news on draft•logs

Voice AI Startup ElevenLabs Raises $500 Million

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:53:03 GMT

ElevenLabs was initially considered an outsider in Hollywood
Today the AI startup has become a creative partner
Michael Caine, Matthew McConaughey and others are partners
ElevenLabs raises $500 million in new funding
Sequoia Capital leads the new investment round
The AI startup ElevenLabs is now valued at $11 billion
Andreessen Horowitz, Iconiq and others participated
ElevenLabs develops a platform for conversational AI
Brands can now license the voices of actors and others
Last year’s ARR reached $330 million
ElevenLabs aims to double its ARR by the end of 2026
Clients include Deutsche Telekom, Deliveroo and others

Microsoft's Pivotal AI Product Faces Serious Problems

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Copilot is a key element of Microsoft’s AI strategy
Attempts to replace ChatGPT with it have proven challenging
Only a small portion of Office subscribers use Copilot
The percentage of those who prefer it over Gemini has only declined
Copilot is one of Nadella’s main priorities
Microsoft’s large customer base helps Copilot’s development
Microsoft offers several versions of the Copilot service
All Copilot versions can be divided into three main audiences
These are specialists, developers, and regular users
Complex positioning also hinders Copilot’s popularity
Microsoft sold 15 million corporate Copilot seats within Office
By late 2025, Copilot’s MAU was reported at 150+ million
Gemini’s MAU is 650+ million, ChatGPT’s MAU is 900 million
Recon Analytics surveyed 150+ thousand respondents in the US
The share of those for whom Copilot is primary fell by 7.3 percentage points to 11.5%
Meanwhile, the share of those choosing Gemini was 15.7% (+2.9 percentage points)

Ricursive Intelligence develops AI that can improve AI itself

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:13:26 GMT

Ricursive Intelligence was founded by two researchers from Google
The startup uses specialized chips for modern chatbots
The company’s solutions are expected to improve AI chip design
More advanced chips will create more capable AIs
The process will repeat as technologies improve
The startup is creating a recursive cycle of self-improvement
Ricursive Intelligence recently raised $335M in funding
The 10-person startup is already valued at $4B
Investors include Sequoia, Radical Ventures, DST Global, and others

AI Usage Frequency at the Workplace Continues to Rise

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 09:19:20 GMT

Employees in the US increasingly use AI for work-related tasks
Usage rates in the US have been gradually increasing over the past 3 years
Those using AI daily increased to 12% (+2 percentage points)
Those using AI several times a week now account for 26% (+3 percentage points)
Those using AI several times a year remained unchanged
49% still never use AI in their work
AI usage depends on industry and job type
AI is most commonly used in knowledge-based industries
Application is least common in manufacturing and service sectors
IT and finance employees use AI the most

CEOs Say AI Is Making Work More Efficient, but Employees Tell a Different Story

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:13:21 GMT

Employees say AI is not saving them much time
Many employees don’t know how to implement AI in their work
Meanwhile, companies are spending huge sums on AI
The gap between executives and rank-and-file employees is enormous
The issue is about the gap between AI’s theoretical and actual use
Two-thirds of rank-and-file employees save up to 2 hours per week
More than 40% of executives claim savings of 8 hours per week
For rank-and-file employees, AI often causes anxiety and other concerns
AI tools are most often used for basic tasks
AI is rarely applied to analysis, code generation, and other complex work
People still don’t understand what AI does well and what it doesn’t

OpenEvidence, the ChatGPT for doctors, doubles valuation to $12 billion

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 07:08:05 GMT

OpenEvidence startup raised $250 million in new funding
New funding provided by Thrive Capital and DST
Over the past year, OpenEvidence raised $750 million in investments
Among its investors: Google, Nvidia, Kleiner Perkins and others
The startup helps doctors make important clinical decisions
OpenEvidence is the most popular AI platform for doctors
More than 40% of doctors in the US market use the platform
Healthcare accounts for nearly 20% of total US GDP
Healthcare spending reaches $5 trillion
OpenEvidence has collected hundreds of millions of real doctor consultations
Last year, the startup’s ARR exceeded $100 million
95% of new users learn about the product from other doctors

Coinbase to Acquire Prediction Markets Startup The Clearing Company

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 06:46:37 GMT

– The Clearing Company startup recently raised $15 million – Coinbase Ventures was already one of the investors – Coinbase previously launched predictions market direction – The startup team will become part of Coinbase crypto exchange – Predictions are available for sports, politics, and more – The startup was founded by former Polymarket and Kalshi executive – The deal will help Coinbase scale its new business – The startup had about 10 employees in total – Coinbase did not disclose the amount, calling it “immaterial” – The acquisition became the tenth for the crypto exchange since early 2025 – Coinbase previously acquired Roam, Spindl, Iron Fish, Echo, and others