Amazon loses money on Echo smart speakers. It’s been an open secret for the duration of Alexa’s existence. It’s the product of the kind of loss leader strategy only a company of Amazon’s size can get away with for a decade. Selling hardware at a loss can be an effective strategy, of course. Think about […]
Canva acquires Leonardo.ai to boost its generative AI efforts
Canva has acquired Leonardo.ai, a generative AI content and research startup, as the company looks to deepen its investments in its AI tech stack. The financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Canva co-founder and chief product officer Cameron Adams said it’s a mix of cash and stock. All of Leonardo.ai’s 120 employees will […]
TechCrunch Minute: Microsoft brings more generative AI to Bing
Bing is the latest search engine to introduce generative AI into its results, with Microsoft announcing that it’s making Bing generative search available to a small percentage of users. The goal is to give those users the answers they want right in their search results, potentially synthesizing information that they’d otherwise have to click through […]
VCs are still pouring billions into generative AI startups
Investments in generative AI startups — those that are creating AI-powered products to generate text, audio, video and more — aren’t slowing down. But they’re being consolidated into a shrinking number of early-stage ventures. In the first half of 2023, from January to July 16, 225 startups raised $ 12.3 billion from VCs, according to […]
Cohere raises $500M to beat back generative AI rivals
Cohere, a generative AI startup co-founded by ex-Google researchers, has raised $ 500 million in new cash from investors including Cisco, AMD and Fujitsu. The round, which also had participation from Canadian pension investment manager PSP Investments and Canada’s export credit agency EDC, values Toronto-based Cohere at $ 5.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. That’s more […]