Microsoft, Amazon, IBM Commit to AI Safety Standards; Elon Musk’s xAI Secures $6B Investment, Boosting Valuation to $24B

### This Week's Most Notable Stories in AI

**Leading Tech Giants Commit to AI Safety Measures**

During the recent AI Safety Summit held in Seoul, key players in technology, including Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM, made a significant commitment to transparency in their AI development practices. Sixteen companies have pledged to publicly share their safety frameworks for foundation models, which are versatile AI systems capable of processing diverse data types such as images and text. This collective agreement mandates that no AI model will be developed or deployed if its associated risks cannot be effectively controlled or mitigated. This proactive approach aims to ensure safer AI deployments in various applications.

**xAI Secures $6B in Funding, Reaches $24B Valuation**

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture, xAI, has successfully raised $6 billion in its Series B funding round, boosting the company's valuation to an impressive $24 billion. The announcement, made on Sunday, highlighted plans for this capital infusion to support the launch of xAI’s inaugural products, enhance infrastructure, and expedite research and technology development. Notable investors include Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and influential figures such as Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding.

**AI-Powered Supply Chain Innovations in Pharmaceuticals**

Servier, a prominent player in the pharmaceutical sector, has partnered with Kinaxis to leverage AI-powered supply chain management software, aiming to improve the transparency and efficiency of its operations. This collaboration will enable Servier to connect its supply chain comprehensively—from planning through to last-mile delivery—using Kinaxis' state-of-the-art cloud-based platform. This software solution serves as a centralized hub for data collection, supply chain coordination, and trend reporting to streamline processes and reduce time to market for its drug portfolio.

**Study Reveals AI Legal Tools' Hallucination Rate**

A recent investigation by Stanford University has uncovered concerning findings regarding AI-powered legal tools. The study, conducted by the RegLab and the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), found that these tools produced inaccurate information in one out of every six queries. Despite claims of being tailored legal solutions, tools from LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters demonstrated a troubling frequency of generating false or misleading results, raising questions about their reliability in critical legal contexts.

**DeepL Secures $300M, Valuation Climbs to $2B**

DeepL, a German startup specializing in AI-driven translation services, has raised $300 million in a recent funding round to enhance its ability to assist businesses in scaling their translation needs. Established in 2017, DeepL has developed an advanced Language AI platform that facilitates the rapid translation of diverse materials, including marketing content. The funding round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from ICONIQ Growth, Teachers' Venture Growth, and existing investors IVP, WiL, and Atomico, bringing DeepL's overall valuation to an impressive $2 billion.

These stories illustrate the rapid advancements and potential challenges in the landscape of artificial intelligence across various industries.