Cartesia Secures $22M to Revolutionize Real-Time AI with State-Space Models

Deal News | Dec 12, 2024 | Index Ventures

Cartesia Secures $22M to Revolutionize Real-Time AI with State-Space Models

Cartesia, an AI startup founded by researchers from Stanford AI Lab, has raised $22 million in a funding round led by Index Ventures. The company aims to develop state-space models (SSMs), an innovative AI architecture that addresses the inefficiencies of traditional transformer models. SSMs offer heightened efficiency, better long-term memory, and the capability to operate in real-time on local devices, making AI more accessible and cost-effective. Cartesia's debut product, Sonic, is a text-to-speech model that showcases the potential of SSMs by providing high-quality, low-latency speech conversion. The technology boasts features such as local operation without internet and emotional controllability. The funding round also saw participation from A* Capital, Lightspeed, SV Angel, and numerous angel investors. Going forward, Cartesia aims to develop multimodal AI models capable of processing diverse inputs across a variety of applications, including healthcare, robotics, and gaming.

Sectors

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Venture Capital
  • Technology

Geography

  • United States – Cartesia is founded by researchers from Stanford University, and many participating investors are based in the U.S.

Industry

  • Artificial Intelligence – The article focuses on advancements in AI technology, particularly through the development of new architecture aiming to improve efficiency and accessibility.
  • Venture Capital – Index Ventures and other firms have invested in Cartesia, highlighting the venture capital industry's role in funding emerging AI technologies.
  • Technology – Discusses the technological innovations introduced by Cartesia, such as state-space models for AI applications.

Financials

  • $22 million – The amount raised in the latest funding round led by Index Ventures.
  • $27 million – Total funding raised by Cartesia to date.

Participants

NameRoleTypeDescription
CartesiaTarget CompanyCompanyAn AI startup focused on developing efficient real-time AI models using state-space architecture.
Index VenturesLead InvestorCompanyA venture capital firm leading the recent $22 million funding round for Cartesia.
A* CapitalInvestorCompanyParticipated in the funding round for Cartesia.
ConvictionInvestorCompanyParticipated in the funding round for Cartesia.
General CatalystInvestorCompanyParticipated in the funding round for Cartesia.
Lightspeed Venture PartnersInvestorCompanyParticipated in the funding round for Cartesia.
SV AngelInvestorCompanyParticipated in the funding round for Cartesia.
Karan GoelCEO & Co-FounderPersonCEO of Cartesia and one of the co-founders from the Stanford AI Lab.
Albert GuCo-FounderPersonCo-founder of Cartesia and a researcher from Stanford AI Lab.
Arjun DesaiCo-FounderPersonCo-founder of Cartesia and a researcher from Stanford AI Lab.
Brandon YangCo-FounderPersonCo-founder of Cartesia and a researcher from Stanford AI Lab.
Chris RFormer ProfessorPersonFormer professor of the founding team at Stanford AI Lab.