AI Startups Soar, ChatGPT Lands on WhatsApp, and Bollywood’s First AI-Generated Film: What’s Next for AI?

Happy Thursday everyone and Happy Christmas!

Welcome to AI Weekly Digest 📬 Your essential AI briefing, carefully curated by me, Rubén Colomer, AI Specialist and GP at Next Tier Ventures. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest AI breakthroughs, key funding news, innovative tools, thought-provoking reads, and the best AI job opportunities - it's all here!

If you want to stay updated on all things related to artificial intelligence, and receive it conveniently in your email, subscribe here.

News 🗞️📰

• AI startups attract 25% of Europe’s VC funding in 2024: In 2024, AI startups in Europe secured 25% of the region's venture capital, totaling approximately $13.7 billion, up from 15% four years ago. This growth has resulted in several new unicorns, including Poolside and Wayve. Despite a flat overall funding landscape, European AI companies have doubled in value to $508 billion, now representing nearly 15% of Europe’s tech sector. Additionally, the AI sector saw a 168% increase in employment since 2020, with 349,000 people now working in AI across the region.
• OpenAI announces new o3 models: OpenAI unveiled o3 and o3-mini, its new reasoning models. o3 approaches AGI in some scenarios but with significant limitations. The models feature a self-checking reasoning process, which, while accurate, incurs some latency. o3 outperforms o1 in several benchmarks, including the ARC-AGI test, though it still struggles with basic tasks. Despite the advancements, OpenAI faces challenges in confirming AGI with external benchmarks, while its competitors, including Google and Alibaba, are also entering the reasoning model space.
• ChatGPT Comes to WhatsApp — Here's How to Message the AI Chatbot for Free: OpenAI has launched ChatGPT on WhatsApp, allowing users worldwide to interact with the AI chatbot for free. To start chatting, simply add the number 1-800-CHATGPT (1-800-242-8478) as a contact on WhatsApp. This feature enables voice-based chats in the U.S. and allows users to ask ChatGPT about topics like creative writing, travel ideas, and general trivia. The service uses the GPT-4 mini model, and while it’s an experimental release, users can enjoy conversations without needing high-speed data, though there may be some rate limits or reduced availability based on demand.
• Coming to Theaters: An AI-Generated Bollywood Movie: Intelliflicks Studios, a startup in India, is creating the first feature-length film generated almost entirely with AI tools. The movie, based on the novel Maharaja in Denims, is being developed using a mix of commercial and open-source AI tools for character design, scene creation, and audio production. The main challenge faced by the team is maintaining continuity, as AI models generate different outputs each time. Despite the challenges, the creators hope this project will revolutionize filmmaking and democratize creativity.
• Google DeepMind Launches GenCast for Improved Weather Predictions: Google DeepMind introduced GenCast, an AI-powered weather model designed to significantly enhance weather forecasting. GenCast improves predictions by delivering faster, more accurate forecasts up to 15 days ahead, with a particular focus on better predicting extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, storms, and flooding. This breakthrough could have helped foresee events like the DANA (Isolated Low-Pressure System) that affected Valencia in 2024, providing earlier and more precise warnings
• Instagram to launch AI tools that can create deepfakes Instagram plans to introduce generative AI tools capable of creating deepfakes, allowing users to significantly alter their video content. These tools, collectively named "Movie Gen," can change settings, outfits, and more within videos. The announcement has raised concerns about misinformation and trust online
• 12 days of OpenAI: The Ars Technica recap: OpenAI's "12 days of OpenAI" event featured daily announcements about new products and features, highlighting the rapid pace of AI advancements. Notable releases included the full launch of o1, Sora’s transition to a production service, and the introduction of new models like o3 and o3-mini. The event underscored OpenAI's focus on multimodal capabilities, developer tools, and customization, signaling a move beyond text-based models toward more complex applications in 2025.
• AI 'therapist' can sense your emotions to learn how to help you - and will make podcasts like Joe Rogan look outdated Mindvalley's new AI tool, E.V.E., is designed to serve as a therapist by sensing users' emotions through wearable devices and offering guidance on various aspects of their lives. The technology aims to deliver personalized advice and customize content to help individuals achieve their goals

