Voice cloning startup ElevenLabs has raised $180 million in a Series C funding round, tripling its valuation to $3.3 billion. Co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Iconiq Growth, the funding round also saw participation from new investors like NEA and World Innovation Lab, alongside increased support from existing backers such as Sequoia Capital and Salesforce Ventures. The company aims to leverage the new funding to enhance its research into expressive voice AI, develop new products, and expand its tools for developers and businesses.
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in London, ElevenLabs specialises in AI-generated voices that replicate various languages, accents, and emotions. The startup’s technology has already found applications in publishing and gaming, with partnerships including The New Yorker and Cloud Imperium Games. In 2024, ElevenLabs broadened its product offerings to include speech generation, voice design, sound effects, and AI-driven dubbing across 32 languages.
CEO Mati Staniszewski, who co-founded the company with Piotr Dabkowski, described the funding as a significant step towards making voice interactions more natural and effortless. With a total of $281 million raised so far, ElevenLabs is poised to play a leading role in the rapidly growing generative AI sector.
Goldman Sachs has named Daniel Marcu, a former Amazon executive, as its global head of AI engineering and science. Marcu, who previously led Amazon’s AGI division, brings over 30 years of experience in academia, start-ups, and multinational corporations. He joins a team of technology experts at Goldman, including Marco Argenti, the bank’s Chief Information Officer and a fellow Amazon alumnus.
The Wall Street bank has been heavily investing in AI to modernise its technology infrastructure, boost productivity, and enhance its engineering capabilities. CEO David Solomon recently highlighted the use of AI in transforming operations during the company’s quarterly earnings call. As part of its AI initiatives, Goldman has introduced a generative AI assistant, GS AI, to approximately 10,000 employees, with plans to expand access to all knowledge workers by the end of the year.
In his new role, Marcu will oversee the development of AI platforms and products, working alongside Rahul Sharma, head of GS AI platform engineering, and Bing Xiang, head of AI research. Marcu’s extensive background, which includes two decades at the University of Southern California and the Information Sciences Institute, positions him to lead Goldman’s ambitious AI agenda as the bank continues to innovate in the competitive financial technology space.
Alphabet’s self-driving unit, Waymo, has announced plans to expand testing of its autonomous driving technology into over 10 new cities by 2025. The company highlighted successful adaptation of its Waymo Driver system in diverse environments, encouraging this expansion. Current test sites include destinations such as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Tokyo, with new testing set to include San Diego and Las Vegas, among other yet-to-be-revealed locations.
The testing process will begin with manual driving through high-traffic and complex areas, including city centres and freeways. Trained human specialists will oversee the vehicles during this phase. Each city will host fewer than 10 vehicles for several months to collect data and refine the technology. Waymo previously expanded its autonomous ride-hailing service to Miami, Florida, as part of its broader strategy to capture market share in the competitive autonomous vehicle industry.
Waymo’s growth comes as the firm faces heightened scrutiny from regulators following incidents involving autonomous driving systems. In October, the company secured $5.6 billion in funding led by parent company Alphabet, aimed at bolstering its technological advancements and operational expansion.
Google has quietly launched its latest AI model, Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental, through a changelog update for its Gemini chatbot app. The new model, now available to Gemini Advanced subscribers, promises improved accuracy and performance, particularly in coding and mathematics-related tasks.
The release comes as competition in the AI space intensifies, with Chinese startup DeepSeek gaining attention for its high-performing models. Unlike previous Gemini versions, Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental does not support real-time data access and may exhibit unexpected behaviours as it remains in an early preview phase.
Alongside this update, Google has also rolled out its Gemini 2.0 Flash model to all users of the Gemini app. The company continues to iterate rapidly on its AI technology, positioning Gemini as a key player in the evolving AI market.
Apple has announced that its AI suite, Apple Intelligence, will support additional languages starting in April, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese. The update will also introduce localised English versions for India and Singapore, broadening access to the technology beyond its initial US English release.
The expansion follows a December update that brought support for various English dialects, including those used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. However, Apple has yet to confirm when its AI suite will be available in the EU or mainland China.
