AI Startups: SignalFire Raises $1 Billion to Invest in AI Startups

Venture capital firm SignalFire has raised more than $1 billion in new capital to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) startups.

It now has a total of $3 billion under management, according to a Monday (April 7) news release.

The funding will go toward seed to Series B investments in applied AI. The capital will be deployed through the firm’s Seed, Early, Executive-in-Resident (XIR) and Opportunities funds, per the release.

SignalFire uses AI and data to find and develop high-growth startups. Through its Beacon AI technology, the firm analyzes data from 650 million professionals and 80 million organizations to guide investment and operational decisions.

Beacon AI spots market and talent trends to help SignalFire investors and portfolio companies build their teams and products, the company said.

Unlike traditional VCs adapting to AI, SignalFire was built from the ground up with AI in its DNA. As such, the firm said it could spot breakthrough startups “earlier” and accelerate company growth.

“AI’s next frontier isn’t invention, it’s implementation,” SignalFire partner Wayne Hu said in the release. “With these funds, we’ll continue to back founders who transform theoretical AI technology into market-changing solutions.”

Read more: VC Investors Shrink as Money Goes to Big Tech Startups

AI Infrastructure Startup Nexthop AI Raises $110 Million

Nexthop AI, a startup developing advanced networking solutions for cloud clusters, has emerged from stealth with $110 million in funding.

The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with backing from Kleiner Perkins, WestBridge, Battery Ventures and Emergent Ventures, according to a press release. The funds will accelerate product development tailored to meet the growing demands of AI training and inference.

Hyperscalers — cloud computing giants — are investing billions annually in their GPU and networking infrastructure. They also require highly optimized software and hardware infrastructure attuned to data center build outs, the startup said.

“The world’s largest cloud providers need a new generation of networking capabilities to keep pace with the demands of AI workloads,” Guru Chahal, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said in the announcement. “Nexthop AI is filling a critical gap in this $35 billion market with its deep domain expertise, pioneering technology and customized solutions.”

The company partners with cloud providers, acting as an extension of their engineering teams to deliver scalable, power-efficient artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Read also: Nvidia and xAI Sign On to $30 Billion AI Infrastructure Fund

OpenAI Opens Free AI Academy

OpenAI has launched OpenAI Academy, a free learning hub for all things AI. The education website is open to all, from all types of backgrounds.

The site provides videos, tutorials and other content. People can meet virtually or in person to learn, network and collaborate.

Topics include “ChatGPT for Data Analysis,” “Advanced Prompt Engineering,” and “Collaborating with AI: Group Work and Projects Simplified.”

There are also tutorials for AI in education, use of AI in personal life and how to use the company’s video generator Sora, as well as developer courses.

OpenAI is not offering certification or accreditation at this time. All lessons are in English, with more languages to come.

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