AI investment – CTRSpace

US DOJ Drops Bid To Make Google Sell AI Investment in Antitrust Case

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Shahid Anwar

Google has a little respite in the antitrust case. The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped the clause to force Google to sell its AI Investments , including the Anthropic company, to boost competition. Anthropic had contended to the court that losing the investment would hand competitive advantage to its rivals OpenAI and Microsoft. The prosecutors obtained evidence that shows a risk if Google’s AI investments are banned. The risk is that it could have unintended consequences in the evolving landscape of AI. Google holds minority stakes worth billions of dollars in Anthropic.

The prosecutors asked that in future, Google should inform the government about its plan for investment in generative AI beforehand to get the approval. Google said it is going to appeal against this investment restriction order. The Lawsuit was filed back on 20 October 2020 with a primary focus on Google’s monopoly in the search engine market. It was said in the lawsuit that google is unlawfully maintained monopolies in search and online advertising markets through its anticompetitive practices.

However, a separate lawsuit was filed on January 24, 2023, by the DOJ, which focused more on digital advertising and was much harsher than the first lawsuit. It described how Google gained an unfair advantage by buying out the ad tools and serving technology. It asked for Google to sell significant portions of its ad tech business and stop certain business practices. However, that trial for second lawsuit was completed in November 2024, and a ruling is expected by August 2025

US DOJ also wants Google to sell off its Chrome browser as a part of its final remedy proposal in the antitrust case. It also requires google to stop paying partners for special treatment of its search engine. It is an unfair advantage if you are the default search engine. As per Reliablesoft, Google has an 89.74% share in the market, and Bing is languishing in 2nd place with just 3.97%. The tech world is eagerly looking forward to the conclusion of this case, which has the potential to change the tech world a great deal. It remains to be seen what the final verdict will be. Google has its task cut out, and there is a fair chance that it will get some unfavorable orders in the final ruling.

Perplexity Launches $50M AI Venture Fund to Back Future Tech Innovators

Posted on February 26, 2025 by ctrspace

Creating the best chatbot is no longer a race nowadays; it’s got to do with who is throwing the biggest dollars in the future. With that in mind, here comes Perplexity, the latest in technology, and now with its own venture capital fund, an AI-powered search engine that caused rather a stir in the industry. Perplexity walks into the investor’s hall with fresh $50 million reserved for early startup investment, ready to discover what’s next big in AI and tech. It seems like Perplexity’s AI is smart enough to invest in people for now. However, with big bucks come big questions about who is getting funded and is Perplexity setting itself up as the Google of startup investments?

Perplexity, developer of an AI-powered search engine, has ventured into the venture capital arena by launching a $50 million seed and pre-seed fund, as reported by CNBC. Following their recent funding of $500 million at a $9 billion valuation, the company is using some of its own money in the fund’s cornerstone, while well proclaimed money comes from limited partners.

Perplexity dives into Venture Capital:

Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko are the GPs for the new fund. They previously co-founded f7 Ventures, an early-stage investment firm backing companies like women’s health startup Midi. It is still unclear if Graziadei and Shevelenko will continue in an advisory capacity with f7 Ventures or concentrate on Perplexity’s venture fund.

Through its venture capital foray, Perplexity seeks to nurture forward-thinking early-stage companies in AI and technology. This puts the company in the same league as other AI giants that have set up funds aimed at nurturing the next generation of tech immigrant businesses.

Perplexity VS OpenAI Investment Approach:

With the formation of its very own venture fund, Perplexity creates the juxtaposition with OpenAI, which itself has an investment scheme, namely the OpenAI Startup Fund. The contours of distinction arise in that OpenAI explained that it does not use its own funds to invest. Perplexity, however, has decided to use at least some part of its funds to capitalize its new venture.

Implications for the Ecosystem of Startups:

With this fund development, Perplexity is not just establishing itself in the AI and tech ecosystem but also providing necessary capital for startups that resonate with its vision. This action gives a nod to the heightened trend where AI firms are increasingly flexing their financial muscles to start their own investment vehicles to ensure innovation and strike strategic partnerships in the industry. It would be interesting to see what startups come into play as the fund emerges and how Perplexity’s investment strategy will put a mark in contributing to the shaping of AI and technology businesses. Now that the fund is beginning to deploy capital, all eyes will be on Perplexity to see if it can search for, and invest in the next billion-dollar idea.

Anthropic Nears $3.5 Billion Fundraising as AI Investment Surges

Posted on February 25, 2025 by ctrspace

Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude chatbot, is reportedly securing a massive $3.5 billion funding round, pushing its valuation to $61.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Initially, the company aimed to raise $2 billion, but strong investor demand has led to an expanded round, signaling growing confidence in AI-driven innovation.

