Where the Big Money Went

Welcome back apprentices! 👋

It’s December 23rd — Christmas Eve is almost here! 🎄

Now, we all know Apple doesn’t do holiday discounts. But imagine if they gave you this present instead:

Rumor has it that Apple is working on a smart doorbell with Face ID — unlock your door with just your face. No hands, no keys. Supposedly, it’ll be ready by next Christmas.

So, what do you think — revolutionary or a step too far? 🤔

P.S. Share this with someone who’d love to ditch their keys! (copy URL here)

In today's email

• Watch out, human judges

• Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model

• Genesis is here

• HubSpot’s free AI guide

• 12 Days of OpenAI

• Top 10 AI Mega-Rounds of 2024

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Quick News 

🥊 Watch out, human judges — an AI boxing official is stepping into the ring for the Fury vs. Usyk rematch! This robo-ref will dish out non-binding scores based on real-time data, analyzing aggression, landed punches, and probably the fighters’ choice of entrance music. While some fans are excited about fairer scoring, others are wondering if the AI will penalize Fury for trash talk or Usyk for blinking too hard. Either way, it’s shaping up to be a knockout experiment!

🚀 Google’s new Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model isn’t just about delivering quick answers — it takes the time to “think” through complex problems, outperforming OpenAI’s o1 in both speed and reasoning accuracy while securing the top spot in the Chatbot Arena rankings. The cherry on top? It’s entirely free to use via AI Studio and Vertex AI, making advanced AI reasoning more accessible than ever. 

🤖 Move over, Isaac Newton — Genesis is here, and it’s rewriting the laws of physics with generative AI and ultra-fast simulations. Running at 43 million FPS (yes, million) on a single RTX 4090, it’s 10-80x faster than anything else out there, training robot locomotion in just 26 seconds. Oh, and it’s open-source, so now anyone can create mind-blowing 4D environments and make their AI robots smarter than ever.

Together with HubSpot

Ready to level up your work with AI?

HubSpot’s free guide to using ChatGPT at work is your new cheat code to go from working hard to hardly working

HubSpot’s guide will teach you:

• How to prompt like a pro

• How to integrate AI in your personal workflow

• Over 100+ useful prompt ideas

All in order to help you unleash the power of AI for a more efficient, impactful professional life.

Get the free guide and level up your AI game today!

12 Days of OpenAI 
The Grand Finale of OpenAI’s 12 Days’ Event 

OpenAI wrapped up its “12 Days of OpenAI” like the overachiever it is, delivering blockbuster announcements on Days 11 and 12. With ChatGPT getting a major glow-up, new AI models that think harder and smarter, and a safety-first initiative, OpenAI ended the year with enough fireworks to make New Year’s jealous. 

Here’s the lowdown:

Day 11
ChatGPT’s Mac App Gets a Glow-Up

The penultimate day brought updates that transformed ChatGPT into the Mac assistant you didn’t know you needed:

• Hands-free voice commands — because who has time to type anymore? Just talk, and ChatGPT listens.

• Seamless integration with tools like Xcode, Notion, and Apple Notes means ChatGPT can now help you code, jot down genius ideas, and organize your chaos.

These updates make ChatGPT less “standalone chatbot” and more “AI sidekick,” ready to boost your productivity while you sip your coffee. 

Day 12
Big Brains and Big Safety Moves

The final day of OpenAI’s holiday spectacular brought two headline acts:

• o3 and o3-mini Models: These reasoning champs will launch in early 2025, ready to tackle everything from math problems to decision-making with a level of precision that’ll make you double-check your own work.

  • Adjustable computation levels let you choose between quick answers or deep thinking — basically, you’re the boss of their brain power. 

• Safety First: OpenAI is rolling out an early access program for researchers to test these models’ safety.

  • Applications are open until January 10, 2025, so if you’ve ever dreamed of breaking an AI (for science!), now’s your chance.

This initiative proves OpenAI isn’t just building smarter AI; it’s making sure those smarts don’t accidentally end up plotting world domination.

What was the point of 12 Days of OpenAI? OpenAI wasn’t just playing Santa with shiny new tools — it was laying the foundation for a future where AI is smarter, safer, and genuinely useful. 

Businesses get streamlined workflows, researchers gain access to cutting-edge tech, and all of us get a sneak peek at AI’s potential when it’s firing on all cylinders (without derailing the sleigh).

From transforming ChatGPT into your go-to assistant to developing models that think before they speak (imagine that!), the future of AI looks brighter than ever. And if you’re a researcher,  don’t miss out on the early access program — because breaking AI (responsibly) might just be the perfect way to kick off 2025.

🎁 Day 13 Bonus
Sora Unleashed

The holiday spirit just hit overdrive at Sora! 

This Christmas, Plus users get unlimited Sora access via the laid-back holiday queue.

But wait, the goodies don’t stop there! Teams users are now fully onboard with Sora, the blend feature got a shiny upgrade, and you can now share your Sora creations with anyone — yes, even your cousin who still thinks AI is just a movie. It’s a festive free-for-all of creativity!

