What happened: Inflection, the startup known for its Pi chatbot, has raised $1.3B. The significant funding round, led by Microsoft, Bill Gates, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and new investor Nvidia, values the startup at $4B. Inflection now stands as the second-best-funded generative AI startup, trailing only OpenAI.
Details: Inflection aims to develop a personal AI to assist individuals with planning, scheduling, gathering information, and performing other various tasks. It recently released Pi, its first AI chatbot product, which it says offers a more supportive, personal experience than other AI models. Quotable: Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said that "ambitious AI companies like Inflection AI are pioneering the industry with transformative products that are accessible, easy to use, and show the many possibilities of AI." Why it matters: The funding highlights how generative AI continues to capture investors' attention. It's no surprise that investors are pumping more funding into generative AI startups. In a recent report, CB Insights confirmed a "massive opportunity for investors to get in early on this potentially transformative technology." What the numbers say: According to CB Insights, 2022 set a record for the amount of investment pumped into generative AI-focused startups. Equity funding reached nearly $2.6B across 110 deals, up from $71M across 23 deals in 2017. Q1 2023 saw approximately $1.7B generated in 46 deals, per PitchBook data. An additional $10.68 billion worth of deals were announced but not completed.
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