Writer's AI Model Takes On OpenAI With Cost-Cutting Strategy

San Francisco-based startup Writer has launched a large AI model aimed at enterprise clients, positioning itself as a competitor to companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. The Startup spent only $700,000 to train its model using synthetic data to cut costs, compared to the millions typically spent by other startups. Writer is raising up to $200 million at a valuation of $1.9 billion, nearly quadrupling its valuation from a year ago. The company has over 250 clients, including Uber, Salesforce, and Vanguard. Some experts have flagged synthetic data as a risk for introducing biases into AI models.