One quick thing: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg backs AI model distillation…doubles down onopen AI models with Muse Glimmer launch.(P.S. Check out our weekend AI Edge piece:Open or closed? India’s AI choice)
- India’s AI deal frenzy
- UPI MDR: E-commerce, brokers brace for new cost
- Cut. Clip. Cash: The rise of clipping economy
Bonus: What if your credit card rewarded you with AI usage instead of cashback? Scroll below for more deets!
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India’s AI funding story is slowly looking less like a trend and more like a wave.Driving the news:Mstack AI, an AI-native R&D and manufacturing startup, is raising at least $30 million in a fresh round, sources told us.
- Talks are on to upsize the round to $40-50 million but no final decision has been made yet.
Existing investors Alpha Wave and Lightspeed are likely to contribute a significant portion of the round at Mstack, while Prosperity7 Ventures is in talks to come in as a new investor with a smaller cheque, sources told us.
- Mstack is valued at $230 million pre-money.
There’s more:Mstack is not the only company firming up a new round. Generative AI startup Simplismart is stitching together a large $50 million round too, per sources.
- Of the $50 million, around $30 million will come from Peak XV Partners
Tech major Nvidia may also invest, with discussions underway and final signing and paperwork still being worked out.
- The remaining capital will come from existing investors such as Accel, Dallas Venture Capital, Shastra VC and others.
The Big Picture: The two deals add to a string of AI funding developments we have exclusively reported in recent months.
- FromSarvam AI’s $300 million roundand Emergent’s$130 million fundraiseto Ema’stalks for an $80 million round, we’ve exclusively tracked a steady stream of big AI cheques.
- And the pipeline is only getting busier. We recently reported at least half a dozen AI startups intalks to raise fresh capital, suggesting the funding momentum is broadening well beyond a handful of names.
The investors are raising their bets too. As we reported earlier this month, Together Fund isalso readying a $150-200 million fundto make bigger bets on AI.
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