OpenAI has initiated the application process for Converge 2, the second cohort of its six-week program designed to foster artificial intelligence (AI) enterprises. Fifteen successful candidates will receive $1 million from OpenAI as part of the investment opportunity.
Engineers, designers, researchers, and product developers who employ AI for innovative purposes are the target audience of ChatGPT, according to the organization that made the initiative globally accessible. Based on the premise that innovative startups will increase in the era to come, OpenAI established the startup fund.
Industry professionals and investors have expressed their endorsement amid the exponential growth of AI tools and solutions. In 2023 alone, generative AI firms secured substantial financial backing from many corporations and organizations.
OpenAI launched the initial phase of the startup fund in November 2022 to assist aspiring entrepreneurs and businesses in developing innovative AI products. Each of the twelve selected companies from the applicant pool received an investment of $1 million.
Sam Altman, the chief executive officer of OpenAI, issued a statement announcing the program in which the organization detailed the initiative’s history and its implications for AI. According to the organization, the startup fund initiative is OpenAI’s contribution to expanding the frontiers of applied AI in critical domains.
OpenAI will cover travel expenses for participants during the initial and final weeks of the program, which will be held in San Francisco, according to the organization.
Regardless of location or level of experience beyond the United States, the organization also encourages founders from various disciplines to apply. It emphasizes that previous exposure to AI systems is not mandatory.
The period for submissions is between December 13, 2023, and January 26, 2024.
Kasikornbank, a private financial institution based in Thailand, has also launched KXVC. This $100 million primary fund invests in deep tech, AI, and Web3 businesses in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the interim, Mistral AI, a French AI startup, revealed that its most recent funding round, which concluded on December 1, raised $415 million. With assistance from the startup’s initial investors, Lightspeed Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round.
