Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the rise of Multiverse Computing, a Spanish AI startup that has developed a compression technology called CompactifAI, which significantly reduces the size of AI models while maintaining performance, positioning itself as a leader in the AI efficiency race amidst growing competition from tech giants and startups alike [6][10][22]. Summary by Sections Company Background - Multiverse Computing was founded in 2019, initially focusing on quantum computing software for financial applications. It quickly gained recognition and funding, being named a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner, which is a prestigious acknowledgment in the tech innovation space [9]. - The company has completed five rounds of financing, with its valuation increasing from $108 million in 2024 to $500 million in 2025, making it one of the largest AI startups in Spain [6][8]. Technology Development - The company pivoted to AI model compression in 2023, leveraging its expertise in quantum tensor networks to address the rising computational costs associated with large AI models. This led to the development of CompactifAI, which can compress model sizes by 80-95% with minimal performance loss [10][13]. - The newly launched models, "SuperFly" and "ChickBrain," are touted as the smallest and highest-performing models, with SuperFly having 94 million parameters and ChickBrain having 3.2 billion parameters [15][17]. Market Position and Competition - Multiverse's technology has attracted interest from major hardware companies like Apple, Samsung, and Sony, aiming to integrate its small models into next-generation devices. This aligns with Apple's strategy to prioritize lightweight local models over large, general-purpose models [22]. - The competitive landscape is intensifying, with tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft also entering the small model space, alongside startups like Neural Magic and Deci, all targeting improved AI performance and cost efficiency [21][23]. Business Model and Applications - Multiverse offers three commercial service models: API access to compressed models, private deployment licenses, and model compression services for clients. Its primary customers include large internet and software companies utilizing AI for various applications [17][18]. - The CompactifAI technology allows for significant cost savings in AI deployment, reducing inference costs by 50-80% and enabling models to run on less powerful hardware, thus broadening accessibility [20][17].

Core Insights - Multiverse Computing has developed a technology called CompactifAI that can compress large AI models by 80-95% while maintaining performance, allowing these models to run on devices like smartphones and cars [1][6][11] - The company has seen significant financial growth, with its valuation increasing from $108 million in 2024 to $500 million, making it one of the largest AI startups in Spain [2][4] - The rise of generative AI has led to increased demand for efficient model compression solutions, positioning Multiverse favorably in a competitive landscape [6][19] Company Overview - Founded in 2019, Multiverse initially focused on quantum computing software for financial applications before pivoting to AI model compression [5][6] - The team consists of highly qualified individuals, with 40% holding PhDs and expertise spanning finance, quantum physics, and technology entrepreneurship [5] Technology and Innovation - CompactifAI utilizes quantum tensor network techniques to efficiently compress model parameters, which is distinct from traditional methods like quantization and distillation [8][10] - The compressed models, such as "SuperFly" and "ChickBrain," have significantly reduced parameter counts while retaining performance, making them suitable for various applications [12][13][16] Market Position and Competition - Multiverse's technology has attracted interest from major hardware companies like Apple and Samsung, aiming to integrate their models into next-generation devices [19] - The competitive landscape is intensifying, with tech giants and startups alike entering the AI efficiency space, focusing on model acceleration and optimization [20][21] Business Model and Services - Multiverse offers three commercial service models: API access to compressed models, private deployment licenses, and model compression services for clients [16][17] - The cost savings from using CompactifAI are substantial, with reduced inference costs and improved processing speeds, making it appealing to enterprises using large models [16][18]

Core Viewpoint - Multiverse Computing has developed two of the smallest high-performance AI models, named after the sizes of animal brains, aimed at enhancing AI capabilities in IoT devices and enabling local operation on smartphones and personal computers [2][3]. Company Overview - Multiverse Computing is a European AI startup based in Donostia, Spain, founded by experts in quantum computing and AI, including Roman Orús and Samuel Muguel [4]. - The company has raised approximately €189 million (around $215 million) in funding, with a total of about $250 million since its inception in 2019 [4]. Technology and Innovation - The company utilizes a quantum-inspired compression algorithm called CompactifAI, which allows for significant model size reduction without sacrificing performance [4][5]. - Multiverse has released compressed versions of popular open-source models, including Llama 4 Scout and Mistral Small 3.1, and has also compressed large models like DeepSeek R1 Slim [4]. New Model Launch - The two new models, SuperFly and ChickBrain, are designed for IoT applications, with SuperFly being a compressed version of the SmolLM2-135 model, reduced from 135 million parameters to 94 million [6]. - ChickBrain, with 3.2 billion parameters, is a compressed version of Meta's Llama 3.1 8B model, capable of running offline on devices like MacBooks [6][7]. Performance Metrics - ChickBrain has outperformed its original model in several benchmark tests, including language and mathematical ability tests [7]. - Multiverse has not claimed that its models can surpass the performance of the most advanced large models, focusing instead on maintaining performance while reducing size [10]. Market Engagement - The company is in discussions with major device and appliance manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung, Sony, and HP, which has also invested in the company [10]. - Multiverse offers its compression technology for other forms of machine learning, such as image recognition, and has secured clients like BASF and Bosch [11].

