Humans&, a recent nonprofit-founded, newtonomic startup by former employees at tech companies such as Anthropic, xAI, and Google has rocked the tech world. As such, they crushed their seed raising a whopping $480 million dollar round. This funding raises the company’s valuation to $4.48 billion. It’s an indicator of a booming appetite among investors looking to back new AI-powered startups emerging from elite artificial intelligence research labs.
After all, Humans& is just three months into making our own debut. We’re passionate about ensuring that artificial intelligence complements and extends the human experience, rather than replacing it. With proven AI technologies, the ambitious startup wants to develop better strategies for training models. Its main emphasis is on making sure that humans can more effectively communicate with AI systems.
Perhaps the biggest vote of confidence came from investors such as tech heavyweight Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, both named in this megadeal. Major VC players, including SV Angel and Google Ventures are in the mix too. Of note, Emerson Collective, the progressive philanthropic firm led by Laurene Powell Jobs, has committed resources to Humans&.
Humans are designing and deploying AI-enhanced chatbots to do just that. These chatbots will proactively reach out to users, asking for the information they need and saving it for future conversations. This approach reflects the startup’s commitment to creating “a deeper connective tissue that strengthens organizations and communities,” according to company representatives.
The huge commitment to Humans& comes as the funding floodgates open for other ventures launched by scientists who’ve passed through the doors of these influential AI labs. Investors are still betting on these newly created companies to make waves and reshape the ever-growing artificial intelligence space.
“This is about how we train models at scale and how people interact with AI.” – Humans&
Humans has grand aspirations and impressive backing support. It is poised to drive a big change in artificial intelligence, putting technology to work for people and focusing it on human-centered values.