Anysphere, a GitHub Copilot rival, has raised $60M Series A at $400M valuation from a16z, Thrive, sources say
entspos 8:15 pm August 11, 2024 Anysphere, a two-year-old startup behind the AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, has successfully raised over $60 million in Series A financing, reaching a post-money valuation of $400 million, according to sources familiar with the deal, as reported by TechCrunch. The funding round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, with participation from Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe. While Anysphere, a16z, and Collison did not provide comments, Thrive declined to comment. Founded by MIT students Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif, Arvid Lunnemark, and Aman Sanger, Anysphere has quickly made a name for itself. Truell and Sanger participated in the prestigious Neo Scholars program, which led to Neo’s pre-seed investment in the startup. Last year, Anysphere raised $11 million in a seed round led by the OpenAI Startup Fund, with contributions from former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi, and other angel investors. Anysphere is entering a competitive market of AI coding assistant startups, including Cognition, Poolside, Magic, and Augment. The surge in investor interest is not surprising. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently highlighted that GitHub Copilot, an AI tool for developers, has surpassed GitHub’s entire revenue at the time of its acquisition, estimated at $300 million. This indicates a substantial market, with approximately 3 million developers paying $100 annually for GitHub’s individual subscription, underscoring the high demand for such tools. Anysphere’s growth in revenue and usage has been rapid, according to sources. In July, Business Insider reported that Anysphere was raising new funds, targeting a $400 million valuation. Recent Posts
OpenAI co-founder John Schulman says he will leave and join rival Anthropic
entspos 4:43 pm August 7, 2024 John Schulman, co-founder of OpenAI, announced in a Monday X post that he is leaving the Microsoft-backed company to join Anthropic, an AI startup funded by Amazon. Schulman’s departure follows OpenAI’s decision to disband its superalignment team, which aimed to ensure human control over advanced AI systems. Schulman, who co-led OpenAI’s post-training team responsible for refining AI models for ChatGPT and third-party developer interfaces, shared that his move is motivated by a desire to focus more on AI alignment and engage in hands-on technical work. He clarified that his departure was not due to a lack of support at OpenAI, noting the company’s commitment to AI alignment. “On the contrary, company leaders have been very committed to investing in this area,” Schulman stated in his post. The leaders of the superalignment team, Jan Leike and Ilya Sutskever, have also left OpenAI this year. Leike joined Anthropic, while Sutskever has started a new venture, Safe Superintelligence Inc. Since its establishment by former OpenAI staff in 2021, Anthropic has been competing with OpenAI to develop top-performing generative AI models. Major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta are also in the race to develop advanced large language models. Leike expressed enthusiasm about Schulman’s move, writing, “Very excited to be working together again!” Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, acknowledged Schulman’s significant contributions, stating that Schulman’s perspective helped shape the company’s early strategy. Schulman and several others left OpenAI after the board ousted Altman as CEO last November, a decision that led to employee protests and the subsequent resignation of board members Ilya Sutskever, Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner. Altman was later reinstated, and OpenAI expanded its board. In a podcast, Toner mentioned that Altman had provided the board with inaccurate information regarding the company’s safety processes. An independent review by the law firm WilmerHale concluded that the board’s decision to oust Altman was not based on product safety concerns. Recently, Altman announced that OpenAI is collaborating with the US AI Safety Institute to provide early access to their next foundation model, emphasizing the company’s ongoing commitment to AI safety. OpenAI plans to allocate 20% of its computing resources to safety initiatives. Additionally, on Monday, OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman announced he would take a sabbatical for the rest of the year. Recent Posts
Meet the founder who built and sold a $600M enterprise software startup from Sri Lanka
