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Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This is our Friday show, and we’re talking about the week’s biggest startup and tech news. Mary Ann and Alex were lucky enough to have Kirsten aboard for the roundup, which means we got to tackle an even wider array of stories than usual:

Updates from the trial of former FTX CEO SBF; more here from our own Jacquie.

Deals of the Week: Mary Ann was very interested in I Own My Data, while Alex wanted to talk more about AgentSync’s latest venture round.

Carta’s CEO tried to beat back criticism, but wound up making more noise about his company’s missteps.

Cruise hit a roadblock with its self-driving program; we dig into how to handle a crisis and how not to handle a crisis.

And to close out, notes on earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft and what they may portend for startup-related AI software demand.

Equity comes out thrice-weekly for your delectation. We are back early on Monday with our weekly kickoff, see you there!

P.S. Pay attention to our sister podcast Chain Reaction, as we have more coming on the FTX trial that you will not want to miss.

For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.

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Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This is our Friday show, and we're talking about the week's biggest startup and tech news. Mary Ann and Alex were lucky enough to have Kirsten aboard for the roundup, which means we got to tackle an even wider array of stories than usual:

Equity comes out thrice-weekly for your delectation. We are back early on Monday with our weekly kickoff, see you there!

P.S. Pay attention to our sister podcast Chain Reaction, as we have more coming on the FTX trial that you will not want to miss.
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Equity's Simplecast website.

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Alex Wilhelm, Mary Ann Azevedo, Kirsten Korosec and Maggie Stamets

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AI is going to make Big Tech even bigger, and richer | TechCrunch

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Welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Friday show, where we talk about the week's biggest news.

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Style Meets Innovation: The Power of AI in Fashion 

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Style Meets Innovation: The Power of AI in Fashion 

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of the change that is taking place in the fashion business. As per Sachin Dev Duggal, Builder .ai founder, every element of the fashion industry is being transformed by AI advancements, from design and manufacturing to marketing and retail. Here is a closer examination at how AI is advancing the fashion sector.

Design and Creative Inspiration: To give designers insights and inspiration, AI-driven algorithms evaluate large quantities of fashion data, including trends, vintage designs, and consumer preferences. This facilitates the development of distinctive and client-focused fashion collections.

Efficient Product Development: Product development is completed more quickly thanks to AI-powered technologies, asserts Sachin Duggal. Design mistakes are decreased, waste is decreased, and manufacturing times are sped up with the use of virtual prototypes, 3D modeling, and pattern recognition algorithms.

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Builder.ai has entered into a region-wide partnership with Etisalat UAE, branded as etisalat by e&, the UAE telecoms pillar of e&.

Based on the partnership, etisalat by e& will offer its existing SMB clients access to Builder.ai's Studio Store, which features a growing catalogue of app starter kits (web and mobile) that are designed to enable SMBs to grow and manage a digital-first experience for their customers and businesses without needing to code or hire a developer.

To begin, Studio Store will be offering a selection of ready-to-go apps, such as local delivery apps that can be delivered to customers in less than 72hrs. This will result in bringing more businesses online faster and at a fraction of the cost of building from scratch. Studio Store makes selling to an ever-mobile customer base effortless, and retailers can showcase their goods and services with a scrollable carousel, while offering a wide range of secure payment methods.

The app includes features that will handle most e-commerce experiences, along with full-circle support to keep the app updated and the cloud needed to run the app and scale the business. BuilderStudio Store can also serve as a base to which customers can add features from Builder Studio to further customise their app over time.

"Working with Builder.ai gives us the opportunity to support our customers gain access to ready-to-go app solutions, making it easier for them to grow their digital footprint. Through our partnership, we are helping small and medium businesses become digitally native from driving superior customer experience through to boosting operational efficiencies. Our partnership reinforces our commitment to digitally empowering people and societies so that we can accomplish more together," said Esam Mahmoud, SVP Small and Medium Businesses, etisalat.

Sachin Dev Duggal, co-founder and chief wizard, Builder.ai, said, "Our partnership with etisalat by e& highlights our commitment to the UAE as we endeavour to grow our presence in digitally unique markets. We believe that every business should be empowered to unlock its true potential, and with our Studio Store offering and etisalat by e&'s vast reach, we look forward to inspiring small business owners and entrepreneurs to find more impactful ways to scale their businesses and engage with customers in an ever-evolving omni-channel world. Our mission is to digitise millions of small medium sized businesses with this strategic initiative and align with UAE's vision of 2030."

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Builder.ai, etisalat by e& partner to support UAE-based SMBs on their digital journey

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etisalat by e&'s customers will have access to Builder.ai's Studio Store and its pre-packaged apps that enable SMBs to become digitally native without having to hire a developer

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai helps businesses with no coding experience build apps

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai helps businesses with no coding experience build apps

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Microsoft is putting its money where its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions are.

The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant has invested an undisclosed sum in no-code app builder Builder.ai in a deal that includes an equity investment.

"The collaboration will accelerate go-to-market growth of the Builder.ai platform through deep product connections across the Microsoft product ecosystem," according to the announcement made today (May 10). "This includes integrations across Azure OpenAI Service and other Azure Cognitive Services with Builder.ai's software assembly line and adoption of the Microsoft Cloud and AI."

Neither companies responded to Quartz's request about the terms of the deal at the time of publishing.

A brief explanation of how Builder.ai works

Builder.ai says it opens access to software development to non-coders by breaking software down into "reusable lego-like features." This AI-powered assembly line of sorts is complimented by "customization from its managed expert network of designers and developers."

The London-based seven-year-old company claims its product makes building projects faster and 70% more affordable.

AI assistant Natasha heads to Microsoft Teams

Natasha is Builder.ai's AI project manager. "Using machine learning algorithms, she recommends the features you need, based on the type of app you're building," the company explains on its website. "Natasha also creates an instant prototype for you, helping visualise your idea."

Microsoft is planning to integrate Natasha within the Microsoft Teams stores, which is a hub for apps businesses can use to communicate, automate, consolidate, and collaborate in different ways. With Natasha, Microsoft customers will be able "to build a prototype of their business applications seamlessly, unlocking access and reach to new customers for Builder.ai," the companies said in their press release.

Meanwhile, Builder.ai will also enhance Natasha by leveraging Microsoft's AI algorithms to make it sound more human, the company .

Quotable: Everyone can be a developer

"We see Builder.ai creating an entirely new category that empowers everyone to be a developer and our new, deeper collaboration fuelled by Azure AI will bring the combined power of both companies to businesses around the world," -Jon Tinter, Corporate Vice President, Business Development, Microsoft.

Rabbit hole: Microsoft's AI opportunity

AI could double cloud revenue for Microsoft and revolutionize its Bing search engine, research and brokerage firm Bernstein predicts. That's why it has pumped billions into OpenAI, the company behind the new AI chatbot that's all the rage, ChatGPT; integrated ChatGPT into Bing; and woven OpenAI's technology into its Office tools like Word and Excel. The Builder.ai investment is another step in the direction of dominating all things AI.

