The media reports that Sierra startup, which is focused on enterprises and operates in the sphere of artificial intelligence, is approaching the status of a unicorn with new investments.

The mentioned company is co-founded by OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor and former Google executive Clay Bavor.

According to media reports, Sequoia Capital is expected to lead an $85 million funding round, valuing Sierra at nearly $1 billion. In this case, the journalists refer to an anonymous insider.

Spokespeople for Sierra and Sequoia did not provide any comment on the expected funding round to media representatives.

Currently, the artificial intelligence industry is in the spotlight of investors. AI is an advanced technology that has the potential to transform workflows in many spheres of activity. Some analysts tend to believe that artificial intelligence will become the driving force behind the global modernization of human civilization in all aspects and dimensions of its existence. Investors are ready to provide capital to the AI industry. This willingness is partly due to the success of the world’s most popular artificial intelligence-based chatbot called ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI. An example of the significant capabilities of machine intelligence has reduced the level of uncertainty of investors and has become something like a motivational factor for them.

Sierra’s co-founders strive to ensure that artificial intelligence is used as a tool for solving complex business challenges. The startup has already gained a share of popularity in the market. It is worth noting that currently applying machine intelligence within the framework of so-called corporate scenarios, implying the specialized functioning of appropriate systems within a certain industry, is a common practice, the advantage of which lies in focusing on solving specific tasks.

Bret Taylor joined the board of OpenAI after the dismissal and re-hiring of the company’s CEO Sam Altman last November. He was also a co-CEO at Salesforce. Moreover, Bret Taylor played a significant role in Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter in 2022.

Clay Bavor joined Google in 2005. In 2015, he became the head of the virtual reality unit of this tech giant. Before that, Clay Bavor was the manager of Gmail and Google Drive. According to his LinkedIn account, in March 2023, he left Google and became a co-founder of a startup.

Another startup in the sphere of artificial intelligence, French Mistral AI, raised $415 million in investment funds last month and was valued at about $2 billion. This company was founded by Google and Meta researchers. The startup specializes in open-source software for chatbots and generative artificial intelligence tools. Mistral AI quickly managed to become one of the main players among European firms at an early stage of its existence in the sphere of machine intelligence.

Last week, it also became known that Elon Musk’s startup xAI is currently negotiating with investors around the world and is seeking $6 billion in financing at a proposed valuation of $20 billion. This company began its history in June 2023. In November, the startup launched its own chatbot based on artificial intelligence called Grok.

As we have reported earlier, ElevenLabs Raises $80 Million for AI Projects.