🕶️ Breaking up with OpenAI

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Six bullets of updates

1. 🌱 Zal Bilimoria raises $50M for Refactor Capital’s fourth fund, focusing on biotech, climate, and AI.

2. 🚀 SpaceX's $70/share secondary sale was offered to investors like a16z and Gigafund, compared to $270 in primary rounds.

3. 💼 SellerX co-CEOs departed after selling shares worth $7.1M each, following pandemic-era growth and multiple layoffs.

4. 💡 Pittsburgh-based Abridge is a top AI healthcare startup, launching before OpenAI with $30M in funding.

5. 🍎 AI predicts fruit tree yield with 90% accuracy using smartphone images, optimizing water and fertilizer resources.

6. 🚗 Fisker files for bankruptcy, marking yet another EV startup stumble. Only 2,000 units of their Ocean SUV were produced.

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Ex-OpenAI Chief Launches Safe Superintelligence

Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and former chief scientist at OpenAI, has launched a new AI company named Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI) just one month after leaving OpenAI. Sutskever founded SSI with Daniel Gross, a former Y Combinator partner, and Daniel Levy, an ex-OpenAI engineer. At OpenAI, Sutskever played a key role in advancing AI safety, particularly with superintelligent AI systems, working closely with Jan Leike. Both Sutskever and Leike left OpenAI in May following a significant disagreement with the company's leadership over AI safety approaches. Leike now leads a team at Anthropic, a rival AI firm.

In a recent announcement, Sutskever emphasized SSI's unwavering commitment to AI safety and capabilities, describing the company's mission, name, and product roadmap as entirely focused on this goal. He highlighted the importance of advancing AI capabilities while ensuring safety remains paramount, aiming for revolutionary engineering and scientific breakthroughs. Unlike OpenAI, which started as a non-profit, SSI is designed from the outset as a for-profit entity, potentially attracting substantial capital due to the team's expertise and the growing interest in AI.

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. How to close a Funding Round (it’s not just the pitch deck) | July 2 | Webinar

2. Crash Course in Financial Modeling | July 10 | Webinar

3. Financial Modeling Bootcamp | July 22 | Bootcamp  

4. SaaStock: Dublin | August 14 | Conference

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These companies just raised money

1. 🔒 Huntress's €150M Series D funding aims to enhance cybersecurity for SMBs.

2. 🌱 Paris-based VC Wind closes first €90M to support 30 European deeptech climate startups, targeting €130M total.

3. 🌍 VC Breega raises €75M for its first Africa-focused fund to support innovative startups across the continent.

4. 🔬 French quantum startup C12 Quantum raises €18M to advance quantum processor technology, focusing on spin qubits and carbon nanotubes.

5. 🤖 Swedish AI startup Tandem Health raises $9.5M seed round to expand its AI-driven admin tool for clinicians.

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Why Generative AI is Harder to Implement Than It Looks

Despite the hype surrounding generative AI, many companies are proceeding cautiously due to the complexities of large-scale implementation. Studies reveal that while there's significant interest, the challenges of integrating AI—from technical debt to a shortage of skilled personnel—are substantial. Gartner found that the main barriers include demonstrating value and finding talent, with only a fraction of companies successfully deploying generative AI projects. Experts highlight the necessity of having the right infrastructure, data readiness, and a focused approach to navigate these hurdles. Companies are advised to start small, demonstrate value, and avoid getting lost in the hype, as real progress often requires careful, deliberate steps.

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