Amazon is training a large language model called Olympus with twice the parameters of GPT-4

2024 was a landmark year for the AI industry. According to TechCrunch, 49 startups secured over $100 million in funding, with seven raising over $1 billion and three securing multiple mega-funding rounds. This momentum continues into 2025. Despite it being early in the year, the number of US AI companies receiving over $100 million in funding is nearing double digits, with at least one round exceeding $1 billion. The following are the companies that have secured over $100 million in funding so far in 2025...
AI21 Labs has announced the release of Jamba 1.6, a significant upgrade to its large language model that enhances its capabilities in handling long-form text and expands its support to multiple languages.
Alibaba has open-sourced Babel, a powerful multilingual large language model capable of supporting 25 languages and impacting nearly 90% of the world's population. This release aims to democratize access to advanced AI technologies globally.