AI Daily: Scribe valued at $1.3B following funding round

Catch up on the top artificial intelligence news and commentary by Wall Street analysts on publicly traded companies in the space with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

FUNDING ROUND: AI startup Scribe has raised $75M at a $1.3B post-money valuation to launch Scribe Optimize, a platform that maps workflows across the enterprise to show where automation and AI will actually work, TechCrunch’s Jagmeet Singh reports. The all-equity Series C funding round was spearheaded by StepStone, along with participation from existing investors Amplify Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Tiger Global, Morado Ventures, and New York Life Ventures, the author notes.

CHIPS ACT: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently requested the U.S. to expand eligibility for a Chips Act tax credit as the country works to secure its position as a global leader in AI, Reuters reports.

AI STRATEGY: Freedom Capital analyst Saken Ismailov upgraded Meta Platforms (META) to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target of $800. The firm believes the shares at current levels do not fully price in Meta’s artificial intelligence strategy. The company’s Q3 sales topped estimates, driven by a surge in advertising revenue, enhanced recommendation algorithms, and boosted user engagement, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

AI DEAL: Rumble (RUM) confirmed earlier that the company has signed a business combination agreement with Northern Data AG (NDTAF), which it called “a leader in AI and high-performance-computing infrastructure.” Under the agreement, Rumble will submit a voluntary public exchange offer to all shareholders of Northern Data. This follows the announcement on August 10 that Rumble was exploring a potential transaction with Northern Data. Each Northern Data shareholder that tenders will receive 2.0281 newly issued Class A Rumble shares in exchange for each Northern Data share, with customary settlement mechanisms for fractional shares. The transaction would result in approximately 30.4% total pro forma ownership in Rumble for Northern Data shareholders, assuming all outstanding Northern Data shares are tendered. Tether, along with shareholders affiliated with Northern Data’s co-CEO, Aroosh Thillainathan, and another significant shareholder, collectively representing approximately 72% of the outstanding shares of Northern Data, have committed to sell their Northern Data shares to Rumble at the same exchange ratio that applies to the exchange offer.

BUY KODIAK AI: TD Cowen initiated coverage of Kodiak AI (KDK) with a Buy rating and $14 price target, citing both a positive stance on the AV Trucking vertical and Kodiak’s unique exposure to global Industrial and off-road markets. The firm estimates these markets could alone scale Kodiak to breakeven while diversifying revenue and increasing the stock’s catalyst potential, TD tells investors.