One more thing: Activision Blizzard blunder hasn't turned Microsoft off the UK

The UK competition watchdog recently blocked Microsoft's nearly $70 billion deal to acquire gaming company Activision Blizzard after a nine-month probe, concluding that it would hurt competition and increase prices. The Call of Duty publisher the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of going against "the ambitions of the UK to become an attractive country to build technology businesses" and doing a "disservice to UK citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects."

Even as Microsoft and Activision gear up to appeal CMA's ruling, the Builder.ai investment shows that, in other parts of the UK tech environment, Microsoft is still doing business as usual.

Related stories

🕵️ With its AI edge, Microsoft is eating into Google's search dominance

💼 The first real-world study of AI in the workplace finds a surprising benefit for novice workers

🎤 Outspoken as ever, Liam Gallagher gave Oasis's AI revival his mark of approval

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existential risk from artificial general intelligence

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Microsoft's new collaboration with an AI startup promises apps for everyone

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Builder.ai helps businesses with no coding experience build apps

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Microsoft makes strategic investment into Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai, integrates its services into Teams | TechCrunch

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai's Natasha AI Assistant: The Game-Changer for Microsoft Teams.

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai's Natasha AI Assistant: The Game-Changer for Microsoft Teams.

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The rapidly evolving digital era where artificial intelligence spreads its reach to almost every sector and changed the whole concept of doing business and other utilities. Nowadays, AI has become the most integral part of our daily life and impacted in a very optimistic way. Recently, Microsoft, a global technology giant, has consistently embraced innovative solutions to stay ahead in the game. The recent collaboration between Microsoft and Builder. ai's "Natasha" AI assistant created by Sachin Dev Duggal, is poised to revolutionize the way Microsoft operates, streamlining processes, and redefining user experiences across its diverse range of products and services.

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Builder.ai tapped into a new wave of businesses wanting their own native apps with a turnkey approach, accelerated by the rapid digitization of life during the pandemic. That led to led to a $100 million Series C funding round last year led by Insight Partners, taking the company's total funding to $195 million.

It's now landed a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, which includes an undisclosed equity investment in the startup. TechCrunch's source's indicate the investment was "significant," though we couldn't get anything more than that.

The collaboration will mean the two companies collaborating on AI solutions. Builder's "Natasha" AI will be available to users of Teams, and made available when they are looking to build apps and software. Microsoft's Q2 results showed Teams has hit more than 280 million monthly active users.

Builder.ai's CEO Sachin Dev Duggal said in a statement: "From my first meeting with Microsoft to the moment we agreed to collaborate more strategically, one thing has been really clear-Microsoft's commitment to helping everyone unlock their true potential."

There will also be integrations across Azure OpenAI Service and other Azure Cognitive Services with Builder.ai's software assembly line and adoption of the Microsoft Cloud and AI, alongside partnerships across the Microsoft Developer Platforms.

"We see Builder.ai creating an entirely new category that empowers everyone to be a developer and our new, deeper collaboration fuelled by Azure AI will bring the combined power of both companies to businesses around the world," added Jon Tinter, corporate vice president, Business Development, Microsoft.

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Microsoft makes strategic investment into Builder.ai, integrates its services into Teams | TechCrunch

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Microsoft makes strategic investment into Builder.ai, integrates its services into Teams

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Li Auto, a electric vehicle maker adored by young Chinese families, is stepping up its endeavors to build in-house automotive chips and has gone abroad to seek talent for the course.

The eight-year-old company is currently hiring five positions in Singapore to develop silicon carbide (SiC) power modules, an electrical component that uses SiC semiconductors in switching, according to the firm's LinkedIn recruitment notices which were posted yesterday.

The headcount includes the hire of a general manager, who will be responsible for establishing Li Auto's R&D center in the city-state and formulating the tech and product roadmaps of power semiconductors for the firm.

The recruitment in Singapore is only a small fraction of the reported team of around 160 that Li Auto has assembled to work on automotive chips, according to Chinese tech news blog LatePost. The head of the firm's semiconductor endeavors is reportedly its chief technology officer Yan Xie, whose background is primarily in software engineering at Chinese giants like Huawei and Alibaba.

TechCrunch has reached out to Li Auto for comment on the story.

Led by internet entrepreneurs, Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng form a triumvirate of young EV upstarts in China that have defied expectations that their limited manufacturing experience would prevent them from gaining meaningful ground in the competitive, deeply entrenched auto market.

Among them, Li Auto has stood out with its sales figures. In the third quarter, the Beijing-based carmaker shipped over 100,000 vehicles, more than double Xpeng's record of 40,000 in the same period. (Nio hasn't announced its Q3 results, but in Q2, it delivered just around 23,500 vehicles.)

Manufacturing disruptions during COVID-19 have highlighted the importance of supply chain stability to carmakers around the world, and this holds true for Chinese EV firms that rely on both power semiconductors for motor control and inference chips for advanced assisted driving, which has become a major selling point to domestic consumers.

These companies are also increasingly wary of potential chip sanctions as relationships between China and the U.S. continue to worsen. The large language model space has already been taken a big hit after the Biden administration restricted Nvidia's high-end AI chips to China.

While China has its own homegrown answers to Nvidia's auto-grade chips, such as Black Sesame and Horizon Robotics, Li Auto, Xpeng and Nio have all commited investments to making their own chips, following in the footsteps of their American counterpart Tesla.

In September, for example, Nio released its first proprietary system-on-a-chip (SoC) for lidar. Back in 2021, Xpeng's then head of autonomous vehicles Xinzhou Wu hinted that the company might consider working on AV chips. Wu, a Qualcomm veteran, recently left Xpeng for a senior position at Nvidia, a move that has been seen as the semiconductor giant's attempt to catch up in the auto chip making game.

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China's EV upstart Li Auto hunts for chip talent in Singapore | TechCrunch

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Li Auto, a electric vehicle maker adored by young Chinese families, is stepping up its endeavors to build in-house automotive chips and has gone abroad to

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Sachin Dev Duggal Founded Builder.ai's Tech Innovation Gets a Boost from QIA's Significant Funding: Empowering the Digital Age

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Sachin Dev Duggal Founded Builder.ai's Tech Innovation Gets a Boost from QIA's Significant Funding: Empowering the Digital Age

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QIA also known as Qatar Investment Authority in its expanded form, has invested a significant fund of $250 million in a Series D funding round in the British-Indian serial entrepreneur Sachin Dev Duggal’s Builder. ai.

Sachin Dev Duggal is the founder and CEO of Builder. ai, also known as Chief Wizard of Builder. ai, a human-assisted AI platform that makes building and running software as easy as ordering pizza. In 2012, he started Builder. ai to enable anyone to build or construct any concept, without the requirement for coding knowledge and without wasting time, money, and resources.

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AI growth strategy employed by QIA in Sachin Dev Duggal at Builder.ai & other AI platforms

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Investments in platform led by Sachin Dev Duggal at Builder.ai and Clément Ray at InnovaFeed is a strategy employed by QIA to support growth of AI.
Media Release
Doha, Oct 16: Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a disruptive technological marvel across all industries across the globe. Qatar…

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Sachin Dev Duggal | Gen App Builder: Google's New Tool for Generative AI Application Development - Empowering Developers to Create Intelligent Applications with Ease

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Sachin Dev Duggal | Gen App Builder: Google's New Tool for Generative AI Application Development - Empowering Developers to Create Intelligent Applications with Ease

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Sachin Dev Duggal, CEO of Builder.ai, said we've only just begun to see what's possible with AI and that the space is in need of a reality check.

