Investors seek to profit from groundbreaking 'generative AI' start-ups

Venture capitalists are rushing to invest in artificial intelligence start-ups as growing hype around "generative AI" fills the void left by failing cryptocurrency and blockchain ventures. The recent leap in developments of sophisticated computer programs that can write scripts and create art in seconds has driven a surge of investor interest, creating a rare bright spot in a start-up landscape dominated by tumbling valuations and job cuts. OpenAI, a San Francisco-based company in which Microsoft is the largest funder, released the newest form of its GPT-3.5 software to the public last week, which can converse with users through text: answer follow-up questions, admit mistakes and reject inappropriate requests. In five days, ChatGPT surpassed 1mn users and was praised by billionaire Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who left the board in 2018, who tweeted: "ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI."