Latest news with #KleinerPerkins
Business Wire
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Harmonic Raises $100 Million Series B to Accelerate Development of Mathematical Superintelligence
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Harmonic, the artificial intelligence lab leading the development of Mathematical Superintelligence (MSI), announces a $100 million Series B funding round at a nearly $900 million post-money valuation. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins with significant participation from Paradigm. Additional investors included Ribbit Capital and existing backers including Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, and Charlie Cheever. The funding will accelerate Harmonic's momentum at the frontier of mathematical reasoning and its rapid progress towards commercializing its flagship model, Aristotle. Unlike language-based AI prone to hallucinations, Aristotle's use of MSI verifies accuracy, ensures coherent logical reasoning, and transparently flags errors and inconsistencies. As a result, Aristotle replaces probabilistic guesses with provable solutions in high-stakes, real-world applications. 'Aristotle's MSI is uniquely suited for mission-critical applications where there is no margin for error, such as generating verified software and by formally verifying existing code – a breakthrough for industries including blockchain, financial services, aerospace and other safety-sensitive systems,' said Tudor Achim, CEO of Harmonic. Aristotle's MSI model is designed to solve mathematical problems at a level far exceeding human capabilities. By accelerating mathematics, the doors open to driving breakthroughs across multiple dependent fields, including theoretical physics and engineering. 'We're getting closer to AI that can truly reason – quickly, reliably, and at scale,' said Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Harmonic. 'Mathematical Superintelligence is moving from research to real-world applications, and we're excited for Aristotle to start putting this AI capability into the hands of users.' 'Harmonic has created a new foundation for verified, scalable reasoning that can be trusted in high-stakes environments. I'm deeply excited about the applications of Aristotle not just for software, but for accelerating progress across science, engineering and general intelligence,' said Ilya Fushman, partner at Kleiner Perkins and a former physicist who will join Harmonic's board as an observer. He joins existing board member Andrew Reed from Sequoia and existing board observer Jan Hammer from Index. Harmonic previously raised $75 million in its September 2024 Series A funding round, which was led by Sequoia Capital, included significant participation from Index Ventures, and received additional backing from DST Global partners and Nikesh Arora. About Harmonic Harmonic, an artificial intelligence company founded in 2023, is backed by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and led by CEO Tudor Achim. It is developing Mathematical Superintelligence (MSI), the next generation of artificial intelligence which is rooted in mathematics and which guarantees accuracy and eliminates hallucinations. The company is based in Palo Alto, California.
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Robinhood CEO's AI Math Startup Valued at Nearly $900 Million
Harmonic AI, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Robinhood Markets Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev, has raised $100 million in funding to tackle a problem that has sometimes confounded AI models: math. The Series B funding round was led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and Paradigm. The deal values the AI startup at $875 million, said Tenev, who serves as the company's executive chairman, a non-operating role. Harmonic's CEO is Tudor Achim, who previously led autonomous driving startup
Business Insider
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
A Kleiner Perkins partner explains why the firm is betting on AI for highly paid jobs like doctors and lawyers
Kleiner Perkins invests in AI tools for high-paying jobs like doctors and lawyers. The firm targets digital assistants to simplify tasks in top professions. AI integration is becoming essential in workplaces, with leaders urging its adoption. In an episode of the "Uncapped" podcast published on Wednesday, a Kleiner Perkins partner, Mamoon Hamid, said the firm is investing in startups that make digital assistants for America's highest-paying jobs. "If you'd look at a chart of the top 20 jobs in the US by pay, those are doctors, lawyers, and engineers," Hamid said. "So we thought, OK, so how do we invest in copilots for these job types?" The VC added that: "There are parts of these jobs that are very nuanced and the human brain needs to process those parts of the job, but there's parts that AI is scribing or taking notes." Hamid said that the company had invested in Ambience, a startup for doctors, Harvey, a legal-tech platform for lawyers, and Windsurf, a coding assistance platform for engineers. He said that physical labor, which is often among the lowest-paying jobs, is harder to tackle with AI. "It's like back-breaking work that people do and still do it, and that's probably the hardest place to attack today," he said. "We're thinking sort of much further out, which is like robots, it's like humanoids." The Menlo Park-based firm specializes in investing in early-stage tech and life science startups. Founded in 1972, it has backed over 900 companies, including Amazon, Google, and Twitter. As AI improves, companies outside the tech industry are promoting or even mandating its use for their employees. That's leading to a rush of contracts for big companies, like OpenAI, and startups alike. In May, the CEO of Norway's $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund said that using AI is not "voluntary" for his employees. "If you don't use it, you will never be promoted. You won't get a job," Nicolai Tangen said. In a viral memo in April, Shopify's Tobias Ltke told employees that AI use is "now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify" and "teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI" before asking for more head count. In the same month, Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said not enough of his employees know how to use AI and that Uber is implementing training programs to change that. He added that learning to use AI agents to code is "going to be an absolute necessity at Uber within a year."
