Enterprise Weekly #454: The Future of GenAI, Where IT Spend Is Heading, and More
Generative AI is back at the top of the news cycle as Sam Altman and Satya Nadella took the stage at Davos earlier this week. While Sam had previously flagged concerns about the tech’s fast-paced impact on the world, he toned down that sentiment, mentioning that it will actually be less impactful than many think with the hope to "let society and the technology co-evolve…”
CBInsights’ newly released Generative AI 2024 Predictions Report hits on what this future may look like, but two predictions that stood out to us, include:
Data scarcity drives search for new sources: By 2026, it’s estimated we will exhaust high-quality text data for training LLMs. In response, vendors with proprietary content (ie. Reddit, Quora, Tripadvisor, etc.) will become hot licensing and acquisition targets, and the demand for synthetic datasets will rise.
Bad actors target language model users: While many of the top LLMs may never be considered “fully secure,” enterprises are investing in security as confidential data leaks, data poisoning, and other security concerns grow.
Meanwhile, Gartner’s 2024 forecast predicted global IT spend to grow 6.8% (down from last quarter’s 8%) to $5T in 2024. While enterprise software continues to be the fastest growing segment, generative AI isn’t playing much of a role in this growth. According to Garner, “2024 will be the year when organizations actually invest in planning for how to use GenAI, however IT spending will be driven by more traditional forces, such as profitability, labor, and dragged down by a continued wave of change fatigue.” We previously predicted similar for generative AI’s path to enterprise adoption.
Lastly, Priyanka has been exploring the web development market and the advancement of WebAssembly (WASM). She uncovers three trends, including:
Leveraging WASM to supercharge frontend development
Optimizing backend development with WebAssembly
Revolutionizing systems with software plugins
So, what’s next for the WebAssembly ecosystem and where are Fortune 500 use cases emerging? Read more in her latest Data Source Newsletter.
📚 Read more news:
Primary Ventures: Q4 NYC Seed Deals Show Promise
Insider: Why Constant Job Cuts Could Be The New Normal for Big Tech
WSJ: The Tech Employee Who Went Viral for Filming Her Firing Has No Regrets
🔦 Work-Bench investor spotlights:
📚 Read more (th)reads:
- on how to describe your business as an equation
- on how to choose a startup
@sri_batchu on Ramp vs. Brex (recommend reading the comments)
Company: Authzed
Role: Head of Marketing
Technology: Managed Permissions Database
Funding: $3.9M from Work-Bench, Amplify Partners, Y Combinator
🌟 Company of the Week 🌟
Infield raises $3M led by Foundation Capital
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Seed • New York, NY
Founders: Steve Pike (CEO), Allison Pike
Detected raises $2.5M led by Thomson Reuters Ventures and Love Ventures
Future of Work • Series A • London, UK
Lative raises $3M led by Elkstone Ventures
Sales / Marketing • Seed • Dublin, Ireland
Kusari raises $8M led by Glasswing Ventures, Unusual Ventures and Others
Risk / Security • Pre-Seed & Seed • Ridgefield, CT
QphoX raises $8.6M led by QDNL Participations
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Venture • Delft, Netherlands
Avante raises $10M led by FUSE
HR Tech • Seed • Seattle, WA
Prismatic raises $22M led by Five Elms Capital
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Series B • Sioux Falls, SD
Weavix raises $23.6M led by Insight Partners
Future of Work • Series B • Wichita, KS
Vertice raises $25M led by 83North and Bessemer Venture Partners
Future of Work • Series B • London, UK
Kashable raises $25.6M led by Revolution Ventures and Moneta Ventures
HR Tech • Series B • New York, NY
Vicarius raises $30M led by Bright Pixel Capital
Risk / Security • Series B • New York, NY
Digital Onboarding raises $58M led by Volition Capital
Future of Work • Private Equity • Boston, MA
Epic Ventures acquires Fullcast for $34M
Sales / Marketing • Acquisition • Salt Lake City, UT
LiveRamp acquires Habu for $200M
Sales / Marketing • Acquisition • San Francisco, CA
Snyk acquires Helios for an Undisclosed Amount
Risk / Security • Acquisition • Tel Aviv, Israel