AI's Progress In 2025 So Far
A deep dive into the latest AI breakthroughs and what the future holds
Welcome back to another edition of NEW ECONOMIES, which is rooted in my experiences working in venture. We’re living in extraordinary times—the most exciting era ever for technology, with groundbreaking trends emerging constantly that will redefine how we live and work in the future. Join me on this journey—subscribe to NEW ECONOMIES to stay ahead of the curve in technology. We’re just getting started!
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AI has already had a huge start to the year, with new industry players emerging and shifting trends that are reshaping the landscape. From the latest breakthroughs in generative AI and multimodal models to innovative startups disrupting various sectors, there’s no shortage of developments to watch.
In this edition, we explore the most significant AI advancements, including improvements in large language models, AI-driven automation, and the increasing integration of AI into everyday applications.
We also highlight the 100 most promising startups that have been founded in the past 12 months from those shaking up the healthcare system and finance to those pushing the boundaries of creativity and robotics.
AI’s PROGRESS IN 2025 SO FAR
We take a closer look at the latest AI breakthroughs and what the future holds.
OpenAI's Deep Research Agent
On February 2, OpenAI introduced a deep research agent capable of achieving a 25%+ accuracy rate on the Humanity's Last Exam benchmark. This agent autonomously browses the web for 5 to 30 minutes to generate cited reports on specified topics.
DeepSeek
DeepSeek released DeepSeek-R1, a large language model utilizing chain-of-thought reasoning, achieving performance similar to OpenAI's o1 across various tasks.
Baidu's Ernie X1 and Ernie 4.5
Baidu introduced Ernie X1, an AI model comparable to DeepSeek R1 but more cost-effective. They also unveiled Ernie 4.5, an updated foundational model claimed to surpass OpenAI's GPT-4.5 in performance.
Baidu’s share price jumped
Baidu’s stock price jumped after it released an AI model to rival DeepSeek.
xAI's Grok-3
Elon Musk's xAI launched Grok-3, trained with significantly more computing power than its predecessor, Grok-2. Grok-3 is reported to outperform OpenAI’s GPT-4o on several benchmarks.
Google's Collaboration with MediaTek on AI Chips
Google is set to partner with Taiwan's MediaTek to develop the next generation of its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). This collaboration aims to reduce production costs and reliance on current partners, with production scheduled for the following year.
Stability AI’s new AI model turns photos into 3D scenes
Stability AI has released a new AI model, Stable Virtual Camera, that the company claims can transform 2D images into “immersive” videos with realistic depth and perspective.
Virtual cameras are tools often used in digital filmmaking and 3D animation to capture and navigate scenes in real time. With Stable Virtual Camera, Stability sought to add generative AI to the mix to deliver greater control and customizability, the company said in a blog post.
AI IPOs
We may see some of the first AI IPOs in 2025, with companies like CoreWeave and Scale AI potentially going public.
Launch of The Stargate Project
On January 21, a consortium comprising OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and MGX announced The Stargate Project. This initiative aims to build a comprehensive AI infrastructure system in collaboration with the U.S. government, with an estimated investment of $500 billion over the next four years.
A $50M Fund
Perplexity AI launches a $50 million venture fund to back early-stage startups.
Nvidia announces two ‘personal AI supercomputers’
Nvidia at GTC 2025 announced a new lineup of “AI personal supercomputers” powered by the company’s Grace Blackwell chip platform.
Jensen Huang, the semiconductor company’s founder and CEO, unveiled the two new machines, DGX Spark (previously called Project Digits) and DGX Station, during his keynote on Tuesday. The computers will allow users to prototype, fine-tune, and run AI models of various sizes at the edge.
“This is the computer of the age of AI,” Huang said during the presentation. “This is what computers should look like, and this is what computers will run in the future. And we have a whole lineup for enterprise now, from little, tiny ones to workstation ones.”
All of this has happened in just a few months. Where do you see AI going next? Comment below!
With AI breaking new waves, we take a closer look at the 100 startups to watch…
MEET THE 100 AI STARTUPS, ALL LESS THAN A YEAR OLD, WHICH HAVE COLLECTIVELY RAISED $3.7 BILLION.
2024 was a breakthrough year for AI, and 2025 is poised to be even bigger. Through our reporting and research, we constantly discover the most promising startups.
Last week, we published the 100 most promising startups to watch—those which are less than 12 months old.
To identify the most promising startups, we applied the following methodology:
Each startup must have been founded within the past 12 months.
The startups must have raised at least $1M USD.
Discover the latest and most promising AI startups.
STARTUP FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY
In addition to showcasing the most promising startups to watch, these eight standout companies have collectively raised over $4.5 billion since the start of the year. They include:
Anthropic, a ChatGPT rival with its AI assistant Claude, raised a $3.5 billion funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, valuing it at $61.5 billion.
Epirus, $250M, defense: Startup Epirus raised a $250 million Series D led by 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners.
Peregrine Technologies, $190M, law enforcement: Law enforcement startup Peregrine Technologies locked up a $190 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital, minting the San Francisco-based firm as a new unicorn at a $2.5 billion valuation.
Callio Therapeutics, $187M, biotech: Cancer therapy drug developer Callio Therapeutics raised a massive $187 million Series A led by Frazier Life Sciences.
4C Medical Technologies, $175M, healthcare: Minneapolis-based 4C Medical Technologies, a medical device company developing minimally invasive therapies for structural heart disease, closed a $175 million Series D led by Boston Scientific.
Turing, $111M, artificial intelligence: Palo Alto, California-based Turing, which contributes code to AI projects, secured an $111 million Series E financing at a valuation of $2.2 billion led by Khazanah Nasional.
Aescape, $83M, robotics: Aescape, an AI robotics startup for massages, raised $83 million in a round led by Valor Equity Partners.
PetScreening, $80M, pets: Mooresville, North Carolina-based PetScreening, a pet policy management software developer, took in an $80 million Series B led by Guidepost Growth Equity and Volition Capital.
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Love all of these amazing pieces! Thank you!!