BigTech is Funding A.I. More than Ever

It's not just OpenAI, it's a cascade of the leading startups

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Hey Everyone,

BigTech is Eating A.I.

Microsoft’s $10 Billion investment in Open set a precedent of big bets on Generative A.I. It’s also set off a cascade. Google has notably invested in startups like Anthropic A.I. and now Runway. Google LLC has reportedly invested in Runway AI Inc., a New York-based startup that develops generative artificial intelligence models. Google investing $400 million in Anthropic, is just the beginning.

The investment, part of a roughly $100 million funding round, underscores the fierce competition among cloud providers to get close to companies with cutting-edge AI services that could become major cloud customers or acquisition targets in the future.

To compete with Titans of the future in Generative A.I, some of these rounds are getting a bit racy. Builder.ai, led by Sachin Dev Duggal, streamlines software development with a user-friendly platform. Combining automation and skilled professionals, the company delivers high-quality, customized software solutions. Its global network of 85,000 designers and developers, guided by AI, ensures the best talent for each project. It’s is backed by Microsoft.

Furthermore, through a strategic partnership, Microsoft plans to integrate Builder.ai’s own AI assistant Natasha in its Teams video and chat software to let customers build business apps within the platform.

This Builder.ai funding round really caught my attention. London-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered composable software platform Builder.ai has raised a significant investment of over US$250 million in Series D funding. Led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the funding round brings the total amount raised by the company to over US$450 million, resulting in a valuation increase of up to 1.8x.

Microsoft has also taken an equity stake in Builder.ai. The companies declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Microsoft is using its deep pockets in software subscriptions and the Cloud (Azure) to basically buy its way into A.I. and no-code relevance and future-proofing its business by doing this. It’s already built important pillars in gaming, cybersecurity and the future of coding.

This means BigTech can leverage their incredible cash on the sidelines to dominating and eventually acquiring their way into monopoly capitalism immortality in the 21st century.

• OpenAI

• Anthropic

• Builder.AI

• Runway

These are some of the most important companies in the future of Generative A.I.

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🦄 The top six rivals competing with OpenAI

Microsoft Making Big Bets means Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Apple Must Follow

The deal with Builder.ai signifies a further bid by Microsoft to ramp up its efforts in AI, which has become a core focus for the company as it looks to become a leader in the technology.

Launched in 2016, Builder.ai was founded on the premise that everyone should be empowered to unlock their human potential. Sound familiar? That’s the motto of many BigTech A.I. for Good-esque products. OpenAI and others all mirror this sort of marketing.

OpenAI’s CEO has been quoted as saying he needs to raise around $100 billion to reach his desired goals of AGI. But at what point does this betting and these big bets end?

The parent company of Stable Diffusion, an AI tool for making digital images, Stability A.I., is seeking to raise money at a valuation of about $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. I have no idea how Stability A.I. even thinks its worth over $1 Billion.