近年来，人工智能领域的竞争愈发激烈，高昂的运营成本成为压在许多明星创业公司肩上的沉重负担。据The Information报道，去年被誉为“谷歌杀手”的Perplexity公司就因成本过高，导致管理层不得不寻求与其他公司的合并。然而，在与至少4家公司进行讨论后，所有谈判均未能达成交易。
与此同时，Writer公司近几个月也至少与3家公司进行了接洽，但似乎仍未找到理想的解决方案。而Neeva公司则被数据库软件提供商Snowflake收购，似乎为其他面临相似困境的公司提供了一种选择。
知情人士透露，Perplexity公司在合并谈判中主要担忧的是训练AI模型的成本以及来自搜索巨头谷歌的激烈竞争。面对高昂的成本和巨大的竞争压力，Perplexity最终选择搁置合并谈判。相反，他们以5.2亿美元的估值在B轮融资中筹集了7360万美元，希望能够借此缓解成本压力。
尽管如此，业内人士认为，这种情况并不容易解决。一方面，AI技术的研发需要大量投入，成本难以降低；另一方面，谷歌等巨头的竞争压力又使得市场环境更加严峻。在这种背景下，明星创业公司们能否找到合适的出路，仍是一个未知数。
英文标题：AI Cost Pressures Force Startups to Seek Solutions
Keywords: AI cost, startups, sale sought
News content:
In recent years, the competition in the field of artificial intelligence has intensified, with the high operating costs becoming a significant burden for many star startups. According to a report from The Information, last year’s “Google killer” Perplexity had to seek a merger due to the excessive costs, but negotiations with at least four companies failed to yield a deal.
Meanwhile, Writer has also held talks with at least three companies in recent months but seems to have not found an ideal solution. Neeva, on the other hand, was acquired by the database software provider Snowflake, offering an alternative for other companies facing similar challenges.
Sources familiar with the matter透露，Perplexity’s concerns in the merger talks mainly revolved around the high costs of training AI models and the fierce competition from search giant Google. Faced with the high costs and significant competition, Perplexity ultimately decided to shelve the merger negotiations. Instead, they raised $73.6 million in a Series B round at a valuation of $520 million, hoping to alleviate the cost pressures.
However, industry insiders believe that the situation is not easily resolved. On the one hand, the research and development of AI technology requires substantial investment, making it difficult to reduce costs. On the other hand, the competitive environment is becoming more severe due to the pressure from giants like Google. In this context, whether star startups can find a suitable way out remains to be seen.
【来源】https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3707716
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