PreIPO INTELLI™ Weekly Insights | Series 49
Friday, September 15th 2023 | Volume 1 Series 49 | Chat GPT Enterprise, Citizens Private Bank, and more funding updates
Greetings, it's Friday again, marking the end of the week, and we're here to bring you the latest news and updates through the INTELLI™ Newsletter. This week we talk about OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise, a business-focused AI chatbot with enhanced privacy and data analysis capabilities. Additionally, Citizens Bank's new venture, Citizens Private Bank, is expanding its presence in the innovation sector with a West Coast office.
Open AI launched Chat GPT Enterprise
OpenAI is seizing the momentous success of ChatGPT by introducing ChatGPT Enterprise, a dedicated business-focused iteration of its revolutionary AI-powered chatbot application. With an eye on catering to the distinct needs of enterprises, ChatGPT Enterprise builds upon the strong foundation of its consumer counterpart, offering a suite of features that align seamlessly with the demands of modern businesses and organizations.
Retaining the same versatile capabilities as ChatGPT, including drafting emails, composing essays, and even aiding in debugging computer code, ChatGPT Enterprise extends its functionality to encompass enterprise-grade privacy and data analysis features. These additions are strategically designed to meet the rigorous data security and privacy standards that enterprises require, while also elevating the overall performance and level of customization to new heights.
ChatGPT Enterprise boasts an impressive array of tools within its administrative console, providing organizations with the means to effectively manage and optimize the utilization of ChatGPT by their employees. This includes robust integrations for single sign-on, domain verification, and a comprehensive dashboard that offers valuable insights through detailed usage statistics. An innovative feature, shareable conversation templates, empowers employees to streamline internal workflows by harnessing ChatGPT's capabilities. Moreover, ChatGPT Enterprise grants organizations credits for OpenAI's API platform, allowing them to craft tailor-made solutions that leverage the power of ChatGPT to address their unique requirements.
One of the standout features of ChatGPT Enterprise is its exclusive access to Advanced Data Analysis, formerly known as Code Interpreter. This feature, initially available only to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, OpenAI's premium consumer offering, is now unlimited within ChatGPT Enterprise. Advanced Data Analysis equips ChatGPT with the remarkable capability to analyze data comprehensively, generate insightful charts, solve complex mathematical problems, and extract valuable insights from uploaded files. For instance, given a prompt such as "Tell me what's interesting about this data," ChatGPT's Advanced Data Analysis can scrutinize various data types, be it financial, health-related, or location-specific, to provide meaningful insights and trends.
Citizens Bank launches a startup-focused private banking division with the help of former First Republic Bank staff
In the early days of the banking crisis triggered by Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) troubles, Sam Heshmati remembers a telling encounter. He saw someone in the lobby who appeared excited about potential business opportunities arising from the crisis. However, this person didn't seem to grasp SVB's role in the ecosystem, and Heshmati sensed trouble.
Shortly afterward, First Republic, where Heshmati worked, also faced challenges due to the spillover effects from SVB's struggles. It was an emotional roller coaster for Heshmati and his team, given First Republic's strong performance. Eventually, First Republic succumbed to the crisis, leading to its acquisition by JPMorgan under receivership. Heshmati declined an offer from JPMorgan and instead joined Citizens Bank.
Citizens Bank offered Heshmati the opportunity to build the institution's new venture banking practice from scratch. With $22 billion in assets under management and $177.7 billion in deposits, Citizens Bank aimed to become the preferred bank for the innovation sector. Heshmati's role as head of emerging VC and innovation banking involves creating Citizens Private Bank, a division that adopts First Republic's operating model. The bank's objective is to be the top banking choice for the innovation sector. Alongside traditional banking services, Citizens Bank plans to integrate cash management solutions, addressing the unique needs of founders and investors in the post-crisis banking landscape.
Citizens Bank's new practice is already open for business, although Heshmati acknowledges it will take some time to reach full capacity. Several former First Republic employees, including much of Heshmati's team, have also joined Citizens Bank in this venture.
Additionally, Citizens Bank is opening a West Coast office as part of its expansion strategy. This expansion aligns with the bank's strategic plan and its acquisition of JMP Securities in November 2021. The disruption caused by the collapse of SVB and First Republic presented Citizens Bank with an opportunity to better serve the startup and venture capital community.
Brendan Coughlin, Vice Chair and Head of Consumer Banking at Citizens, emphasized that the market has become more fragmented, making it challenging for founders and VCs to find the right long-term financial partner. With Sam Heshmati and his team, Citizens Bank aims to fill this gap by establishing itself as the "go-to" bank for the startup and venture ecosystem. In addition to its California expansion, Citizens Bank plans to selectively add physical locations to accommodate new private bankers and customer-facing offices to facilitate private equity and venture banking relationships, connecting them with loan programs and wealth management for GP/LP partners.
Recent Funding Recap 🤝
LastMile AI - $10 Million Seed Round
LastMile AI, a platform aimed at simplifying the integration of generative AI models into applications for software engineers, has secured $10 million in seed funding, with Gradient, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, leading the investment round. The funds will be used to expand LastMile's product offerings and grow its team as it works to make generative AI more accessible to developers, bridging the gap between machine learning researchers and software engineers. The platform allows developers to create generative AI applications using text and image models, experiment with different models, chain them together to create complex workflows, and share reusable development setups.
Ascend Elements - $542 Million Series D
Ascend Elements, an eight-year-old battery recycling company, has secured a significant $542 million in Series D funding, adding to its earlier Department of Energy (DoE) grants totaling $480 million. The company specializes in recycling lithium batteries into black mass and producing cathode active materials (CAM) and precursor cathode active materials (PCAM). This funding will support the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Kentucky, focused on refining black mass into sustainable, battery-ready materials. Ascend Elements aims to produce 20 kilotons of PCAM per year at its Kentucky plant, beginning operations around the end of 2024. The firm already operates pilot facilities in Massachusetts and Michigan and counts Honda and SK Battery America among its customers.
ESLA - $23 Million Series C
ELSA, the English language learning platform, has secured $23 million in Series C funding and introduced ELSA AI Tutor, an innovative tool that leverages generative AI to aid learners in improving their pronunciation, grammar, and tone. This latest investment brings ELSA's total funding to $60 million. UOB Venture Management led the funding round, with participation from UniPresident, Aozora Bank, Vietnam Investments Group (VIG), Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), Gradient Ventures, Monk's Hill Ventures, and Global Ventures. ELSA plans to use the funding to expand its global presence, particularly in Taiwan, the Middle East, Turkey, and Japan, while also focusing on B2B opportunities.
Swan - $40 Million Series B
Swan, a French startup specializing in embedded banking, has secured a substantial $40 million Series B funding round, marking a significant development in the French tech ecosystem. Swan aims to provide a definitive embedded banking solution for the European Union, focusing on building native features to enhance the developer and end-user experience. The company offers white-labeled banking features to a range of businesses, including SaaS companies, marketplaces, and fintech startups, allowing them to integrate financial products into their services. Swan handles the banking operations and risk management on behalf of its clients, enabling them to concentrate on product development. Clients include Carrefour, Pennylane, Alma, Agicap, Factorial, and Expensya. Swan plans to expand further in European markets and enhance its services, including payment collection methods and potential lending capabilities.
As always, stay tuned for more updates and insights from the team at INTELLI™.