Grok 3 Unveiled, Mira Murati’s New Venture, and Together AI’s Big Funding: This Week’s AI Breakthroughs
The world of AI is moving fast, and every week brings fresh innovations, new startups, and major funding announcements.
From groundbreaking AI models to ambitious new ventures, here’s a look at the biggest developments shaking up the industry this week.
xAI’s Grok 3, Mira Murati’s New Venture, and Together AI’s Big Funding Round: This Week in AI
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has just introduced Grok 3, calling it their “most advanced model yet.” This announcement marks a major milestone in the company’s journey to push AI capabilities even further.
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| Photo illustration of Grok 3.Illustration: Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto (Getty Images) |
According to xAI, Grok 3 was trained on their powerful Colossus supercluster and has undergone extensive retraining to enhance its ability to reason, solve complex problems, and process information more effectively. The company highlighted significant improvements in mathematical reasoning, coding skills, general knowledge, and instruction-following tasks, thanks to large-scale reinforcement training.
In addition to Grok 3, xAI also introduced Grok 3 Mini, a lighter version of the model. Both versions are still being refined, with ongoing training to make them even smarter and more reliable.
Mira Murati’s New AI Venture: Thinking Machines Lab
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| Mira Murati speaking during “New Beginnings: A Conversation with Mira Murati” at WIRED’s The Big Interview 2024 on December 3, 2024 in San Francisco, California.Photo: Kimberly White (Getty Images) |
Mira Murati, the former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, has stepped into a new chapter of her career by launching an AI startup called Thinking Machines Lab. After leaving OpenAI in September, she teamed up with other AI experts to build a company with a clear mission: to make AI systems more understandable, customizable, and capable for everyone.
In a blog post, the company shared its vision of bridging the gap between complex AI models and everyday users. Murati, known for her deep expertise and hands-on approach, is determined to shape AI in a way that truly benefits people.
Thinking Machines Lab isn’t just her solo venture—it’s a gathering of brilliant minds from OpenAI, including Barret Zoph, former VP of Research, and Lilian Weng, former VP of Safety Research. Their combined experience brings a wealth of knowledge, making this startup one to watch in the evolving AI landscape.
Together AI Secures $305 Million in Series B Funding to Advance Open-Source AI
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| Photo illustration of Together AI.Illustration: Ismail Kaplan/Anadolu (Getty Images) |
Together AI, a company dedicated to accelerating AI development through its AI Acceleration Cloud, has raised $305 million in its Series B funding round. The round was led by General Catalyst, with Prosperity7 as a co-lead, bringing the company’s valuation to an impressive $3.3 billion.
With this funding, Together AI plans to take a significant step forward by integrating Nvidia’s cutting-edge Blackwell chips into its cloud infrastructure. This move aims to enhance its ability to support businesses in building AI applications powered by open-source models.
“This investment fuels our vision of becoming the go-to AI Cloud for developing next-generation AI applications,” the company shared in a blog post. It also highlighted collaborations with major players like Salesforce and The Washington Post, reinforcing its growing influence in the AI industry.
By focusing on open-source AI, Together AI is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation, offering businesses the tools they need to harness AI’s full potential.
Luminance Secures $75 Million in Series C Funding for Legal AI Growth
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| Luminance CEO Eleanor Lightbody.Photo: Luminance |
U.K.-based legal AI company Luminance has raised an impressive $75 million in its Series C funding round, marking a major milestone in the legal tech space. The round, which was oversubscribed, was led by Point72 Private Investments, making it the largest funding round for a legal AI-focused company in the U.K. and Europe. Luminance specializes in AI-driven automation and enhancement of legal contracts, helping businesses streamline complex legal processes.
For CEO Eleanor Lightbody, this funding is more than just numbers—it’s a game-changer. “This investment is about pushing boundaries, expanding our reach, and scaling at an unprecedented pace,” she shared. “With 40% of our revenue already coming from the U.S., this funding will accelerate our growth there, allowing us to bring in top talent and establish new offices across the U.S., APAC, and Europe. At the same time, it fuels innovation at our Cambridge R&D hub, enabling us to broaden our AI’s capabilities beyond legal contracts into procurement and compliance.”
With this boost, Luminance is set to redefine how businesses handle legal processes, making AI an even more integral part of the corporate legal landscape.
Lambda Secures $480 Million in Series D Funding to Expand GPU Cloud Services
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| Nvidia HGX H100 GPU in Taipei, Taiwan on June 2, 2023. Photo: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg (Getty Images) |
Lambda, a company specializing in GPU cloud services, has secured a massive $480 million in Series D funding. This latest investment round was co-led by Andra Capital and SGW, pushing Lambda’s total equity funding to an impressive $863 million.
In a blog post, the company shared its vision for the future, stating that the new funds will be used to expand its Cloud Platform. Lambda is actively scaling its AI infrastructure and software, aiming to help developers train, fine-tune, and deploy AI models more efficiently. The company is also working on enhancing Lambda Chat, a platform that hosts open-source models like DeepSeek’s R1.
With this funding, Lambda is not just growing its capabilities but also reinforcing its commitment to providing faster, more accessible AI tools for developers worldwide.
Nvidia’s Big Move, Elon Musk’s Ambitions, and Apple’s AI Strategy: This Week in AI
The AI world has been buzzing with excitement this week—Nvidia is making waves with its latest chip, drawing the attention of major tech giants. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is setting his sights on a bigger role in AI, and Apple is reportedly looking to Google for a strategic AI partnership.
From billion-dollar investments in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to groundbreaking advancements in AI technology, this week has been full of major developments.
Check out the highlights and see how AI is shaping the future!
