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Mila secures $21 million from Québec government to support ethical AI research, projects (BETAKIT)
The Québec government is investing $21 million over three years into Montreal-based artificial intelligence institute Mila to further advance its work on “socially beneficial AI.”
Mila was co-founded by notable Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who is among a syndicate of leaders in the AI community that signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on the development of advanced AI.
B.C. quantum pioneer D-Wave gets US$50-million lifeline from PSP but stock sinks on reduced outlook (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
Quantum computing pioneer D-Wave Quantum Inc. said Friday it had secured US$50-million in financing from its majority shareholder, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which eased a near-term liquidity crunch but was overshadowed by a disappointing 2023 financial forecast.
#CDNtech sector struggles continue as government innovation promises continue to lag (BETAKIT)
With spring officially here, BetaKit’s most-read stories for the month of March highlight a season of transition for Canadian tech, with ongoing frustrations and challenges met by long-term optimism and an immediate need to reconcile with AI disruption.
Dive into this recap of Betakit's coverage through the turbulent month of March.
Osler's market-leading Emerging and High Growth Companies Group has released its second annual Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings, a study of 353 anonymized venture capital and growth equity financings from 2020 to 2022, valued at more than US$6 billion.
This comprehensive report is a must read for founders, entrepreneurs, investors and advisors who are contemplating transactions in 2023 and beyond.
Read the Deal Points Report now.
Amazon Is Joining the Generative AI Race (WIRED)
Today, Amazon announced it’s joining the generative AI race. Not by launching its own chatbot, but by making two new AI language models available through its cloud platform, Amazon Web Services, which customers will be able to use to build their own bots.
Round13 nabs $200 million first close for third fund as co-founders Bruce Croxon, John Eckert step back (BETAKIT)
Round13 Capital has raised $200 million CAD in the first close of its latest fund, as its co-founders Bruce Croxon and John Eckert hand over the leadership reins to Round13 general partners Brahm Klar and Wilson Lee.
US begins study of possible rules to regulate AI like ChatGPT (REUTERS)
The Biden administration said Tuesday it is seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for artificial intelligence systems as questions loom about its impact on national security and education.
The agency wants to know if there are measures that could be put in place to provide assurance "that AI systems are legal, effective, ethical, safe, and otherwise trustworthy."
Ariglad raises $1.3 million to help HR teams communicate better, fulfill ticket systems (BETAKIT)
Calling itself the only help desk specifically built for human resource teams, Ariglad has raised $1.3 million CAD to refine its AI-based product and expand its reach to new clients.
Ariglad is currently participating in the Y Combinator program, who also made the largest investment, and was bootstrapped until joining.
European parliament prepares tough measures over use of AI (FINANCIAL TIMES)
The European parliament is preparing tough new measures over the use of artificial intelligence, including forcing chatbot makers to reveal if they use copyrighted material, as the EU edges towards enacting the world’s most restrictive regime on the development of AI.
Down rounds in 2022 lower than expected amid reliance on bridge financing: Osler report (BETAKIT)
Despite the market uncertainty that played out in 2022, the number of down rounds fell below the three-year average between 2020 to 2022. This is one of the findings in the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s second annual report on venture capital and growth equity.
Startup AlphaSense snags $100M as AI stays hot; Alphabet’s CapitalG invests (CRUNCHBASE)
AlphaSense became the latest AI-enhanced startup to lock up big money, as it raised another $100 million from investors that included CapitalG — Alphabet’s independent growth fund.
The new money values the company at $1.8 billion. The cash is in addition to the $225 million Series D that valued the company at $1.7 billion last June.
Elon Musk plans artificial intelligence start-up to rival OpenAI (FINANCIAL TIMES)
Elon Musk is developing plans to launch a new artificial intelligence start-up to compete with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, as the billionaire seeks to join Silicon Valley’s race to build generative AI systems.
The speed with which Musk is moving will raise eyebrows in some corners of the AI community after he led a letter, cosigned by thousands of other tech figures, calling for a pause on development of GPT-style models over safety concerns.
Canadian privacy commissioner launches investigation into ChatGPT (BETAKIT)
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said on Tuesday that the case was launched in response to a “complaint alleging the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information without consent.”
Researchers populated a tiny virtual town with AI (and it was very wholesome) (TECHCRUNCH)
What would happen if you filled a virtual town with AIs and set them loose? As it turns out, they brush their teeth and are very nice to one another! But this unexciting outcome is good news for the researchers who did it, since they wanted to produce “believable simulacra of human behavior” and got just that.