Top AI Fundings This Week!

Welcome to the AI Fundings for last week!

AI investments are accelerating as companies double down on technologies that offer tangible, measurable impact. A recent report revealed that spending on AI vendors jumped 38% between Q2 and Q3 2024, with businesses increasingly investing in specialized AI applications. The diversification of large language models (LLMs) is one clear trend, as companies move beyond OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with the share of OpenAI customers using Anthropic’s Claude increasing from 3% to 22% in just a few months. This shift highlights a broader strategy to maximize AI’s potential by tapping into niche models for specific use cases. Meanwhile, the surge in venture capital interest in AI—particularly for cybersecurity, predictive analytics, and data center innovations—underscores the continued demand for AI-driven solutions across industries. As AI-related productivity gains surpass 8%, companies investing in these technologies are positioning themselves for a competitive edge, which is driving more funding into AI-focused ventures and funds.

Writer – $200 Million

Writer, an enterprise AI startup co-founded by May Habib and Waseem Alshikh, has secured $200 million in Series C funding, boosting its valuation to $1.9 billion. Backed by investors such as Iconiq, Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Adobe Ventures, the funding underscores Writer’s rapid rise as a leader in generative AI. The company’s proprietary Palmyra models are transforming workflows in sectors like healthcare and finance, enabling advanced automation, legal data management, and customer service solutions. With over 300 clients, including Uber, Qualcomm, and Dropbox, Writer plans to expand its capabilities into AI “super apps” that autonomously execute complex enterprise tasks. 

Stepful – $31.5 Million

Stepful, a healthcare training startup co-founded by Carl Madi, Tressia Hobeika, and Edoardo Serra, has raised $31.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from Y Combinator, Reach Capital, and AlleyCorp. This investment, following a $12 million Series A just nine months prior, highlights Stepful’s rapid growth and innovative approach to addressing the healthcare workforce crisis. Stepful offers a cost-effective, four-month AI-powered training program that has already helped over 1,000 graduates from underserved communities secure stable healthcare jobs. With this new funding, Stepful plans to expand its reach to 30,000 students in 2024, enhance its generative AI-driven platform, and strengthen partnerships with over 8,000 clinics and hospitals, ensuring a sustainable pipeline of skilled healthcare workers.

Odyssey – $18 Million

Odyssey, a generative AI startup founded by ex-Tesla and Waymo engineers Oliver Cameron and Jeff Hawke, has secured $18 million in a Series A funding round led by EQT Ventures, with participation from GV and Air Street Capital. Building on their expertise in autonomous vehicle technology, the founders are now applying advanced AI techniques to create cinematic, 3D worlds for industries like filmmaking and gaming. Using an innovative 25-pound backpack equipped with cameras, lidar sensors, and an inertial measurement unit, Odyssey captures high-resolution 3D data of real-world locations inaccessible to vehicles.

Shiru – $16 Million

Shiru, an AI-driven ingredient discovery company, has secured $16 million in a funding round to accelerate innovation across food, personal care, agriculture, and advanced materials. The platform, ProteinDiscovery.ai, hosts the largest database of natural plant and microbial proteins, helping companies quickly identify and test functional ingredients, cutting R&D costs and time to market. With this funding, Shiru plans to expand its ingredient portfolio and grow commercial partnerships. The company’s recent achievements include collaborations with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition and Griffith Foods to scale sweet proteins and sustainable ingredients. 

Particle – $4.4 Million

Particle, the brainchild of former Twitter engineers Sara Beykpour and Marcel Molina, has successfully raised $15.3 million to revolutionize news consumption through its AI-driven platform. The funding includes a $4.4 million seed round and a $10.9 million Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, reflecting strong investor confidence in Particle’s mission. This financial backing is aimed at enhancing the platform’s innovative features, such as AI-powered personalized news feeds, context-driven summaries, and tools that break users out of echo chambers by providing diverse perspectives. Additionally, Particle’s commitment to fostering a symbiotic relationship with publishers sets it apart. The company has established partnerships with major outlets like Reuters, AFP, and Fortune, ensuring a model that not only delivers value to readers but also drives visibility and revenue for media organizations. 

Lume – $4.2 Million

Lume, a data integration startup, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding from General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Floodgate, Y Combinator, and angel investors to revolutionize how businesses manage data workflows. Founded in 2023 by Stanford alumni Nicolas Machado, Nebyou Zewde, and Robert Ross, the company’s AI-driven platform automates complex tasks like field mapping, taxonomy reconciliation, and handling nested data formats, cutting integration timelines from weeks to seconds. Inspired by frustrations with manual processes during their time at Apple and Opendoor, the founders created Lume to simplify data mapping and improve efficiency. 

Anthrogen – $4 Million

Anthrogen has secured $4 million in seed funding led by Regen Ventures and BoxGroup, with participation from Y Combinator, Wayfinder, and angel investors including Paul Graham. The funding will accelerate R&D efforts and the expansion of its AI-driven platform, which uses genetically engineered microbes to convert atmospheric CO₂ into cost-effective, carbon-negative chemicals and fuels. Founded in 2023 by Ankit Singhal, Connor Lee, and Vignesh Karthik, Anthrogen aims to produce these materials at 80% of the cost of fossil-fuel-based alternatives. By leveraging photosynthetic bacteria enhanced with CRISPR and AI-designed enzymes, the company addresses high carbon capture costs while delivering sustainable polymers and fuels.

Athina AI – $3 Million

Athina AI has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Denis Yarats, Co-Founder of Perplexity, and Alex Ratner, CEO of Snorkel AI, bringing its total funding to $4.1 million. The funds will accelerate its platform, designed to make AI app development up to 10 times faster. Athina’s solution helps teams create, test, and deploy production-ready AI systems, with notable clients like Meesho, which reduced chat costs by 14-15% and evaluation expenses by 85%. 

Zeplyn – $3 Million

Zeplyn, an AI-powered assistant designed for financial advisors, has raised $3 million in seed funding, led by Leo Capital with contributions from Converge and angel investors. Co-founded by former Google engineers Era and Divam Jain, Zeplyn transforms unstructured meeting data into organized notes with over 95% accuracy, saving advisors time and improving client engagement. The platform’s Meeting Assistant allows post-meeting summaries in just 10 minutes, compared to the usual hour. Zeplyn’s integration with tools like Zoom and CRM systems, along with robust security features, positions it as a top choice for wealth management firms. 

Connecty AI – $1.8 Million

Connecty AI, founded by Aish Agarwal and Peter Wisniewski in 2024, raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding to transform enterprise data management. Their “context engine” helps businesses connect data sources and streamline workflows, reducing manual tasks by up to 80%. Unlike other tools, Connecty AI enhances data teams’ productivity without replacing them.

Already working with partners like Kittl and Mindtickle, Connecty has significantly cut analysis times, from weeks to minutes. The company plans to expand its offerings with flexible API-based pricing, making advanced data insights accessible to more businesses.