DeepMind Alumni Raise $200 Million Funding Round for Holistic AI

Mark Bergen, Bloomberg News

The startup says it’s working to develop “multi-agent” models, a process where a number of AI systems interact with one another. Photographer: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images , Photographer: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

(Bloomberg) -- Holistic AI, a new startup in Paris working to leapfrog other generative AI models, has closed the first tranche of a $200 million initial financing round, according to people familiar with the deal.

Investors agreed to put in $80 million in equity and $120 million in convertible debt, chiefly for buying computing power, said the people who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t yet public. They said the founding round values the company at $370 million.

The startup, formed by a group of scientists who recently left DeepMind, Google’s artificial intelligence lab, has audacious aims. It’s working to develop “multi-agent” models, a process where a number of AI systems interact with one another. The deal for the months-old startup marks continued intense interest in companies pushing forward in AI, with investors willing to take a bet on founding teams based on their employment history as much as their proposed product.

In an investor presentation, the startup described its goal to develop AI with skills like memory, planning and “tactical decision making” that AI systems have struggled with, according to a document viewed by Bloomberg News. “We build genuine AGI capabilities,” read the presentation, referencing theoretical AI systems that outperform humans on all tasks.

Bloomberg News first reported on the company’s creation and financing plans in January. Charles Kantor is a former venture resident at Stanford University’s business school. The other four members of the founding team are engineers who spent years at DeepMind working on some of its advanced models.

Venture firm Accel Partners LP is participating in the round along with UiPath Inc., the people said. Other investors include Wendy and Eric Schmidt, Google’s former chief executive officer. Business Insider previously reported some of the details of the funding round.

Holistic’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Kantor did not respond to a request for comment. UiPath did not return requests for comment.

Accel, a fund based in California, was an early backer of Facebook, Dropbox and several other prominent internet companies. But the firm has steered clear of startups building foundational AI models, such as OpenAI and Mistral, another Parisian newcomer that raced to a $2 billion-plus valuation in its first year.

Accel also backed UiPath, a company formed in Romania that went public in 2021. UiPath sells robotic process automation software — tech that instructs bots to perform certain tasks within a company, like monitoring servers or backing up data. It’s distinct from the latest AI systems, which can detect patterns or generate text and images without human programming.

In its investor document, Holistic AI pitched a vision of moving “beyond” large language models like OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s Gemini. The document said the startup was planning to target “multiple verticals” and revenue streams. “We are raising a large round to train the model and start going after these markets,” the presentation read.

--With assistance from Lizette Chapman and Shona Ghosh.

(Updates with UiPath involvement in seventh, ninth paragraphs)