March 13 (Reuters) - Nvidia ( NVDA )-backed Together AI has

raised $106 million at a valuation of $1.25 billion in a new

funding round led by Salesforce Ventures, the generative

artificial intelligence (AI) startup said on Wednesday.

Together AI, which was founded in 2022, is an open-source

platform that can be used by developers to build or customize

their AI models.

Other investors in the funding round included hedge fund

Coatue Management and existing investors including Lux Capital

and Emergence Capital.

The new funding will be used to boost its expansion plans,

the company said.

Together AI in November raised $102.5 million in a series A

funding led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Nvidia ( NVDA )

.

Investments in AI startups have accelerated since the launch

of OpenAI's ChatGPT, as investors bet on firms that might

challenge industry leaders.