AI Startup Roundup: Anthropic Aims to Secure $750 Million in Funding

**Weekly Overview of AI Startup Investments**

U.S. investments in artificial intelligence (AI) startups surged dramatically, rising by 150% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, as reported by The Information based on PitchBook statistics. In contrast, overall startup investments experienced a decline of 21%. This trend highlights the growing interest and confidence in the potential of AI technologies.

Despite this increase, securing funding remains a challenge for many AI startups, even those with promising innovations. Industry leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic continue to dominate headlines and attract significant investment, leading to heightened competition. Many emerging AI firms rely on technology from established entities like OpenAI, which often target the same clients, complicating the funding landscape for new entrants.

**Funding Developments in AI**

Anthropic, a key competitor to OpenAI co-founded by former OpenAI executives, is currently negotiating to raise $750 million, potentially valuing the startup at up to $18 billion. Notably, Amazon invested $4 billion in Anthropic earlier this year, while Google contributed to a $450 million Series C funding round and added an additional $300 million. The startup plans to invest "billions" over the coming years to rent servers from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google to support its Claude language models.

According to reports, Anthropic’s revenue run rate is projected to exceed $200 million by the end of this year and could reach $500 million by the end of 2024. The company’s unique governance structure, featuring a 5-member trust with no financial stakes in the business, aims to prioritize the long-term benefits of its AI models for society. As a public benefit corporation, Anthropic strives to balance its financial goals with a commitment to the public good, emphasizing the importance of safe AI practices in its development process.

**Spotlight on Emerging AI Startups**

*01.AI*

Chinese startup 01.AI is making strides in developing open-source foundational large language models (LLMs). Founded by Lee Kai-fu, a prominent venture capitalist and former president of Google China, 01.AI's inaugural model, Yi-34B, boasts 34 billion parameters and has become the first Chinese LLM to dominate the Hugging Face leaderboard. Lee is committed to open-sourcing smaller models while keeping larger ones proprietary, arguing that current popular models often reflect U.S. values, which may not be suitable for other cultures. He stresses that each nation deserves a high-quality model that respects its cultural context, values, religion, and language.

*Latest Funding:* Up to $200 million, according to reports.

*Harvey*

Legal AI startup Harvey provides a generative AI platform designed to assist law firms, professional services providers, and private equity firms in analyzing internal and industry data. Since April, Harvey has seen its revenue skyrocket tenfold, with exponential growth in platform engagement. The company collaborates with OpenAI to create foundational models tailored for specific legal domains.

*Latest Funding:* $80 million, Series B.

*Lead Investors:* Kleiner Perkins and tech entrepreneur Elad Gil.

*Additional Investors:* OpenAI Startup Fund and Sequoia.

*Funding Goals:* To expand custom model development, scale its team, and enhance its product offerings.

This dynamic environment indicates the rapid evolution of AI startups, reflecting a robust investment climate and a keen interest in innovations tailored to diverse industries and cultural contexts.