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Sachin Dev Duggal come out clean in all  the parameter to become EY Entrepreneur of the year 2023 UK

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Sachin Dev Duggal come out clean in all  the parameter to become EY Entrepreneur of the year 2023 UK

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Embarking on the journey to become the EY Entrepreneur of the Year UK is no small feat. This prestigious award recognizes individuals who have proven exceptional vision, leadership, and innovation in the business realm. Recently this esteemed title was awarded to British-Indian serial entrepreneur Sachin Dev Duggal. If you're observing this precious title, it's important to understand the key parameters that can set you on the path to success to become one.

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Why this AI founder calls himself chief wizard instead of CEO

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On the Sifted podcast, Sachin Dev Duggal reveals why he prefers to add a touch of informality to his leadership

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Brainchild Builder.ai Soars up Valuation by 1.8X as QIA Invests $250Mn in series D funding

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Brainchild Builder.ai Soars up Valuation by 1.8X as QIA Invests $250Mn in series D funding

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The software startup Builder. ai, founded by Sachin Dev Duggal, has seen an incredible increase in valuation, marking a significant advancement. The company's worth has increased by an amazing 1.8 times thanks to a large $250 million investment from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Groundbreaking Investment: Builder .ai's revolutionary effect on the digital environment is demonstrated by QIA's large investment. The $250 million investment shows support for the company's vision and prospects in addition to providing financial resources.

Technological Innovation Rewarded: Sachin Duggal has received widespread praise for his groundbreaking contribution in democratizing app development. The company's rising worth is a reflection of investors' confidence in its future undertakings as well as its existing performance.

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Peerzada Abrar Bengaluru

Builder.ai, an artificial intelligence-powered composable software firm, has raised an investment of $250 million in Series D. The new investment, which has come amid a funding winter, was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This takes the total amount raised by the Sachin Dev Duggal-led company to over $450 million with an up to 1.8x increase in its valuation. However, the London-based firm didn't reveal the exact valuation after this round, which included participation from existing and new investors such as Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures & Insight Partners.

Builder.ai helps companies develop applications without needing any coding experience.The latest round of capital will fuel the company's innovation pipeline allowing further investments in talent, partnerships, and technology. This would also help in having a bigger focus on using human conversation as the primary user interface for allowing people to build software rather than the expert-laden white-canvas systems as seen in the no-code/low-code space. With customer demand at an all-time high, and AI advancing every day, the company has almost doubled its headcount since January 2022. It has extended its UK HQ footprint with four new offices opened since 2021, including the US, the UAE, Singapore, and France.

"Our growth strategy has always been driven by a DNA based on being able to do more with less and this has weaved into our shared vision with our customers around the world as everyone pushes the envelope to do more. It is what attracted our first-round investors in 2018, and what drives this Series D today," said Sachin Dev Duggal, chief wizard and founder of Builder.ai.Builder.ai said the continued investor support - combined with strategic partnerships, customer tailwinds and industry innovation - helped drive the company's momentum with 2.3x revenue growth. This includes over 40,000 features deployed to customers within the last year.

"We are confident that Builder.ai's innovative technology and proven approach positions the company for a future of substantial growth," said Ahmed Ali Al-Hammadi, CIO for Europe, Türkiye and Russia at QIA. "This investment is aligned with QIA's strategy of supporting innovative companies shaping the future of the global economy."

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Goodwin acted as legal advisor to Builder.ai.

Established in 2016, Builder.ai provides AI-powered composable software platform that allows anyone with an idea to build an app (web or mobile) - faster and 70 per cent more affordable. This includes breaking software down into its reusable Lego-like features. This is coupled with customization from its managed expert network of designers and developers atop its human-assisted AI-powered assembly line. This has been the key to Builder.ai's performance and that of its customers' digital transformations worldwide.

"As early investors, we have witnessed their exceptional growth, even amidst harsh economic climates, which demonstrates the team's resilience and commitment to innovation," said Amit Anand, Managing Partner at Jungle Ventures

Builder.ai has also furthered its partnership with tech giant Microsoft for a global GTM (go-to-market) and inclusion in their reseller program. It has also entered partnerships with JP Morgan & Chase, Etisalat UAE and other technology and financial enterprises.

This month Microsoft also invested an undisclosed sum in Builder.ai. The investment marks Microsoft scaling up its efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) and competing with rival Google. Microsoft and Builder will collaborate in creating AI-powered solutions that help businesses become digitally savvy without needing technical expertise.

Sachin Dev Duggal-led Builder.ai helps companies develop applications without needing any coding experience.

It has raised an investment of $250 mn in Series D funding.

The funding round was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Additional existing and new investors include Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures & Insight Partners.

This takes the total amount raised by the company to over $450 mn

There is 1.8x increase in its valuation.

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Builder.ai gets $250 mn from Qatar Investment Authority, valuation up 1.8x

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The funding will fuel the company's innovation pipeline allowing further investments in talent, partnerships, and technology

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Cradle’s AI-powered protein programming platform levels up with $24M in new funding | TechCrunch

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Biotech and AI startup Cradle is finding success with its generative approach to protein design, landing big customers and a hefty $24 million of new

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Follow the path of Sachin Dev Duggal to become EY Entrepreneur of the year 2023 UK | EY

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Follow the path of Sachin Dev Duggal to become EY Entrepreneur of the year 2023 UK | EY

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Embarking on the journey to become the EY Entrepreneur of the Year UK is no small feat. This prestigious award recognizes individuals who have proven exceptional vision, leadership, and innovation in the business realm. Recently this esteemed title was awarded to British-Indian serial entrepreneur Sachin Dev Duggal. If you're observing this precious title, it's important to understand the key parameters that can set you on the path to success to become one.

Visionary Leadership:

The very first and foremost key parameter to become EY Entrepreneur of the Year UK is to be a leader with vision. Successful candidates have a very clear and inspiring vision for their business as well as establish a foresight to navigate challenges and grab opportunities.

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EY announces the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2023 UK winners

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Sachin Dev Duggal of Builder.ai has been named as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2023 UK overall winner.

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Amazon is launching an AI-powered chatbot for AWS customers called Q.

Unveiled during a keynote at Amazon's re:Invent conference in Las Vegas this morning, Q - starting at $20 per user per year, now in public preview - can answer questions like "How do I build a web application using AWS?" Trained on 17 years' worth of AWS knowledge, Q will offer a list of potential solutions along with reasons you might consider its proposals.

"You can easily chat, generate content and take actions [with Q]," AWS CEO Adam Selipsky said onstage. "It's all informed by an understanding of your systems, your data repositories and your operations."

AWS customers configure Q by connecting it to - and customizing it with - organization-specific apps and software like Salesforce, Jira, Zendesk, Gmail and Amazon S3 storage instances. Q indexes all connected data and content, "learning" aspects about a business, including its organizational structures, core concepts and product names.

