Are startup accelerators resurging? AI’s year of reckoning, and ChatGPT rival eyes big raise - January 31, 2023

January 31, 2023 [Everyone wants to be an accelerator]( In the past few months alone, we’ve seen brand-new and retooled accelerator programs roll out at a steady clip. Several are sector-focused, seeking to leverage advancement in hot fields like generative AI. Others are looking to build up entrepreneurship in metro areas not known as major tech hubs. Venture investors, always keen to get in on the new, new thing early, are also joining the fray. [AI in 2023: A year of reckoning]( What does the AI sector look like for 2023? [Jason Schoettler]( of [Calibrate Ventures]( shares his findings and predictions for the year ahead. [OpenAI rival Anthropic expected to nab $300M]( [Anthropic]( the San Francisco-based AI startup and rival to [OpenAI’s]( [ChatGPT]( is close to adding $300 million to its dry powder, according to reports. That could bring the company’s total valuation to $5 billion. [Who’s Hiring In Tech? Recently funded companies with open roles]( In this new weekly feature, we compile a list of funded startups that are actively hiring for multiple open positions and have not conducted reported layoffs in the past year. [The 10 biggest rounds: OpenAI lands $10B; Paradigm raises $203M]( Artificial intelligence is certainly having a moment right now. Last week it was all about OpenAI with its massive $10 billion round — a round so big, it’ll be hard for any company to top all year. Right now, it seems every startup is claiming to use AI in some form or another, and why not? [New unicorn shuffle thins herd in final month of 2022]( More unicorn companies left [The Crunchbase Unicorn Board]( in December than joined. In the final month of 2022, three companies joined the board while four dropped off and four exited. [It’s only January, and we’re already at 58K tech layoffs for the year]( More than 58,000 workers in U.S.-based tech companies have been laid off in mass job cuts so far in 2023, according to a Crunchbase News tally, and the year is just getting started. That number includes [IBM’s]( 3,900-person cut and [SAP‘s]( 3,000-person layoff announcements this week. [Chip stocks down, but semiconductor startup funding still robust]( For the semiconductor space, these are not looking like the best of times. Still, it’s not the worst of times either. Even with the markdowns, big chipmakers still rank high among the most valuable American companies. As for semiconductor startups, venture funding may be down, but we’re still seeing big deals getting done. Crunchbase Pro: Searches and Lists Name Type Entries [Wearable companies funded in the last 3 months]( Companies 36 [Internet of Things companies with over $5M in funding]( Companies 225 [Acquisitions with a purchase price of $1B+ in the last year]( Acquisitions 432 [More Featured Searches and Lists]( [Check out our Crunchbase solutions here]( – prospecting tools made for everyone Recent Investments [LiveMore Capital]( [250M GBP]( / [Debt Financing]( LiveMore Capital is a financial services company that provides online mortgage lending services for older borrowers. Categories: Credit • Financial Services • Personal Finance Investors: [Citi]( (Lead) [Gerald Group]( [$180M]( / [Debt Financing]( Gerald Group is a metal trading company that markets precious metals as well as related raw materials. Categories: Advanced Materials • Mining • Precious Metals • Supply Chain Management Founders: [Gerald Lennard]( Investors: [Arab Bank (Switzerland)]( [Banco do Brasil]( [Banque Cantonale Vaudoise]( [+ 7 more]( [Loomis]( [150M EUR]( / [Post-IPO Debt]( Loomis primarily serves banks and the retail trade with cash handling solutions. Categories: Finance • Financial Services • Risk Management • Wealth Management Founders: [Lee Loomis]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Rakuten]( 250B JPY / [Post-IPO Debt]( - [GeneDx]( $150M / [Post-IPO Equity]( - [POSaBIT]( $8.0M / [Post-IPO Debt]( [Perga Capital Partners]( [Immusoft]( $8.0M / [Grant]( [California Institute for Regenerative Medicine]( [CapGrid Solutions]( $7.0M / [Series A]( [Nexus Venture Partners]( [Forma Vision]( $3.5M / [Venture Round]( - [POSaBIT]( $3.0M / [Post-IPO Equity]( [Perga Capital Partners]( [Zuri Health]( Unknown / [Pre Seed Round]( [UM6P Ventures]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [Dragonfly]( Pending acquisition by [FiscalNote]( for 26M GBP More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [ProvenDB]( [OneSpan]( Unknown [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( #{Rails.configuration.daily.cb_url} Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. [Follow Us on Crunchbase]( [View Jobs on LinkedIn]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Like Us on Facebook]( 564 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2023 Crunchbase Inc. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Unsubscribe]( from Crunchbase Daily.