 6sense CEO Jason Zintak Software firm 6sense, which uses AI to improve sales and marketing for businesses, reached a $5.2B valuation following a recent $200M late-stage funding round. The San Francisco-based startup was last valued at $2.1B in March after its $125M Series D round. More: - The startup analyzes sales and marketing data to help enterprises boost revenue and customer engagement. Its account engagement platform helps B2B organizations "achieve predictable revenue growth" through AI, big data, and machine learning, it said.
- The company said its run rate revenue surpassed $110M, and its net retention rate was over 125% in the past year. Its clients include Cisco, Dell, Experian, Cognizant, Baker Hughes Co., and Qualtrics.
- Blue Owl and MSD Partners co-led the latest Series F round, with participation from new investors SoftBank Vision Fund 2, B Capital Group, Franklin Templeton, and Harmony Partners and existing investors Insight Partners, Tiger Global, D1 Capital Partners, and Sapphire Ventures.
- The fresh funding will enable 6sense to expand into Australia and EMEA and invest in its technology and employees. Some of the financing could also go toward additional M&As following its recent acquisition of AI email marketing platform Saleswhale.
- 6sense has raised $426M since its 2013 inception.
REUTERS 
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a bipartisan commission to suggest government policies on behalf of businesses and support AI advancements and regulations. The AI Commission on Competition, Inclusion, and Innovation is co-chaired by former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) and Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.). More: - Other members include Salesforce head of global policy Rachel Gillum, Bank of America data science executive Shekar Katuri, IBM VP and Chief Privacy Officer Christina Montgomery, and others.
- The group's goal is to make sure the U.S. maintains its lead in innovation and promotes fairness in AI.
- Members will meet with researchers, request feedback from stakeholders, and host public meetings to gather information before promoting their solutions.
- Its first hearing will take place on March 10 in Austin, Texas. A final report, due out in late summer or early fall, is meant to make suggestions to federal lawmakers developing a national strategy for AI R&D, fairness, and regulation.
- Microsoft also announced a new group, the Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Coalition, that will investigate data privacy, employment, and other issues related to AI in healthcare.
UNITE.AI
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Snapchat said its AI and machine learning algorithms now proactively detect 88% of drug dealing activity on its platform, up 33% from October. The company said it has raised its proactive detection rates by 390% over the past year as it works to crack down on drug activity. It reported a drop in community-reported drug sales content since October. More: - The company provided the update in a blog post about its anti-drug tools to combat the opioid/fentanyl epidemic and prevent drug dealers from communicating with minors on its platform.
- After its AI/ML systems report drug dealing activity, Snapchat said it bans the related accounts and uses technology to block users from creating new ones.
- In some cases, it also refers the user to law enforcement and discloses data to police through information requests.
- Snap also uses machine learning to target ads and content to users. Last year, the company described how it applies GPU rather than CPU technology to accelerate ML model inference and support 10 trillion ML predictions daily.
ADWEEK
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SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a $100M funding round for Pixis, a provider of codeless AI infrastructure for marketing optimization. The Series C round also included participation from General Atlantic, Celesta Capital, Premji Invest, and Chiratae Ventures. More: - Pixis, formerly Pyxis One, is developing a no-code solution with the ability to alter AI marketing models, help data scientists collectively develop models, or do training to quickly deploy products and plug-ins.
- Its models help organizations add AI optimization to their marketing campaigns. The startup plans to scale up from 50 AI models to 200 more models within six months.
- The company offers a BTC and DTC marketing solution and plans to launch a solution for B2B and software firms by the end of Q1.
- The new capital will help Pixis scale the AI platforms and plug-ins and expand its presence in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It has now raised $124M to date.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES
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 A message from MODERN TREASURY Why you need to care more about payment operations. If your business moves money, you have payment operations. Payment operations include processes to initiate, approve, track, and reconcile payments. Just like the money they manage, payment operations are critical to a functioning business. In fact, survey data show that 86% of finance leaders view upgrading their payment operations as a priority. To better understand the current state of payment operations, Modern Treasury partnered with the Harris Poll to survey 300 leaders and uncover their top payment operations problems and priorities. In our first-ever report on payment operations, we reveal: - The costliest payment-related challenges companies face
- The 5 upgrades to payment operations leaders believe are most important
- The 7 most common barriers to upgrading payment operations
And more. Download the Report
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 Amazon will use algorithms to recommend clothing at its first apparel store, which is scheduled to open in southern California later this year. The Amazon Style store in Glendale will deploy other advanced technologies, including Amazon's biometric palm-scanning payment system at checkout. More: - According to Amazon, inventory is kept in the back of the store. Clothing will be displayed in single-item racks that have QR codes for customers to scan and view the available sizes, colors, and ratings.
- Shoppers can select items they like and have them sent to pickup counters or fitting rooms.
- The rooms will have touchscreen displays for requesting other styles or rating items. AI-enabled algorithms will also recommend similar clothes to try on.
- The experience will require the use of Amazon's smartphone app.
- In 2021, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the top apparel retailer in the U.S.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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🍋 FRESH FUNDING 🍋 - Axera (China), artificial intelligence chip: $126M from Qiming Venture Partners.
- SeekOut (Seattle, Wash.), AI-powered Talent 360 platform: $115M C led by Tiger Global Management, participation from Founders Circle Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Mayfield.
- Capacity (St. Louis, Mo.), AI-powered support automation platform: $38M C from undisclosed sources.
- Boosted.ai (New York, N.Y.), distributed machine learning platform for global investment professionals: $35M B led by Ten Coves Capital, Spark Capital, participation from Portage Ventures, Royal Bank of Canada, HarbourVest Partners.
- Deepscribe (San Francisco, Calif.), AI-powered medical transcription platform: $30M A led by Index Ventures, participation from Alex Wang, Dylan Field, Bee Partners, Stage 2 Capital, 1984 Ventures.
- Appvance (Santa Clara, Calif.), AI–driven software testing: $13M C led by Arrowroot Capital, participation from Javelin Venture Partners, TRI HoldCo.
- Second Nature (Tel Aviv, Israel), AI-powered sales coaching solution: $12.5M A from Signals Venture Capital, StageOne Ventures, Cardumen Capital, Zoom Video Communications, et al.
For the latest on AI startup funding and more in the VC community, subscribe to our newsletter Inside Venture Capital.
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- Scientists from the University of Sheffield and the Stanford University School of Medicine designed a machine learning model that can help discover genetic risk factors for diseases. The tool, RefMap, has helped identify 690 risk genes for ALS and other motor neuron disorders.
- Alfi signed a deal to install AI digital advertising technology at kiosks in BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
- Low code digital automation platform Newgen Software announced plans to acquire AI/ML data science platform Number Theory.
- Kieran Snyder, CEO of ML-powered writing platform Textio, was appointed to the board of directors of investment analytics platform Atlas AI.
- Mercedes-Benz announced it will acquire an equity stake in lidar maker Luminar and will integrate its sensors into future vehicles with self-driving capabilities.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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