Funding 💼💸

• Elon Musk's xAI raises $6B to bolster battle against OpenAI. Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, has secured $6 billion in its Series C funding round, attracting major investors like Sequoia Capital, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock. This significant capital injection aims to scale up the company's computational capacity, essential for developing advanced AI models. Musk plans to enhance xAI's supercomputing resources to support its latest chatbot version, Grok 3. Musk is currently involved in legal battles against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging market monopolization practices.
• AI coding assistant Cursor raises $100M at $2.5B valuation: Anysphere, the developer behind the AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, has raised $100 million in a Series B round, bringing its valuation to $2.5 billion. Led by Thrive Capital, this funding comes just four months after the company raised $60 million in a Series A at a $400 million valuation. Cursor’s revenue has grown rapidly, reaching $48 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by October 2024. The company offers a freemium model, with paying customers including OpenAI, Shopify, and Instacar
• Nuritas secures $42M in Series C funding for AI-powered peptide innovation: Nuritas, a Dublin-based biotech using AI to discover bioactive peptides, has raised $42 million in a Series C round led by M&G Investments. The funding will accelerate the development and global distribution of peptides addressing health concerns such as muscle repair and skin health. Nuritas' AI platform, Magnifier, enables peptide discovery 10-50 times faster than traditional methods. With key partnerships and a commitment to sustainability, Nuritas plans to scale its operations and introduce three new clinically validated peptides in 2025.
• HuLoop announces Series A funding led by Mighty Capital: HuLoop Automation has raised Series A funding, led by Mighty Capital and with significant participation from Moneta Ventures. The investment will support HuLoop’s mission to simplify AI-powered intelligent automation for businesses, particularly in the banking, credit union, collections, and retail sectors. The company’s Unified Automation Platform combines RPA, intelligent document processing, and workflow orchestration to streamline business processes. The funding will accelerate product innovation, customer success, and market expansion, positioning HuLoop for faster growth and enhanced efficiency for its clients.
• Decart raises $32M at $500M+ valuation to build AI tech and ‘open world’ apps: Decart, an AI startup focusing on GPU optimization and generative AI applications, has raised $32 million in Series A funding led by Benchmark, bringing its valuation to over $500 million. The company’s first enterprise product optimizes GPU usage for AI workloads, cutting costs significantly. Decart's consumer product, Oasis, is a playable AI-driven "open world" game with millions of users. The company plans to expand its AI-driven systems, models, and data applications, with ambitions to redefine the future of AI in both enterprise and consumer sectors.
• Justt raises $30M in Series C to enhance AI-driven chargeback management: Justt, an AI-based chargeback management platform, has raised $30 million in a Series C round led by Zeev Ventures, bringing its total funding to $100 million. The investment will accelerate Justt’s mission to streamline credit and debit card dispute processes by leveraging AI to evaluate over 500 data points per case. The company plans to expand into high-growth regions, enhance its platform, and further drive technological advancements, building on significant growth in 2023 and 2024.
• Skynet raises $1.2M pre-seed round for AI agent resource Blockchain: Skynet, a decentralized protocol enabling AI agents to autonomously access and pay for global resources, has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding. The investment, from angel investors at GitHub, Polygon, Veracode, and Monotype, will help develop "The World’s Resource Blockchain™." This platform allows AI agents to interact with services like Booking.com and AWS, execute transactions, and navigate complex systems such as API credentials and KYC requirements, driving the evolution of an AI-driven economy.

