A startup founded by a computer science associate professor from the University of Southern California has recently secured $43 million in funding to address complex copyright and privacy concerns related to artificial intelligence technology.
The funding round was led by Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, and Polychain Capital, with participation from notable investors such as Samsung, Matrix Partners, and Nomad Capital, as well as angel investors and industry founders, according to a statement released by the startup. The capital will be utilized to expand the team and further develop the technology.
The Los Angeles-based startup, Sahara AI, is focused on creating an AI platform that incorporates copyright recognition technology and asset tracking capabilities. The company aims to address the ongoing issue within the AI industry of properly crediting and compensating individuals involved in the development of AI technologies.
Many AI models and tools are trained on massive datasets and refined through user feedback, leading to significant returns for the companies controlling the models. Sahara’s platform aims to provide credit and compensation to participants who contribute to the development of AI models and tools, whether through data provision, expertise, or infrastructure building.
The company has already secured several enterprise clients, including Microsoft, Amazon, MIT, Snap Inc., and Motherson Group. The platform boasts 200,000 data contributors, with a focus on building a collaborative AI economy.
Sean Ren, the startup’s CEO and co-founder, emphasized the importance of establishing a decentralized infrastructure as AI technologies continue to evolve. Ren, along with co-founder Tyler Zhou, established Sahara AI in 2023 to address concerns around copyright and privacy in AI applications.
“The protection of personal data is a critical aspect of our copyright application, as we aim to prevent the loss of control over personal data to large AI companies,” explained Ren. “By addressing privacy and copyright concerns, we can unlock exciting AI use cases, such as creating personal replicas.”
The startup’s approach to copyright and privacy in AI technology has garnered attention and support from investors and industry players, paving the way for future developments in the field.
