Tech Dose
Artificial intelligence can now understand human emotions, pull-off sarcasm, and even express anger. New York-based startup Hume AI last week launched the first voice AI with emotional intelligence which can generate conversations for emotional well-being of its users.
Founded in 2021 by Alan Cowen, a former researcher by Google DeepMind, the startup also raised $50 million in Series-B funding from EQT Group, Union Square Ventures, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Northwell Holdings, Comcast Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, and Metaplanet days after the launch. What is Hume AI? Hume’s voice interface is powered by its empathic large language model (eLLM) which emphasises on tones of voice behind words to understand different emotions. It can further emulate similar tones across 23 different emotions such as admiration, adoration, frustration etc, to generate human-like conversations. The conversational AI chatbot is trained on data from millions of human conversations across the world to voice tonality, human reflexes and feelings. These responses are further optimised in real-time depending on user’s emotional state. How is it useful? While expressive AI chatbots in areas such as virtual dating have been around, Hume’s product is gaining accolades for its probable uses in robotics, healthcare, wellness etc. Early predictions by some AI researchers show that AI assistants powered by Hume’s eLLM could not only make conversations but also help in daily tasks. “Imagine an AI assistant that understands your frustrations or joys, a customer support agent that can empathize with your complaints, or even a virtual therapist capable of offering genuine emotional support,” according to a post on X. Cowen in a LinkedIn post said, "Speech is four times faster than typing; frees up the eyes and hands; and carries more information in its tune, rhythm, and timbre.” “That's why we built the first AI with emotional intelligence to understand the voice beyond words. Based on your voice, it can better predict when to speak, what to say, and how to say it." Hume AI is preparing to release the platform APIs to developers next month in beta mode to integrate with various applications. It can also integrate with other large language models such as GPT and Claude to add flexibility depending on enterprise use-case. Besides empathetic feature, the voice assistant also offers transcription and text-to-speech capabilities.
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Wen Hsieh and Haomiao Huang, both Kleiner Perkins investors, left the firm in 2023 to start their own venture capital fund called Matter Venture Partners. The firm had backing from Kleiner and Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC.
Hsieh was a longtime KPer, having been there for 17 years; Huang had been there four years. With a passion for what they call “hard tech,” Hsieh invested in companies like microLED display technology company LuxVue, acquired by Apple; Amprius, which makes high-energy density lithium-ion batteries; drone maker DJI; and 3D printing company Desktop Metal, which went public via SPAC in 2020. Huang and Hsieh co-led investments in companies like the robotics company Dexterity and the CT scanning company Lumafield. On Thursday, they announced the closing of a $300 million inaugural fund. Hsieh told TechCrunch it’s considered one of the largest “first funds” raised in 2023. The median venture fund raised that year was around $37 million, according to a PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report. Matter Venture Partners was initially going for a $200 million fund, and Hsieh acknowledged that “it was a tough time for everybody” — startups and venture capitalists alike — to raise money in 2023. “We had gone into it anticipating such difficulty and had very modest expectations,” Hsieh said. “But to our surprise, it went really well for us. We closed $300 million last year, in its entirety, and were significantly oversubscribed.” Ibotta confidently submitted an S-1 filing with the SEC on March 22 with the intent to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The 13-year-old cash-back startup looks to make its public debut after turning profitable and recording impressive revenue growth in 2023.
The company reported $320 million in revenue in 2023, up 52% from 2022 when it produced $210 million in revenue. Ibotta’s gross profits grew 68% from 2022, $164.5 million, to 2023, $276 million. The Denver-based company started as an app for consumers to get cash back on purchases through Ibotta’s brand partnerships. The company has since expanded into building back-end software for reward programs for enterprise customers including Exxon, Shell and Walmart. Ibotta’s move into B2B2C — selling to companies that then use those products to sell to consumers — is likely a key reason why investors may be interested in this IPO, says Nicholas Smith, a senior equity research analyst at Renaissance Capital, a research firm focused on pre-IPO and IPO-focused ETFs. Selling to companies also likely played a big role in Ibotta’s recent financial gains. “The fact that [Ibotta] has become, with Walmart, more of an enterprise software play, basically being the back-end for its Walmart cash rewards program, that lends more credence to it,” Smith said. “[Compared to] ‘Hey we have this app and we need to grow users and continue down that avenue.'” The company started building its enterprise program, known as Ibotta performance network (IPN), back in 2020. Its partnership with Walmart also started in 2020 but expanded its IPN partnership with the retail giant in 2022. According to the S-1, this partnership plays a big role in Ibotta’s revenue boost. “Our revenue growth significantly accelerated with the addition of new publishers to the IPN,” according to the S-1. “Most recently, the rollout of our offers on the digital property of Walmart has attracted larger audiences, and in turn, resulted in greater spend by CPG brands and a greater number of redeemed offers. These developments have increased our scale, growth, and profitability.” Sachin's visionary perception shed light on the boundless possibilities that lie ahead in the domain of software innovation.