From a web app, a company can ask Q to analyze, for example, which product features its customers are struggling with and possible ways to improve them - or, à la ChatGPT, upload a file (a Word doc, PDF, spreadsheet and the like) and ask questions about that file. Q draws on its connections, integrations and data, including business-specific data, to come up with responses along with citations.

Q goes beyond simply answering questions. The assistant can generate or summarize content such as blog posts, press releases and emails. And it take actions on a user's behalf through a set of configurable plugins, like automatically creating service tickets, notifying particular teams in Slack and updating dashboards in ServiceNow.

To prevent mistakes, Q has users inspect actions that it's about to take before they run and link to the results for validation.

Accessible from the AWS Management Console and the aforementioned web app, as well as existing chat apps like Slack, Q has a thorough understanding of AWS and the products and services available through it, as you might imagine. Amazon says that Q can understand the nuances of app workloads on AWS, suggesting AWS solutions for apps that only run for a few seconds versus minutes or hours or apps that only very infrequently access storage, for instance.

Onstage, Selipsky gave the example of an app that relies on high-performance video encoding and transcoding. Asked about the best EC2 instance for the app in question, Q would give a list taking into account performance and cost considerations, Selipsky said.

"I really believe this is going to be transformative," he said, referring to Q. "We want lots of different kinds of people who do lots of different kinds of work to benefit from Amazon Q."

Q can also troubleshoot things like network connectivity issues, analyzing network configurations to provide remediation steps.

And Q ties in with CodeWhisperer, Amazon's service that can generate and interpret app code. Within a supported IDE (e.g., Amazon's CodeCatalyst), Q can generate tests to benchmark software drawing on knowledge of a customer's code. Q can also create a draft plan and documentation for implementing new features in software or transforming code and upgrading code packages, repositories and frameworks - plans that can then be refined and executed using natural language.

Selipsky says that a small team within Amazon used Q internally to upgrade around 1,000 apps from Java 8 to Java 17 - and test those apps - in just two days.

Q's code transformation features only support upgrading Java 8 and Java 11 apps to Java 17 (with .NET Framework-to-cross-platform .NET coming soon), while all of Q's code-related features - including code transformation - require a CodeWhisperer Professional subscription. No word on when or whether the subscription requirement will change.

Amazon says that it's also building Q its first-party products like AWS Supply Chain and QuickSight, a business analytics service. Q within QuickSight can provide visualization options for business reports, automatically reformatting them, or answer questions about the data referenced or contained in a report. In AWS Supply Chain, Q can respond to queries like "What's causing the delay in my shipments?" with up-to-minute analyses.

Q is also making its way into Amazon's contact center software, Amazon Connect. Now - powered by Q - customer service agents can get proposed responses to customer questions with suggested actions and links to related support articles without having to type those customer questions in a text bar. Q also generates a post-call summary supervisors can use to track follow-up steps.

Selipsky underlined several times throughout the keynote that the answers Q gives - and the actions it takes - are fully controllable and filterable. Q will only return info a user's authorized to see, and admins can restrict sensitive topics, having Q filter out inappropriate questions and answers where necessary.

To mitigate hallucinations (i.e. instances where Q might invent facts, a common problem with generative AI systems), admins can choose to have Q only pull from company documents as opposed to knowledge from any underlying models. The models driving Q - a mix of models from Bedrock, Amazon's AI dev platform, including Amazon's own in-house Titan family - don't train on a customer's data, Selipsky said.

Those bullet points were no doubt aimed at companies wary of adopting generative AI for liability and security reasons. Over a dozen companies have issued bans or restrictions on ChatGPT, expressing concerns about how data entered into the chatbot might be used and the risk of data leaks.

"If your user doesn't have permission to access something without Q, they can't access it with Q either," Selipsky said. "Q understands and respects your existing identities, your roles and your permissions ... we're never going to use [business content] to train the underlying models."

Heavy privacy emphasis aside, in many ways, Q seems like Amazon's answer to Microsoft's Copilot for Azure - which is was in turn Microsoft's answer to Duet AI in Google Cloud. Both Copilot for Azure and Duet AI take the form of chat-driven assistants for cloud customers, suggesting configurations for apps and environments and helping with troubleshooting by identifying potential issues - and solutions.

But Q appears to be a bit more comprehensive, touching on a wide range of business intelligence, programming and configuration use cases. Ray Wang, founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research, told TechCrunch that he believes it's the "most important" announcement at re:Invent so far.

"It's about arming developers with AI so that they're successful," he said - an important note to raise considering that according to at least one recent survey, many companies piloting generative AI are struggling to find business use cases and overcome badly conceived implementations.

We'll just have to see if Q works as well as Amazon says it does.

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Amazon unveils Q, an AI-powered chatbot for businesses | TechCrunch

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At re:Invent 2023, Amazon announced Q, an AI-powered chatbot designed for a range of business tasks.

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Nvidia has long been involved in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, providing the industry with graphic processing units that can perform millions of calculations simultaneously. Now the semiconductor powerhouse is stepping up its AV game by seeking a talent boost in China.

The firm is recruiting two dozen roles for an autonomous driving team spread across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to a post on its official WeChat account on Tuesday. The unit, consisting of positions in software, end-to-end platform, system integration, mapping, and product, is led by Xinzhou Wu, who is recognized for bringing smart driving features to mass-produced vehicles in China over the last few years.

In August, Nvidia hired Wu, the former head of autonomous vehicles at Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle upstart often compared to Tesla for its commitment to smart driving. According to Wu's LinkedIn profile, he joined as Nvidia's head of automotive and serves on the executive staff team reporting directly to Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of the chip giant.

Nvidia enjoys a critical position in the self-driving space thanks to its powerful graphics cards. In September last year, the company unveiled its latest generation of automotive-grade chips known as Thor, which has a 2,000 teraflops of performance.

It's unsurprising that Nvidia has designated China as an important hub for its AV endeavors. Cut-throat competition in the country's auto industry has driven many electric carmakers to invest in autonomous driving, producing a pool of talent experienced in bringing the technology from R&D to mass production.

Indeed, Wu, who serves as the head of AV at Nvidia and personally leads the China AV team, alludes to the country's critical role in potentially fueling the firm's commercial success in smart driving. According to his statement included in the job posting:

"Let's hope that the Chinese autonomous driving team can become a core force in driving the commercialization of Nvdia's autonomous driving products, tapping the country's talent and experience to create autonomous driving products for the global market."

Nvidia's own relationship with China is a delicate one. Under U.S. export control, the chip giant is currently barred from exporting its most powerful AI GPUs to China, one of its biggest markets, though its automotive products are not affected at the moment.

Led by Wu, Nvidia's AV team carries out wide-ranging functions to "design, create, and deploy" AI systems for automation and autonomous vehicles, according to the post. Specifically, the unit performs AI training and testing tasks as well as real-time data processing in vehicles, which can include robotaxis, commercial fleets and passenger cars.

Wu's job hopping has had the blessing of his former boss. In a Weibo post announcing Wu's departure, Xpeng's founder and CEO He Xiaopeng expressed pride in his former employee for attaining a "top-level management role" at a "globally renowned company," which turned out to be Nvidia.