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry Core Insights - The report highlights a total of 33 disclosed investment events in the domestic and international venture capital market, with 25 domestic companies and 8 foreign companies, raising a total of approximately 3.292 billion yuan [3] - The report emphasizes the establishment of various funds focusing on sectors such as biomedicine, new energy, intelligent manufacturing, and artificial intelligence, indicating a trend towards specialized investment in high-growth industries [5][6][12] Summary by Sections Fundraising Events - Mifang Health Fund has completed the fundraising for a new USD VC fund, focusing on early-stage pharmaceutical innovations and has already invested in several promising projects [4] - Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone has established its first industrial venture capital mother fund with a total scale of 5 billion yuan, targeting investments in new energy, intelligent connected vehicles, and biomedicine [5] - Beijing Mentougou District has launched the Jingxi Ruiling Fund with a target scale of 3 billion yuan, focusing on artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing [6] Major Financing - Pashini Perception Technology has completed a new round of A-series financing amounting to several hundred million yuan, aimed at advancing its core tactile perception technology and expanding production lines [7] - Ouyue Semiconductor has secured nearly 100 million yuan in B3 round financing to enhance collaboration in automotive AI computing and optical sensing [8][9] - Multiverse Computing has raised 215 million USD in B round financing to accelerate the adoption of its quantum software technology [10] Global IPO - Haitian Flavor Industry has officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with an issue price of 36.3 HKD, being a leader in the Chinese condiment industry and among the top five globally [11] Policy Focus - The Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission emphasized the need to cultivate patient and long-term capital, focusing on private equity fund operations [12][13] - The Central Financial Committee has issued opinions to support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, aiming for significant improvements in financial system adaptability and competitiveness over the next five to ten years [14]

Core Viewpoint - Multiverse Computing has successfully raised €189 million (approximately $215 million) in a Series B funding round, leveraging its technology "CompactifAI" to compress large language models (LLMs) significantly while maintaining performance [1][2]. Group 1: Funding and Investment - The Series B funding round was led by Bullhound Capital, with participation from various investors including HP Tech Ventures, SETT, Forgepoint Capital International, CDP Venture Capital, Santander Climate VC, Toshiba, and the Basque venture capital group [1]. - To date, the company has raised approximately $250 million in total funding [2]. Group 2: Technology and Product Offering - CompactifAI is a compression technology inspired by quantum computing, capable of reducing the size of LLMs by up to 95% without compromising model performance [2]. - Multiverse offers compressed versions of well-known open-source LLMs, including Llama 4 Scout, Llama 3.3 70B, Llama 3.1 8B, and Mistral Small 3.1, with plans to release more models soon [2]. - The company claims that its models operate 4 to 12 times faster than uncompressed versions, with inference costs reduced by 50% to 80% [3]. Group 3: Market Applications and Accessibility - Some of Multiverse's models are designed to be compact and energy-efficient, enabling them to run on personal computers, smartphones, cars, drones, and even Raspberry Pi devices [3]. - The Llama 4 Scout Slim version costs $0.10 per million tokens on AWS, compared to $0.14 for the original version, showcasing significant cost savings [3]. Group 4: Leadership and Expertise - The company is backed by strong technical expertise, with co-founder and CTO Román Orús known for his pioneering research in tensor networks, which are tools for simulating quantum computers on conventional machines [4]. - Co-founder and CEO Enrique Lizaso Olmos has a background in mathematics and extensive experience in the banking sector, previously serving as the Deputy CEO of Unnim Banc [4].