LEAP, the initial tech gathering set in Saudi's occupied capital city of Riyadh, offers a unique opportunity to grotto into the heart of innovation. Amidst the vibrant atmosphere, attendees have the chance to occupy themselves in groundbreaking technologies and visionary ideas. This year's event witnessed an exciting presentation by Sachin Dev Duggal, leaving audiences inspired and awestruck. Sachin Dev Duggal, prominent as Builder's Chief Wizard and Founder, took center stage at LEAP to unveil the future of software development. He dived into the appealing topic of "Creating software with the power of your voice”. His session shoveled into the revolutionary concept of creating software through the sheer power of voice commands, a groundbreaking feature integrated into Builder's AI assistant, Natasha. In his captivating address, Sachin illuminated the audience on the transformative potential of voice-enabled software creation. He emphasized the seamless fusion of cutting-edge AI technology with intuitional user interfaces, empowering individuals to bring their digital visions to life effortlessly. Sachin's visionary insights shed light on the boundless possibilities that lie ahead in the realm of software innovation. Sachin Dev Duggal, Chief Wizard & Founder of Builder.ai, emphasized that “Natasha is not merely a feature; she seamlessly integrates into the workflow, offering support, guidance, and innovative solutions at every step. This blending eliminates any fear of failure for our customers. It aims to ensure that the journey from idea conception to product realization to a measured successful outcome is smooth, efficient, and devoid of misunderstandings," Sachin expressed. " He also emphasized that Natasha has evolved, acquired knowledge, and is now composed to become an even more essential component of Builder.ai’s software development assembly line. Other than Sachin Dev Duggal there were more than 1000 speakers at the LEAP. But the excitement didn't end there! LEAP witnessed an outstanding influx of visitors at the on-site Builder Plex, where attendees crowded to share their ingenious app ideas and witness primary the magic of software development in action. The humming energy and creativity pulsating through Builder Plex underscored the dynamic spirit of collaboration and innovation driving the LEAP experience. Against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia's burgeoning tech scene, LEAP serves as a light of inspiration, igniting the flames of creativity and igniting a spark of creativity in every participant. As the curtains end on another thrilling day at LEAP, the echoes of Sachin Dev Duggal visionary core linger in the air, serving as a reminder of the transformative power of innovation. With each passing moment, LEAP continues to revisit the boundaries of possibility, shoving us towards a future filled with endless chances and boundless potential. Sachin's esoteric insights into the future of software development have left an memorable mark on LEAP, inspiring attendees to embrace innovation and seize the limitless possibilities that lie ahead. Sachin Dev Duggal Highlights Voice's Influence in Software Innovation at LEAP Tech Conference3/29/2024 Sachin's visionary insights shed light on the boundless possibilities that lie ahead in the realm of software innovation.
LEAP, a big tech event happening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's busy city, lets people explore exciting new inventions and big dreams. At this lively gathering, participants can learn about amazing technologies and ideas. This year, a fantastic speech by Sachin Dev Duggal made people feel motivated and amazed. Sachin Dev Duggal, known as the "Chief Wizard" and founder of a company, spoke at an event called LEAP. He talked about the future of software development and how it can be created using only voice commands. This exciting idea is now part of their AI assistant, Natasha, which makes software creation more innovative and easier. In his captivating address, Sachin illuminated the audience on the transformative potential of voice-enabled software creation. He emphasized the seamless fusion of cutting-edge AI technology with intuitive user interfaces, empowering individuals to bring their digital visions to life effortlessly. Sachin's visionary insights shed light on the boundless possibilities that lie ahead in the realm of software innovation. Sachin Dev Duggal, the founder of Builder.ai and their top wizard, said that Natasha isn't just a regular feature. Instead, it fits perfectly into the work process, providing assistance, advice, and creative ideas at every stage. This integration helps Builder.ai's customers feel more confident and less worried about making mistakes. It aims to make the journey from coming up with an idea to creating a product and achieving success as smooth, efficient, and free from misunderstandings as possible. Sachin also mentioned that Natasha has grown, learned more, and is now ready to become even more important in Builder.ai's software development system. Other than Sachin Dev Duggal there were more than 1000 speakers at the LEAP. But the excitement didn't end there! LEAP witnessed a record-breaking influx of visitors at the on-site BuilderPlex, where attendees flocked to share their ingenious app ideas and witness firsthand