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AI21 Labs
Tel Aviv-based company

AI21 Labs is an Israeli company specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP), which develops AI systems that can understand and generate natural language.

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History

AI21 Labs was founded in November 2017 by Yoav Shoham, Ori Goshen, and Amnon Shashua in Tel Aviv, Israel.23

In January 2019, the company raised $9.5 million from investors in a seed funding round.4 On October 27, 2020, AI21 Labs launched its first product, Wordtune, an AI-based writing assistant that understands context and can suggest paraphrases and rewrites.567 Google named Wordtune one of its favorite extensions of 2021.8 In August 2021, the company launched AI21 Studio.91011 In the same month, Jurassic-1, a natural language processing system, was launched with a token vocabulary over 250,000.12131415

In November 2021, Walden Catalyst announced an investment of $20 Million in AI21 Labs.1617 Later that month, AI21 Labs completed a $25 million series A round led by Pitango First.18 In July 2022, the company raised $64 million in a series B funding round led by Ahren with the participation of prof. Amnon Shashua, Walden Catalyst, Pitango, TPY Capital, and Mark Leslie.192021

On January 17, 2023, AI21 Labs announced the launch of Wordtune Spices,22 a generative AI tool that generates a range of text options that can enhance sentences.232425

On March 9, 2023, the company announced the release of Jurassic-2, claiming it has better response times, understands more languages, and features advanced instruction following.26

On August 31, 2023, the company announced the closing of a $155 million Series C financing round. Investors include previous participants, alongside new ones such as Google and Nvidia.2728

On March 29, 2024, the company released Jamba, an open weights large language model built on a hybrid Mamba SSM transformer using mixture of experts with context lengths up to 256,000 tokens.29 In September 2024, AI21 Labs partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to make its Jamba 1.5 family of models available on Amazon Bedrock, enabling the integration of Jamba into enterprise applications.30

In March 2025, AI21 Labs released Jamba 1.6 for private enterprise deployment, claiming it outperformed other open models across multiple benchmarks. The same month, AI21 Labs launched Maestro, an AI planning and orchestration system aimed at improving the accuracy of GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet in complex tasks.3132

Management

Leadership

Advisors

  • Omri Abend, Professor of Cognitive and Brain Science, Computer Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem36
  • Yonatan Belinkov, Professor of Cognitive and Brain Science, Computer Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem37
  • Dan Jurafsky, Professor of Linguistics, Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University38
  • Kevin Leyton-Brown, Professor of Computer Science, University of British Columbia39
  • Christopher Ré, Associate Professor in the Stanford AI Lab (SAIL), Stanford University40
  • Sebastian Thrun, Adjunct Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University41
  • Shai Shalev-Shwartz, Professor of Cognitive and Brain Science, Computer Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem42
  • Dan Roth, Professor of Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania43
  • Nick McKeown, Professor of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering, Stanford University44

See also

References

  1. Chen, Brian X. (2023-02-01). "A.I. Bots Can't Report This Column. But They Can Improve It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/technology/personaltech/chatgpt-ai-bots-editing.html ↩

  2. "Amnon Shashua's AI21 Labs raises $35m to reinvent writing". Globes. 2020-11-22. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-amnon-shashuas-ai21-labs-raises-35-million-to-reinvent-writing-1001350238 ↩

  3. "Israeli tech startup AI21 Labs raises $34.5M in funding to challenge tech giants in AI language race". Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://techstartups.com/2020/11/19/israeli-tech-startup-ai21-labs-raises-34-5m-funding-challenge-tech-giants-ai-language-race/ ↩

  4. Shemer, Simona (2020-11-22). "Israeli Startup AI21 Labs Raises $34.5M For AI-Based Language Tech". nocamels.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://nocamels.com/2020/11/ai-ai21-labs-idf-pitango-first-funding/ ↩

  5. "AI21 Labs Comes Out of Stealth and Launches First Deep-Tech Writing Assistant, Wordtune". AiThority. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://aithority.com/botsintelligent-assistants/ai21-labs-comes-out-of-stealth-and-launches-first-deep-tech-writing-assistant-wordtune/ ↩

  6. "AI21 Labs rolls out AI-powered writing companion". Geektime. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.geektime.com/ai21-labs-launches-writing-add-on/ ↩

  7. "Amnon Shashua's new baby raises $64 million. They now have millions of users". Geektime. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.geektime.com/ai21-labs-raises-64m/ ↩

  8. "Google Reveals Top Chrome Extensions of 2021 to Enhance Productivity". Gadgets 360. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.gadgets360.com/apps/news/google-favourite-chrome-extensions-2021-download-loom-mote-wordtune-forest-dark-reader-tab-manager-plus-2644345 ↩

  9. Wiggers, Kyle (2022-07-12). "AI21 Labs nabs $64M to ramp up AI-powered language services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/openai-rival-ai21-labs-raises-64m-to-ramp-up-its-ai-powered-language-services/ ↩

  10. FinSMEs (2022-07-12). "AI21 Labs Raises $64M in Series B Funding". FinSMEs. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.finsmes.com/2022/07/ai21-labs-raises-64m-in-series-b-funding.html ↩

  11. Chen, Brian X. (2023-02-01). "A.I. Bots Can't Report This Column. But They Can Improve It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/technology/personaltech/chatgpt-ai-bots-editing.html ↩

  12. "What this "Miracle" A.I. says about the future of the technology". Fortune. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://fortune.com/2022/04/19/ai21-labs-mrkl-ultra-large-language-models-jurassic/ ↩

  13. "Shashua's AI21 Labs launches tool to help read documents 75% faster". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.jpost.com/jpost-tech/shashuas-ai21-labs-launches-tool-to-help-read-documents-75-percent-faster-685038 ↩

