Foundation Models AI News & Updates
AI Investment Soars 62% to $110B in 2024 While Overall Tech Funding Declines
Venture capital funding for AI startups surged to $110 billion in 2024, representing a 62% increase compared to the previous year, even as overall technology funding declined by 12%. The US dominated AI investment with 42% of its venture capital ($80.7 billion) going to AI startups, compared to just 25% in Europe, with generative AI companies raising $47.4 billion and foundational AI technology overtaking applications in growth.
Skynet Chance (+0.06%): The massive surge in AI investment, particularly in foundational models and generative AI, increases the likelihood of rapid capability advancements potentially outpacing safety measures. This unprecedented concentration of capital creates strong financial incentives to prioritize capabilities over controllability, especially with US investors allocating 42% of venture capital to AI startups.
Skynet Date (-2 days): The 62% year-over-year increase in AI funding represents a substantial acceleration in the resources available for AI development, likely compressing timelines for advanced capabilities. The concentration of funding in foundational models and generative AI specifically accelerates development of the most powerful and potentially uncontrollable systems.
AGI Progress (+0.06%): The massive $110 billion investment specifically directed toward AI development, with substantial portions going to foundational models and generative AI, represents a significant acceleration in AGI progress. This unprecedented capital infusion provides the resources needed for extensive compute infrastructure, talent acquisition, and research acceleration across the AI ecosystem.
AGI Date (-2 days): The extraordinary increase in AI funding, particularly the concentration in foundational models, substantially accelerates AGI timelines by providing unprecedented resources for scaling models and overcoming technical barriers. With investment growing 62% in a single year while other tech investments decline, the financial resources for pursuing AGI capabilities are being concentrated and accelerated dramatically.
SoftBank Negotiating $500M Investment in Robotics Foundation Model Developer Skild AI
SoftBank is reportedly negotiating a $500 million investment in Skild AI, a robotics software company building a foundational model for various types of robots, at a $4 billion valuation. The two-year-old company previously raised $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, with investors including Jeff Bezos, and represents part of a broader surge in funding for AI-powered robotics companies.
Skynet Chance (+0.1%): Massive investment in foundation models for physical robots represents a significant step toward AI systems that can both reason and interact with the physical world autonomously. The development of generalized models applicable across robot types increases the risk of unpredictable emergent behaviors in physical systems.
Skynet Date (-2 days): The rapid acceleration of funding in this space (from $1.5B to $4B valuation in less than a year) indicates dramatically increased resources being directed toward embodied AI, potentially accelerating the timeline for physically capable AI systems with real-world agency.
AGI Progress (+0.04%): Foundation models for robotics represent a crucial bridge between abstract reasoning and physical world manipulation, addressing a key limitation in current AI systems. The ability to develop generalized models that can be adapted across different robot types suggests progress toward more general intelligence capabilities.
AGI Date (-1 days): The substantial increase in funding ($500M) and valuation ($4B) represents a significant acceleration in resources directed toward integrating advanced AI with physical systems, likely compressing the timeline for developing key AGI capabilities related to real-world interaction and embodied intelligence.