DeekSeek's Open Source; France's Plans for AI in Healthcare; LLM-driven Traffic Monitoring & Automated Planning; Funds for Drug Discovery & Physicians

Investments

1. GenAI for Drug Discovery Efficiency: Variational AI , a Vancouver-based company led by CEO Handol Kim , has secured $5.5M in Seed extension funding. The round was led by Nimbus Synergies , with participation from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Quimby Investments, Threshold Impact, Defined Capital, and existing investors including Flying Fish, A&E Investment, and Nepenthe Capital. The funds will be used to expand the company's technology, which utilises generative AI to improve drug discovery efficiency. Variational AI's founding team includes experts from Google, Microsoft, MIT, Caltech, and D-Wave Quantum. READ
2. Chatbot for Physicians: OpenEvidence , a Cambridge-based AI startup led by CEO Daniel Nadler , has secured $75M in funding from Sequoia Capital , valuing the company at $1 billion. OpenEvidence's AI-powered chatbot is designed to assist physicians in making better decisions at the point of care, with the company claiming it is already used by a quarter of doctors in the US. The funding will be used to scale the chatbot and forge strategic content partnerships, including one with The New England Journal of Medicine. Sequoia partner Pat Grady led the investment, citing the company's organic growth and potential for widespread adoption. READ

News

1. DeepSeek's Open Source Initiative: DeepSeek AI , a Chinese AI startup, has made waves by announcing plans to open-source five of its code repositories. This move aims to foster transparency and community-driven innovation, contrasting with the proprietary nature of many Western AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT. DeepSeek's approach has been praised for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, challenging the traditional high-cost AI development model. READ
2. AI in Healthcare: France's Ambitious Plans: France is accelerating its adoption of AI in healthcare, with plans to train 100,000 caregivers annually and build Europe's largest AI-focused data centre. This initiative aims to drive innovation and ensure ethical AI use in healthcare, positioning France as a key player in the global AI landscape. READ

Research

1. Traffic Monitoring: The integration of LLMs with multimodal data is enhancing intelligent traffic monitoring systems, improving vehicle tracking and traffic flow optimization. READ
2. Automated Planning with LLMs: The planning ability of LLMs is gaining attention due to their capacity for multi-step reasoning. While not well-suited as standalone planners, LLMs present opportunities to enhance planning applications when combined with other approaches. READ

Stay tuned for more updates in next week’s digest!

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