Top AI startup news of the week: Generative AI explodes

From ChatGPT “alternatives” to the power of large language model (LLM) for everything from protein design to notes, news about AI startups around artificial intelligence exploded around the world this week.

1. Andi Launches ChatGPT Search Alternative

Andi, a Miami-based Y Combinator-backed startup, has emerged from stealth with request that it has developed “the first synthetic AI search assistant that provides factually accurate, summary results”.

In a press release, Andi co-founder Angela Hoover said: “Gen-Z hates Google. For us, search is broken. We live on our phones in visual feed messaging apps like TikTok and Instagram. Traditional search engine results are flooded with ads, SEO spam, and clutter. We hate the invasive creepy ads and the way Google is Big Brother and oversees everything. Generation Z is so hungry for an alternative that we are using TikTok as a search engine.”

Andi is currently free for consumers, and the company says it doesn’t log or track searches. The company says enterprise plans are in the works, saying “dozens of companies have reached out to Andi to request an embedded B2B search solution.”

2. Profluent uses AI to design proteins

based in Berkeley affluence, led by Ali Madani, head of LLM research at Salesforce AI Research, launched this week to use large language models to design whole proteins. The company raised a $9 million seed round and announced a peer-reviewed publication in Natural Biotechnologyoutlines how Profluent designs outperform natural proteins.

in one Press Release“While companies are experimenting with exciting new biotechnologies like CRISPR genome editing with Reuse What nature has given us, we are doing something different. We use AI and big language models like the ones that help ChatGPT learn the basic language of biology and design new proteins that have the power to cure diseases.”

3. Lucy adds general AI to enterprise knowledge management

Minneapolis-based Lucy, an “AI-powered answering engine,” launched Lucy Synopsis this week, a new feature that provides a ChatGPT-like a short summary of the best answers to a question.

The company says it uses synthetic AI to aggregate millions of data points in an organization’s knowledge ecosystem. Briefing is available in the Lucy platform and is fully integrated with Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other business messaging platforms.

“What makes Summary so powerful is that it provides summary replies directly in groups of daily-use messaging apps. Most employees are in the habit of accessing these channels to seek answers from colleagues and get help finding information. Scott Litman, founder and COO of Lucy, said in a press release.

4. Island IO provides ChatGPT browser assistant

This week, Dallas-based Island IO announced what it claims is the industry’s first ChatGPT integration into a browser — not simply putting generative AI inside the browser — to deliver ” deep contextual awareness, so you get prompts that are informed by behavior and related to what you’re doing, as you work on it.”

in one blog post, founder and CTO Dan Amiga says Island GPT Assistant is “a demonstration of what can be done when you reimagine enterprise browsing. It is an environment that is not only fundamentally secure for organizations, but one that can continuously provide ways for users to work better, faster, and more simply.”

5. Supernormal raises $10 million for AI-generated meeting notes

based in Stockholm super normallaunched in October 2022 to transform business note taking with AI, announced this week that it has raised $10 million in seed funding.

Founded by a former product manager at Meta and Klarna and a former lead designer at GitHub and Splice, Supernormal is built on OpenAI’s GPT-3 and in-house AI models. It also integrates with Google Meet and recently added Microsoft Teams and Zoom. It automatically generates AI-powered notes and recordings after each meeting.