• Microsoft invests in New York-based startup Touchcast Inc. to enhance AI efficiency.

• Touchcast focuses on caching common AI queries to reduce energy and computational costs.

• The investment aims to facilitate the broader and faster deployment of generative AI technologies.

Touchcast Inc. is working on a technology that stores and provides quick responses to commonly used AI prompts. This approach helps in reducing the computational resources and energy needed to use AI models. The startup is raising $100 million in funding, with Microsoft Corp. among the investors.

After this funding round, Touchcast is expected to have a valuation of at least $350 million. The company's innovation not only reduces operational costs but also speeds up the response times for AI systems, making it more practical for developers and businesses to use AI in their operations.

Touchcast is deploying its cognitive cache content delivery technology across Microsoft's Azure data centers. This technology acts like multiple access points in a library, improving the efficiency of AI systems. CEO Edo Segal of Touchcast emphasized the importance of this infrastructure in supporting the growth of generative AI globally.

Segal also highlighted the critical role of this technology in managing the increasing demand for AI applications without overloading hardware resources. By collaborating with Microsoft, Touchcast aims to optimize the performance and cost-efficiency of AI systems across various industries.