Venture Capital: Israeli Generative AI Startup AI21 Labs Rakes In $155M Series C Funding
AI21 Labs was valued at $1.4 billion in this round.
AI21 Labs, a prominent AI and large language models (LLMs) leader, has secured $155 million in Series C funding to accelerate the expansion of its accurate text-based generative AI services for enterprises. Noteworthy investors, including Walden Catalyst, Pitango, SCB10X, b2venture, Samsung Next, Prof. Amnon Shashua, Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), have participated in this funding round.
This inflow of funds brings AI21 Labs’ total raised capital to $283 million, with a valuation of $1.4 billion, cementing its status as a leader among generative AI unicorns.
Founded in 2017 by AI experts Prof. Amnon Shasuha, Prof. Yoav Shoham, and Ori Goshen, AI21 Labs caters to a wide range of customers, from individual consumers to Fortune 100 companies, using advanced LLM and natural language processing (NLP) technologies through accessible applications and APIs.
AI21 Labs distinguishes itself by crafting AI systems that offer enhanced integration and generate dependable, accurate results with greater control compared to standalone models. Its proprietary Jurassic-2 foundation models, recognized for their sophistication, power AI21 Studio—a developer platform for crafting customized text-based business applications—and Wordtune, a multilingual reading and writing AI assistant.
Chairman Prof. Amnon Shashua remarked on AI21 Labs’ role as a significant AI player, building foundational models for developers and enterprises while creating user-centric derivatives such as Wordtune. The current funding injection supports the company’s growth trajectory toward advanced AI capabilities, projecting global impact.
Co-CEOs Prof. Yoav Shoham and Ori Goshen said the enterprise applicability of AI21 Labs’ technology, including LLMs and neurosymbolic technology, provided the robustness, predictability, and explainability necessary for AI-centric enterprises.
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said generative AI was reshaping various industries, and helping enterprises accelerate productivity and efficiency with systems that are accurate, trustworthy, and reliable.
Recent efforts by AI21 Labs have focused on bringing generative AI to enterprises and professionals.
Collaborations with industry leaders like Carrefour, Clarivate, eBay, Guesty, Monday.com, and Ubisoft underscore the company’s diverse sector engagements.
Related Story: Runway AI Lands $141M For Its Generative AI Tools
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