AI21 Labs secures $155m in Series C funding, hits $1.4bn valuation

AI21 Labs, a leading player in the generative AI and large language models (LLMs) landscape, announced the successful close of its Series C funding round, securing $155 million to propel the growth of its text-based AI services for enterprises. Top-tier investors such as Walden Catalyst, Pitango, SCB10X, b2venture, Samsung Next, and Prof. Amnon Shashua participated, with additional backing from Google and NVIDIA. The latest injection of funds brings AI21 Labs’ total capital raised to $283 million, solidifying its position as a generative AI unicorn with a valuation of $1.4 billion.

Strong Customer Base and Unique Approach in Generative AI

Founded in 2017 by AI visionaries Prof. Amnon Shashua, Prof. Yoav Shoham, and Ori Goshen, AI21 Labs has built a robust customer base ranging from individual consumers to Fortune 100 companies. The company leverages its state-of-the-art LLMs and natural language processing (NLP) technologies to deliver reliable, accurate, and easy-to-integrate AI systems. Their unique approach offers more refined control and trustworthy results, surpassing standalone models in the market.

Jurassic-2 Foundation Models and Their Applications

AI21 Labs’ flagship offering is its Jurassic-2 foundation models, some of the world’s largest and most advanced LLMs. These power AI21 Studio, a developer-friendly platform for crafting custom text-based business applications, as well as Wordtune, a multilingual AI assistant for reading and writing tasks aimed at both professionals and general consumers.

Leadership Comments on Funding and Future Plans

Chairman Prof. Amnon Shashua stated, “AI21 Labs’ growth plans have a global impact and will lead us to the next level of AI capabilities, including reasoning across multiple domains. This round of funding significantly fuels our journey.” Co-CEOs Prof. Yoav Shoham and Ori Goshen expressed gratitude for the investment, emphasizing that AI21 Labs’ cutting-edge technology meets the robustness, predictability, and explainability required in today’s AI-first enterprises.

Strategic Collaborations and Industry Recognition

The Series C funding comes as AI21 Labs intensifies its efforts to bring generative AI to diverse sectors. Notable collaborations include partnerships with industry leaders like Carrefour, Clarivate, eBay, Guesty, Monday.com, and Ubisoft. AI21 Labs was recently featured in the inaugural CB Insights GenAI 50 List, recognizing the most innovative generative AI startups.

Goldman Sachs served as the sole financial advisor to AI21 Labs for this funding round. With such substantial backing and promising collaborations, AI21 Labs is poised to redefine the future of generative AI and large language models in the enterprise sphere.