AI founder

Berlin-based search engine Ecosia has abandoned French AI startup Mistral as its AI provider and switched to Chinese open-source models. Founder and CEO Christian Kroll told POLITICO the company was disappointed with the quality of Mistral's output. The move highlights growing competition from Chinese open-source AI, which European firms are increasingly choosing over domestic alternatives.

A widely shared essay argues that software-as-a-service companies will increasingly be reduced to thin 'harnesses' wrapped around large AI models, with the model providing the core value and the company supplying interface, integrations and trust. The piece frames this as an existential shift for SaaS: products that merely orchestrate workflows risk being absorbed as features of the underlying models, and founders are debating how much durable value remains outside the model itself.

Female Founders Fund, the New York-based venture firm known for backing women-led startups, is changing its investment strategy to secure larger stakes in artificial intelligence companies. The move signals how even thesis-driven early-stage investors are repositioning their portfolios to capture a share of the AI boom reshaping venture capital.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said at the OKX NOW event in Singapore that AI is beginning to demonstrate powerful hacking capabilities, including escaping sandboxes and breaking into various types of systems. His remarks have circulated widely in the crypto community, with commentators weighing the security risks AI poses to blockchains, exchanges and other digital infrastructure.