Salesforce Ventures, the company’s global investment arm, has launched a new $250 million generative artificial intelligence (AI) fund to bolster the startup ecosystem and spark the development of responsible AI. Generative AI can help businesses save time and resources while enabling them to create personalized and innovative content that engages their audiences.
The fund will initially invest in four companies, including Anthropic, Cohere, Hearth.AI and You.com. Generative AI models can automate various tasks, such as image and video generation, text summarization, and music composition, saving time and resources.
One key factor driving the growth of generative AI startups is the increasing demand for personalized content and experiences. Generative models can create content that is tailored to individual preferences and interests, such as personalized product recommendations or personalized news summaries.
Another factor is the growing availability of large datasets, which are needed to train generative models effectively. As more data becomes available, generative models can become more accurate and produce higher-quality content.
“Salesforce Ventures has been investing in high-potential enterprise technology businesses for more than a decade, and these initial investments from the fund in generative AI companies fit squarely into that strategy,” said John Somorjai, EVP Corporate Development and Salesforce Ventures at Salesforce.
More than two-thirds of leaders will prioritize generative AI over the next 18 months, but technical and ethical concerns with the technology remain a top concern.
“This fund will accelerate our commitment to fostering the next generation of innovation and we’re excited to see how these companies reinvent how the world works,” he added.
Daniela Amodei, President of Anthropic, said that Anthropic and Salesforce share a vision for creating innovative technology that is rooted in safety, and “we’re looking forward to introducing more useful AI services into the world.”
The emergence of the cloud and other technologies has made it easier and more cost-effective to develop and deploy generative AI models. This has lowered the barrier to entry for startups, allowing them to experiment with and develop new generative AI applications.
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