 billion from Microsoft.
Meanwhile, in May, Anthropic, another ChatGPT competitor, raised $450 million in a Series C funding round , which included Google. Many indications suggest that tech giants do not want to be left behind in the latest AI revolution. In addition to developing their own products (Google has Bard, Microsoft has Bing), they are also investing in competitive solutions and startups.
AI May Heighten Financial Fragility
In a recent statement, Gary Gensler, the Head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), warned that artificial intelligence could catalyze future financial crises. He emphasized the risks associated with the technology, particularly if it becomes concentrated in the hands of a few major tech firms.
However, the financial world is increasingly embracing AI technologies. After a three-month trial involving more than 11,000 individual and crypto investors, Tiger Brokers has launched TigerGPT, the brokerage industry's inaugural AI-based investment assistant. As Finance Magnates revealed, 81% of the platform's users found the chatbot's responses both accurate and helpful.
Furthermore, the latest Investor Index study shows a growing trust in AI for financial guidance in the UK. According to the survey, 73% of British investors believe that AI chatbot ChatGPT will offer dependable financial advice in the future.
Broadridge Financial Solutions has introduced a groundbreaking feature to its LTX platform, BondGPT. This AI-driven tool aims to simplify the intricate processes of bond selection and portfolio building, offering improved liquidity and price discovery. Company spokespeople suggest that this innovative technology could significantly benefit the $10.3 trillion US corporate bond market.
