June 23, 2025 News
Databricks Co-founder Launches $100M AI Research Institute to Guide Beneficial AI Development
Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity, announced the creation of Laude Institute with a $100 million personal pledge to fund independent AI research. The institute will operate as a hybrid nonprofit/for-profit structure, focusing on "Slingshots and Moonshots" research projects, with its first major grant establishing UC Berkeley's new AI Systems Lab in 2027. The initiative aims to support truly independent AI research that guides the field toward more beneficial outcomes, featuring prominent board members including Google's Jeff Dean and Meta's Joelle Pineau.
Skynet Chance (-0.08%): The institute's explicit focus on guiding AI development toward "more beneficial outcomes" and supporting independent research could help counter commercial pressures that might lead to unsafe AI deployment. However, the hybrid nonprofit/commercial structure introduces potential conflicts of interest that could undermine safety priorities.
Skynet Date (+0 days): While the institute aims to promote beneficial AI development, the substantial funding and research acceleration could indirectly speed up overall AI capabilities development. The focus on independent research may provide some counterbalancing safety considerations that slightly slow risky deployment timelines.
AGI Progress (+0.03%): The $100 million funding commitment and establishment of new research facilities like UC Berkeley's AI Systems Lab will accelerate AI research across multiple domains. The involvement of top-tier researchers and focus on fundamental AI systems research will likely contribute to AGI-relevant capabilities advancement.
AGI Date (+0 days): The significant funding injection and creation of new research infrastructure will likely accelerate the pace of AI research and development. The 2027 timeline for the new lab suggests sustained long-term investment that could speed up AGI timeline through enhanced research capacity.
Legal AI Startup Harvey Reaches $5B Valuation with Rapid Revenue Growth
Harvey AI, a startup providing AI automation for legal work, raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation just four months after its previous $3 billion round. The company is expanding rapidly with 340 employees, plans to double headcount, and has reached $75 million in annualized revenue while serving 337 legal clients.
Skynet Chance (0%): This represents domain-specific AI automation for legal tasks rather than general intelligence or autonomous systems, posing no meaningful risk of uncontrolled AI behavior.
Skynet Date (+0 days): Legal document processing automation doesn't accelerate development of potentially dangerous AI capabilities or affect the timeline for AI control concerns.
AGI Progress (+0.01%): While this demonstrates successful AI application in professional services, it represents narrow domain expertise rather than general intelligence advancement.
AGI Date (+0 days): Commercial success in legal AI doesn't significantly impact the pace of AGI development, as it focuses on specialized tasks rather than general reasoning capabilities.