Several major investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, are expected to participate in this funding. If the round closes at the projected amount, Anthropic’s total capital raised will surpass $18 billion, solidifying its position as one of the most well-funded AI startups. The company recently launched Claude 3.7 Sonnet, an upgraded AI model designed to enhance response speed and reasoning capabilities, strengthening its position in the generative AI space. However, Anthropic has not achieved profitability despite technological advancements, making the latest fundraising crucial for further AI model development and business expansion.

This influx of funding reflects the broader trend of soaring AI investments, with nearly half of U.S. venture capital funding directed toward AI startups last year. The demand for cutting-edge AI continues to fuel investor enthusiasm, but global competition is also intensifying. Chinese AI alternatives like DeepSeek are emerging as cost-effective rivals, challenging U.S. dominance in the field. Meanwhile, OpenAI, Anthropic’s key competitor, is reportedly pursuing a new funding round that could push its valuation to an astonishing $300 billion. As the AI race accelerates, Anthropic’s increasing valuation underscores the growing financial stakes in artificial intelligence development. With billions flowing into AI research, startups like Anthropic must continue innovating while proving their long-term sustainability in an increasingly competitive market.

The AI Revolution in Europe; AI Startups Secured $8 Billion in 2024

Posted on February 6, 2025 by ctrspace

Europe’s AI startups secured a big bag of 8 billion dollars with a mic drop scene in Europe. I suppose Europe is not all about fine wine and old castles, rather they are focused on keeping up with the likes of the U.S and China’s AI developments. Startups dealing with AI have raised a whopping $8 billion through funding in Europe.

This amount greatly boosts investment and innovation across the continent. However, this surge comes just ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, where world leaders and technology executives will gather in France to discuss AI from the perspectives of impact, ethics, and investment potential.

Emerging AI Landscape in Europe:

AI startups are popping up across Europe faster than tourists at the Eiffel Tower. While most of the discussion on the global AI landscape revolves around the likes of mainstream OpenAI or DeepSeek, European startups have formed their corner in a dignified fashion. In fact, this year’s AI accounted for an estimated 20% of total VC funding in Europe, signifying that investor confidence in the possibilities of AI in Europe is rising.

The majority, around 70%, of these investments have been directed toward AI companies in their initial stage, from seed funding to Series B rounds. This shows that the European AI ecosystem is still undergoing rapid growth, with many players well-positioned for future expansion. The UK, France, Germany, and the Nordic countries, traditionally strong with VC-backed startups, therefore supply major propulsion to AI innovation.

Interestingly, as European AI startups mature, they increasingly attract international investment, by the time they reach Series C and later rounds, about half of the funding comes from U.S based venture capital firms. This not only gives an idea about the strength of European AI firms but also implies that they are becoming relevant on an international scale.

AI Ecosystem in France is on the rise:

Innovation in AI is, indeed, the name of the game in France. The country is home to more than 750 AI startups that create approximately 35,000 jobs. Also, with 2,000 scientists and 600 doctorate students working on AI development, France has laid down a solid research infrastructure. As the Minister delegate for artificial intelligence and digital technologies Clara Chappaz said at a press conference that, “in France more specifically, there are more than 750 startups that have created 35,000 jobs and operate in all areas that are transforming today’s society”.

This abundance of talent is reflected in the increasing number of French engineers and researchers who contribute to leading AI companies in the U.S and elsewhere. According to the recently published French Report on AI in France, the spectrum of AI applications being born in France is rather wide. While Mistral AI and Poolside have been making headlines with their activities, many other startups are contributing to the AI infrastructure and application development.

LinkUp and Kestra for instance, optimize data workflows, ZML on the other hand improves inference performance. Others like Dust are creating AI agents to enhance productivity through automating large scale data processing. Nevertheless, most AI startups in France are focused to address the concerns in the health and climate industries.

AI Innovations for Health and Climate:

Owkin and Bioptimus, in the health sector, along with others, have been developing AI applications for medical imaging, drug discovery, and treatment optimization. These developments are keen on radically upgrading patient diagnostics and care towards a more precise and efficient way of doing things. In the meantime, AI-focused climate startups tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Whether in agritech or carbon and energy management, AI-based solutions are finding their way to sustainability applications in Europe. Startups such as Altrove look for alternative materials that can leverage the green economy.

Future of AI in Europe:

Realistically, not every AI startup will survive in these coming years, however, the European ecosystem for AI is surely gaining a grip in the industry. As the very essence of AI gets embedded in various industries, the continent’s investment landscape is shifting accordingly to support innovation at every point.

This does not seem like a winner takes all situation, rather, the AI explosion appears to be quite an evenly spread phenomenon, with several members from various locations helping to shape its future. With the approaching AI Action Summit, the importance of Europe in shaping AI’s future has never been more prominent, as the next few years will speak to whether European AI startups will sustain the growth to compete on a global front but, for now, they are proving that AI innovation isn’t limited to a few tech superpowers.