FILE PHOTO: AI letters and robot hand miniature in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoSAN FRANCISCO : The startup behind You.com is raising $50 million in fresh capital, a person familiar with the effort said, as it seeks a foothold in the growing market for assistants with artificial intelligence.
After ChatGPT ignited interest in You.com's AI-infused search engine in early 2023, some of its users began looking elsewhere. Microsoft refreshed its Bing search engine with an AI chatbot of its own, while Alphabet's Google added AI-generated answers for more nuanced queries. Against this backdrop, the Palo Alto, California-based company has morphed You.com into an AI assistant, one that's focused on productivity as well as internet search, its website shows.
You.com charges $15 per month for its premium consumer subscription when billed annually, giving access to top AI models from across industry plus other productivity tools. Alternative subscriptions from Google, Microsoft and OpenAI cost about $20 monthly.