Nvidia deepens foothold in AI market with strategic backing of Sakana AI and You.com
Chip darling Nvidia continues to expand its foothold in the artificial intelligence space with major investments in AI companies.
On September 4, it was announced that Nvidia participated in the USD 100 million Series A funding round for Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based startup focused on developing nature-inspired foundation models. The round was led by New Enterprise Associates, Khosla Ventures, and Lux Capital, with Nvidia joining as a key partner.
Sakana AI said the collaboration will allow it to leverage Nvidia’s GPU technology and data centers for scaling its research efforts.
“Sakana AI is helping spur the democratization of AI in Japan by developing cutting-edge foundation models to automate and speed up scientific discovery with Nvidia’s accelerated computing platform,” said Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia.
Nvidia also joined a USD 50 million funding round for You.com, an AI-powered search engine with productivity tools, alongside lead investor Georgian, and participation from DuckDuckGo, SBVA (formerly SoftBank Ventures Asia), Salesforce Ventures, and Day One Ventures. This funding will enable You.com to expand its capabilities, providing more personalized search results and custom AI agents for workplace tasks.
In addition, Bloomberg reported that Nvidia is exploring a USD 100 million investment in OpenAI as part of an ongoing funding round that could value the ChatGPT creator at over USD 100 billion.
Zhipu AI secures new funding at RMB 20 billion valuation
Zhipu AI, one of China’s AI unicorns, has raised over RMB 1 billion (USD 140.9 million) in a new round of financing at a pre-money valuation of RMB 20 billion (USD 2.8 billion), according to 36Kr. ZGC Science City, an investment platform backed by the Haidian government, led the round.
This marks Zhipu AI’s third funding round of 2024. Previous investors include Hillhouse Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, Legend Capital, and major tech companies such as Meituan, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi.
The company will use the new capital to continue scaling its AI model commercialization efforts. Its offerings, which include API services and cloud and local privatization solutions, have attracted over 500,000 users through its BigModel platform.
Zhipu AI is also expanding in consumer markets, with its B2C product Zhipu Qingyan recently launching subscription services. In just two weeks, its video generation model Zhipu Qingying gained at least a million users through paid memberships.
In addition to financing, Zhipu AI is developing multimodal models, such as GLM-4V-Plus and CogView-3-Plus, to enhance its product suite. The company also launched its RMB 1 billion Z Fund to invest in upstream and downstream AI startups.
Other recent deals completed in China:
- AirTouch Intelligent Technology, a Shanghai-based integrated circuit design provider, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series D funding round. Fuzhe Capital led the round, with participation from Ningbo Tongshang Fund. The funds will be deployed to further commercialize its radar chip technology and to accelerate the development of next-generation millimeter-wave radar chips for smart homes and other applications. —36Kr
- Zhongke Liuguang (CAS Lulux), a Shenzhen-based provider of artificial intelligence solutions, has secured a seven-figure RMB sum in an angel funding round from individual investors. The company, founded in 2023, will channel the capital toward product development and business expansion to support its one-stop AI technology services across various Chinese provinces. —36Kr
- Yueku Wuyou, a homestay brand registered in Shanghai, has raised RMB 20 million (USD 2.7 million) in its Series A funding round from Senkai Capital and other investors. Established in 2018, the company leverages a C2B2C model to offer end-to-end property management services, and plans to use the capital to expand its offerings for the homestay market. —36Kr
- Hygieia Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on small interfering RNA (siRNA) drug development, has secured an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A2 funding round. The round was led by Huangpu Biopharmaceutical Fund, with participation from Nanwan Baiao Fund. The funds will be directed toward developing its siRNA drug delivery platform and advancing its research pipeline. —36Kr
- Pepper Gray Technology, a high-power electronics cooling solution provider, has raised RMB 150 million (USD 21.1 million) through two consecutive funding rounds. The investors include industrial funds, government-backed funds, and publicly listed companies. The funds will support product R&D and the expansion of its production lines to cater to the growing demand for cooling solutions in high-heat, high-voltage, and high-frequency electronics. —36Kr
- Puncture Robotic, a medical robotics company specializing in hair transplantation, completed a pre-Series B+ funding round, securing tens of millions of RMB. Hygoal Capital led the investment. The company, spun out of Harbin Institute of Technology’s robotics ecosystem, will use the funds to further develop its solution. —36Kr
Bateriku, TailorTech, Infinigence, and more led yesterday’s headlines:
- Bateriku, a Malaysian provider of connected roadside assistance solutions, raised USD 7.4 million in a Series B funding round. The investors include Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Gobi Partners, VentureTech SBI Capital, and VentureTech.
- TailorTech, a startup operating out of Malaysia, raised USD 110,000 from venture capital firm Antler.
- Infinigence, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence infrastructure developer, raised nearly RMB 500 million (USD 70.2 million) in a Series A funding round. The round was jointly led by Qiming Venture Partners, Hongtai Aplus, and a Legend Capital-managed fund, along with participation from investors such as Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Xiaomi, and Shunwei Capital.
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