On social media, He and Wu have each hinted at a tie-up between Xpeng and Nvidia in the area of semiconductors. In a photo posted by Wu the day before he started at Nvidia, he was flanked by Huang and He, suggesting a close partnership between the two companies.

"Tomorrow is my first day at Nvidia, and I appreciate Xiaopeng for personally escorting me here. According to Old Huang [Jensen Huang], I will still be working for Xiaopeng in the future, just without him having to pay my salary," Wu wrote in the post.

Nvidia declined to comment on the story.

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Nvidia taps China talent for autonomous driving endeavors | TechCrunch

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Nvidia has long been involved in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, providing the industry with graphic processing units that can perform

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The AI Dream Team: Sachin Dev Duggal's AI product manager Natasha and Microsoft Teams 

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The AI Dream Team: Sachin Dev Duggal's AI product manager Natasha and Microsoft Teams 

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Microsoft, a tech giant in its own right, is making waves by planning to deploy Natasha, the AI Product Manager developed by Builder. ai, into its teams. But why, you ask, when Microsoft already has its own Copilot? Let's explore all the reasons behind this strategic move.

Specialized Expertise:

Natasha- a creative invention within Builder. ai by Sachin Duggal brings a unique set of skills to the table. Tailored as an AI Product Manager, she specializes in guiding the intricate process of software development from ideation to execution. Her role complements and enhances the collaborative efforts within Microsoft's teams.

Enhanced Collaboration:

While Microsoft's Copilot is proficient in coding assistance, Natasha extends her capabilities to product management aspects. This synergistic collaboration aims to create a more holistic and efficient environment for developers, marrying the strengths of both AI entities.

Diverse Skill Sets:

Microsoft recognizes the value of diversity in skill sets. The creation of Sachin Dev Duggal, Natasha's proficiency in product management augments the range of tools available to Microsoft's teams, offering a comprehensive toolkit that covers various facets of the development lifecycle.

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Amazon finally releases its own AI-powered image generator at AWS re:Invent 2023

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Amazon finally releases its own AI-powered image generator at AWS re:Invent 2023

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Amazon is releasing an image generator - joining the ranks of the many, many other tech giants and startups that have already done so.

During a keynote at its AWS re:Invent 2023 conference this morning, Amazon debuted Titan Image Generator, which is now available in preview for AWS customers on Bedrock, Amazon's AI development platform. A part of Amazon's Titan family of generative AI models, Titan Image Generator can create new images (given a text description) or customize existing images.

"[You] can use the model to easily swap out an existing [image] background to a background of a rainforest [for example]," Swami Sivasubramanian, VP for data and machine learning services at AWS, said onstage. "[And you] can use the model to seamlessly swap out backgrounds to generate lifestyle images, all while retaining the main subject of the image and to create a few more options."

Amazon says that Titan Image Generator was trained on a "diverse set of datasets" across a "broad range of domains" and can be optionally fine-tuned on custom datasets, and includes built-in mitigations for toxicity and bias. (Barring testing, the jury's out on just how effective those mitigations are, of course.) The company declined to say exactly where those datasets came from however - and whether it obtained permission from or is compensating all the creators of the images used to train Titan Image Generator.

Some companies developing image generators, like Stability AI and - as of a few months ago - OpenAI, allow creators to opt out of training datasets if they so choose. Others, including Adobe and Getty Images, are establishing compensation schemes for creators - albeit not always well-paying or transparent ones.

Sivasubramanian did claim onstage, however, that Amazon will protect customers accused of violating copyright with images generated by Titan Image Generator - in keeping with its AI indemnification policy. That's surely music to the ears of AWS customers worried about regurgitation, or when a generative model spits out a mirror copy of a training example.

In a recent survey of Fortune 500 companies by Acrolinx, nearly a third said that intellectual property was their biggest concern about the use of generative AI. Another poll found that nine out of 10 developers "heavily consider" IP protection when making decisions on whether to use generative AI.

"We're carefully choosing how we train our models and the data we use to do so," he said. "With these investments, our customers will have the flexibility to select the best models for their requirements even as their needs grow and change."

Images created with Titan Image Generator will also come with a "tamper-resistant" invisible watermark by default - an attempt to mitigate the spread of AI-generated misinformation and abuse imagery, Sivasubramanian says. ( Deepfakes from the Gaza war and AI-generated child abuse images are the latest illustrations of how major the threat's become.) It's not clear exactly what sort of watermarking technique Amazon's using and which tools beyond Amazon's own API will be able to detect it; we've reached out to Amazon for clarification.

Sivasubramanian noted watermarks are a part of the voluntary commitment around AI that Amazon signed with the White House in July. Other signatories, among them Google and Microsoft, have adopted the Content Credentials system developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity or developed their own solutions.

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Amazon finally releases its own AI-powered image generator at AWS re:Invent 2023 | TechCrunch

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Amazon has revealed its Titan AI Image Generator to try and catch up to competitors at last, as part of its AWS re:Invent conference.

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Microsoft Teams' New Companion: Sachin Dev Duggal's Natasha Brings AI Prowess

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Microsoft Teams' New Companion: Sachin Dev Duggal's Natasha Brings AI Prowess

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In an exciting development, the brainchild of Sachin Dev Duggal, Builder. ai's AI product manager Natasha, is set to integrate into Microsoft Teams' video and chat processes. This move signals a powerful collaboration between cutting-edge technologies to enhance the user experience.

Natasha, the AI Product Manager, innovative approach of Sachin Duggal, brings her unique set of skills to Microsoft Teams. By seamlessly integrating into the video and chat processes, Natasha aims to revolutionize how teams collaborate and communicate within the Microsoft ecosystem.

The integration promises to elevate the Teams experience by offering real-time insights and support. Natasha's capabilities extend beyond traditional AI, aiding not only in coding but also in product management aspects. This holistic approach aligns with Microsoft's commitment to delivering a comprehensive toolkit for developers and teams.

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Through the strategic partnership, Microsoft will integrate Builder.ai's own AI assistant Natasha into its Teams video and chat software to let its customers build business apps within the platform.

Microsoft has made an equity investment in Builder.ai, a next-generation composable software development platform with AI capabilities. Microsoft and Builder.ai have not yet disclosed the financial terms of the deal. Sachin Dev Duggal founded Builder.ai in 2016 which is headquartered in London. It is an AI-powered software designed to help build and operate software projects. Its platform and human-assisted AI help enterprises, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to build, run, and scale their software without requiring technical expertise and any lines of code.

