Good morning and welcome back to another edition of The AI Rundown by Lightscape Partners.

• Humane’s AI Pin has shut down, with HP acquiring its assets for $116 million. AI Pin owners will lose core features by February, marking another AI hardware failure. HP is integrating Humane’s team into its new AI-focused division.

• Nvidia’s Singapore revenue has raised concerns, with 28% of its earnings booked there despite only 1% of GPUs physically arriving. With U.S. export controls restricting chip sales to China, Singapore is working with U.S. authorities to investigate possible transshipment violations.

• Tel Aviv-based Dream raised $100 million to scale its AI-driven cybersecurity platform, securing a $1.1 billion valuation. Its Cyber Language Model helps governments detect AI-driven threats in real time, signaling strong investor confidence in AI-powered national security.

Stay tuned as we explore these stories and their implications for the future of AI, technology, and innovation.

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Hardware + Software

Nvidia’s Singapore revenue raises questions amid US export controls. Link.

• Singapore accounts for 28% of Nvidia’s revenue, yet only 1% of its GPU shipments physically arrive in the country, raising concerns about transshipment to China.

• The Singaporean government acknowledges that multinational companies often centralize billing in one location while shipping products elsewhere.

• Amid US-China trade tensions, Singapore is cooperating with US authorities to investigate potential export control violations.

• Officials stress that Singapore does not support businesses using its jurisdiction to bypass international trade restrictions.

AI struggles with debugging despite excelling at fixing surface-level issues. Link.

• OpenAI’s SWE-Lancer benchmark tested LLMs on 1,488 freelance software engineering tasks, showing they can resolve bugs but struggle to identify root causes.

• The best-performing model, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, earned only $208,050 of a possible $1 million, often producing incorrect or incomplete fixes.

• LLMs excelled at locating issues quickly but failed to grasp how problems spanned multiple components.

• While AI models outperformed on managerial tasks, the study confirms they can't yet replace human engineers in debugging and problem-solving.

Humane shuts down AI Pin, sells assets to HP for $116M. Link.

• HP is acquiring Humane’s CosmOS, technical staff, and over 300 patents, ending the AI Pin’s short-lived run.

• AI Pins will lose cloud-dependent features, including AI responses and messaging, after February 28.

• Refunds are available only for purchases within 90 days, and subscription refunds will be prorated.

• Humane’s team, including its founders, will join HP to develop AI-driven features for PCs, printers, and workplace tech under the new HP IQ division.research into AI-driven game ideation.

Models

Microsoft unveils Muse, an AI model for generating gameplay sequences. Link.

• Muse, developed by Microsoft Research and Xbox's Ninja Theory, can generate game visuals and controller actions based on human gameplay data.

• Trained on over 1 billion images and actions from Bleeding Edge, Muse predicts game evolution with high consistency and diversity.

• The WHAM Demonstrator provides an interactive tool for developers to explore Muse’s creative potential.

• Microsoft has open-sourced Muse’s model weights and data, enabling broader research into AI-driven game ideation.

Startup Funding & Valuations

Dream raises $100M to build AI-driven national cybersecurity. Link.

• Tel Aviv-based Dream secured a $100M Series B at a $1.1B valuation, led by Bain Capital Ventures, to expand its AI-powered cyber defense platform.

• Founded by ex-Austrian PM Sebastian Kurz and NSO Group’s Shalev Hulio, Dream focuses on protecting nations and critical infrastructure from AI-driven threats.

• The company’s Cyber Language Model (CLM) automates security analysis, enabling governments to detect and mitigate threats in real time.

• With over $130M in 2024 sales, Dream is rapidly scaling, adding industry veterans to its board to drive global expansion.

Abridge raises $250M to expand AI-powered medical documentation. Link.

• The Pittsburgh-based startup automates clinical notes and medical conversations, aiming to reduce administrative burden for doctors.

• The funding round, co-led by Elad Gil and IVP, included investors like Lightspeed, CVS Health Ventures, and Nvidia’s NVentures.

• Abridge’s previous valuation was $850M after raising $150M last year, though its current valuation remains undisclosed.

• The funds will support AI advancements and commercial expansion, with Abridge already deployed in 100 U.S. healthcare systems.

EnCharge AI raises $100M to push AI processing beyond the cloud. Link.

• The startup secured an oversubscribed $100M Series B, led by Tiger Global, to commercialize its analog in-memory computing AI chips.

• Its AI accelerators promise up to 20x lower energy consumption, enabling efficient AI processing on edge devices rather than power-hungry data centers.

• Investors include Samsung Ventures, Foxconn-backed HH-CTBC, and In-Q-Tel, highlighting applications from consumer electronics to defense.

• The funding supports EnCharge AI’s push to scale its tech in 2025, expanding AI compute beyond traditional cloud infrastructure.

AI recruiting startup Mercor raises $100M, hits $2B valuation. Link.

• Founded by 21-year-old Thiel Fellows, Mercor secured a Series B round led by Felicis, skyrocketing its valuation 8x in a year.

• The AI-driven hiring platform automates resume screening, interviews, and payroll, claiming to reduce bias while optimizing job matching.

• Revenue surged to a $75M ARR, driven by AI lab clients like OpenAI, with a 27x valuation multiple.

• CEO Brendan Foody sees AI reshaping work, shifting hiring toward specialized, project-based roles over full-time employment.

Enterprise AI Applications

AI-powered Sidekick enhances contact center efficiency. Link.

• Upland Panviva has launched Sidekick, an AI-driven assistant that provides real-time, compliant guidance to contact center agents.

• Sidekick features AI search, AI-generated Smart Snippets, and a sleek browser extension for seamless integration.

• The tool builds on Panviva’s 20+ years of expertise in knowledge management, catering to highly regulated industries like healthcare and banking.

• Designed for dynamic, omnichannel use, Sidekick helps agents deliver faster, more accurate customer interactions.

OpenAI

OpenAI hits 400M users despite rising competition from DeepSeek. Link.

• OpenAI's weekly active users surged 33% to 400 million since December, with 2 million paying enterprise users doubling in six months.

• Developer traffic has quintupled for OpenAI’s reasoning model, with major companies like Uber and Morgan Stanley integrating its tech.

• Despite DeepSeek's emergence, OpenAI remains confident, dismissing concerns over open-source rivals and legal battles with Elon Musk.

• A potential $40 billion SoftBank investment could push OpenAI’s valuation close to $300 billion.a

OpenAI board rejects Elon Musk’s $97 billion takeover bid. Link.

• OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected a $97.4 billion acquisition offer from Elon Musk and other investors, reaffirming that the company is not for sale.

• The bid aimed to return OpenAI to an ‘open-source, safety-focused force,’ but was swiftly dismissed, with Sam Altman jokingly offering to buy Twitter instead.

• Musk’s investor group criticized the rejection, questioning the board’s fiduciary duties and OpenAI’s restructuring plans.

• The dispute continues Musk’s legal and public battles with OpenAI, as he accuses the company of prioritizing profit over its nonprofit mission.

Thank you for reading the AI Rundown by Lightscape Partners. Please send any questions, comments, or suggestions to [email protected].