former Twitter CEO’s AI Startup, Parallel, Valued at $740 Million in New Funding round
SAN FRANCISCO – Parallel Web Systems, an artificial intelligence startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, has secured $100 million in Series A funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $740 million (approximately KRW 1.066 trillion). The investment, co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures, included participation from Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, and Terrain. Kleiner Perkins’ Mamun Hamid will join Parallel’s board of directors.
Founded two years ago, Parallel is tackling a critical challenge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape: ensuring AI models have access to current, reliable details. Existing AI often relies on static datasets, leading to inaccuracies and “hallucinations.” Parallel aims to solve this by building a web API that delivers real-time online data directly to AI agents, improving performance in tasks like software coding, sales analysis, and risk assessment. Several corporate customers are already utilizing the system.
This latest funding round follows a $30 million raise in January 2024 and will accelerate the development of this AI-centered web infrastructure. Agrawal identified the core problem as the reliance of most AI models on outdated web data,stating Parallel’s focus is on providing AI with access to a dynamic,up-to-date internet.
Beyond technical innovation, Parallel is also addressing growing concerns around data collection and copyright. Agrawal emphasized the company’s intention to establish a “market-based mechanism” to compensate content creators and broaden access to information, though specific details of this plan remain undisclosed.
Agrawal’s venture into AI infrastructure marks a new chapter following his tenure as Twitter CEO, where he faced criticism regarding strategic direction. with Parallel, he is refocusing his expertise on solving fundamental limitations in data utilization for artificial intelligence.
