The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) announced a;$30M fund;to invest in AI-first startups.
;It's the second fund for the AI2 Incubator, which raised $10M for its first fund four years ago. The new fund will support five to seven pre-seed startups annually over four years.:
- The $30M fund will focus on specific AI applications, including generative AI and those with unique models addressing underserved markets.
- Investors include venture capital giants Madrona Venture Group, Sequoia Capital, and Two Sigma Ventures, who previously invested in the first fund.
- The AI2 incubator has graduated over 20 companies, including successful spinouts like Kitt.ai (acquired by Baidu in 2017) and Xnor.ai (acquired;by Apple;in 2020). The companies have collectively raised over $160M in venture capital.
- Seattle-based AI2, founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2014, has annual funding of $100M and a staff of over 200 AI professionals.