Robinhood Acquired AI Startup & Bill Gates Not Worried About Electric Consumption By AI Applications

☕Hey there, Welcome to today's quick rundown in the Venture Daily Digest Newsletter. We've got the scoop on startup fundraising, VC funds, and some cool tech – all in just 5 minutes!

Top News

The MIT study demonstrates that using less, but more carefully selected, training data can lead to better language models. Researchers developed a technique called "perplexity-based data pruning," where smaller AI models identify the most informative parts of datasets for training larger models. This approach not only improved model performance on benchmarks but also reduced training time, suggesting that data quality and relevance are more crucial than quantity in AI model development.

Robinhood has acquired AI-powered research platform Pluto Capital, Inc. to enhance its investment app with advanced AI features. Pluto's founder Jacob Sansbury will join Robinhood to accelerate the adoption of AI technologies, though the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Apple plans to start mass-producing AirPods with built-in infrared cameras by 2026, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The new AirPods could enhance Apple's augmented-reality headsets, offering improved spatial audio features and a more lifelike spatial-computing experience. The built-in IR cameras might also introduce additional features like "in-air" gestures, similar to the technology behind Apple's FaceID.

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Startup Funding Updates

Afloat, based in the United States, is a gift delivery app that allows users to shop from local stores and have gifts delivered same-day to loved ones. The startup, which has expanded nationwide after initially operating in select cities, has raised over $5 million in funding. Afloat is backed by investors including Goodwater Capital and Techstars. More Here

SmartHR, a Tokyo, Japan-based provider of a cloud-native human resources management platform, raised US$140M in Series E funding. The round was led by TOKYO-KKR and Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), with participation from existing shareholders. More Here

Anbogen Therapeutics, Inc., a Taipei, Taiwan-based clinical-stage company developing cancer therapies, raised USD 7.3M in Series A+ funding. cancer The round was led by KGI Venture Capital and both new and existing investors. More Here

LiveOak Fiber, a Brunswick, GA-based regional broadband service provider, raised $250M in financing. The financing underwritten by J.P. Morgan. More Here

Pieces, a Cincinnati, OH-based developer productivity tech startup, raised $13.5m in Series A funding. The round was led by Drive Capital with participation from Cincinnati’s Cintrifuse Capital, Miami University’s RedHawk Ventures and local high-net-worth investors. More Here

K Health, a NYC-based provider of an AI primary care platform, raised $50M in funding. The round was led by Claure Group, with participation from investors including Pablo Legorreta (founder and CEO of Royalty Pharma), and existing investors Mangrove Capital Partners, Valor Equity Partners, and Atreides Management, LP. More Here

Vytal, a Cologne, Germany-based provider of software-enabled reusable packaging solutions, raised €6.2M in funding. The round was led by Emerald Technology, through its Sustainable Packaging Innovation Fund, with participation from Ventis and existing investors Kiko Ventures, Grazia Equity and Rubio. More Here

N-Power Medicine, a Redwood City, CA-based company which specializes in clinical trial processes, raised an undisclosed amount in Series B funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $72M, was led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, with participation from a US-based healthcare focused investor. More Here

Kanvas Biosciences, Princeton, NJ-based spatial biology company, raised additional $12.5M in funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $29.5M, was led by DCVC and Lions Capital LLC, and participation from FemHealth Ventures, Germin8, Ki Tua Fund, and Pangaea Ventures as well as existing investors. More Here

SprayVision, an Ostrava, Czech Republic-based company which specializes in process control and simulation of paint coating operations, raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding. The round was led by Momenta with participation from J&T Ventures. More Here

ZeroEyes, a Philadelphia, PA-based provider of an AI-based gun detection video analytics platform, raised $53M in Series B funding. The round was led by Sorenson Capital, with participation from Intel Capital, BroadLight Capital and existing investors. More Here

Boston Oncology Arabia, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based bio-generic drugs manufacturing company, received a USD 35M investment. TVM Capital made the investment. More Here

Venture Capital Updates

American Discovery Capital, a Los Angeles, CA-based merchant bank focused on founder-led and family-owned companies operating in the lower middle market, closed its Fund II, at $190M. ADF I closed in 2019 and invested $60M across six portfolio companies and 17 add-on acquisitions. More Here

Lee Equity Partners, a NYC-based middle-market private equity firm, closed its Fund IV, at $1.3 Billion. The firm added a diverse group of global investors including family offices, private and public pensions, funds of funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies to its LP base. More Here

Featured Article

The AI Plateau Is Real By Gordon Ritter and Wendy Lu (Emergence Capital).

Imagine asking an LLM for advice on making the perfect pizza, only to have it suggest using glue to help your cheese stick — or watching it fumble basic arithmetic that wouldn’t trip up your average middle school student. Such are the limitations and quirks of generative AI models today.

Technological progress often follows an S-curve pattern, characterized by slow initial growth, rapid acceleration, and eventual plateau.

This is evident in various innovations throughout history, such as TCP/IP, web browsers, and mobile apps. Each of these experienced periods of explosive development followed by relative stability.

Similarly, generative AI models, despite their current limitations, are likely in the early stages of their own S-curve.

Initially, progress was rapid, with each new release from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta offering significant improvements. However, recent advancements have become incremental, suggesting that current AI models are approaching a plateau in performance. Consider this chart of performance increases of OpenAI’s flagship model:

Read detailed article in our Venture Curator newsletter.

Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

Acuity Knowledge Partners, a London, UK-based provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence solutions to the financial services sector, acquired PPA Group, a technology-enabled service provider to financial institutions in Germany and Switzerland. More Here

Lumera, a Stockholm, Sweden-based insurtech company dedicated to the digital transformation of the European life and Pensions industry, acquired ITM, a London, UK-based independent provider of data management and technology solutions serving the UK Life and Pensions markets. More Here

ClientSuccess, a Lehi, UT-based provider of a customer success platform, acquired Baton, a provider of a customer onboarding and implementation platform. More Here

Germany-based Northern Data AG, opens new tab is exploring a U.S. initial public offering for its artificial intelligence (AI) cloud computing and data center units at a valuation of as much as $16 billion. More Here

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Startups & People

France's antitrust regulator is preparing to charge Nvidia for alleged anti-competitive practices, making it the first enforcer to take action against the chip maker. The charges follow raids in the graphics cards sector last year and are part of a broader inquiry into cloud computing. Concerns have been raised about the sector's dependence on Nvidia's CUDA chip programming software and the company's investments in AI-focused cloud service providers. Nvidia faces potential fines of up to 10% of its global annual turnover if found in breach of French antitrust rules. More Here

SBS Comms/Lightmatter Inc. Nvidia Corp. Vice President Simona Jankowski is becoming chief financial officer at Lightmatter Inc., joining a chip startup that's angling to become part of the artificial intelligence computing boom. More Here

Latest In Emerging Tech

Anthropic has launched a program to fund the development of new AI benchmarks, focusing on evaluating advanced capabilities and potential risks of AI models. The initiative aims to create challenging tests for assessing AI's ability in areas like cybersecurity, weapons enhancement, and societal manipulation, as well as its potential for scientific research and language processing. Anthropic plans to offer various funding options and expert support to selected projects, with the goal of establishing comprehensive AI evaluation as an industry standard. More Here

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