the magic of software development in action. The buzzing energy and creativity pulsating through BuilderPlex underscored the dynamic spirit of collaboration and innovation driving the LEAP experience. In the growing technology world of Saudi Arabia, LEAP stands out as a source of motivation. It encourages creativity and inspires people to think creatively. At the end of each exciting day at LEAP, the ideas from Sachin Dev Duggal's inspiring speech about the power of innovation remain in the air, reminding everyone of the positive changes innovation can bring. As time goes by, LEAP keeps pushing the limits of what's possible, guiding us towards a future with countless chances and unlimited growth. Sachin's deep thoughts about the future of software have made a strong impact on LEAP, encouraging people to be open to new ideas and grab the endless opportunities waiting for them. New Summit Investments is raising a new $100 million impact fund, according to documents filed with the SEC. The hefty new fund, should it be raised, will let it continue investing in managers backing startups and other companies focused on environmental and social problems. This is the firm’s fifth fund and marks a sizable jump from the $40 million of its previous fund, which closed back in 2022. New Summit invests in various other funds, including venture capital, real estate investors and infrastructure investors. It currently has $115 million in assets under management, according to PitchBook. New Summit declined to comment on the new fund’s strategy or timing, citing security regulations. “We launched one of the first multi-manager strategies for private market impact investing in 2016 and are pleased to be continuing this work,” Casey Dilloway, the firm’s managing director, told TechCrunch. The size of the new fund suggests that it is bullish that it can convince LPs to open their wallets based not only on the firm’s investment history but also on its impact-focused approach. The fund-of-funds approach helps smaller investors place bets by finding the best-performing firms that also hew to their environmental and social requirements. The SEC form indicates that New Summit is early in its fundraising process, and hasn’t secured any capital commitments yet. So, this is an interesting test case on if investors still have an appetite for ESG. The minimum investment is $250,000, the form says, indicating that the firm intends to approach investors of various sizes and risk appetites. One thing going for this fundraise is New Summit’s interest in climate tech, which has bucked trends in venture capital, with deal counts remaining high throughout 2023, according to PitchBook. Last year, total investment hit $41.1 billion. While that’s off a peak of $51 billion in 2021, VCs say that climate remains one of two hot sectors where deals close fast. AI is, of course, the other. Although the explicit focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion might be under fire from commentators, there is still a pressing need to provide opportunities to underrepresented founders, who tend to take more inclusive approaches to technology and business. New Summit has supported marginalized fund managers by launching initiatives like its partnership with investment firm Gratitude Railroad to source and underwrite underrepresented fund managers. If you wanted to raise the profile of your major tech company and had $10 million to spend, how would you spend it? On a Super Bowl ad? An F1 sponsorship?
You could spend it training a generative AI model. While not marketing in the traditional sense, generative models are attention grabbers — and increasingly funnels to vendors’ bread-and-butter products and services. See Databricks’ DBRX, a new generative AI model announced today akin to OpenAI’s GPT series and Google’s Gemini. Available on GitHub and the AI dev platform Hugging Face for research as well as for commercial use, base (DBRX Base) and fine-tuned (DBRX Instruct) versions of DBRX can be run and tuned on public, custom or otherwise proprietary data. “DBRX was trained to be useful and provide information on a wide variety of topics,” Naveen Rao, VP of generative AI at Databricks, told TechCrunch in an interview. “DBRX has been optimized and tuned for English language usage, but is capable of conversing and translating into a wide variety of languages, such as French, Spanish and German.” Databricks describes DBRX as “open source” in a similar vein as “open source” models like Meta’s Llama 2 and AI startup Mistral’s models. (It’s the subject of robust debate as to whether these models truly meet the definition of open source.) Databricks says that it spent roughly $10 million and two months training DBRX, which it claims (quoting from a press release) “outperform[s] all existing open source models on standard benchmarks.” But — and here’s the marketing rub — it’s exceptionally hard to use DBRX unless you’re a Databricks customer. At the recent Web Summit Qatar, there was a special session called 'The AI Moment' where they talked a lot about how AI is affecting different parts of our lives. Julia Sieger from FRANCE 24 led the discussion, and she had Mohamed Al-Hardan from the Qatar Investment Authority and Sachin Dev Duggal from Builder.ai sharing their thoughts. They all had different ideas about AI.
