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The Big One: Where are the AI jobs?
Over the last decade, cities across the country have seen their local startup ecosystems surge, siphoning the Bay Area's share of national venture capital dollars. But when it comes to artificial intelligence, the Bay Area and a handful of other "superstar" cities dominate when it comes to that particular fast-growing tech sector, according to a new report from The Brookings Institution.
San Francisco and San Jose accounted for one-quarter of all U.S. AI companies in 2021, according to the Brookings research. Those cities also had about four times as many AI companies and job postings as the average value of 13 next-tier markets Brookings classifies as "early adopters" of AI.
Accounting for those 13 cities plus the Bay Area, the top 15 AI metro areas encompass about two-thirds of the nation’s AI assets and capabilities, according to Brookings.
When looking specifically at generative AI — the emerging slice of artificial intelligence that produces text, images and other content from prompts — a concentration of assets is visible as well. In May 2023, around 60% of new generative AI jobs were posted in the Bay Area or one of the 13 "early adopter" metro areas, Brookings said. Over the 10 months prior, just six cities — San Francisco, San Jose, New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle — accounted for about half of the country's generative AI jobs.
Dive into the full story below to learn more about which cities outside the Bay Area have become early adopters for AI, and why Brookings argues more needs to be done to spread the AI wealth to cities across the U.S.
FULL STORY: Tracking AI jobs: Can any city catch the Bay Area?
Startups to watch
Whole Foods founder dishes on new health venture
Whole Foods Market co-founder and former CEO John Mackey recently revealed details about his new startup Love.Life, a multifaceted health company in Austin, Texas. The startup has launched medically supervised virtual health programs that include a customized plan that addresses health risks, along with programs for people trying to lose weight or manage diabetes. It also plans to have physical locations, starting with a 45,000-square-foot flagship store that will open next year in El Segundo, California. The startup has raised around $31 million in funding, Austin Inno reports.
Ex-Burger King leader behind the Impossible Whopper launches alt-chicken startup
Michael Salem, the former head of culinary innovation at Burger King who played a pivotal role in creating the plant-based Impossible Whopper, has launched a plant-based meat-alternative startup called Recreate Foods. The Phoenix-based venture is making breaded and unbreaded plant-based chicken filets, tenders and nuggets. Salem is also the kitchen leader of comedian Kevin Hart’s Hart House vegan concept, AZ Inno reports.
Startup raises $4M to track media biases
Ad Fontes Media, a Colorado startup that tracks, rates and reports on media bias to help businesses and consumers understand the media landscape, raised $4.2 million in new funding. The fresh funds will go toward a new training model that will use artificial intelligence and humans to score content, Colorado Inno reports.
Sam Altman launches eye-scanning startup
Three years since its inception and after a bit of a rocky trial phase, Sam Altman-founded crypto startup Worldcoin is officially launching. Worldcoin has a lofty goal of creating a global digital-identity system by scanning the eyeballs of everyone on Earth. It is starting with 1,500 eyeball-scanning devices scattered around major world cities. To incentivize people to get their eyeball scanned and create their unique digital ID, participants will receive periodic payments in the company's proprietary cryptocurrency Worldcoin, Bay Area Inno reports.
Computer-vision startup aims to change how machines perceive the world
Ubicept, a startup with its eye on revamping computer-vision technology, raised an $8 million seed round. Ubicept says its new technology, unlike conventional camera systems, can capture sharp images in extreme lighting conditions or high-speed motion, BostInno reports.
IBM's startup shopping spree
IBM Corp. is hunting for its next deal – specifically in hybrid cloud, automation, cybersecurity and a new sweet spot: artificial intelligence.
The company has more than $16 billion in cash to work with as it searches for its next acquisition, CEO Arvind Krishna said on a recent earnings call.
In the first half of 2023, it spent about $350 million to acquire six companies. Krishna told analysts IBM has spent about $3 billion a year, “so that tells you what’s the capability and the flexibility that we have.”
FULL STORY: Attention, startups. IBM has $16 billion to go deal shopping
Why the pool noodle inventor raised a $10M fund after SVB's collapse
When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed this year, the event required founders to re-evaluate their relationship with financial institutions. For Marc Noël, it means raising his own fund so he wouldn't need to rely on a bank at all.
The North Carolina entrepreneur, who's behind innovations such as the pool noodle and synthetic wine corks, recently closed on a $10 million fund called Noberg LLC, which he describes as “purely a financial holding company" that helps finance the growth of his companies.
“With everything that happened in the banking system, I wanted all our companies to be totally independent from banks and not have any bank debt,” he said.
FULL STORY: Why SVB's fall inspired an entrepreneur's $10M fund
