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AI Fund Reloads With $190 Million to Get AI Startup Ideas Off the Ground
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By Marc Vartabedian, WSJ Pro
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Good day. AI Fund, a venture firm founded and led by artificial intelligence researcher Andrew Ng, has raised a sophomore investment vehicle to further its strategy of building AI startups in-house. The $190 million fund reflects continued investor appetite for new AI startups even as venture capital coalesces around the sector’s largest players.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based AI Fund will use the investment vehicle to fund startup ideas conjured up by Ng and his team. AI Fund aims to start one company a month, writing $55,000 checks to each and selecting a chief executive to get a startup off the ground. AI Fund will make larger investments for startups that show promise.
AI Fund partners will be co-founders for the businesses and play a hands-on role in building them and tapping their networks to make additional hires.
The venture investor can act fast, in part by using AI-assisted coding software to help technologists write business software faster, Ng said.
Read the full article here.
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And now on to the news ...
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Developers are creating protocols to harness AI-powered agents into teams that handle everything from customer service and coding to supply chain, logistics, finance, marketing and business strategy. ILLUSTRATION: THOMAS R. LECHLEITER/WSJ, ISTOCK
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AI agents. Companies should start planning for the next stage of AI: the orchestration of multiple agents across their businesses, WSJ Pro reports.
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Most companies are still figuring out how to deploy even one AI-powered agent that can perform a task autonomously or in coordination with people. But developers are creating protocols to harness these agents into teams that handle everything from customer service and coding to supply chain, logistics, finance, marketing and business strategy.
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Given the pace of innovation and the time it takes for organizations to adapt, companies will do themselves a favor by getting ready now for multiagent systems available later this year.
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$6.45 Billion
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Amount raised by private investment firm Atlas Holdings to back underperforming or struggling companies.
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IT Unemployment Ticked Down in April. But So Did the Size of the IT Job Market.
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The unemployment rate in the information-technology job market fell to 4.6% in April from 5% the prior month. But the outlook remains bleak for those without artificial-intelligence skills, The Wall Street Journal reports. The number of unemployed IT workers dropped to 119,000 from 133,000 in March, according to consulting firm Janco Associates, which bases its findings on data from the U.S. Labor Department. The department on Friday said the economy added 177,000 jobs in April—despite uncertainty from jolting tariff announcements. The overall jobless rate last month held steady at 4.2%.
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Raiven Capital launched a $100 million climate tech fund.
Revo Capital held an initial $86 million close of its third fund, which has a target of $100 million. The Turkey-based firm raised a total of $180 million across its first two funds.
Verb Ventures, a UK-based investor focusing on B2B marketplaces and data platforms, launched its second fund with a target of €25 million.
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Greycroft appointed Chiraag Deora as a principal. He was previously an investor at Battery Ventures and CRV.
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Chaos Industries, a Los Angeles-based defense and national security technology startup, landed $275 million in Series C funding from investors including New Enterprise Associates. This latest round values the company at $2 billion.
Rogo, a New York-based AI platform for financial professionals, raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Thrive Capital.
Hilo, a blood-pressure intelligence platform formerly known as Aktiia, collected $42 million in Series B funding from investors including Earlybird Health. Christoph Massner will join the company’s board.
Doppel, a San Francisco-based social engineering defense platform, scored $35 million in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners at a $205 million valuation.
Skillvue, an Italy-based HR tech platform, picked up a $6.3 million seed round led by 360 Capital.
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Initial investigations pointed to a technical issue, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity said. But Spanish authorities later said they haven’t ruled out a cyberattack. PHOTO: LEX ZEA/ZUMA PRESS
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Blackouts in Europe continue to raise cyber alarms
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Musk’s SpaceX prepares to launch Starbase, its own town in Texas
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Trade war exposes China’s dependence on U.S. for auto chips
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What big tech has going for it in the trade war
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TikTok fined $600 million in Europe over China surveillance risks
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Rising star defense tech startup Mach Industries is raising $100 million, sources say (TechCrunch)
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Endowments need cash, but VC firms have none to offer (The Information)
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