CEO Tim Cook also revealed that the next version of Siri, which will feature improved on-screen contextual understanding, is expected to launch in the coming months. The update marks Apple’s latest effort to strengthen its AI ecosystem and compete with rivals in the artificial intelligence space.
ABB is optimistic about the growth of the data centre market despite recent concerns over the rise of energy-efficient AI models such as DeepSeek. The Chinese AI system, which requires fewer chips to run, recently triggered a selloff in tech stocks, raising fears that demand for high-power data centre infrastructure could decline. However, ABB CEO Morten Wierod said key customers have confirmed their investment plans remain unchanged.
The company has benefited significantly from the expansion of data centres, with orders in this segment rising by 23% annually between 2019 and 2023. The sector now accounts for 15% of ABB’s electrification business, up from 8% in 2022. While Wierod declined to give a forecast for 2025, he expressed confidence in continued demand, particularly in China.
ABB sees further opportunities in helping data centres reduce energy consumption. Its technology, including motors and power management systems, can improve efficiency by up to 60%. With AI infrastructure investments accelerating, spurred by a $500 billion commitment from the US government, the company believes the sector will remain a key driver of growth in the coming years.
South Korea’s privacy watchdog plans to investigate how DeepSeek manages users’ personal data. The Personal Information Protection Commission intends to send a written request for details to the Chinese AI model’s operators.
An official from South Korea’s privacy commission confirmed that the request for information could be submitted as early as Friday. No further details were provided on the scope of the inquiry.
The US Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that recently launched a high-performing assistant, has been using US chips in violation of export restrictions. These chips are prohibited from being shipped to China, raising concerns about DeepSeek’s rapid rise in the AI sector. Within days of launching, its app became the most downloaded on Apple’s App Store, contributing to a significant drop in US tech stocks, which lost around $1 trillion in value.
The US has imposed strict limits on the export of advanced AI chips to China, particularly those made by Nvidia. These restrictions aim to prevent China from accessing the most sophisticated AI processors. However, reports suggest that AI chip smuggling from countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE may be circumventing these measures. DeepSeek has admitted to using Nvidia’s H800 chips, which were legally purchased in 2023, but it is unclear whether it has used other restricted components.
The controversy deepened when Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei commented that DeepSeek’s AI chip fleet likely includes both legal and smuggled chips, some of which were shipped before restrictions were fully enforced. While DeepSeek has claimed to use only the less powerful H20 chips, which are still permitted to be sold to China, the investigation continues whether these practices undermine US efforts to limit China’s access to cutting-edge AI technologies.
Chinese state-backed social media accounts played a key role in amplifying the launch of DeepSeek’s AI models last week, according to an analysis by the firm Graphika. These accounts, including those of Chinese diplomats and media outlets, used platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and Weibo to highlight DeepSeek’s challenge to US dominance in the AI sector. This online activity coincided with a significant drop in US tech stocks, including a record one-day loss for Nvidia, shedding $593 billion in market value.
Graphika’s report suggested that this was part of a broader strategy by China to use AI to enhance its global influence and counter American leadership in critical technological fields. The surge in online discussion about DeepSeek’s AI capabilities was noticeable, especially on X, where it surpassed US rival ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s app store shortly after its release. DeepSeek’s AI assistant also claimed to have been developed at a much lower cost than US competitors, raising concerns about a potential price war in the sector.
While China celebrates DeepSeek’s advancements as a victory over US efforts to limit its tech growth, the US has raised suspicions about whether the company improperly accessed American technology. The Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek used banned US chips in its models, further intensifying tensions between the two countries over AI and tech competition. Meanwhile, major US companies like Microsoft and Meta continue their AI investments despite the challenges.
Taiwan’s digital ministry has instructed government departments not to use DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence service due to security concerns. The warning highlights ongoing fears about Chinese technology, given Beijing’s claims over Taiwan and its political and military threats.
Authorities cited potential risks from cross-border data transmission and information leaks, describing DeepSeek as a threat to national security. The ministry pledged to monitor technological developments and adjust security policies accordingly.
DeepSeek’s AI assistant recently surpassed ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store. Global investors responded by selling US tech stocks, causing Nvidia’s market value to drop by $593 billion in a historic single-day loss.