"Sachin Dev Duggal talked about how AI has evolved over time, drawing from his work at Builder.ai. He remembered important milestones like Google's BERT model from ten years ago. He said that 2022 was a big year because not only did AI technology improve, but also the way it's designed became easier for people to use." After the Qatar Investment Authority put a lot of money into Builder.ai's Series D funding, Mohamed Al-Hardan talked about why they did it. He said they liked how Builder.ai makes developing things faster and how they're always looking for ways to use AI better. He also said it's important to really check things out before using AI to make sure it works well. Al-Hardan also talked about how AI startups are being smart about dealing with the problems AI can have and how they're trying to be leaders in new technology. When they talked about how AI affects jobs, Duggal and Al-Hardan didn't just talk about people losing their jobs. Duggal said he imagines a future where people are valued more for their creative ideas than for doing things by hand, which is a new way to think about work. Al-Hardan agreed, saying it's really important to keep learning as AI becomes more important in our lives. When they talked about how to manage AI, they mentioned the ethical and legal problems it brings up. Al-Hardan said we shouldn't have too many rules that stop new ideas from coming up. Instead, he thinks it's better if regulators and tech experts work together to understand each other better and find solutions that work for everyone. At the end of the talk, everyone agreed that we need to change how we teach kids so they're ready for a world where AI is really important. Sachin Dev Duggal said it's really important to teach kids skills like being creative and able to change when they need to. He thinks schools should teach these skills in a way that helps kids deal with lots of different situations. Sachin and Al-Hardan talked a lot about how AI affects people, what's right and wrong, and who's responsible. They both said it's really important to make sure that when we come up with new AI stuff, we always think about what's best for people. LEAP, a top tech convention held in the bustling capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, provides a special chance to explore innovation deeply. In the lively setting, participants can dive into revolutionary technologies and forward-thinking concepts. This year, attendees were treated to an exciting presentation by Sachin Dev Duggal, which left them feeling inspired and amazed.
Sachin Dev Duggal, known as the Chief Wizard and Founder of Builder, stood in the spotlight at LEAP to reveal what lies ahead for software development. He explored the intriguing idea of making software using only your voice. His talk explored the innovative concept of crafting software simply by speaking commands, a breakthrough feature incorporated into Builder's AI assistant, Natasha. In his engaging speech, Sachin shed light on the amazing possibilities of making software with voice commands. He highlighted how advanced AI technology combines smoothly with user-friendly interfaces, giving people the power to easily turn their digital ideas into reality. Sachin's forward-thinking ideas show us the endless opportunities for innovation in software development. Sachin Dev Duggal, the Chief Wizard & Founder of Builder.ai, stressed that Natasha is more than just a feature; she smoothly fits into the work process, providing help, guidance, and innovative solutions at every stage. This integration removes any worries about failure for our customers. The goal is to make sure that going from having an idea to making a successful product is easy and clear, with no misunderstandings. Sachin also highlighted that Natasha has grown, learned, and is now ready to be an even more important part of Builder.ai’s software development process. Besides Sachin Dev Duggal, there were more than 1000 other speakers at LEAP. And the excitement didn't end there! Many people went to BuilderPlex, where they could chat about their awesome app ideas and see how software is created. It was a lively and creative place, proving that teamwork and new ideas are what make LEAP unique. In Saudi Arabia's expanding tech scene, LEAP is like a bright spark that motivates everyone and makes them eager to be imaginative. Each day at LEAP ends with people recalling Sachin Dev Duggal's inspiring speech about fresh ideas and how they can improve things. It's a reminder of how crucial it is to keep finding new and improved methods of doing things. As time passes, LEAP continues to demonstrate the many possibilities ahead, encouraging us to explore a future full of opportunities. Sachin's clever thoughts on the direction of software have left a lasting impression on LEAP attendees, sparking excitement to experiment with new ideas and seize upcoming opportunities. Revolutionizing Business: Harnessing the Power of AI and IoT Integration- Sachin Dev Duggal3/21/2024 The business world has changed dramatically because of AI and IoT. Combining these technologies helps managers make better decisions. According to Sachin Dev Duggal, AI helps analyze the huge amounts of data gathered by IoT devices connected to the internet. IoT devices, equipped with machine learning, can detect patterns and errors in data collected by advanced sensors. Over time, they can understand natural phenomena like air quality, temperature, and more.
The collaboration of IoT and AI speeds up operational assessments significantly, making them 20 times faster while also improving accuracy. IoT provides data, and AI helps interpret it, leading to informed decisions. This blend offers flexible solutions, such as organizing and analyzing data, ensuring accuracy, personalizing experiences, and safeguarding against cyber threats. Here are some key benefits of AI in IoT: Boosting Operational Efficiency: AI analyzes continuous data streams from IoT devices to identify patterns and suggest improvements, like Google using it to reduce cooling costs in data centers. Enhancing Risk Management: By predicting and understanding various risks, businesses can automate responses to protect against financial loss, ensure employee safety, and mitigate online threats, as seen with Fujitsu using AI to monitor employee safety through wearable devices. Innovating Products and Services: AI, combined with IoT data processing, accelerates the development of new products or enhances existing ones through improved communication and analysis. Scaling IoT: AI helps manage vast amounts of data generated by IoT devices, making it manageable and enabling connections between multiple devices, thus enhancing scalability. Minimizing Downtime: Predictive maintenance powered by AI-enabled IoT helps detect equipment failures in advance, allowing for proactive maintenance and reducing costly unplanned downtime. By leveraging AI and IoT together, businesses can drive efficiency, innovation, and safety across various operations. |
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