HOBI Weekly Blog Recap (5/22-26/23)
Artificial Intelligence has been surrounded by conflicting emotions for years, with many people wondering whether it’s a good idea, or potentially destructive. Films like Disney’s 1999 hit Smart House were once a humorous idea, but now do not seem so far off the mark to some who are more fearful. AI is already used more often than many think in daily life. Any automated conversational program such as the ones on smartphones or speakers are considered functioning AI, but don’t worry, Siri and Alexa won’t try to trap you inside your house.
AI has been a fluctuating topic of conversation for years, and has recently become a hot topic in the tech world once more. However, this time, those in the industry believe it has staying power due to excitement over recent advances.
Co-founder and CEO of Austin-based AI content platform Jasper Dave Rogenmoser expressed a possible reason for this stating, “About two years ago, we realized (AI) had crossed a threshold. It started producing better end results.”
AI startups are making big big rounds at bigger valuations and generating a lot of buzz. According to Crunchbase News, “London-based AI-driven visual art startup Stability AI became a unicorn after locking up a $101 million raise. Rogenmoser’s Jasper announced a $125 million Series A led by Insight Partners at a $1.5 billion valuation. Sam Altman’s AI powerhouse OpenAI led an investment in San Francisco-based AI video and audio editing tool Descript at a $500 million-plus valuation, per a report.”
The excitement is said to mirror that of the cloud two decades ago, and the key factor in the staying power of AI this go around is usefulness. AI goes beyond startups, and can be used in a multitude of applications to assist with anything from social media ads to blogs and other marketing copy. In addition, companies in New York and California use AI to help salespeople improve emails and to help go-to-market teams.
“In generative AI you can have a lot of applications,” AI investor and partner at Tesla Ventures Yash Patel explained, “I think now you have to look at the usual entry points to investments. You have to find a strong user experience case, a strong utilization case and a really strong proprietary data set behind it.”
Tech giants like Google and Amazon are already investing heavily into the future of AI, and even more startups are expected to pop up.
Rogenmoser expressed positivity in the near future for AI, “I think in the next 12 months you’ll see this rapidly evolve and advance.”
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