Together raises $20M to build open source generative AI models

The article highlights a significant shift in the generative AI landscape, where open-source initiatives are gaining substantial traction despite the dominance of closed-source giants. Investors are increasingly backing startups like Together, which aim to provide transparent, customizable, and private AI infrastructure. This trend suggests that open-source models are becoming critical alternatives for enterprises seeking greater control over their data and applications, challenging the long-term viability of proprietary systems. This development is highly relevant to open_data because it underscores the growing demand for accessibility and transparency in AI technologies. By fostering an open ecosystem, these initiatives promote the use of permissively licensed datasets and models, enabling broader participation from diverse organizations. The emphasis on inspecting and customizing pre-trained models aligns with the core principles of open data, which advocate for sharing knowledge and resources to drive innovation and societal benefit. Furthermore, the article illustrates how open-source efforts are addressing the technical barriers that have historically hindered widespread adoption. By simplifying the deployment and fine-tuning of complex models, open-source platforms make advanced AI more accessible to non-experts and regulated industries. This democratization of AI tools not only encourages collaboration among researchers and developers but also ensures that AI advancements are not monopolized by a few major tech corporations, thereby supporting a more equitable and innovative technological future.

Source: techcrunch.com
Published on 2023-05-16