Sarvam.AI Raises $41M for Diverse Language AI Models
Sarvam.AI, an indigenous AI startup from India, recently secured a whopping USD 41 million in its Series A funding round, spearheaded by Lightspeed Ventures. This funding boost is aimed at bolstering the training of AI models, specifically focusing on incorporating a diverse array of Indian languages and voice-centric interfaces. Founded in July 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, both former Infosys employees, Sarvam.AI aims to follow in the footsteps of their prior venture AI4Bharat, supported by Nandan Nilekani. Raghavan, known for his role in creating Digital Public Goods such as Aadhaar, joins forces with Kumar, leveraging Indian enterprise data to craft domain-specific AI models. This substantial funding coincides with the burgeoning interest in Generative AI startups in India, paralleling the soaring demand for tools like ChatGPT. Notably, the Indian GenAI-based SaaS startup landscape has more than doubled since 2021, with investments topping USD 590 million by May 2023, as SaaS Boomi and McKinsey reported.
Elon Musk’s xAI Chatbot Grok Launched as ChatGPT Rival
Elon Musk’s xAI launches its AI chatbot Grok for X Premium+ subscribers, aiming to challenge OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The rollout follows a surge in AI chatbot adoption, including Google’s Bard and Anthropic’s Claude. Musk, a former co-founder of OpenAI, introduced Grok-1 as xAI’s maiden product, leveraging real-time information from X for up-to-date knowledge. Grok stands out with a hint of wit and a rebellious streak akin to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, even tackling spicier queries.
Known for his unconventional approach, Musk poked fun at Bard and ChatGPT during Grok’s launch. xAI’s recently raised $1 billion in funding, as Musk stated his vision for a maximally curious AI instead of explicitly programmed morality. This move coincides with Google’s Gemini updates, enhancing Bard’s capabilities in phases reflecting the competitive AI landscape’s rapid evolution.
Google’s Gemini AI Model Outshines GPT-4, Human Experts
Google recently unveiled Gemini, its latest and most robust language model yet, surpassing OpenAI’s GPT-4 and even human experts in multitask language understanding. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, introduced Gemini 1.0 as a versatile and multimodal AI available in Ultra, Pro, and Nano sizes. Gemini Ultra outperforms human experts on 90% of widely used academic benchmarks.
Bard, Google’s AI chatbot, now powered by Gemini Pro, excels in understanding, summarizing, reasoning, coding, and planning, surpassing GPT-3.5 in six industry-standard benchmarks. Google plans Bard Advanced, tapping into the most cutting-edge models, starting with Gemini Ultra. Additionally, Pixel 8 Pro will leverage Gemini Nano for on-device tasks, enabling features like conversation summaries and AI-generated replies and harnessing the power of this advanced AI model.
EU Leans Toward Guidelines Governing AI, Chatbots Like ChatGPT
EU countries and lawmakers have struck a deal on regulations for artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT after lengthy discussions, a source familiar with the talks revealed. Following 10 hours of deliberation, the agreement aims to establish guidelines governing AI use. EU governments compromised to garner support for utilizing AI in biometric surveillance for national security and military purposes, seeking lawmakers’ approval.
However, the discussions centered around biometric surveillance persist — an area lawmakers aim to prohibit. The talks, initiated on Wednesday at 1400 GMT, remain ongoing, focusing on delineating the boundaries of biometric surveillance within the regulatory framework for AI systems.
Amazon CEO Says Generative AI Will Revolutionize Customer Experiences
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has predicted that generative AI will reshape customer experiences across enterprise and consumer domains. Speaking to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Jassy highlighted how this technology will democratize usage for developers and business users, amplifying societal benefits. Emphasizing the transformative impact, he stressed enhancing predictive abilities in understanding customer preferences and advancing Alexa’s capabilities.
While acknowledging AI risks, including potential hallucinations in language models, Jassy advocates for strengthened security measures rather than disregarding AI’s potential. Amazon’s substantial investment in a generative AI center and the recent launch of chatbot Q signal their commitment to innovation, aiming to rival industry giants in productivity software.
(Note: This news article has been generated using artificial intelligence and adheres to the guidelines provided. The content should be thoroughly reviewed and edited by a human journalist before publishing.)
