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Hello reader,
Here at Tech in Asia, we’ve been experimenting a lot with generative AI tools. We write about the tech, so it makes sense to have some familiarity with it.
You’ve probably seen articles from Grace, our AI intern. We’ve also been exploring using Midjourney to generate images, sometimes for editorial use but also just for sh*ts and giggles. For example, in this TikTok video, we combined the face of our CEO, Willis, with the image of our mascot, TIA Bot.
Like it or not, AI – in whatever form – is taking the world by storm. So it tracks that today’s newsletter features an AI startup that has taken no VC funding as well as the latest fundraise of an OpenAI competitor.
Today we look at:
- An AI firm that said no to VC money after ‘perplexing’ experiences with them
- An Israel-based startup building AI systems for natural language
- Other newsy highlights such as iPrice’s expansion into Australia and PhonePe’s new stockbroking platform
Premium summary
No VC, no problem
Image credit: Timmy Loen
AI startup Tisane Labs seems like the perfect candidate for VC investment, given that it is operating in an exciting emerging tech space and is offering a valuable solution: “dirty” natural language processing (NLP). Basically, the company created an AI with a focus on netspeak and abuse. However, the firm has taken no VC investment at all. Let’s look at its story:
- Perplexing: According to co-founder and CEO Vadim Berman, the process of trying to get VC funding “was – to put it mildly – perplexing.” The firm didn’t have the most positive fundraising experience and decided to just bootstrap.
- Standing out from the pack: There aren’t many other businesses operating in this space, but Tisane Labs has stood out all the same. It uses an unorthodox approach to architecting its platform that enables it to operate more flexibly, transparently, and affordably.
- Coming up next: Tisane Labs is working on tackling issues such as fraud and spam with its solution. It ultimately hopes to become a go-to resource for difficult-to-solve issues in NLP.
Read more: This AI startup said no to VCs after ‘perplexing’ experiences with them
Startup spotlight
The generative AI competition is heating up
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