entspos 5:34 pm August 3, 2024 Sanjiva Weerawarana: A Sri Lankan Success Story Sanjiva Weerawarana is a remarkable figure in Sri Lanka’s tech industry. In 2005, he founded the enterprise software firm WSO2, which grew to nearly $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) before being sold to private equity firm EQT for $600 million in May 2024. Despite Sri Lanka’s modest startup ecosystem, WSO2 has stood out with major clients like Samsung, Axa, and AT&T. Founding WSO2 Weerawarana’s journey began at IBM, where he helped develop web service specifications such as WSDL and BPEL. When IBM showed no interest in his innovative middleware stack idea, he decided to establish WSO2. Despite the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka at the time, WSO2 thrived. Today, 80% of its 780 employees are based in Sri Lanka, with the rest spread across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Growth and Open Source Success WSO2, an open-source enterprise software provider, benefited greatly from the open-source movement, which allowed global collaboration and development. With Intel Capital as its earliest backer, WSO2 positioned itself well during the rise of cloud computing and microservices. Recently, the company has integrated AI into its products, launching a new API manager that allows developers to use AI-powered chatbots for API testing. Acquisition and Future Plans The acquisition by EQT marks a significant milestone for WSO2, providing the company with the resources to pursue longer-term strategies and setting its sights on an IPO within five years. EQT’s investment reflects confidence in WSO2’s robust product offerings, deep enterprise client relationships, and sound financial management. Weerawarana’s Commitment to Sri Lanka Weerawarana’s commitment to Sri Lanka is unwavering. Through the Avinya Foundation, established in 2022, he supports economically disadvantaged children with vocational education programs. Additionally, his decision to drive for Uber in 2017 was aimed at challenging social stigmas around certain types of work in Sri Lanka, demonstrating that all jobs deserve respect. Conclusion Sanjiva Weerawarana’s story is a testament to the potential of Sri Lanka’s tech industry. With WSO2’s continued growth and the support of EQT, the company is poised to make even greater strides on the global stage. Weerawarana’s vision and dedication to his country and industry continue to inspire many. Recent Posts
Backed by Microsoft, AWS and Meta, the Overture Maps Foundation launches its first open map data sets
entspos 6:38 pm July 24, 2024 It’s not every day that Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta join forces for a common cause. However, that’s precisely the case with the Overture Maps Foundation, an initiative dedicated to developing interoperable and open map data. Launched in December 2022, the Overture Maps Foundation aims to challenge Google’s dominance in online mapping. Hosted by the Linux Foundation, the group has been releasing early previews of its data sets over the past year, with the first beta version arriving this April. On Wednesday, the initiative marked a significant milestone by releasing four open data sets in general availability (GA). Maps are essentially composed of “layers” that can be customized for various applications. The Overture Maps Foundation is now releasing data sets for buildings, including 2.3 billion building “footprints” worldwide; places, featuring around 54 million notable points of interest; divisions, which visualize boundaries between countries, regions, cities, or neighborhoods; and base, covering land and water features like physical infrastructure (e.g., communication towers, piers, and bridges). The foundation’s transportation data set remains in beta, while a new addresses data set, currently in alpha, includes 200 million addresses across 14 countries. While Microsoft, AWS, and Meta are the most prominent members, the core steering committee also includes location technology veteran TomTom. Other members, categorized as “general” and “contributor” members, include Esri, Hyundai, Niantic, and TripAdvisor. Google’s absence is notable but expected, given the project’s ultimate goal. The foundation aggregates data from various sources, including open datasets from projects like OpenStreetMap and government sources, as well as proprietary data from its members and even some from Google. Although most of Google’s mapping data is proprietary, it has released some datasets under an open access license, such as Open Buildings, which was released in 2021. The Overture Maps Foundation has used data from OpenStreetMap, Esri, Microsoft, and Google, as demonstrated in a map of the U.S.-Mexico border. Combining different data sets is not straightforward, as they often have different formats, structures, and standards. The process of merging these data sets, known as conflation, involves meticulous checking and de-duplication to ensure accuracy. “One of the real challenges when you start combining data from various sources is identifying whether a record of a building or place matches another record,” explained Marc Prioleau, executive director of the Overture Maps Foundation, in an interview with TechCrunch. “People often misspell things or use different names, and geographical misalignments can occur. Conflation helps address these issues.” OpenStreetMap plays a significant role in providing data for the Overture Maps Foundation, alongside open data sets from governments and municipalities. Corporate members also contribute their proprietary data. For example, Meta has shared its Facebook places data, which includes information about every “place” or restaurant with a Facebook page. “While knowing the details of what people like about a place is a competitive advantage, simply knowing the place exists is not,” said Prioleau. “Sharing this data allows us to create a more comprehensive record.” Prioleau, who has extensive experience in the mapping and location industry from his roles at Mapbox, Uber, and Meta, leads the Overture Maps Foundation. He was joined by Amy Rose as technical director in November, making the organization’s full-time staff count two. The foundation also employs around 10 contractors for various tasks, with the Linux Foundation providing some engineering support. Member companies contribute around 100 people who participate in the project, either part-time or full-time, depending on the task. “When our member companies join, we emphasize that this is a participatory effort, not a spectator sport,” said Prioleau. “We encourage active involvement in the many aspects of the project.” Recent Posts