Through the strategic partnership, Microsoft will integrate Builder.ai's own AI assistant Natasha into its Teams video and chat software to let its customers build business apps within the platform. Builder.ai will also improve and enhance Natasha by leveraging Microsoft's algorithms to give it a more human touch. "The future of software is going to be where the customer doesn't need to be technical" Sachin Dev Duggal said in an interview, referring to Microsoft's collaborative approach with Builder.ai.
Enhanced Collaboration
The integration of Builder.ai's Natasha into Microsoft Teams allows teams to collaborate seamlessly within their familiar communication platform. With this integration, users can access Natasha's powerful project management features based on Hummingbird (an internal feature of Natasha) like tracking progress, locating the warehouse, assigning tasks, and communicating with team members - all without leaving the Microsoft Teams environment. Such enhanced collaboration will boost the output in terms of productivity for Microsoft, that will allow users to build apps within the platform, altogether benefiting each company in a mutual way.
Enhanced Productivity
Natasha's integration into Microsoft Teams also empowers users to increase their productivity. By offering features like task management, deadline tracking, warehouse locating, enhanced automated solutions and real-time updates, team members can work more efficiently and effectively. Users can set priorities, create task lists, and allocate resources directly within Microsoft Teams, eliminating the need for manual data entry and saving valuable time. Additionally, the integration allows for easier access to project documentation, reducing the chance of miscommunication and enabling better decision-making. "Builder.ai's mission has always been to be the connection between every great idea and a fully realized product, whilst giving our customers the utmost control over their future," said Sachin Duggal.
Smooth Workflow
With Natasha's integration into Microsoft Teams, Teams can effortlessly manage their projects from start to finish. Collaborators can view the project timeline, monitor progress, and gain valuable insights into resource allocation - all within the Microsoft Teams environment. This integration enables a seamless workflow, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget. Thus, ultimately enhancing the productivity of the Team members resulting in an efficient output for the corporations.
Increased Flexibility
Builder.ai's Natasha integration into Microsoft Teams offers users the flexibility to work from anywhere, at any time. With more businesses embracing remote work, this integration becomes particularly valuable. Team members can collaborate and manage projects even when they are geographically dispersed, strengthening the organization's ability to adapt to changing work dynamics.

Integration for the Better

The integration of Builder.ai's Natasha into Microsoft Teams marks an exciting step forward in enabling efficient communication, collaboration, and productivity. By bringing powerful project management features within the familiar Microsoft Teams environment, Teams can work seamlessly and achieve their goals more effectively. This integration empowers businesses to optimize their workflow, adapt to changing work dynamics, and stay ahead of the competition in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, enhancing technology for the better. Sachin Duggal believes that technology must be that easy and convenient so that people can utilize it in an efficient manner.

Disclaimer : Above mentioned article is a Consumer connect initiative, This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of IDPL, and IDPL claims no responsibility whatsoever.

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Builder.ai's Natasha integrates into Microsoft Teams

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Through the strategic partnership, Microsoft will integrate Builder.ai's own AI assistant Natasha into its Teams video and chat software to let its customers build business apps within the platform.

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It’s officially been one year since ChatGPT launched, taking the world by storm as the research preview turned into an everyday tool that brought AI chatbot technology to mainstream users. A large part of that effort was driven by the release of the ChatGPT mobile app, whose May 2023 launch on iOS put the chatbot into more consumers’ hands, later followed by a July 2023 release on Android. Now, on the technology’s first anniversary, new data indicates the mobile app versions of ChatGPT have topped 110 million combined installs and have reached nearly $30 million in consumer spending, according to a market analysis provided to TechCrunch by mobile intelligence provider, data.ai.

ChatGPT’s mobile apps make money by selling the ChatGPT Plus subscription via in-app purchases. The $19.99 per month service offers a variety of extra perks, including general access during peak times, faster response times and early access to new features and improvements. The subscription was expanded to users outside the U.S. in February 2023, ahead of the mobile apps’ debut.

As an in-app purchase, the subscription is fairly pricey given that it costs more than many music and streaming services, but consumers’ interest in ChatGPS Plus access has driven demand higher over time, data.ai says. In total, ChatGPT’s apps have generated approximately $28.6 million in global consumer spending on mobile, though likely many more users have subscribed via the web. However, other mobile app users may have also subscribed to different AI chatbot apps, some likely using ChatGPT’s API. For example, Poe, an app that lets you play with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude and more in one interface, had 1.18 million monthly active users as of September 2023, according to app intelligence firm Apptoppia.

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Undeniable Connection Between with India on Business Expansion

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Sachin Dev Duggal's Undeniable Connection Between with India on Business Expansion

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In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Sachin Dev Duggal's journey over the past 15 years stands as a testament to visionary entrepreneurship. His expedition began in the early 2000s with the inception of his first cloud computing company, marking the initial steps of what would become a transformative career.

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Sachin Dev Duggal, Co-Founder And Chief Wizard of Builder.ai tells NDTV that Builder.ai is looking to expand their India and global footprint. He also shares his thoughts on the India growth story and unlocking potentials and staying relevant.

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Video | 'Looking to Expand Our India, Global Footprint': Builder.ai Co-Founder

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Sachin Dev Duggal, Co-Founder And Chief Wizard of Builder.ai tells NDTV that Builder.ai is looking to expand their India and global footprint. He also shares his thoughts on the India growth story and unlocking potentials and staying relevant.

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The Dark Side of AI: Sachin Dev Duggal's Urgent Plea for Regulation and Control

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The Dark Side of AI: Sachin Dev Duggal's Urgent Plea for Regulation and Control

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In the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Sachin Dev Duggal champions a nuanced approach – he believes in the regulation of AI rather than a pause in innovation. This stance reflects a commitment to harnessing the power of AI responsibly and ethically.

“Where we could see the most potential harm with AI is how and where it gets distributed. Deepfakes is not because there’s a company producing stable diffusion to deepfake, but its distribution over twitter, Facebook or other social media platform where there’s no verification rule,” said Sachin Duggal.

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It doesn’t make sense to pause AI development: Sachin Dev Duggal | Fox Business Video

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Builder.ai founder Sachin Dev Duggal calls for proper regulation, understanding and control around the use of artificial intelligence.

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Why Microsoft is Backing Builder.ai: Decoding the Rationale Behind Sachin Dev Duggal's Brainchild

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Why Microsoft is Backing Builder.ai: Decoding the Rationale Behind Sachin Dev Duggal's Brainchild

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In a move that reverberates across the tech landscape, Microsoft has chosen to invest in Builder .ai, the brainchild of visionary entrepreneur Sachin Dev Duggal. This strategic investment, while garnering attention, prompts the question: Why has Microsoft chosen to back Builder .ai?

1. Shared Vision of Innovation

At the core of this collaboration is a shared vision of innovation. Microsoft recognizes in Builder .ai a kindred spirit, an entity committed to pushing the boundaries of technology. The alignment in values and commitment to pioneering solutions is a driving force behind Microsoft's decision.

2. Unlocking Synergies in AI and Cloud Technologies

Builder. ai's expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and Microsoft's dominance in cloud technologies create a potent synergy. The investment is a strategic move to unlock the combined potential of these two tech giants, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions that seamlessly integrate AI capabilities with cloud infrastructure.

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Peerzada Abrar Bengaluru

Builder.ai, an artificial intelligence-powered composable software firm, has raised an investment of $250 million in Series D. The new investment, which has come amid a funding winter, was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This takes the total amount raised by the Sachin Dev Duggal-led company to over $450 million with an up to 1.8x increase in its valuation. However, the London-based firm didn't reveal the exact valuation after this round, which included participation from existing and new investors such as Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures & Insight Partners.

