AI Duel

Cohere Nears $250 Million Raise to Battle OpenAI, BTV & ManchesterStory Partner for $34 Million Fund, and a Startup Secures Funding to Build its AI-Powered Intranet.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
May 03, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, weā€™ll cover an AI Startup looking to Topple OpenAI with its new funding. Also, BTV & ManchesterStory Broker a Deal to raise $34 million for an Insurtech fund, and Simpplr Raises $70 Million to power the AI-Powered Intranet Revolution.

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Venture Today šŸ‘

  • AI start-up Cohere is nearing $250 million fundraise from backers like Nvidia and Salesforce to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Co-founded in 2019 by Aidan Gomez, a former Google researcher, and co-author of a 2017 paper that paved the way for generative AI breakthroughs, Cohere develops a conversational large language model targeting enterprise use, allowing partners to utilize models without accessing their data. Cohere collaborates with companies like Spotify for enhanced podcast recommendations and AI copywriting firm Jasper.

Inovia Capital is leading the investment and will be joined by Index Ventures, valuing Cohere at $2 billion, while Tiger Global, which led last year's $125mn series B round, will sit out the current round.

Whoā€™s Raising?

  • BrokerTech Ventures is partnering with ManchesterStory Group to launch BrokerTech Fund LP, a venture capital fund targeting early-stage insurtech firms creating broker-centric technology solutions.

Limited Partners of the $34 million BrokerTech Fund include Holmes Murphy, M3 Insurance, Baldwin Risk Partners, UNICO Group, IMA Financial Group, Christensen Group, and The Graham Company.

ManchesterStory, the Fund's General Partner, manages over $225 million in committed capital across multiple funds targeting emerging technologies in insurance, financial services, and healthcare. Founded in 2019, BrokerTech Ventures is a broker-led platform and accelerator program that invests in startups, offers industry mentorship, and helps facilitate technology scaling through broker distribution channels.

Startup of the Day

  • Simpplr has secured $70 million in Series D funding, led by Sapphire Ventures, and featuring participation from Norwest Ventures, Tola Capital, and Salesforce Ventures.

Simpplr's new funding, building on the prior $61 million, will expand its workforce and bolster product R&D efforts. The companyā€™s platform serves as an intranet for employee profiles, handbooks, and resources, while employers can update policies, create team social hubs, and conduct surveys.

Simpplr's platform generates AI-powered insights by analyzing employee responses, user habits, and sentiment surveys to gauge employee engagement and feelings toward updates. The company, which now has over 450 employees, says that it expects annual recurring revenue to grow by more than 70% for next year.

Fresh Finds

  • Unified Workspace - Dokably helps users create docs, projects, and whiteboards, and collaborate visually in one platform.

  • Visual Smart Editor - The platform helps users easily visualize and organize their thoughts and ideas.

  • Customizable Organization - Users can arrange knowledge and content according to individual preferences.

Memes and Other Things

The Headlines

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