Betaworks, the startup studio and VC firm, is launching a new funding initiative for early-stage AI startups. The program – referred to as a ‘camp’ – will award around ten companies working on AI $500,000 in funding. In addition to the funding, the camp will provide startups access to benefits such as a business-building curriculum, accelerated compute from companies including Hugging Face and Stability AI, and one-on-one mentorship time with events and activities.
The program’s CEO, John Borthwick, believes this effort could not have come at a better time. As AI tool developments evolve and become better known, businesses that place strategic emphasis on AI have an opportunity to grab ahold of the technology and its emerging possibilities. His sentiment is backed by the involvement of Betaworks’ two other partners, Mozilla Ventures and Greycroft, which are providing underwriting for the camp.
The selected startups will be using AI to “augment the way humans behave, create, play, work, and think”. Examples of this include startups building user interfaces (UIs) with context-based interactions over time, infrastructure to leverage collaborations between AI tools and humans, and more. While there are legal considerations to be taken into account such as copyright and intellectual property, Borthwick remains optimistic for the potential outcomes of the program.
Betaworks is no stranger to taking risks. The firm is currently providing funding to Stability AI, which is in the midst of a legal battle over text-to-image technology tools and the usage of web-fetched copyrighted images. Regardless of the possible legal headwinds, Betaworks is ready to put its money behind startups they believe have transformative potential in the AI space.
Company Information:
Betaworks is a venture studio and venture capital firm that was founded in 2007. Some of the most notable investments they have made include Pinterest, Giphy, Instacart, DroneDeploy, and more. Betaworks have also launched various investment products such as Botcamp, a company-incubation program; the Betaworks Ventures fund; and an AI-focused pre-seed venture fund.
Person Information:
John Borthwick is the CEO of Betaworks. An experienced entrepreneur and investor, John is passionate about technology’s potential to create positive change. Prior to Betaworks, he was the Chief Executive of bite.com and Senior Vice President at AOL. He is also the co-chair at Tech:NYC, a nonprofit that seeks to strengthen the tech sectors of New York City. He has been listed as one of Fast Company’s most creative people, as well as one of Vanity Fair’s Global Pioneers of Innovation.
