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In today’s email:

• .SparkLabs Launches $50M Fund for AI Startups

• Canva Defends 300% Price Hike with AI Features

• AI Search Startup You.com Secures $50M Backing from Nvidia, DuckDuckGo

• Generate ultra realistic images with FLUX.1

• 📢Top AI Tools of the Week

SparkLabs Launches $50M Fund for AI Startups

SparkLabs, a prominent accelerator and venture capital firm, has just closed a new $50 million fund aimed at nurturing AI startups. As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries globally, SparkLabs is betting big on the next wave of innovative companies that could revolutionize everything from healthcare to finance. The fund, known as "SparkLabs AI Fund II," will provide early-stage AI companies with the capital, mentorship, and strategic resources they need to accelerate growth and drive technological advancements.

Details:

• SparkLabs AI Fund II targets early-stage AI innovation, particularly startups in high-impact sectors.

• The fund’s global strategy ensures diverse regional investments, providing broader market access for startups.

• The timing aligns with the broader AI investment boom, suggesting strong market confidence in AI’s future potential.

• Leadership’s commitment underlines a long-term vision for AI, focusing on transformative impacts and innovation.

• Emphasizes non-financial support like mentorship and network access, highlighting a holistic approach to startup development.

• The fund’s seed to Series A investment focus reflects a high-risk, high-reward strategy to identify and nurture groundbreaking technologies.

•  Historical success in AI investments demonstrates SparkLabs’ experience and strategic approach to the sector

Canva Defends 300% Price Hike with AI Features

Canva has announced a steep price increase for some of its subscription plans, justifying the hike by pointing to the added value of its new generative AI tools. As the company continues its aggressive rollout of AI features, Canva Teams users—who rely on the platform for collaborative design work—are set to experience significant price changes starting next year.

Details:

• Canva Teams subscriptions are seeing price hikes of over 300% in some cases, with U.S. users reporting increases from $120 to $500 annually for up to five users.

• A 40% discount will reduce the initial impact for U.S. users, bringing the cost down to $300 for the first year.

• In Australia, prices are shifting from a flat $39.99 AUD per month for five users to $13.50 AUD per user, resulting in a 68% increase for teams of five.

• Canva cites the "expanded product experience" brought by generative AI tools as the reason for the price increase.

• Existing Canva Teams users are being transitioned to the current pricing model introduced in April, which requires at least three users at $10 per user per month.

AI Search Startup You.com Secures $50M Backing from Nvidia, DuckDuckGo

You.com, the AI-driven search engine and productivity platform, has secured $50 million in a fresh funding round, drawing support from tech giants like Nvidia and DuckDuckGo. The latest infusion of capital brings You.com’s total funding to $99 million, positioning it to further challenge industry leaders like Google and Microsoft in the competitive AI-powered search market.

Key Points

• You.com raised $50 million in a round led by Georgian, with participation from Nvidia, DuckDuckGo, SBVA, Salesforce Ventures, and Day One Ventures.

• Founded by former Salesforce chief scientist Richard Socher, You.com aims to differentiate itself by offering more than just search—positioning itself as a productivity tool with AI agents to assist users in various tasks.

• The platform integrates multiple large language models from OpenAI, Google, Cohere, and Meta, while also developing its own LLM.

• You.com claims millions of daily users, including partnerships with organizations like Salesforce, Stanford University, and Hugging Face.

• The company’s usage-based pricing model is designed to help enterprises maximize their AI investments.

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