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<\/p>\nBehind the startup are machine learning engineers Marvin Purtorab (CEO) and Andy Toulis (CTO).<\/p>\n
The duo met at Shopify while working on recommender systems and AI assistants. In 2023, they joined enterprise AI startup Cohere. In April 2024, they founded Convergence, assembling a team of Google DeepMind, Meta, and OpenAI alumni.<\/p>\n
Convergence\u2019s Proxy AI agent has been developed for both employees and consumers.<\/p>\n
For employees, it can automate administrative and repetitive tasks and workflows to save time and increase productivity. For consumers, it can assist with everyday activities, such as booking trip<\/a>s or ordering groceries.<\/p>\n Back to Business with TNW Conference<\/p>\n Time to set your goals and budget for the coming year! Get 2 tickets now and save \u20ac\u20ac\u20ac on this Super EarlyBird rate. Limited offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n According to the startup, Proxy\u2019s differentiating factor lies in its ability to acquire skills by using long-term memory and continuous learning.<\/p>\n \u201cOur models have the ability to manage their own memories, decide to add things to their memories during inference time, and also delete things from their memory,\u201d Purtorab told TNW.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis allows them to capture new information live and adapt and keep learning during inference.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n To enable this result, Convergence\u2019s AI technology<\/a> is built on Large Meta Learning Models (LMLMs).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n LMLMs are a new generation of\u00a0 advanced machine learning models, built upon the principles of meta-learning, also known as \u201clearning to learn.\u201d This involves training a model on a diverse set of tasks, enabling it to extract common learning strategies and patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Purtorab, LMLMs are based on a new subtype of the transformer architecture<\/a>, which incorporates memories directly into the model.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey are then trained in a specific way to teach the model not only to predict the next word, but also how to manage (meaning remembering, storing, and deleting) things into and from their memory,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Convergence is launching its Proxy agent in beta today, with a limited number of spots available. As of today, the company is also coming out of stealth mode.<\/p>\n With the fresh capital, the startup will develop new models to power its Proxy assistants. London-based VC firm Balderton Capital led the funding round with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Shopify Ventures.<\/p>\n Update (11:50AM CEST, September 25, 2024): <\/b>The article has been updated to include the comments from Marvin Purtorab.\u00a0<\/em>\n <\/div>\n If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n