Open-Source Cloud AI Startup Together Raises $102.5 Million in Series A Funding
Together, an open-source cloud AI startup, has secured $102.5 million in Series A investments, including funding from technology giant NVIDIA. The company’s focus on research and its leading research team were key factors that excited investors. Together’s inference engine is three times faster than competitors, which contributed to its success in attracting investors.
Investment Details
Kleiner Perkins led the investment round, with participation from NVIDIA and Emergence Capital. Bucky Moore, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, will join the Together board as part of the investment agreement. Other participants in the funding round include NEA, Prosperity 7, Greycroft, 137 Ventures, Lux Capital, Definition Capital, and Long Journey Ventures. Previously, Together raised $20 million in seed funding.
NVIDIA’s Role
NVIDIA is a leading company in the AI space and a valuable partner for Together. Vipul Ved Prakash, co-founder and CEO of Together, emphasized NVIDIA’s position as the platform for AI. The investment will contribute to improving Together’s cloud platform for AI applications, research and development efforts, open-source contributions, and infrastructure enhancements.
Privacy-Focused Approach
Together prioritizes privacy and gives developers control over how data is shared and used on the platform. By default, no customer data is used for training models. Customers can decide whether to enable data storage or not.
The Future of Generative AI
To achieve higher accuracy in tasks, Together believes in fine-tuning open-source models rather than relying solely on large proprietary models like GPT-4. The company sees open source as a major component of the future of generative AI, offering benefits such as accuracy, ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced performance.
About Together AI
Launched in June 2022, Together is a San Francisco-based open-source cloud AI startup. The company’s team consists of experienced individuals from Apple, ETH Zurich, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and MIT.
Hot Take: Together Secures Significant Funding for Open-Source Cloud AI
To meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence solutions, open-source cloud AI startup Together has raised an impressive $102.5 million in Series A funding. With support from investors such as NVIDIA and Kleiner Perkins, the company aims to enhance its cloud platform for AI applications and contribute to open-source AI development. Together’s privacy-focused approach and emphasis on fine-tuning open-source models highlight their commitment to customer control and achieving higher accuracy in tasks. As the platform for AI today, NVIDIA’s involvement further strengthens Together’s position in the market. This funding round marks a significant milestone for Together as it continues to shape the future of generative AI through its innovative research and development efforts.
Source: Decrypt