M&A 💰

• Coralogix acquires AI observability platform Aporia: Coralogix has acquired Aporia, an AI observability startup, to enhance its AI monitoring capabilities. Aporia’s technology will be integrated into Coralogix’ platform, which will also launch Coralogix AI, a new research center led by Aporia’s co-founders Liran Hason and Alon Gubkin. This acquisition strengthens Coralogix’s AI offerings and aims to provide better visibility, protection, and control over AI systems. Aporia, founded in 2019, raised $30 million, with investors like Tiger Global, Samsung Next, and Vertex Ventures.
• Neovici acquires IoT company Wraptech: Neovici has signed an agreement to acquire Wraptech, a leader in IoT solutions for the Nordic retail sector. Wraptech’s innovative products, including digital price labels, will now be integrated with Neovici's AI-based Retail Brain, strengthening the company’s position in connected retail systems. The initial purchase price is SEK 5 million, with a performance-based payment up to SEK 32 million. This acquisition is expected to create synergies in sales, cost efficiency, and AI-driven retail innovations.
• CCC Intelligent Solutions acquires EvolutionIQ to enhance AI claims management: CCC Intelligent Solutions has acquired EvolutionIQ, a leading AI-powered platform for disability and injury claims management. EvolutionIQ’s platform uses AI to guide insurance professionals on the Next Best Actions and offers AI-driven medical summarization capabilities to improve decision-making. This acquisition will integrate EvolutionIQ’s transformative AI solutions with CCC’s cloud platform, revolutionizing claims resolution for insurers. The deal, valued at $730 million, is expected to close in Q1 2025 and will accelerate CCC’s AI-driven workflows in the insurance industry.
• AI Unlimited Group to acquire BeyondTrade Securities: AI Unlimited Group has signed an agreement to acquire BeyondTrade Securities, a licensed broker-dealer, to enhance its Nest Egg platform. This acquisition integrates AI-driven insights with secure, compliant trading and execution services, expanding Nest Egg’s capabilities in regulated financial services. The integration will enable retail investors to seamlessly transition from AI-powered recommendations to actionable trades. BeyondTrade’s founder, Bruce Ji, will join AI Unlimited Group as Senior VP of Nest Egg, strengthening the company’s expertise in brokerage and risk management.
• Spekit acquires AI-powered revenue platform Cquence: Spekit has acquired Cquence, an AI-driven platform designed to enhance sales enablement by delivering personalized, context-driven content and coaching to sales reps in real-time. This acquisition strengthens Spekit’s AI capabilities, providing teams with tailored insights and content at critical moments, while minimizing administrative tasks. The integration of Cquence’s technology accelerates Spekit’s mission to transform sales enablement and drive revenue outcomes through smarter, AI-powered solutions for sales teams.
• Perplexity acquires Carbon to enhance AI search capabilities: Perplexity has acquired Carbon, a Seattle-based startup specializing in connecting AI systems to external data sources. This acquisition will enable Perplexity’s AI to search through enterprise files and communications in platforms like Notion, Google Docs, and Slack, using Carbon’s retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology. The integration will enhance Perplexity’s ability to access diverse internal and external data, paving the way for enterprise search products that leverage AI to navigate unstructured company data.
• AI Technology acquires Ormet Circuits to enhance semiconductor packaging solutions: AI Technology (AIT) has completed the acquisition of Ormet Circuits, a leader in Transient Liquid Phase Sintering (TLPS) paste technologies. Ormet's advanced materials provide reliable, high-temperature solutions for semiconductor packaging, including mobile phones and IoT devices. This acquisition strengthens AIT’s portfolio, positioning the company to better serve markets such as automotive electronics and advanced computing, while aligning with AIT’s sustainability goals and commitment to innovative, high-performance materials for the electronics industry.
• Protege acquires Calliope Networks to expand AI training data offerings: Protege has acquired Calliope Networks, a leader in licensing media content for generative AI companies, enhancing its platform with hundreds of thousands of hours of premium audiovisual content. This acquisition expands Protege’s focus beyond healthcare into media, providing AI developers with rich, diverse datasets for training purposes. The deal brings Calliope’s CEO Dave Davis, along with other key executives, to Protege, where Davis will lead the newly formed Protege Media division. Protege aims to bridge the AI training data bottleneck by offering proprietary, high-quality data to AI model builders.

