Gates and Altman walk into a bar…

And how the insurance sector is finally embracing AI

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Arturo Pardo & Lucila Sarquis
January 30, 2024

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Yes, it's still January - and yes, it feels like it’s been a whole year (or maybe just a long month 👀)

But, check this out – the convo everyone wishes they could eavesdrop on? 👂🏽 You can actually watch it now! Bill Gates and Sam Altman got together to chat about the future and AI. We call this a gem! 💎💎

On the flip side, today, we're diving into an industry getting the most out of AI and going through the hot news in the startup world 🔥

Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button on our YouTube channel! 😎 

Enjoy!

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Six bullets of updates

  1. 🫰 Planning on AI investment? Waydev stresses the importance of proof of concept, stating coding tasks could be 50% faster with generative AI.

  2. 🥡 New fund! Danish VC fund Kost Capital steps up Europe's food tech game with a $27M fund, already backing three startups.

  3. 🇨🇭 Davos 2024 sees a sober shift in AI chatter from 'gee whiz' to grappling with the risks of job displacement, deepfakes, and AGI.

  4. 🍛 Startup Yume (Melbourne), combats food waste by connecting manufacturers and charities. It raised $1.3M in seed funding.

  5. 💰 Global game commerce company Xsolla is launching Story3, an innovative platform to liberate digital creators with fair compensation. 

  6. 📈 Commercial EV startup Arrival swiftly exits Nasdaq, heading towards dissolution with a mere $20M evaluation.

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What do Bill Gates and Sam Altman have to talk about? (Really?)

Bill Gates and Sam Altman walk into a bar and... 

Ok, this could be the beginning of a joke, but in this case, it’s the two prominent figures of the tech world facing off in the recording of episode #6 of the Unconfuse Me podcast by Gates.

Below, we captured our fav moments from the chat that lasted over half an hour:

✅ Multimodality. Meaning voice input and output, images, and eventually video. All of this will imply greater reasoning capacity and more excellent reliability for the user, who will also be able to receive more "personalized," compelling, and precise results.

✅ More economical AI. Fewer resources are needed for the implementation of AI over time. This has already been proven with the implementation of GPT-3. Altman says the cost of these advances could eventually become almost zero, something unprecedented for any technology.

✅ The future of work. It is an inevitable topic, and even Bill Gates has questions about it. Instead of scaring the workforce, Altman insists that advances will result in increased productivity, amplifying qualitative capabilities and diversifying sources of employment in areas such as education, programming, and healthcare.

✅ Gates expressed his concern that we must adapt faster than we, as humanity, would have ever had to before. He also explained that he wants to understand the human purpose that will remain if AI continues to advance and occupy spaces: "I'm sure we will never run out of problems for which we will find ways to find satisfaction by solving. (...) This is now an unstoppable technological course. The value is too great".

In conclusion, closely listening to the entire conversation, noting when Bill Gates expresses concern, and when he articulates optimism, provides unique insights as we put ourselves in his shoes 👟

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Startup Events and Deadlines

  1. Pitch Deck Design | February 13, 2024 | Online

  2. SaaSiest Sweden | February 22 | Sweden

  3. SaaS Open | March 3, 2024 | Austin

  4. World Summit AI Americas | April 24, 2024, Montreal

  5. TechCrunch Early Stage | April 25, 2024 | Boston

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Takeaways from this week’s podcasts

Fear of repeating past failures can prevent us from attempting new challenges. That's why new founders, unaware of what can go wrong, are less likely to be deterred from trying new things. This lack of experience can be a massive advantage in the startup world, where innovation and a willingness to venture into the unknown are often crucial to success.

In another part of the conversation, the hosts talked about the danger of relying too heavily on advice from others; even well-intentioned advice might not apply to a startup founder's unique situation, or it may no longer be effective today. While learning from others is essential, it is equally important to challenge old assumptions and be open to discovering new, more efficient pathways.

Will Schroeder and Ryan Rutan on Startup Therapy
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These companies just raised money

  1. 🕶️ AR glasses maker Xreal received $60M in funding, bolstering its mission to shape the future of spatial computing.

  2. 🗣️ AI startup Krutrim hits unicorn status in India with a $50M funding round. It will launch a voice-enabled conversational AI assistant. 

  3. 🧑🏽‍💼 Acadian Ventures bagged $30M for its second VC fund, focusing on technologies transforming the future of work.

  4. ☢️ Swiss startup Transmutex raised $23M to build safer, thorium-based nuclear reactors, cutting waste radiotoxicity from 300k to 300 years.

  5. 🏪 Brazilian digital supermarket Daki secured $5M to boost its 360-marketing strategy across various channels.

  6. 🎛️ The startup Wondercraft, backed by ex-Spotify and Palantir vets, raised $3M to generate AI-powered podcasts and audio content.

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Insurtech is in it’s more eye-catching moment

The insurance sector has embraced artificial intelligence, giving unprecedented strength to the insurtech industry. Some companies can testify to the surging force of recent years. Spotr (2021), founded by Dutch entrepreneur Dirk Huibers, offers energy consumption or air quality inspection services in buildings. It does so globally through remote image recognition, avoiding sending an agent. This example showcases the competitive advantage that innovative startups can gain by applying technology.

The Zurich Innovation Championship, by insurance giant Zurich Insurance Group, has funded over 50 startups since 2018. What attracts them most are initiatives with disruptive technology that can fit well into the insurance landscape. They have been enchanted by startups like Hence Technologies, which matches the most suitable lawyers with insurance claims to reduce waiting times and costs for such bureaucratic procedures and provide AI-driven recommendations.

Another exemplary success story in insurtech is Tractable (UK), which received $65 million in 2023 to continue AI-powered assessments of cars and homes. The attention garnered by these "zebra" startups 🦓 in accelerators is not a coincidence but rather a sign of changing times for an enduring need: insurance.

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How buying politicians became legal

We are talking about this because a good chunk of the money in politics comes from businesses. 💼🏛️💸