Business Insider
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
A Kleiner Perkins partner explains why the firm is betting on AI for highly paid jobs like doctors and lawyers
One venture capitalist is playing the AI game by investing in tools for top jobs. In an episode of the "Uncapped" podcast published on Wednesday, a Kleiner Perkins partner, Mamoon Hamid, said the firm is investing in startups that make digital assistants for America's highest-paying jobs. "If you'd look at a chart of the top 20 jobs in the US by pay, those are doctors, lawyers, and engineers," Hamid said. "So we thought, OK, so how do we invest in copilots for these job types?" The VC added that: "There are parts of these jobs that are very nuanced and the human brain needs to process those parts of the job, but there's parts that AI is scribing or taking notes." Hamid said that the company had invested in Ambience, a startup for doctors, Harvey, a legal-tech platform for lawyers, and Windsurf, a coding assistance platform for engineers. He said that physical labor, which is often among the lowest-paying jobs, is harder to tackle with AI. "It's like back-breaking work that people do and still do it, and that's probably the hardest place to attack today," he said. "We're thinking sort of much further out, which is like robots, it's like humanoids." The Menlo Park-based firm specializes in investing in early-stage tech and life science startups. Founded in 1972, it has backed over 900 companies, including Amazon, Google, and Twitter. As AI improves, companies outside the tech industry are promoting or even mandating its use for their employees. That's leading to a rush of contracts for big companies, like OpenAI, and startups alike. In May, the CEO of Norway's $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund said that using AI is not "voluntary" for his employees. "If you don't use it, you will never be promoted. You won't get a job," Nicolai Tangen said. In a viral memo in April, Shopify's Tobias Lütke told employees that AI use is "now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify" and "teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI" before asking for more head count. In the same month, Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said not enough of his employees know how to use AI and that Uber is implementing training programs to change that. He added that learning to use AI agents to code is "going to be an absolute necessity at Uber within a year."
TechCrunch
23-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Four months after a $3B valuation, Harvey AI grows to $5B
Harvey AI, a startup that provides automation for legal work, has raised $300 million in Series E funding at a $5 billion valuation, the company told Fortune. The round was co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue, with participation from existing investors, including Conviction, Elad Gil, OpenAI Startup Fund, and Sequoia. The financing comes just four months after Harvey announced that Sequoia led a $300 million Series D round at a $3 billion valuation. While many AI companies aim to keep headcount low, Harvey is rapidly expanding its staff. The three-year-old startup already employs 340 people and plans to double that number with its fresh funds, Fortune reported. Some of the new staff will be hired to help Harvey build AI products for professional services beyond legal, including tax accounting. The company's AI solutions, which assist lawyers in reviewing documents and drafting contracts, are used by 337 legal clients. Harvey has been growing at a rapid clip, reaching an annualized run-rate revenue of $75 million in April, up from $50 million earlier in the year, Reuters reported last month. Some of Harvey's competitors include older legal startups, such as 10-year-old Ironclad and 17-year-old Clio, which raised a $300 million round at a $3 billion valuation last year.
