OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle's $500B AI Venture 'Stargate' Takes Off

Hi there,

In this edition of the Silicon Brief, we're diving into the latest developments in AI chips and data centers. ByteDance has announced a significant investment of $12 billion in AI chips by 2025, marking a major step in their technological advancements. Meanwhile, Reliance Group is set to build the world's largest data center in Gujarat, showcasing their commitment to expanding infrastructure capabilities.

Additionally, SandboxAQ and Google Cloud are collaborating on AI solutions, further enhancing the capabilities of data centers. These moves highlight the growing importance of AI technology in the infrastructure sector, as companies continue to invest heavily in expanding their capabilities and resources.

Automation Anywhere has integrated its AI capabilities into PwC India's Intelligent Spend Management Suite to boost efficiency in spend management and accounts payable operations. Caseware has acquired Extractly.ai to enhance its audit solutions by integrating intelligent document processing tools. BCU has partnered with AI startup AviaryAI to enhance member services using AI technology, following their successful deployment of AI voice agents during hurricane relief efforts.

Google plans to invest more than $1 billion in AI startup Anthropic, according to the Financial Times. OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle are collaborating on a joint venture named 'Stargate' to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure, starting with a $100 billion commitment and a data center in Texas. Cybord and Fuji America have partnered to introduce visual AI technology to enhance SMT production lines, focusing on quality assurance and traceability.

Concordia University and Hitachi Cyber are collaborating to develop an AI solution for Security Operations Centres, focusing on reducing false positives and automating threat investigations. Zynap has secured €5.7 million to advance its Generative AI technology for cybercrime prevention. Egregious raised €936k in Pre-Seed funding to enhance its AI threat detection platform, targeting AI misuse in sectors like national security and finance.

Tritax Big Box REIT has acquired a 74-acre site near Heathrow Airport to enter the data centre market. Kaya AI has launched with $5.3 million in pre-seed funding to enhance supply chains in data center and mission critical projects using AI and automation. Harbr Data has partnered with Databricks to integrate their platforms, focusing on improving data processing and governance.

OpenAI plans to release an AI super-agent with PhD-level intelligence by January 30, 2025. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced new features for the Claude chatbot, including a two-way voice mode and a memory feature. OpenAI is reportedly close to launching its AI tool, Operator, which can autonomously perform tasks on users' PCs. Perplexity has launched Sonar, an API service for integrating generative AI search tools into applications.

NoTraffic, a startup in the NVIDIA Inception program, is using AI to optimize traffic flow and reduce carbon emissions in cities like Tucson and Vancouver. Their platform has led to significant reductions in road delays and greenhouse gas emissions. ecoplanet, a Munich-based company, has secured €16 million in Series A funding to advance its AI-powered energy management software, addressing rising energy costs in Europe.