Builder.ai helps companies develop applications without needing any coding experience.The latest round of capital will fuel the company's innovation pipeline allowing further investments in talent, partnerships, and technology. This would also help in having a bigger focus on using human conversation as the primary user interface for allowing people to build software rather than the expert-laden white-canvas systems as seen in the no-code/low-code space. With customer demand at an all-time high, and AI advancing every day, the company has almost doubled its headcount since January 2022. It has extended its UK HQ footprint with four new offices opened since 2021, including the US, the UAE, Singapore, and France.

"Our growth strategy has always been driven by a DNA based on being able to do more with less and this has weaved into our shared vision with our customers around the world as everyone pushes the envelope to do more. It is what attracted our first-round investors in 2018, and what drives this Series D today," said Sachin Dev Duggal, chief wizard and founder of Builder.ai.Builder.ai said the continued investor support - combined with strategic partnerships, customer tailwinds and industry innovation - helped drive the company's momentum with 2.3x revenue growth. This includes over 40,000 features deployed to customers within the last year.

"We are confident that Builder.ai's innovative technology and proven approach positions the company for a future of substantial growth," said Ahmed Ali Al-Hammadi, CIO for Europe, Türkiye and Russia at QIA. "This investment is aligned with QIA's strategy of supporting innovative companies shaping the future of the global economy."

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Goodwin acted as legal advisor to Builder.ai.

Established in 2016, Builder.ai provides AI-powered composable software platform that allows anyone with an idea to build an app (web or mobile) - faster and 70 per cent more affordable. This includes breaking software down into its reusable Lego-like features. This is coupled with customization from its managed expert network of designers and developers atop its human-assisted AI-powered assembly line. This has been the key to Builder.ai's performance and that of its customers' digital transformations worldwide.

"As early investors, we have witnessed their exceptional growth, even amidst harsh economic climates, which demonstrates the team's resilience and commitment to innovation," said Amit Anand, Managing Partner at Jungle Ventures

Builder.ai has also furthered its partnership with tech giant Microsoft for a global GTM (go-to-market) and inclusion in their reseller program. It has also entered partnerships with JP Morgan & Chase, Etisalat UAE and other technology and financial enterprises.

This month Microsoft also invested an undisclosed sum in Builder.ai. The investment marks Microsoft scaling up its efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) and competing with rival Google. Microsoft and Builder will collaborate in creating AI-powered solutions that help businesses become digitally savvy without needing technical expertise.

Sachin Dev Duggal-led Builder.ai helps companies develop applications without needing any coding experience.

It has raised an investment of $250 mn in Series D funding.

The funding round was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Additional existing and new investors include Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures & Insight Partners.

This takes the total amount raised by the company to over $450 mn

There is 1.8x increase in its valuation.

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Builder.ai gets $250 mn from Qatar Investment Authority, valuation up 1.8x

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The funding will fuel the company's innovation pipeline allowing further investments in talent, partnerships, and technology

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Bumble For Friends, Bumble's second app that focuses on friend-finding, announced new features today including 'Plans' in case you want to plan a meet-up and AI-powered icebreaker suggestions.

The Plans feature helps users meet in real life with the ability to form a group of up to 15 people. Users can create a private or public plan from the bottom of the app. While anyone can join a public plan, users will need an invite for a private plan.

People who created the plan can post it on other platforms through a link. Users will be able to see public plans near them based on their location.

The company is also launching an AI-generated icebreaker feature that will help users write and send a first message based on the other person's profile. This prompt will show up for both people when they match with each other.

You can tweak the question, ask for another suggestion, or write your own as well. However, people can only use one AI-generated icebreaker per chat. The app only supports suggestions in English at the moment.

Earlier this year, Bumble started testing a dedicated app for making friends in select markets such as the U.K.. In July, the company officially launched the Bumble For Friends app in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, the U.K. and the U.S. Since the launch, Bumble has expanded the availability of the app to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.

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Bumble For Friends is using AI to help you write a good icebreaker message | TechCrunch

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Bumble For Friends, announced new features today including Plans for planning a meet-up and AI-powered icebreaker suggestions.

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QIA Support Sachin Dev Duggal's AI-Driven App Development Platform- Builder.ai's via $250 Mn funding

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QIA Support Sachin Dev Duggal's AI-Driven App Development Platform- Builder.ai's via $250 Mn funding

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QIA's investment in AI businesses reflects a recognition of visionary leadership. Sachin Duggal's Builder .ai, known for its innovative approach to software development and AI integration, becomes a focal point for QIA's strategic vision. The investment is a nod to Duggal's capability to navigate the AI landscape successfully.

In essence, QIA's investment in AI businesses like Sachin Dev Duggal’s Builder .ai isn't just a financial decision; it's a strategic maneuver to be at the forefront of the AI revolution. It recognizes the transformative power of AI and positions these businesses to play a pivotal role in shaping the technological landscape of tomorrow.

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Builder.ai on Tuesday announced it has raised over $250 million in its Series D funding.

The latest funds take the total amount raised by the company to over $450 million with an up to 1.8 times increase in its valuation.

The Series D round included participation from additional existing and new investors including Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures and Insight Partners.

New Delhi, AI-powered software platform Builder.ai on Tuesday announced it has raised over $250 million in its Series D funding led by Qatar Investment Authority ( QIA).

The latest funds take the total amount raised by the company to over $450 million with an up to 1.8 times increase in its valuation.

The company, which just announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft which includes an undisclosed equity investment in the startup, said that the latest round of capital will fuel its continued industry leadership and innovation pipeline allowing further investments in talent, partnerships, and technology.

"We are entering an incredible time in history where the very notion of software is changing; from something that had a shelf life of years to what will eventually have a shelf life of a conversation and the volume of what is being created is only going to grow exponentially" said Sachin Dev Duggal, Chief Wizard and Founder of Builder.ai.

With customer demand at an all-time high and AI advancing every day, the company has almost doubled its headcount since January 2022, and extended its UK HQ footprint with four new offices opened since 2021 - including the US, the UAE, Singapore and France.

The Series D round included participation from additional existing and new investors including Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures and Insight Partners.

"We are confident that Builder.ai's innovative technology and proven approach positions the company for a future of substantial growth," said Ahmed Ali Al-Hammadi, CIO for Europe, Türkiye and Russia at QIA.

"Sachin and the Builder.ai team have produced tremendous results since Insight invested one year ago. We are thrilled to be doubling down on our support of the company," added Jeff Horing, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Insight Partners.

Established in 2016, Builder.ai continues to lead the industry with its AI-powered composable software platform that allows anyone with an idea to build an app (web or mobile) -- faster and 70 per cent more affordably.

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AI software platform Builder.ai raises over $250 mn led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)

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Builder.ai on Tuesday announced it has raised over $250 million in its Series D funding.The latest funds take the total amount raised by the company to over

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Visual Electric, a company backed by Sequoia Capital has launched its generative AI-based image-generation tool aimed at designers.

The company was founded in November 2022 by CEO Colin Dunn, a former executive at Universe, a mobile building site. Dunn also worked at Facebook and Dropbox; Chief Product Officer Adam Menges, a former Apple employee whose startups Lobe (a design tool) and Lowkey (an AR game company) were acquired by Microsoft and Niantic; and Chief Technology Officer Zach Stiggelbout, who worked at Microsoft on Lobe.

