AI-Driven Search: The Evolution Continues

OpenAI is making waves with its plans to launch an ad-free web browser, blending its chatbot capabilities with smarter, AI-driven search functionalities. The company is also striking partnerships to power search features for sectors like travel, food, real estate, and retail.

For OpenAI, this represents more than just a new tool—it’s about expanding use cases dramatically. From enabling businesses to automate processes to building AI-infused products and services, OpenAI is positioning itself at the heart of next-gen digital transformation.

Meanwhile, Brave has introduced AI chat mode for follow-up questions on Brave Search, enhancing its “Answer with AI” summaries feature. This leap offers users something Google doesn’t: real-time conversational search without needing to restart a query.

Competitors like Perplexity are also advancing AI integrations for browsers, showing that the race to redefine search is heating up.

OpenAI’s another Bold Move: AI Agent on the Horizon

OpenAI is taking another leap forward by preparing to launch its first AI agent, Operator, as early as January. Designed to perform multi-step tasks within web browsers, Operator signals OpenAI’s entry into the emerging field of agentic AI, where systems act autonomously to execute complex user objectives.

AI Agents could revolutionize how we interact with technology, replacing traditional rule-based software with more intuitive, adaptable solutions. However, the path to widespread adoption is far from straightforward.
As Ivan Landabaso explores in his thought-provoking piece, Agentic Revolution, the challenges for AI agents are significant:

• Unpredictability: Agents may act in ways that deviate from user expectations or intended tasks.
• High Costs: Operating and maintaining such complex systems can be resource-intensive.
• Upgrade Complexity: Unlike conventional software, AI agents may require entirely new training paradigms for updates, complicating scalability.

xAI Hits a $50 Billion Valuation and sets a New High for AI Multiples

Elon Musk's AI venture, xAI, has reportedly raised $5 billion in a funding round that brings its valuation to a staggering $50 billion. Even more impressive, the company has reached $100 million in annualized revenue, according to recent reports from The Wall Street Journal.

This development sets a new benchmark for AI valuation multiples, highlighting the extraordinary investor confidence in generative AI and agentic AI platforms. Let’s break it down:

Anthropic Raises $4 Billion from Amazon

Amazon has invested $4 billion in Anthropic, marking one of the largest single investments in AI this year. While Amazon remains a minority investor, Anthropic is now reportedly seeking additional funding from other investors at a valuation of up to $40 billion.

A look at the numbers:

• OpenAI, despite raising an eye-popping $23.91 billion (including venture capital and debt), is projected to post $5 billion in losses in 2024.
• Anthropic, with a total of $13.7 billion raised ($8 billion from Amazon), anticipates burning through $2.7 billion in 2024.
• xAI has raised total $11.13 billion

AI Infrastructure Funding & Valuation Ratios

Together AI, a two-year-old startup specializing in renting servers and providing software for training open-source models, is reportedly in talks to raise $200 million in new financing. With annualized revenue surpassing $100 million, its secondary market valuation has jumped from $1.3 billion in March to $2.07 billion currently.

Meanwhile, Lambda, another Nvidia server rental company, is negotiating a $600 million raise at a $2 billion pre-money valuation, signaling continued investor appetite in the AI infrastructure space.

*Lambda's revenue projection assumes a doubling of its $600M forecast for 2024.
With a multiple starting from 20.7x current ARR, Together AI is valued significantly higher than its peers. This premium valuation could be attributed to focus on developer experience and broader offering including software for training and running open-source models
This stark difference in valuation multiples underscores how investors differentiate between pure infrastructure players like CoreWeave and Lambda and companies offering value-added services in the AI space.

Crusoe Energy is also raising

Crusoe Energy, a startup leveraging excess energy to power data centers reportedly leased to Oracle, Microsoft, and OpenAI, is in the midst of raising $818 million, according to a recent SEC filing.
The filing reveals that Crusoe has already secured $686 million from 70 investors, a significant step toward its target.

Earlier this year, The Financial Times reported Crusoe was negotiating a $500 million round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with participation from Felicis Ventures. However, investor interest seems to have expanded, pushing the raise to a larger tranche—likely at a valuation exceeding the previously rumored $3 billion, which was already double its prior valuation.

Current implied valuation on the secondary market stands at $2.17 billion.

Beyond AI: Oura Lands $75M Investment at $5B Valuation

Oura Health Oy, the maker of the popular smart ring, has secured a $75 million investment from Dexcom Inc., a leading medical device company. This collaboration aims to pave the way for data sharing and cross-selling opportunities between the two firms.

Dexcom’s investment is part of Oura's Series D financing round, which values the company at over $5 billion—a significant jump from its $2.6 billion valuation in Series C (2022).
Oura is on track to double its revenue to $500 million this year, reflecting the growing demand for wearable health technology.

Skydio Raises $170M in Extension Round at $2.5B Valuation

Skydio, the American drone manufacturer, has secured an additional $170 million in an extension of its $230 million Series E from early last year, which valued the company at $2.5 billion.
This raise comes amid a surge in defense tech funding, with the sector attracting over $9.1 billion in deals during the first half of 2024, according to PitchBook.

New Secondary Share Sales

GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, is expected to lead a secondary share purchase of Wiz, valuing the company at approximately $16 billion. The transaction, which will involve a tender offer for employees, is still pending completion.

Meanwhile, Zilch, a UK-based buy now, pay later fintech, is exploring a secondary share sale as part of a broader trend of fintech companies taking similar steps. Zilch is also riding high after achieving its first profitable quarter.

In Germany, Deutsche Bank has joined the cap table of Aleph Alpha, a leading AI company, through a secondary transaction that saw seed and Series A investors — 468 Capital, Lakestar, and OSS Capital — sell shares in the company.

ServiceTitan Files for IPO: Will It Succeed?

ServiceTitan is making its move toward going public, but there are some mixed signals. With a 24% revenue growth rate, it’s not exactly a showstopper, and the company remains unprofitable despite its significant venture capital backing.

However, one standout metric is likely to grab attention during its IPO pitch: a 95% gross dollar retention rate. In other words, ServiceTitan has managed to keep its customers with minimal churn. This could position the company as a safe long-term investment for IPO buyers, as long as the pricing is right.

Revolut Hits 50 Million Global Customers

Revolut has reached an impressive milestone, surpassing 50 million customers worldwide, with 10 million in the UK alone. The company’s growth has been rapid, adding over 10 million new users in 2024, making it the most downloaded financial app in both the UK and Europe.

2024 has been a standout year for Revolut, securing a $45 billion valuation, obtaining a UK banking license (with some restrictions), and reporting record 2023 revenues of $2.2 billion alongside $545 million in pre-tax profits.