The German AI start-up Aleph Alpha has received a financial injection of more than half a billion dollars (467 million euros). The financing round is led by the venture capitalist Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI), the Bosch Group and the trading and IT group Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland).
Aleph Alpha announced this on Monday at the Baden-Württemberg state representation in Berlin. Europe’s largest software group SAP and Berlin investor Christ&Company are also on board for the second financing round.
European ChatGPT rival for business customers
Aleph Alpha is developing large language models with artificial intelligence (AI) features, similar to Californian start-up OpenAI with ChatGPT. The Heidelberg-based company specializes in use cases for public administration and industry.
With the new money, Aleph Alpha can compete with OpenAI, but also with large companies such as Microsoft and Google. A significant part of the investment amount will take the form of a capital commitment from IPAI, a project of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, which wants to build Europe’s largest research center for artificial intelligence in Heilbronn.
German modeling startup
Aleph Alpha is considered a model German start-up. Last spring, the company succeeded in reaching a milestone on the path to substantively correct, explainable and reliable artificial intelligence. An extension of our own language model. Luminous is able to understand connections in information and factual accuracy based on proven facts. For example, Luminous forms the technical backbone of the city of Heidelberg’s Lumi citizen information system.
“With this latest investment, we will continue to expand our capabilities and enable our partners to be at the forefront of this technological evolution,” said Jonas Andrulis, CEO and Founder of Aleph Alpha. To support customers, his company will continuously expand its offering. In sensitive areas of responsibility and in strategic environments where sovereignty plays a central role, Aleph Alpha “will remain the best option,” Andrulis said. The company’s founder appealed to politicians not to exaggerate the upcoming regulation of AI. “We also need some field players, not just umpires.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