Startups & Funding 
Top 10 AI Mega-Rounds of 2024

2024 saw U.S.-based AI startups flexing their muscles with funding rounds that broke records, shattered expectations, and made the rest of us wonder if we picked the wrong career. Seven startups raised $1 billion or more in a single round, signaling that the AI boom is far from slowing down. 

Investors have shifted their focus almost entirely toward AI, leaving many other sectors scrambling for scraps. AI's promise of reshaping industries and delivering exponential returns has created a frenzy where billion-dollar rounds are becoming the new norm.

Industries like traditional tech and blockchain, which were once darlings of venture capital, are now struggling to compete for attention in the face of AI's overwhelming momentum.

Here’s a rundown of the top 10 largest funding rounds of the year, complete with their ambitions, growth stories, and future directions.

The Funding Titans

1. OpenAI – $6.6 Billion 

   • Date: October 2, 2024

   • Valuation: $157 billion

   • Key Investors: Thrive Capital, Tiger Global, SoftBank

   • Mission: Revolutionizing AI with advanced models like ChatGPT while maintaining their dominance in AI innovation.

   • Future: Poised to stay ahead with groundbreaking research and new AI applications that touch every aspect of life.

2. xAI (November) – $6 Billion

   • Date: November 2024

   • Valuation: $50 billion

   • Key Investors: Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Qatar Investment Authority

   • Mission: Exploring AI’s capabilities to better understand the universe (and Elon Musk’s brain, presumably).

   • Future: Doubling down on AI research while positioning itself as a leader in universal AI solutions.

3. xAI (May) – $6 Billion 

   • Date: May 31, 2024

   • Valuation: $24 billion

   • Key Investors: Sequoia, Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity

   • Mission: Kicking off its mega-funded year with bold AI initiatives.

   • Future: Building momentum and making history with back-to-back multi-billion-dollar raises.

4. CoreWeave – $1.1 Billion 

   • Date: May 1, 2024

   • Valuation: $19 billion

   • Key Investors: Coatue, Fidelity, Altimeter Capital

   • Mission: Providing GPU infrastructure to power the AI revolution.

   • Future: Scaling rapidly to meet growing demand from AI developers and enterprises.

5. Safe Superintelligence – $1 Billion

   • Date: September 4, 2024

   • Valuation: $4 billion

   • Key Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, DST Global

   • Mission: Ensuring AI safety and alignment with human values under the leadership of Ilya Sutskever.

   • Future: Prioritizing AI safety research while expanding its influence in the industry.

6. Scale AI – $1 Billion 

   • Date: May 2024

   • Valuation: $14 billion

   • Key Investors: Accel, Tiger Global, Amazon

   • Mission: Empowering AI development with high-quality data labeling services.

   • Future: Expanding its data services to fuel next-gen AI innovations.

7. Xaira Therapeutics – $1 Billion 

   • Date: April 23, 2024

   • Key Investors: Foresite Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Sequoia

   • Mission: Using AI for drug discovery to transform the pharmaceutical industry.

   • Future: Advancing its drug pipeline with AI-driven breakthroughs.

8. Tenstorrent – $693 Million 

   • Date: December 2, 2024

   • Valuation: $2.7 billion

   • Key Investors: Samsung Securities, Fidelity, Bezos Expeditions

   • Mission: Developing AI-focused hardware chips to boost computational efficiency.

   • Future: Scaling production and targeting broader AI hardware markets.

9. Figure – $675 Million 

   • Date: February 24, 2024

   • Valuation: $2.7 billion

   • Key Investors: Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft

   • Mission: Building cutting-edge AI-powered robotics to revolutionize automation.

   • Future: Advancing robotics for real-world applications across industries.

10. AlphaSense – $650 Million 

    • Date: June 11, 2024

    • Valuation: $4 billion

    • Key Investors: Viking Global Investors, CapitalG, SoftBank

    • Mission: Providing AI-driven market intelligence to business professionals.

    • Future: Expanding its AI capabilities to better serve global markets.

Honorable Mentions (just below the top 10)

• Groq: $640 million (August 5, 2024)

• Poolside: $500 million (October 2, 2024)

• KoBold Metals: $491.5 million (October 2024)

• Lightmatter and Physical Intelligence: $400 million each

These rounds are also substantial but fall below the ten largest listed above.

In 2024, deal-making has been hotter than a summer sidewalk, with a whopping 3,144 deals already closed — and we’re not even done yet! 

But here’s the kicker: most of these aren’t your average coffee-budget deals. Nope, we’re talking “mega-rounds” of $100 million or more. In fact, during Q3, 51% of deals hit the mega-mark, and in Q2, it was a staggering 69%. It seems like VCs have developed a taste for going big or going home!

This years’ mega-rounds are a testament to the continued investor confidence in AI’s transformative potential. From infrastructure and robotics to safety and pharmaceuticals, these startups are leading the charge into the future. 

As AI reshapes industries at breakneck speed, these companies are set to define what’s possible — and leave the rest of us marveling at their ingenuity (and bank accounts).

Let's Chat About AI

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AI is more than just a buzzword. It’s a shift in how we live and work. And understanding it a bit better means you can make smarter choices about the tech you use every day.

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