Startups Weekly: Is the wind out of AI’s sails?

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After years of rapid growth, the AI ​​industry is now seeing a significant slowdown in investment, as detailed in a recent report from Stanford University’s Human Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute (HAI). The report highlights a significant decline in private and corporate investment in AI for the second year in a row, with overall investment expected to decline by 20% year-on-year in 2023. He reports. Despite this overall downturn, certain segments, such as generative AI, continue to attract significant funding, showing selective and significant interest in specific AI applications.

Investment in AI has slowed for several reasons, including market congestion and the rising cost of building large-scale AI models. According to Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock, money is now flowing more to large established companies that are consolidating their positions, but new entrants are increasingly getting a piece of the pie. It is said that it is becoming difficult. Investors are becoming increasingly selective, looking for real, solid returns rather than just throwing money at promising growth. (Of course, that doesn’t stop billions of dollars in AI-focused funding.)

Despite these hurdles, there remains strong belief in the future of AI, especially its potential to increase efficiency and spark innovation across a variety of sectors. The market is now consolidating a bit, moving from the wild spending of the past to more thoughtful and sustainable funding methods. This shift is key to creating AI solutions that actually work in the real world, truly transform industries, and bite into our battle-weary minds.

Oh, and before I wrap up the rest of this week’s startup news… Is there a pitch deck suitable for my pitch deck decomposition series? You can post here. We’d love to take a closer look and share our detailed review with TechCrunch readers.

This week’s most interesting startup stories

Humane love pin. Image credits: Brian Heater/TechCrunch

hey hey! look!It is the triumphant return of TechCrunch veteran Anthony Hawrites that Airchat, the latest brainchild of Naval Ravikant and Brian Norgard, will revolutionize social media with its groundbreaking concept of letting people talk to each other. Shocking, right? This app is essentially a high-tech walkie-talkie that lets you follow other people, scroll through your feed, and interact with audio posts. Audio posts are also conveniently transcribed for those who don’t like human voices. It’s currently climbing the social ladder in the App Store, and while it’s invite-only, it’s because nothing screams exclusivity more than needing a golden ticket to listen to a stranger’s chit-chat. It remains to be seen whether this will actually reduce online fighting or just make it more melodic.

Airchat is like a tech-centric coffee shop where everyone is buzzing about the latest in Silicon Valley, and it even has a transcription feature that lets you get accurate Pokemon names. Because it is a high priority. But don’t get too excited. It’s invite-only, making it another Silicon Valley whisper network. And while it’s all fun audio gaming, the platform’s laid-back approach to content moderation can result in a voice-chat western where the only sheriff in town is the mute button.

• Noname lost his unicorn horn: Noname Security, the cybersecurity startup that once touted a $1 billion valuation, is now wooing Akamai Technologies for a more modest $500 million.
• Hey, where’s my phone?: In a world where your smartphone feels like an extension of your hand, Humane is touting Ai Pin, a $699 wearable that promises to be the next big thing. And hardware editor Brian takes a deep dive into how the company came to be…and where it’s going.
• Defeat the “army of bots”: Betaworks is diving headfirst into the AI ​​pool, but instead of reusing large LLMs, they’re floating new ideas. It’s an AI agent designed to tackle mundane tasks that we hate. They want to hatch nine of these digital minions from a state-of-the-art “camp” incubator and automate everything from sorting emails to scheduling meetings.

This week’s most interesting fundraisers

Image credits: Ramp / Ramp co-founders Karim Atiyeh, Eric Greiman, Gene Lee

Ripling, the darling of the HR tech world that has been siphoning off venture capital like it was obsolete, is at it again. This time, they’re circulating Silicon Valley’s collection plates for $200 million in new capital, while simultaneously cashing out as much as $670 million in cash to current shareholders. This latest funding fest, called Series F, could boost Rippling’s valuation to a staggering $13.4 billion. Not too shabby for a company whose CEO, Parker Conrad, frantically tweeted and made phone calls last year in the wake of the Silicon Valley Banking meltdown to scrape together a paycheck. do not have. Now, with everyone writing record-breaking checks (and Courtier leading the round), Rippling seems more focused on making waves than making waves.

• growing rapidly: Spend management startup Ramp, clearly allergic to profitability, just put aside another $150 million to keep the lights on and acquisitions moving forward. Now valued at $7.7 billion, Rump is playing financial Tetris with a mix of old and new investors, including a star-studded lineup of Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, and Sequoia Capital.
• Why do you think that is?: Therapy startup Two Chairs, which once championed the exotic concept of “actual human interaction,” has bowed to the digital wave and converted its stylish clinic to Zoom rooms. The company, which just received a $72 million cash infusion, plans to continue expanding its digital footprint. Finding the right therapist online is still as difficult as a Sudoku puzzle, but at least you don’t have to leave your couch to be disappointed.
• Dust it off and try again: Livos, the semiconductor startup that once accused Apple of using its trade secrets to “catch me if you can,” somehow turns a courtroom melodrama into a $250 million fundraising fest succeeded in changing it. Even after the Apple lawsuit drama subsided, Ribos didn’t just walk away. They rushed back to the lab to produce chips that could potentially benefit iPhone makers.

Other must-see TechCrunch articles…

Every week, we have a few stories that just don’t fit into the categories above, but we’d like to share with you. It would be a shame if you missed it, so I’d like to introduce you to a bag containing random goods.

• you have been hacked: Apple is playing digital knight in shining armor by bombarding iPhone users in 92 countries with “You may have been hacked” notifications. This isn’t your typical phishing scam, but a full-fledged spyware drama featuring shadowy attackers and maybe even a cameo from the infamous Pegasus spyware.
• Tesla cuts staffIn a classic pre-earnings panic move, Tesla decided to cull its workforce by laying off 14,000 employees, including some of its star players. Apparently, the electric vehicle giant is feeling the pinch in the ongoing EV price war, prompting a “company-wide restructuring” perhaps to boost productivity and prepare for the “next phase of growth.” . This corporate euphemism means cutting out even the best talent, especially those unlucky enough to work on lower priority projects.
• Transforming humanoid robotics: A day after discontinuing hydraulic models, Boston Dynamics’ CEO talks about the company’s commercial humanoid ambitions with electric options.
• Continue to thoroughly manage Twitter: In his latest effort to save his corner of the internet, Elon Musk has decided that the best way to tackle X’s bot epidemic is to hit new users where it hurts: their wallets. . For a small, undisclosed fee, you too can prove your humanity and earn the privilege of posting on the platform.
• Hello, is the doctor coming?: Hugface is always up for a challenge. This time, the company has decided to tackle the wilds of AI in healthcare with its latest creation, Open Medical LLM. This new benchmark, essentially a Frankenstein’s Monster-like piece of existing medical test set, will test whether AI can actually handle the medical big leagues without falsely suggesting headache leeches. It was pieced together to confirm. This is a noble effort to bring standardization to the chaotic field of generative AI, which has been introduced into medical settings with high hopes and expectations.