Top AI startup news of the week: generative AI is blowing up

From ChatGPT “alternatives” to the power of large language models (LLMs) for everything from protein design to note-taking, AI startup news around generative AI was blowing up around the world this week.

1. Andi launches ChatGPT search alternative

Andi, a Y Combinator-backed startup based in Miami, has emerged from stealth with the claim that it has developed the “first generative AI search assistant that provides factually accurate, summarized results.”

In a press release, Andi cofounder Angela Hoover said, “Gen-Z hates Google. To us, search is broken. We live on our phones in messaging apps with visual feeds like TikTok and Instagram. Traditional search engine results are overwhelmed with ads, SEO spam and clutter. We hate the invasive creepy ads, and how Google is Big Brother and surveils everything. Gen-Z is so desperate for an alternative that we’re using TikTok as a search engine.”

Andi is currently free for consumers, and the company says it does not log or track searches. The company says enterprise plans are in the works, saying “dozens of companies have already reached out to Andi asking for an embedded B2B search solution.”

2. Profluent uses generative AI to design proteins

Berkeley-based Profluent, which is led by Ali Madani, who led LLM research at Salesforce AI Research, launched this week to use large language models to design entire proteins. The company raised a $9 million seed round and announced a peer-reviewed publication in Nature Biotech, outlining how Profluent designs function out-of-the-box as well as natural proteins.

In a press release, Madani said: “While companies are experimenting with exciting new biotechnology like CRISPR genome editing by repurposing what nature has given us, we’re doing something different. We use AI and large language models like the ones which power ChatGPT to learn the fundamental language of biology, and design new proteins which have the potential to cure diseases.”

3. Lucy adds generative AI for enterprise knowledge management

Minneapolis-based Lucy, an AI-powered “answer engine,” launched Lucy Synopsis this week, a new feature that offers a ChatGPT-like short summary of the best answers in response to a question.

The company says it uses generative AI to synthesize millions of data points across an organization’s knowledge ecosystem. Synopsis is available within the Lucy platform and is fully integrated with Microsoft Teams, Slack and other business messaging platforms.

“What makes Synopsis so powerful is that it delivers summarized answers directly in the messaging applications teams use every day. Most employees habitually go to these channels to seek answers from colleagues and get help finding information. Lucy participates as a user in the Microsoft Teams and Slack environment, providing you with answers just as a colleague would,” said Scott Litman, founder and COO of Lucy, in a press statement.

4. Island IO offers a ChatGPT browser assistant

This week, Dallas-based Island IO announced what it claims is the industry’s first integration of ChatGPT into a browser — that goes beyond simply placing generative AI inside the browser — to provide “deep contextual awareness, so you receive prompts that are informed by your behavior and relevant to what you’re working on, as you work on it.”

In a blog post, founder and CTO Dan Amiga said the Island GPT Assistant is a “testament to what’s possible when you reimagine the browser for the enterprise. It’s an environment that is not just fundamentally secure for organizations, but one that can continuously provide ways for users to work better, faster, and simpler.”

5. Supernormal raises $10 million for AI-generated meeting notes

Stockholm-based Supernormal, which launched in October 2022 to transform business note-taking with generative AI, announced this week that it raised $10 million in seed funding.

Founded by a former product manager at Meta and Klarna and a former design lead at GitHub and Splice, Supernormal is built on OpenAI’s GPT-3 and internal AI models. It also integrates with Google Meet and recently added Microsoft Teams and Zoom. It automatically creates AI-powered notes and transcripts after every meeting.