In the race to leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) for competitive advantage, companies face adoption challenges due to the rapid evolution of the field and a multitude of AI vendors. Nevertheless, global investments in AI-centric systems are projected to reach $154 billion this year, and a MIT Tech Review poll indicates that 50% of firms plan to increase budgets for data infrastructure and AI by over 25% in the coming year.
Startup AssemblyAI is a standout success story, with its paying customer base growing 200% to 4,000 brands. The company’s AI platform handles 25 million API calls daily, serving over 200,000 developers who process more than 10 terabytes of data daily.
AssemblyAI recently secured a $50 million funding round led by Accel, bringing its total capital raised to $115 million. The company offers advanced speech-focused AI models for tasks like speech-to-text, speaker identification, content moderation, and speech summarization.
CEO Dylan Fox believes AssemblyAI’s models surpass competitors in terms of accuracy and features. The company plans to launch a “universal” speech model later this year, trained on over a petabyte of voice data, and expand its workforce by 50% to 75%.
Fox envisions AssemblyAI as the “Stripe for AI models,” enabling developers to easily access state-of-the-art AI through a simple API. The company anticipates continued growth and demand as AI gains mainstream prominence.