Serial Acquirers Market Update: Are We Entering Canada’s AI Golden Age?
Toronto-based AI video platform, Viggle AI, has successfully raised nearly $26 million CAD in Series A funding, led by prominent investors a16z and Two Small Fish Ventures (TSFV). This funding round aims to fuel the expansion of Viggle's innovative AI-powered video generation platform, which allows users to create videos from simple text and image prompts. Launched in March, the platform quickly gained viral attention, particularly when users began creating memes, which helped Viggle amass over 4.3 million members on Discord. Viggle's proprietary JST-1 technology sets it apart by emphasizing controllability and lifelike character movements, making it unique among text-to-video generators. The startup offers both a free version and a Pro subscription, catering to a diverse user base that includes meme creators and professionals alike. Despite facing competition and ethical challenges, such as potential copyright issues, Viggle aims to empower creators rather than replace human creativity. With strong investor confidence and a clear vision for the future, Viggle AI is poised to become a major player in the AI video generation market, especially within Canada. With the new influx of money, I’m optimistic about Viggle’s growth, but navigating the potential copyright issues is where it could get complicated.
Record-Breaking AI Fund Launch
Building on the current AI trend, Radical Ventures recently launched a new $800-million USD fund focused exclusively on growth-stage AI startups. This new fund, which brings Radical’s total assets under management to $1.8 billion, marks the firm's first foray into later-stage AI businesses, allowing it to write larger cheques for both existing portfolio companies and new investments. Radical has previously concentrated on early-stage AI startups, including notable Canadian AI firms like Cohere, Untether AI, and Xanadu. Radical's new growth fund is its fifth, following a series of funds including a $325-million institutional fund and a $550-million fund raised last year for early-stage AI startups. As the broader tech market seems to be cooling, AI remains a hot investment area, with Radical's new fund being the largest of its kind. As AI continues to stay molten hot, I can’t help but see the market going one of two ways: either the next biggest AI fund gets announced next week, or there’s a cooldown on the way. Either way, I’m happy to see a Canadian firm leading the charge.
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The Importance of Ethics and Achieving Pareto Efficiency
Ethics is fundamental to societal well-being and the functioning of modern systems, as trust underpins financial transactions, corporate operations, and supply chains. Corporate scandals in the early 2000s led to significant regulatory changes, emphasizing the critical role of ethics in business. Trust is essential for the proper functioning of financial systems, corporate operations, and supply chains, making ethical practices crucial for sustainable and prosperous organizations. Discover how I think about ethics by seeking Pareto efficiency and why it matters for investors, founders, and serial acquirers.