Dunn told TechCrunch over a call that a lot of generative AI-based image creation interfaces are not focused on the workflows of designers.

"We started Visual Electric because generative AI is an interface problem. Existing tools rely on a linear chat metaphor. But creativity isn't linear, it's messy. So we built our product around the creative process. Our generative canvas lets you spread out, make a mess, and work spatially," he said.

Dunn said that AI-based image generation is probably still in a "pre-ChatGPT era." What he means is that existing image-creation solutions haven't reached the mass appeal of ChatGPT. Visual Electric launched its beta in February for graphic designers, ad creatives, and concept artists working in companies such as Stripe, Affirm, and Riot Games, and design studios like Instrument and Manual.

The CEO mentioned that a lot of its existing users were looking for solutions where they could easily create an image and modify it or iterate on it till they reached a satisfactory stage.

How does the platform work?

The interface is simple to get started: you have to type in a prompt to get four options based on that on an infinite canvas. You can iterate as many times as you want to generate a suitable image for your project. While writing a prompt, you can also select a color palate, what colors to exclude, format, and a mood including Airbrush, Film, Cinematic, and Neon.

The tool is free to use but there is a cap of 40 image generations per day. You can pay for the premium plan that starts at $16 per month for better generation speeds and no limit on image creation along with a license to use these pictures commercially. Visual Electric said that under both these plans, any image you generate is shared with the community. However, if you pay for the top-tier $48 per month plan, your snaps are private and you get even better speed for image generation.

The tool also has features like 'touch' to modify different parts of a generated picture with a prompt, an upscaling feature for premium users, the ability to remove the background or make variations by changing the "creativity" slider, and a 'remix' feature to give an existing image a makeover.

The company was founded in 2022 and it has raised $2.5 million in funding from Sequoia, BoxGroup, and Designer Fund.

Visual Electric uses Stable Diffusion as the image generation model along with GPT-3.5 Turbo to power auto-generated prompt suggestions. The tool also deploys GPT-4 to generate a prompt from an imported image.

The company doesn't have a mobile app yet but is considering working on it next year.

In the last year, companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Adobe, and even Getty Images have launched many image-generation tools. Chatbot platforms like ChatGPT and Poe have also integrated image generations for easier access.

Visual Electric thinks that its focus on a specific set of users will give it an edge. Recently, other tools like Vercel and TLDraw - which recently raised an additional $2 million in funding -have also experimented with interface-generating features.

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Visual Electric launches an AI-powered image generator with a designer workflow focus | TechCrunch

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Visual Electric, a company backed by Sequoia Capital has launched its generative AI-based image-generation tool aimed at designers.

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The AOL Phase of the Internet: Sachin Dev Duggal's Perspective on the Next Wave of Innovation

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The AOL Phase of the Internet: Sachin Dev Duggal's Perspective on the Next Wave of Innovation

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In a recent insightful discourse, Sachin Dev Duggal propels us to view Artificial Intelligence as still in its AOL phase, urging us to delve deeper into its untapped potential. He says that “we're in the AOL phase of the internet, in terms of where it can go. I think what we're seeing is not an evolution of an AI in one month when ChatGPT came out, but the user-interface has changed”. He also added that “AI is not after people’s job, but it is creating a balance between already expanded supply and demand mismatch”.

AOL Phase: Unveiling the Basics

Sachin Duggal invites us to picture AI as akin to the early days of the internet, where we were navigating cyberspace through the familiar tones of AOL. Similarly, he suggests that we're scratching the surface of AI's capabilities, having only glimpsed its basic functionalities.

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X begins rolling out Grok, its ‘rebellious’ chatbot, to subscribers 

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X begins rolling out Grok, its ‘rebellious’ chatbot, to subscribers 

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X begins rolling out Grok, its ‘rebellious’ chatbot, to subscribers | TechCrunch

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X is rolling out Grok, its take on AI-powered bots like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. Unlike other chatbots, it has a bit of a mean streak.

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With the news that Microsoft's Copilot is getting OpenAI's latest models and a new code interpreter, it's clear the battle over the future of AI is increasingly being fought at the developer and engineering level.

If you can get developers hooked on "your" AI Copilot, then you will be able to better sell into that market and, bluntly, keep the addicts coming back for more. Who influences developers and engineers, with the 'drug' of an AI co-pilot, will end up having a huge amount of influence in the future of AI overall.

As a result of the latest announcements, Copilot will be able to better understand queries and offer better responses, Yusuf Medhi, EVP and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft, told the media recently.

Copilot was developed by GitHub and OpenAI, and is built on OpenAI's language models.

Similarly, Prague-based JetBrains - which developed the Kotlin programming language recommended by Google for Android development - has just released JetBrains AI Assistant, a Microsoft Copilot alternative.

The Assistant will be integrated into JetBrains' development environments (IDEs), code editors, and other products and powered by LLMs from OpenAI, Google and JetBrains itself. In fact, the company wants t be a "neutral" provider of these AI assistant LLMs.

This also mean's Europe's JetBrains AI Assistant will compete with the US-based Microsoft Copilot and Google. Indeed, Google's Android Studio is even powered by JetBrains's IntelliJ platform.

They are pushing at an open door. A lot of businesses relying on GPT4 for underlying services were thrown into chaos during the OpenAI management crisis.

Being able to draw on multiple AI providers for code development could well be seen as a longer term strategic move.

However, JetBrains - which has never taken external funding, runs entirely on revenues and is said to be worth about $7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index - is unlikely to have all the fun.

Microsoft is a formidable player, and as a result of all the recent tumult with OpenAI it now has a far tighter grip on the development of OpenAI and thus the destiny of its Copilot product.

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As a new AI-driven coding assistant is launched, the battle for AI-mindshare moves to developers | TechCrunch

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With the news that Microsoft's Copilot is getting OpenAI's latest models and a new code interpreter, it's clear the battle over the future of AI is

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AI Collaboration: The Future of Work - Microsoft's Copilot and Sachin Dev Duggal's AI-Natasha - Navigating the Next Frontier of Teamwork

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AI Collaboration: The Future of Work - Microsoft's Copilot and Sachin Dev Duggal's AI-Natasha - Navigating the Next Frontier of Teamwork

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a cornerstone in enhancing collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams. Recently, Microsoft invested in Builder.ai- marvelous creation of Sachin Dev Duggal and now paving a path to integrate Natasha- AI product manager of Builder.ai along with Copilot of Microsoft into Teams. This blog will explain roles of both AI to enhance the productivity of Teams and how it will change the landscape for its users.

Sachin Dev Duggal’s Creation- NATASHA- AI product Manager

1. Natasha's Versatility: A Multi-Faceted AI Assistant

In the same arena, Builder.ai's Natasha emerges as a multi-faceted AI assistant. Unlike Copilot's primary focus on coding, Natasha extends its capabilities to broader aspects of project management and collaboration. From creating project timelines to facilitating communication and coordinating tasks, Natasha serves as a comprehensive digital assistant, streamlining various facets of teamwork within Teams.