The voracious appetite for AI nets Hugging Face $235M in new capital

Today’s top story should put a smile on your emoji face. Hugging Face, a company that provides data science hosting and development tools, grabbed a large chunk of change from a group of investors that includes Salesforce and Nvidia. Here’s how.

Next, we have some Meta news for you. Learn about Code Llama, a code-generating AI model, and start mourning the impending loss of Messenger Lite for Android.

Meanwhile, Better.com is now a public company, but its shares didn’t pop as expected. See why that might be.

And find out what Slack’s former head of growth is up to now. We’ll give you a hint — it involves tracking growth. Read more.

More top reads

Look up: Walmart adds Wing drone deliveries to limited Superstores this year. Here’s where.

Your ChatGPT fix: OpenAI and Scale AI partner to allow companies to fine-tune GPT-3.5. Find out more.

Here’s what your fundraising strategy might be missing: Learn five VC funding trends for pre-seed startups. (TC+)

Do you hear that sound?: Reliance tests a sound box payment system amid financial services push. Get the scoop.

Safe and secure: Cypago, which aims to automate compliance and governance for companies, raises $13 million. Learn what the company does.

Data on the loose: Ikigai lands $25 million to organize your data with generative AI. Read more.

Do the Hustle: Hustle Fund doubles down on its mission to build the “YC of angel investing.” Find out how.

Chrome changes ahead: Chrome is testing an option to enable a bottom address bar on iOS. Read more.

Are you ready for some football?: AI is changing how Thursday Night Football will be viewed. See what Amazon has in store for sports fans.

More for your Thursday — ’cause it’s almost Friday:

Korea’s internet giant Naver unveils generative AI services

How and when to charge for adding AI to your enterprise software (TC+)

7 founders and CEOs discuss fusion power’s most pressing challenges (TC+)

Modular secures $100M to build tools to optimize and create AI models

Google to go further on ads transparency and data access for researchers as EU digital rulebook reboot kicks in.

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From today’s “pod” files

For this week’s episode of Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn interviewed Erik Svenson, co-founder, president and chief financial officer at Blockstream, a bitcoin and blockchain-focused infrastructure firm.

Ask Sophie: What are the visa options for a startup founder with family? 

Dear Sophie,

I’m a startup founder in Berlin. I just returned from a visit to Silicon Valley where I met with a new customer. On the trip I realized I need to be based in the U.S. to grow our base with U.S. customers.

What are the best visa options for my family and me? Will any of them allow my husband to work and continue his career?

— Seeking Scale

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription.

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