AI Funding Weekly - Issue #13

An AI version of Tom Hanks is now selling dental plans

Yes, you read that right - we’ve reached the point in history where Tom Hanks has to put out an official warning, on Instagram, letting people know that an AI version of him is out there pitching a dental plan.

While this might sound ridiculous, and in many ways it is, it’s also something we’re all going to need to grapple with over time. There’s a reason why AI has been a sticking point for actors, and this example might just put some wind in their sails.

The reality is, AI has progressed to a point where deep fakes are pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing. Which makes me, and many others wonder - over time will this mean the idea of video (or audio) proof of anything will become meaningless?

I could write a whole article about this topic, and I think I might do it on my personal blog, but for now, I’ll keep it very brief and leave it at this. AI is going to change the world in many ways, and like any new technology from the computer to the cellphone, it can be used for good and bad. The MGM was hacked a few weeks ago making it impossible for people to check in and exposing millions of guests personal details to the hackers.

If something like this had happened the first year MGM installed their computer systems, they might say - we should just go back to paper! But the reality is, with all foundational technological change comes some element of misuse, and along with it, people and companies dedicated to stopping it.

I believe that most AI will be used for good, but yes, like in this example with Tom Hanks, it’s being used for less-than-good. But I think good companies will come out to stop the bad, or at least diminish it as much as possible. And that makes me even more excited for all the incredible AI companies that are yet to come.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox and get to the good stuff. Below are three startups that just brought in some fresh funding that I think are worth knowing about.

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Luda - $7M

Unlike many AI companies that use AI to do something specifically for an industry or market segment, Luda is developing an entirely new creative medium that allows its users to build their own gaming AI agents.

Think of Legos. Rather than giving you a fully built house, or airplane, Legos gives you the building blocks to create what you want. Luda want’s to do the same for generative AI by letting their users create agents via something called Mels, a real-time browser-based simulation that animates them with generative AI. 

What makes Luda so impressive is the current team they’ve built - with people from Zynga, Disney, Magic Leap, Google, Valve, EA, and the list goes on, they’ve really built the dream team.

The $7M funding round was led by Bitkraft Ventures and Compound with participation from some pretty snazzy people like Jeff Dean, Google’s chief scientist.

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Revefi - $10.5M Seed

As more and more companies go all in on AI, keeping track of how much money they’re spending to support these efforts is going to become incredibly important. And that’s what Revefi is looking to do through their AI enterprise observability platform.

Here’s a solid overview of the company compliments of GeekWire:

Founded in 2021, the startup’s main product is its Data Operations Cloud, acting as a “co-pilot” for data teams to optimize data transfers to and from their cloud warehouses. The startup said the tool is “zero-touch,” meaning it works instantly with a customer’s data. Revefi also sells an AI feature for insights, helping data teams move quickly to identify and correct “critical data issues.” (Source - GeekWire)

The round was led by Mayfield with participation from GTMfund and Neythri Futures Fund.

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AlphaSense - $150M Series E

On the other side of the spectrum this week, AI juggernaut AlphaSense locked in a $150M Series E round and they continue to gobble up marketshare.

Currently 85% of the top 100 S&P companies use AlphaSense, a market intelligence and search platform that helps companies make better decisions. They’re shaking up the financial world by becoming a viable alternative to Bloomberg and other legacy systems that present data but don’t enable realtime search. 

In an interview with Jack Kokko, the founder and CEO of AlphaSense he said companies using them have a distinct advantage by accessing “proprietary content and really differentiated content you won’t find on a Bloomberg.”

At the same time, AlphaSense isn’t seen as a Bloomberg killer, instead CEO Jack Kokko said it’s being used in addition to it. For the AI-side AlphaSense uses LLMs to extract key insights from their data. 

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As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week.