2023-11-06 15:03:52
Aleph Alpha, the Heidelberg specialist for artificial intelligence (AI), has completed a financing round with a volume of more than $500 million. Company founder and CEO Jonas Andrulis announced this on Monday in the presence of Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck in Berlin.
The company, founded in 2019, did not provide any information about the valuation. “Everyone can decide for themselves whether we are a unicorn or not,” said Andrulis, referring to the $1 billion threshold above which people in the start-up scene talk about a “unicorn.” The financing round is one of the largest financing rounds for AI companies from Europe. “This is a milestone for us and for everyone involved,” said Andrulis, whose company is considered one of Europe’s biggest AI hopes in competition with technology companies from the USA and China. “Dear Jonas, congratulations, you are setting a great example,” said Vice Chancellor Habeck.
ChatGPT Competitor
The European software leader SAP and Bosch Ventures, the venture capital arm of the largest supplier to the automotive industry in the world, are participating in the financing. The financing round is led by companies from the Schwarz Group together with the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (Ipai). The Ipai is a project of Lidl owner Dieter Schwarz’s foundation, which wants to build the largest research center for artificial intelligence in Europe in Heilbronn.
In addition, the US technology group Hewlett Packard Enterprise, an investment arm of the Munich-based Burda publishing house and the Berlin consulting firm Christ & Company are also participating in the long-rumored financing round at Aleph Alpha. Existing investors also joined in the new round of financing. A number of interested financial investors would not have brought Aleph Alpha on board. “It’s not just the wallet that’s crucial for the future, but also the partnerships,” said Andrulis when selecting investors.
“We also need a few field players, not just referees”
Aleph Alpha develops large language models with AI functions, similar to the Californian start-up OpenAI with ChatGPT. The Heidelberg-based company specializes in use cases for public administration and industry. Last spring, the company succeeded in reaching a milestone on the path to AI that is correct, explainable and trustworthy. An extension of the in-house language model Luminous is able to understand connections in information and factual correctness based on proven facts.
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Andrulis appealed to politicians not to go too far with the regulation of AI in Europe that is being pushed forward in Brussels. “We also need a few field players, not just referees.” Habeck, who was still under the impression of his visit to the AI summit in Bletchley Park last week, seconded. “The whole conference was about security, the options were a bit too short for me,” said the minister.
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