AI21 Labs Secures $155 Million in Series C Funding to Propel Enterprise-Ready Generative AI Solutions

Tel Aviv-based AI startup  AI21 Labs  the company has completed the successful funding round, which will empower AI21 Labs to expand its text-based generative AI services for enterprises. 

Key investors from this funding round include prominent firms such as Walden Catalyst, Pitango, SCB10X, b2venture, Samsung Next, and Professor Amnon Shashua, with additional backing from industry leaders Google and Nvidia. Goldman Sachs served as the exclusive financial advisor during this funding period.

With this new round of investment, AI21 Labs has raised a total of $283 million, now valuing the company at $1.4 billion. AI21 Labs claims this financial boost strengthens its standing as a top player among generative AI unicorns.

"This funding allows AI21 Labs to expedite our research and development, letting us roll out products and updates more rapidly. Ultimately, our aim is to develop a superior level of AI that can reason across various fields,\" shared Yoav Shoham, co-CEO and co-founder of AI21 Labs, with Metaverse Post. 

The organization asserts that it creates AI systems designed for seamless integration and provides reliable, accurate, and trustworthy results, offering greater nuanced control compared to existing standalone models.

"We aim to establish ourselves as a multi-cloud vendor, and we foresee our strategic partnerships with both Google and Amazon continuing to thrive, providing businesses with generative AI capabilities regardless of their data storage locations,\" Shoham remarked. 

AI21's unique Jurassic-2 foundation models are considered some of the most comprehensive and intricate large language models available. These LLMs serve as the foundation for AI21 Studio, a developer-friendly platform for building customized text-based business applications utilizing AI21's language capabilities. 

Also leveraging Jurassic-2 technology is Wordtune, an AI-driven multilingual assistant tailored for reading and writing, designed for both professionals and everyday users.

"Generative AI is ushering in a new computing era across all industries,\" stated Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. \"The pioneering efforts of the AI21 Labs team will enable businesses to bolster their productivity and efficiency using reliable, precise generative AI systems.\"

Accelerating Next-Gen Enterprise Applications via Generative AI

AI21 Labs informed Metaverse Post that it plans to use the acquired funding to forge more collaborations within the vast global tech space. Their growth strategy includes both domestic and international arenas, focusing on a substantial recruitment drive across all sectors. 

The company emphasized that a major priority will be on boosting generative AI R&D and strengthening its business development initiatives.

"We recently opened new offices in the US, and we will allocate this funding to deepen our commitment to delivering the industry's leading LLMs and neuro-symbolic systems to our US clients and partners,\" said Shoham. \"Last year, we doubled our workforce and aim to hire over 100 new employees in the upcoming year.\" 

Shoham elaborated that the distinctive approach of the company's AI model involves a thorough verification process: it cross-references information across five diverse sources before presenting it. This meticulous checking is aimed at ensuring the credibility of the AI-generated data.

"By providing contextual answers, users can input their own data - limiting the data set allows our AI to deliver more relevant and customer-specific information,\" he continued. \"Our applications are unique in the market, as they indicate the source from which the information has been drawn, greatly facilitating verification.\"

He highlighted that AI21 Labs is dedicated to building advanced language models focusing on true comprehension. Shoham explained that these language models are highly versatile and applicable across an extensive array of use cases and industries. 

This, in turn, empowers businesses to enhance both their productivity and efficiency.

"Language models are essential, yet they are just one piece of the puzzle,\" Shoham noted. \"Back in the 1980s, AI was centered around knowledge representation and reasoning. Our shift towards statistical approaches left these crucial elements behind, leading to issues with reliability, predictability, and explainability. The neurosymbolic future aims to reconnect these aspects.\"

This recent influx of capital comes on the heels of AI21's strides towards embedding generative AI into the business landscape, professional Fueling partnerships with leading enterprises across various sectors, such as Carrefour, Clarivate, eBay, Guesty, Monday.com, and Ubisoft. 

The company’s unique abilities were further highlighted with its inclusion in the first-ever CB Insights GenAI 50 List, showcasing the most pioneering generative AI startups.

"Our Task-Specific APIs empower clients to utilize our models and tailor them to their specific needs, whether in finance, law, retail, or customer service,\" Shoham explained to Metaverse Post. \"Leading organizations like Monday.com, eBay, and Transmit Security use Wordtune to provide their teams access to our AI-driven text generation and editing tools, allowing them to complete their tasks with greater speed and accuracy.\"