Anthropic AI and Character Technologies Inc. It is said to be close to closing fundraisers backed by some high-profile ventures, according to a report this weekend.
In the Anthropic case, the New York Times quoted two people with knowledge of the matter as saying it was going into a $ 300 million fund. Character AI, meanwhile, told investors it was seeking $ 250 million in new funding, according to a report in The Information.
The proposed round is still further evidence of the incredible excitement created by the potential of the so-called “AI generation”, which refers to AI algorithms that can generate text, images and other media at When prompted to do so by the user. It’s an exciting technology that has made dozens of headlines since the launch of OpenAI LLC’s ChatGPT AI model last year, which surprised more than a million users with its ability to Answer almost any type of question with human-like clarity.
Generative AI has been the subject of many years of research and it seems that these efforts are just beginning. Analysts believe the capabilities demonstrated by ChatGPT could be useful in dozens of applications, and perhaps rival Google LLC in online search.
The recent success of ChatGPT has spurred Microsoft Corp. Invest another $ 10 billion in OpenAI and now other investors are committed to joining the action by supporting its most potential competitors.
Anthropic is such a company. Started by a former OpenAI employee, it has already raised over $ 700 million. It is the creator of an AI chatbot called Claude that is similar to ChatGPT. It is currently only available in beta through the Slack integration, although reports say it has shown significant improvements over its more well-known rivals.
The creators of Anthropic told TechCrunch in an interview that they created Claude using a process known as “Constitutional AI” that involves creating a list of ten principles that act as a kind of “constitution” for the system. Principles are not revealed, but Anthropics says they are based on concepts such as benefits, non-violence and autonomy. The idea is to align Claude to human intent and allow it to answer questions without deviating from this guideline.
The proposed $ 300 million package for Anthropic will cost the company about $ 5 billion, the Times reported.
For Character AI, it was developed by two former Google researchers who previously worked on the company’s internal LaMDA system. It has reportedly developed a neural language model chatbot based on LaMBDA that can generate human-like text responses and engage in contextual conversations. As Google becomes more cautious about AI responsibility and security, co-founders Character.ai Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas told the Washington Post that they were leaving the company to bring the technology to the public sector faster. As much as possible. The result is an incredibly fun site that lists many AI chatbots based on Character.ai models where everyone can chat with Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Chinese President Xi Jingping, Walter White of Breaking Bad. Celebrities and many other characters are real and fictional. .
News reports that if the AI character can get the $ 250 million it is looking for, it will bring its value to at least $ 1 billion. It has reportedly been in talks with top VCs, including Sequoia Capital, although discussions are still in the early stages and it remains to be seen whether they will succeed.
The stock is high for investors, showing strong enthusiasm for the next generation of AI, as funding for most other startups seems dry. For VCs, choosing the right AI generation starter is key because it is rare for them to support more than one company in the same category for competitive reasons. So supporting the wrong horses now could mean they are missing out on something that has the potential to become a new technological movement. That has been incredibly lucrative.
The Times says there are rumors that another generation of AI startups like Luka, Inc. Another creator of chatbot technology called Replika and You.com, which aims to integrate next-generation AI with Internet search, is also gaining traction with VCs. .
Of course, VCs will know that next-generation AI is still a new technology, and that none of these start-ups have really figured out how to make money. That said, this has rarely bothered Silicon Valley investors in the past, with the standard operating model being to incorporate money into new technologies and allow for pre-approval before finding out how to make money later. .
