Move to “PayPal Mafia”.
What happened: Fourteen Silicon Valley-savvy former Google employees with an AI-first mindset are leading some of the most forward-thinking startups. Together, these startups boast a staggering valuation of $71.61 billion, according to a study by writerbuddy.ai.
The companies – which observers have dubbed the “Google Mafia” – collectively raised $14.7 billion in funding in October. They include:
- Based in San Francisco Anthropicco-founded by a former Googler Dario Amodei; boasts a valuation of $40 billion and funding of $9.7 billion.
- Perplexityco-founded by a former Google intern Aravind Srinivasis also located in San Francisco and is valued at $8 billion.
- Mistral AIco-founded by Arthur Menschwho left Google DeepMind in May 2023; this Paris-based company is now valued at $6.2 billion.
From San Francisco to Paris, the influence of the Google mafia extends everywhere, dominating the AI sector in terms of scale and ambition.
Also read: Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6 billion for the second time this year as it seeks to take on the challenge of OpenAI, Google and Jeff Bezos-backed Anthropic
Why it matters: The broader AI landscape has accumulated $52.8 billion in total funding, distributed among the 50 largest AI companies. This represents a 600% increase from 2020. California-based companies raised $47.9 billion of this funding.
Unsurprisingly, 67% of these investments, or $35.5 billion, are dedicated to AI infrastructure and models, the backbone of next-generation AI advancements.
Just like the PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL The mafia gave us Tesla Inc., LinkedInAnd YouTubethe Google mafia is reshaping the AI landscape through innovation and capital.
With investments skyrocketing and Google’s former visionaries leading the way, it’s clear that the AI revolution is here to stay.
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