Interesting Reads 💡🤔

• 10 AI Predictions for 2025: This article presents 10 predictions for the future of artificial intelligence in 2025. Some key forecasts include Meta beginning to charge for its Llama models, shifting from its current open-source approach to charging large commercial users. Another prediction is the rise of web agents, AI systems that will handle tasks like scheduling and purchasing for consumers. Additionally, AI data centers in space, such as those being developed by Lumen Orbit, could become a solution to the growing energy demands of AI infrastructure.
• AI agents are the 'next frontier' and will transform our working lives: AI-powered agents are poised to revolutionize industries by enabling autonomous, multistep workflows across digital platforms. According to McKinsey, generative AI will evolve from knowledge-based tools, like chatbots, to agents that can execute complex tasks such as data analysis, email generation, and even coding. A recent Capgemini survey revealed that 82% of tech executives plan to integrate AI agents in the next three years. These agents, powered by natural language and foundation models, offer significant improvements in efficiency and scalability, allowing even non-technical employees to design and manage workflows.
• 60 of Our Biggest AI Announcements in 2024: In 2024, Google AI introduced numerous groundbreaking products and updates, including the launch of Gemini 1.5, NotebookLM's Audio Overviews, and advancements in generative AI across various platforms. Key highlights included new features for Google Search, Pixel, Chrome, and Google Workspace, as well as innovations in AI for healthcare, security, and sustainability. With major releases in AI hardware, mobile devices, and cloud solutions, 2024 marked a year of transformative AI development, setting the stage for even more exciting advancements in 2025.
• Revolutionary AI Model o3 Sparks AGI Debate – Are We There Yet?: OpenAI’s o3 model has achieved groundbreaking results, surpassing human benchmarks in areas like coding, mathematics, and PhD-level science. This has fueled debate on whether it represents the arrival of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The model’s ability to reason, adapt, and solve novel tasks points toward AGI, but experts remain divided, citing limitations in deep understanding and creative problem-solving. Despite its potential, the o3 model’s high computational costs highlight scalability challenges, and ongoing efforts are focused on optimizing efficiency and refining AGI criteria.
• How to use OpenAI o1-preview in Zapier Automations: Integrating OpenAI’s o1-preview model into Zapier workflows allows you to significantly enhance your automation capabilities. This model, with its advanced natural language processing and data handling abilities, can automate tasks like customer support, content generation, and data parsing. By setting up workflows with apps like Google Sheets or Google Drive, you can automate data processing, analysis, and extraction, boosting efficiency and reducing manual work. Be mindful of costs based on API calls and task complexity, but the efficiency gains often outweigh these costs.
• Why Is Generative AI Important for Business?: Generative AI is transforming businesses by boosting efficiency, enhancing customer personalization, and fostering innovation. It enables faster content creation, improves customer service, allows hyper-personalization, supports sales performance, enhances creativity in marketing, and automates coding tasks. Companies that effectively integrate generative AI can gain a competitive edge and improve customer relationships, leading to long-term success.

Startups / Tools 🧰🛠️

• PySpur: PySpur is an open-source AI agent builder designed for engineers. It provides modular building blocks for creating AI agents with self-refinement, knowledge integration, and tool addition in seconds.
• Sembly: An AI-driven platform that analyzes meetings to extract valuable insights, helping teams improve collaboration and decision-making.
• Consensus: An AI-powered research tool that provides concise answers to complex questions by summarizing scientific papers, aiding in quick information gathering.
• Quillbot: An AI-based paraphrasing tool that helps users rephrase sentences and paragraphs quickly and accurately, improving writing efficiency.
• Nichesss: An AI-powered content generator that assists in creating marketing copy, blog posts, and social media content, streamlining the content creation process.
• Supernormal: An AI tool designed to automatically generate meeting notes from conversations, helping teams stay organized and focused without losing valuable insights.
• Fathom: An AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes video calls, automatically generating summaries, highlights, and action items for follow-up.
• Zotero: An AI-driven tool that helps manage and organize research, allowing users to easily collect, cite, and share resources across projects.
• ScribeHow: An AI-powered documentation tool that allows users to create step-by-step guides and instructions automatically by recording their actions on a screen.
• Neural.love: An AI tool that offers text-to-image generation, providing users with creative visuals for content creation, marketing, and social media posts.
• Sana: An AI-driven knowledge base platform that assists companies in providing accurate answers to internal questions by instantly accessing and organizing company data.

NTV Highlights 🪩🎉

€50 Million AI Startup Fund Launched by GVC Gaesco and Next Tier Ventures Yesterday, several media outlets announced the launch of our joint venture with GVC Gaesco and the approval of our €50 million fund by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). Named Next Tier GVC Gaesco S.C.R.S.A., the fund will target 30–35 B2B AI startups across Europe, the U.S., and Latin America, focusing on transformative AI technologies.

Led by my partner Patricia Pastor and myself, this initiative combines GVC Gaesco’s financial expertise with our extensive experience in tech investments. It’s a significant step in positioning ourselves as leading AI investors in Spain and Latin America, and we couldn’t be more excited to get started!

Next Tier Ventures Heads to Punta Tech Uruguay in January 2025 We're excited to announce that Next Tier Ventures will be attending Punta Tech Meetup this coming January in Punta del Este, Uruguay. As one of the most anticipated networking events in Latin America, Punta Tech brings together tech leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors to foster connections and strengthen the region's tech ecosystem.

We look forward to engaging with like-minded innovators and exploring new opportunities to collaborate and grow. See you at the Museum of Contemporary Art Atchugarry (MACA) on January 13th!

Help Us Improve AI Weekly Digest! We value your opinion and want to make this newsletter even better for you. Please take a moment to fill out this short survey: Click here to share your thoughts.

Thank you for helping us deliver the content you love!