  14. "Shashua's A121 Labs launches NLP model to rival GPT-3". Globes. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-amnon-shashuas-a121-labs-launches-nlp-model-to-rival-gpt3-1001381376 ↩

  15. "Watch out, GPT-3, here comes AI21's 'Jurassic' language model". ZDNET. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.zdnet.com/article/watch-out-gpt-3-here-comes-ai21s-jurassic-language-model/ ↩

  16. Orbach, Meir (2021-11-01). "Amnon Shashua's A21 Labs raises $20 million from Walden Catalyst at $400 million valuation". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3921431,00.html ↩

  17. "AI21 Labs Started by Amnon Shashua Has $400 Million Valuation". Jewish Business News. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/11/01/ai21-labs-started-by-amnon-shashua-has-400-million-valuation/ ↩

  18. Orbach, Meir (2020-11-19). "AI21 Labs completes $25 million round led by Pitango". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3874192,00.html ↩

  19. Wiggers, Kyle (2022-07-12). "AI21 Labs nabs $64M to ramp up AI-powered language services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/openai-rival-ai21-labs-raises-64m-to-ramp-up-its-ai-powered-language-services/ ↩

  20. BEN-DAVID, RICKY (2022-06-13). "AI21 Labs, co-founded by Amnon Shashua, pulls in $64m for AI language services". The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ai21-labs-co-founded-by-amnon-shashua-pulls-in-64m-for-ai-language-services/ ↩

  21. Martin, Noga (2022-07-13). "AI-based startup seeking to change how people read, write raises $64M". www.israelhayom.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/07/13/ai-based-startup-seeking-to-change-how-people-read-write-raises-64m/ ↩

  22. Quach, Katyanna. "AI21 Labs writing tool will not do all the hard work for you". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/17/spices_ai_writing_tool/ ↩

  23. Wrobel, Sharon. "AI21 Labs, co-founded by Amnon Shashua, rolls out AI feature to spice up writing". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ai21-labs-co-founded-by-amnon-shashua-rolls-out-ai-feature-to-spice-up-writing/ ↩

  24. Chen, Brian X. (2023-02-01). "A.I. Bots Can't Report This Column. But They Can Improve It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/technology/personaltech/chatgpt-ai-bots-editing.html ↩

  25. Wiggers, Kyle (2023-01-17). "AI21 Labs intros an AI writing assistant that cites its sources". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/17/ai21-labs-intros-an-ai-writing-assistant-that-cites-its-sources/ ↩

  26. Wrobel, Sharon (2023-03-09). "Tel Aviv startup rolls out new advanced AI language model to rival OpenAI". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-11-26. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ai21-labs-rolls-out-new-advanced-ai-language-model-to-rival-openai/ ↩

  27. "OpenAI Challenger AI21 Labs Nears Funding at $1.2 Billion Valuation". The Information. Retrieved 2023-08-31. https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-challenger-ai21-labs-nears-funding-at-1-2-billion-valuation ↩

  28. "Israeli generative AI co AI21 Labs raises $155m at $1.4b valuation". Globes. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-08-31. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israeli-generative-ai-co-ai21-labs-raises-155m-at-14b-valuation-1001456637 ↩

  29. "Introducing Jamba: AI21's Groundbreaking SSM-Transformer Model". www.ai21.com. Retrieved 2024-03-29. https://www.ai21.com/blog/announcing-jamba ↩

  30. "Jamba 1.5 family of models by AI21 Labs is now available in Amazon Bedrock". AWS News. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2025. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/jamba-1-5-family-of-models-by-ai21-labs-is-now-available-in-amazon-bedrock/ ↩

  31. "AI21 launches Maestro planning and orchestration system". Globes. 3 November 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-ai21-launches-maestro-planning-and-orchestration-system-1001504242 ↩

  32. "AI21 debuts Maestro AI planning and orchestration system". SiliconANGLE. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://siliconangle.com/2025/03/10/ai21-debuts-maestro-ai-planning-orchestration-system/ ↩

  33. "AI21 Labs Leadership". AI21. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.ai21.com/about ↩

  34. "AI21 Labs Leadership". AI21. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.ai21.com/about ↩

  35. "AI21 Labs Leadership". AI21. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.ai21.com/about ↩

  36. Bahur-Nir, Diana; Ziv, Amir (10 July 2020). ""Understanding language is the next big challenge for AI," says Amnon Shashua". CTECH. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3838814,00.html ↩

  37. "AI21 Labs Leadership". AI21. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.ai21.com/about ↩

  38. Bahur-Nir, Diana; Ziv, Amir (10 July 2020). ""Understanding language is the next big challenge for AI," says Amnon Shashua". CTECH. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3838814,00.html ↩

  39. "Kevin Leyton-Brown". Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.amii.ca/people/kevin-leyton-brown ↩

  40. "Watch out, GPT-3, here comes AI21's 'Jurassic' language model". ZDNET. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.zdnet.com/article/watch-out-gpt-3-here-comes-ai21s-jurassic-language-model/ ↩

  41. "Watch out, GPT-3, here comes AI21's 'Jurassic' language model". ZDNET. Retrieved 2023-02-14. https://www.zdnet.com/article/watch-out-gpt-3-here-comes-ai21s-jurassic-language-model/ ↩

  42. Bahur-Nir, Diana; Ziv, Amir (10 July 2020). ""Understanding language is the next big challenge for AI," says Amnon Shashua". CTECH. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3838814,00.html ↩

  43. "Dan Roth - Penn CIS" (PDF). University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.cis.upenn.edu/~danroth/Research/cv.pdf ↩

  44. "AI21 Labs Leadership". AI21. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://www.ai21.com/about ↩