Together AI valued at $1.25 billion in Salesforce-led funding round

(Reuters) - Nvidia-backed Together AI has raised $106 million at a valuation of $1.25 billion in a new funding round led by Salesforce Ventures, the generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup said on Wednesday.

Together AI, which was founded in 2022, is an open-source platform that can be used by developers to build or customize their AI models.

Other investors in the funding round included hedge fund Coatue Management and existing investors including Lux Capital and Emergence Capital.

The new funding will be used to boost its expansion plans, the company said.

Together AI in November raised $102.5 million in a series A funding led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Nvidia.

Investments in AI startups have accelerated since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, as investors bet on firms that might challenge industry leaders.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in San Francisco and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)