'World's thinnest' wafers, AI agents, Apple's deal: This week in AI

Nov 02, 2024

Each week, Quartz rounds up product launches, updates, and funding news from artificial intelligence-focused startups and companies.

Here’s what’s going on this week in the ever-evolving AI industry.

Semiconductor company Infineon (IFNNY) unveiled its new silicon power wafer this week that it says is the “world’s thinnest.” The new silicon wafers, which were developed for AI data centers, can reduce power loss by more than 15%, the company said, including for high-end AI server applications.

The silicon wafers have a thickness of 20 micrometers and a diameter of 300 millimeters — or a quarter of the thickness of human hair, Infineon said. The silicon wafers are also half as thick as current advanced wafers.

“The new ultra-thin wafer technology drives our ambition to power different AI server configurations from grid to core in the most energy efficient way,” Adam White, who oversees power and sensor systems at Infineon, said in a statement. “As energy demand for AI data centers is rising significantly, energy efficiency gains more and more importance. For Infineon, this is a fast-growing business opportunity. With mid-double-digit growth rates, we expect our AI business to reach one billion euros within the next two years.”

Conversational AI company Conversica announced updates to its AI agents this week that it says will help enterprise revenue teams increase revenue conversions. The latest generation of AI agents integrate technology from OpenAI, Meta (META), and Google (GOOGL), Conversica said, “enhancing both the depth and precision of its responses for next-level customer experience, and grounding its capabilities exclusively in each client’s data.”

New features include Revenue Digital Assistants trained on an enterprise’s brand content that can have customized interactions with customers, and customized AI controls that allow brands to choose how the AI converses.

Pixelmator, which has created image editing apps with AI features for the iPhone and Mac, announced this week that Apple (AAPL) is buying it.

“We’ve been inspired by Apple since day one, crafting our products with the same razor-sharp focus on design, ease of use, and performance,” Pixelmator said in a blog post. “And looking back, it’s crazy what a small group of dedicated people have been able to achieve over the years from all the way in Vilnius, Lithuania. Now, we’ll have the ability to reach an even wider audience and make an even bigger impact on the lives of creative people around the world.”

The agreement is subject to regulatory approval, Pixelmator said, adding that no material changes will be made to its Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps for now.

Conversational AI platform, Sierra, raised $175 million in its latest funding round this week, valuing it at $4.5 billion. The startup was co-founded by OpenAI chairperson and former Salesforce (CRM) co-CEO Bret Taylor.

The funding was led by Greenoaks Capital, and included ICONIQ and Thrive Capital as investors.

“We think every company in the world, whether it’s a technology company or a 150-year-old company like ADT (ADT), can benefit from AI,” Taylor told CNBC. “We want to enable Sierra to address that market, and that means expanding internationally and to other industries.”

Evogene (EVGN), a computational biology company that uses big data and AI for life science-based product discovery and development, announced a partnership this week with Google Cloud to develop a generative AI foundation model for small molecule design.

The collaboration will help Evogene’s ChemPass AI computational technology platform that “directs and accelerates the discovery and development of novel products based on small molecules.” The company will use Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, Google Compute Engine GPUs, and storage to create the foundation model.