Global tech outage disrupts industries, highlights online risks
entspos 9:07 pm July 19, 2024 On July 19, a global tech outage disrupted industries ranging from travel to finance before services gradually came back online after several hours. This incident underscored the risks associated with the global shift towards interconnected digital technologies. The outage was triggered by a software update from global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (CRWD.O), which caused system problems that grounded flights, disrupted broadcasts, and left customers without access to essential services like healthcare and banking. Over the past two decades, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and businesses have become increasingly reliant on a few interconnected technology companies. This dependency explains why a single software issue had such widespread effects. CrowdStrike, an $83 billion company with over 20,000 subscribers worldwide, including tech giants like Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), found itself in the spotlight. CEO George Kurtz revealed on social media platform X that a defect in a content update for Windows hosts affected Microsoft customers. Kurtz apologized on NBC News’ “Today” program, stating that many customers were rebooting their systems and restoring operations. CrowdStrike shares dropped but later recovered slightly, ending down 10.8% on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, competitors SentinelOne (S.N) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW.O) saw their shares rise by 8.8% and 1.5%, respectively. Microsoft shares fell by about 1%. Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer, Frank Shaw, said on X that the company was aiding customers in recovering their systems after the CrowdStrike update caused global disruptions to Windows systems. Ciaran Martin, a professor at Oxford University and former head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, noted the unprecedented scale of the outage. A White House official confirmed that U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated that the outage was not a result of a malicious attack. However, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency observed that hackers were exploiting the situation for phishing and other malicious activities. As companies and institutions began to restore normal services, experts highlighted the outage’s revelation of the vulnerabilities in our increasingly online world. Gil Luria, a senior software analyst at D.A. Davidson, pointed out the complexity and interdependence of global computing systems, emphasizing their susceptibility to errors. The tech sector sell-off deepened on Wall Street, with the main indexes falling and the Cboe Volatility index (.VIX), Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” hitting its highest level since early May. The dollar strengthened as the outage unsettled investors. Air travel faced immediate impacts, as flight scheduling disruptions led to delays and cancellations. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, out of more than 110,000 scheduled commercial flights on Friday, 2,691 were canceled, with more expected. Airports worldwide resorted to handwritten boarding passes, causing further delays. Banks and financial services companies warned customers about disruptions, and traders experienced transaction execution problems. The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) reported issues with its Workspace news and data platform, regulatory news service, and currency prices, but most were resolved by midday. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq reported that U.S. markets were operating normally. Government agencies were also affected, with disruptions reported by the Dutch and UAE foreign ministries. U.S. healthcare providers faced outages affecting call centers, patient portals, and other operations. Boston’s Mass General Brigham treated only urgent cases, and Tufts Medical Center warned of potential delays and rescheduling. In Britain, booking systems used by doctors were offline, and Sky News apologized for being unable to transmit live. Manchester United postponed a ticket release due to the outage. In New York City, jail cameras, arrest processing software, and other governmental functions were impacted, though 911 and emergency systems remained operational. By the end of the day, more companies reported a return to normal service, including Spanish airport operator Aena (AENA.MC), U.S. carriers American Airlines (AAL.O), Frontier, Spirit (SAVE.N), Dubai International Airport operator, and Australia’s Commonwealth Bank (CBA.AX). U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that transportation system issues seemed to be resolving and expected normal operations by Saturday, noting that the Federal Aviation Administration was unaffected. Recent Posts