According to people familiar with the situation, Premji Invest, the investment vehicle run by Wipro founder and chairman Azim Premji, is preparing to invest $50 million in Paris-based AI startup Poolside.ai. According to TechCrunch, Poolside.ai is presently gathering $400 million in fundraising, of which this investment is a part. The company’s worth is anticipated to reach $2 billion.
Premji Invest’s Strategic AI Investments
The action taken by Premji Invest demonstrates its strategic focus on leveraging the rapidly expanding field of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Following its recent investments in Canva and Hippocratic AI, this would be Premji Invest’s third significant AI venture globally. The fund believes there is a lot of promise in using AI technologies in several industries, especially in software development.
Poolside.ai’s Innovative Approach
Jason Warner and Eiso Kant created Poolside.ai in April 2023 with the goal of training a large language model (LLM) specifically for software development. Three crucial steps are part of the startup’s approach:
- AI-Assisted Software Development: By assisting developers with AI capabilities, Poolside.ai aims to streamline and enhance software creation processes.
- Human-Assisted AI Interactions: Poolside.ai plans to democratize software development by enabling AI-led, human-assisted interactions, simplifying the creation of software solutions.
- Expansion Beyond Software: Beyond software development, Poolside.ai aims to generalize its AI capabilities to other fields, promising broader applications across industries.
Founders’ Backgrounds and Parisian Innovation Hub
Jason Warner, a former CTO at GitHub and investor at Redpoint, contributes extensive technical knowledge to Poolside.ai. Eiso Kant, a co-founder and serial entrepreneur behind Athenian and source{d}, adds a robust entrepreneurial track record to Warner’s background. Poolside.ai is situated in the thriving startup scene in Paris, next to well-known competitors like Mistral and H, who have also drawn significant funding.
Premji Invest’s AI Portfolio Expansion
Premji Invest took part in Canva’s secondary deal earlier this year with the goal of strengthening the creator ecosystem of the graphic design company. Separately, the fund co-led the Series A fundraising round for Hippocratic AI, focusing on the use of AI in healthcare, specifically to improve clinical procedures and patient engagement.
About Premji Invest
Premji Invest is acknowledged as the largest VC/PE/public markets fund in India, managing assets worth a total of $14.3 billion. Premji Invest is a diversified investment firm that has made key investments in well-known businesses like Lenskart, FirstCry, Purplle, and The Sleep Company. Its portfolio includes investments in private equity, venture capital, and public markets in both India and the US. Among the fund’s foreign holdings are shares in Moderna, a massive pharmaceutical company headquartered in the US.
Final Thoughts
Premji Invest’s investment in Poolside.ai demonstrates its dedication to supporting forward-thinking AI startups with the potential to revolutionise the industry as it continues to increase its presence in the global AI scene. Premji Invest continues to be at the forefront of finding and fostering innovative AI-driven solutions globally, with AI poised to revolutionise a variety of industries.
