Highlights:

  • Genspark claims that the LLMs driving its search engine pull information from various sources to respond to inquiries and confirm each answer by cross-referencing it with reliable databases.
  • Genspark’s funding news came a day after reports revealed that competitor search startup You.com Inc. was close to completing a USD 50 million investment.

Genspark raised USD 60 million in the fresh funding. The company develops the latest search engine supported by large language models.

Lanchi Ventures, an investment firm based in Singapore, spearheaded the seed round. According to reports, the increase puts Genspark’s value at USD 260 million. The investment was made during rumors that several other AI-powered search businesses were seeking more capital.

Officially known as Mainfunc Inc., Genspark offers a free search engine with the same name that it markets as a substitute for Google Search. According to the company, this service can assist customers in finding pertinent information more quickly. Genspark claims that the LLMs driving its search engine pull information from various sources to respond to inquiries and confirm each answer by cross-referencing it with reliable databases.

The service gathers information into what are known as Sparkpages. Every Sparkpage has an AI-generated article that answers user questions about the subject matter and includes links to related websites. A table of contents on the left side of the interface shows quick links to navigate to particular paragraphs.

Additionally, Genspark offers access to an integrated chatbot. In addition to receiving immediate recommendations on relevant topics, the chatbot enables readers to pose follow-up questions about an article on Sparkpage.

Like Google, Genspark has a portion of its interface devoted to online shopping. Instead of AI-generated content, that section features a selection of product listings from e-commerce websites. About six AI-generated bullet points that outline the benefits and drawbacks of each product are included in each listing.

Customers can use Genspark’s built-in chatbot to filter their purchasing alternatives according to factors like cost. The AI can create a whole Sparkpage article about a product if more details are required. These articles contain, among other things, reviews from customers obtained from online retailers.

Genspark claims that a mix of LLMs created in-house and by outside parties powers their platform. Anthropic PBC and OpenAI are the providers of the third-party models. Future reports indicate that more LLMs, like the open-source Llama 3 from Meta Platforms Inc., may be added to that list.

With the funding from its recently disclosed investment round, Genspark, which presently employs people in Palo Alto and Singapore, intends to commence an office in Seattle. The business will also consider charging for subscriptions to use its search engine. The extra features those subscriptions offer are not in the free edition.

Genspark’s funding news came a day after reports revealed that competitor search startup You.com Inc. was close to completing a USD 50 million investment. According to sources, Perplexity.ai Inc. is looking to fund at least USD 250 million at a valuation surpassing USD three billion. Perplexity offers a free search engine powered by LLM with a premium version that gives data analysis options and a greater daily query limit.