Numerous developments in the artificial intelligence space took place on the Bay Area tech front last week. Companies of all sizes are developing things from autonomous robots to assisted learning solutions. Catch up on the latest with the Built In SF Weekly Refresh.
Anthropic raised $450M. The AI company recently received a $450 million Series C round led by Spark Capital. Anthropic, which is now valued at more than $4 billion, has developed a tool that competes with ChatGPT. Anthropic’s latest funding follows a $300 million round raised in March. The AI company is also actively hiring for more than 20 roles across various departments. [Axios]
Figure pulled in $70M. Sunnyvale-based Figure develops AI-powered humanoid robotics solutions. Parkway Venture Capital led the Series A round that Figure will invest in building its autonomous humanoid robot Figure 01, establishing its data pipeline for autonomous operations and driving commercialization. [PR Newswire]
SF Tech Quote of the Week
“We fundamentally believe [computer science] needs to be an equal pillar in K-12 education, alongside literacy and math skills. With the rigor that went into designing our curriculum and platform, we can take anyone from never having written a single line of code to being able to train a neural network, in just three weeks. We are excited to bring it nationwide.” — Andrea Pasinetti, Kira Learning co-founder and CEO
Kira Learning secured $15M. Through its AI-powered platform, Kira Learning hopes to help anyone teach and learn computer science skills. The company raised Series A capital from NEA and the AI Fund. Kira Learning also announced a partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network to provide all public high schools and middle schools in the state with an introductory computer science curriculum. [PR Newswire]
Volition got $11M. Offering a catalog of mechanical and industrial engineering parts, Volition secured $11 million to build out its solution. Newark Venture Partners and Quiet Capital co-led the raise that will help Volition accelerate its go-to-market plans and expand its product offering. [TechCrunch]
In more VC funding news: Climate tech company Waterplan raised an $11 million Series A to fuel R&D for its solution that helps companies measure, respond and report water risk. [GlobeNewswire]
Serving music producers with a collaboration platform, boombox.io announced a $7 million seed round led by Forerunner Ventures to build out its product and team. [PR Newswire]
