AI-related developments dominated the tech news cycle this week, with stories ranging from funding rounds and product launches to internal restructuring and delayed releases. Several companies made significant moves, reflecting the rapid evolution and increasing importance of artificial intelligence across various sectors.
Modal Labs, an AI inference infrastructure startup, was reportedly in talks with venture capitalists to raise a new funding round at a valuation of $2.5 billion, according to four sources with knowledge of the deal. This potential valuation would more than double the company's $1.1 billion valuation announced just five months prior, when it secured an $87 million Series B round. TechCrunch reported that General Catalyst was in discussions to lead the round. Sources indicated that Modal's annualized revenue run rate (ARR) was approximately $50 million. However, discussions were still in the early stages, and terms could change. Modal Labs co-founder and CEO Erik Bernhardsson denied that his company was actively fundraising, characterizing his recent interactions with VCs as general conversations.
Meanwhile, OpenAI disbanded its mission alignment team, which was designed to communicate the company's mission to the public and employees. The team's former leader was given a new role as the company's chief futurist. An OpenAI spokesperson told TechCrunch that the team's members had been assigned to other roles. The team, formed in September 2024, was dedicated to promoting the company's stated mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.
Apple's highly anticipated revamp of Siri, first unveiled with Apple Intelligence in 2024, faced further delays. According to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the new era of Siri, expected to launch with the upcoming iOS 26.4 update in March, would now roll out more slowly. Some features were reportedly postponed until the May iOS update or even the release of iOS 27 in September. The delay was attributed to issues encountered during software testing. The changes are rumored to make the digital assistant more like the LLM chatbot.
Uber Eats launched a new AI feature called Cart Assistant, designed to help customers create grocery carts faster and easier. The beta version of the feature was made available in the app on Wednesday. Users can search for a grocery store in the Uber Eats app and tap the purple Cart Assistant icon to begin shopping. Customers can enter a list or upload an image of one, and Cart Assistant will automatically add the necessary items to their basket. This includes photos of handwritten lists or screenshots of recipes and their ingredients. Users can then customize the basket by swapping items or adding more products. Uber Eats noted that Cart Assistant uses previous orders to prioritize familiar items.
Finally, the question of who will own the AI layer powering enterprise operations was addressed by Glean's CEO. Glean, which began as an enterprise search product, has evolved into an AI work assistant, aiming to connect to internal systems, manage permissions, and deliver intelligence wherever employees work. The startup raised $150 million last year at a $7.2 billion valuation. Glean's CEO and founder Arvind Jain discussed how enterprises are thinking about AI architecture at Web Summit Qatar.
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