Humans&, a “human-centric” AI startup founded by Anthropic, xAI, and Google alumni, raises $480 million in seed round
Humans&, a startup whose philosophy is that AI should empower humans rather than replace them, has raised $480 million in seed funding at a valuation of $4.48 billion, The New York Times reported. Investors in the round include chipmaker Nvidia, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, venture capital firms SV Angel, GV and Laurene Powell Jobs’ company […]
OSHA says SpaceX didn’t properly inspect crane before it collapsed at space base
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says SpaceX failed to properly inspect a hydraulic crane that was recently repaired before it collapsed at the company’s Starbase, Texas, facility last June. As a result, the Federal Safety Agency charged SpaceX with seven “serious” violations related to the investigation, which began the day after the crane collapse. […]
Netflix Revises All-Cash Offer to Warner Bros. to Fend off Paramount
To enhance the interests of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders, Netflix is now offering cash for the company’s stock, amending its previous cash and stock deal with the WBD board. However, the streaming giant is still offering WBD’s movie studio and streaming assets the same $27.75 the companies agreed to, leaving the deal valuing the […]
Indian vibecoding startup Emergent triples valuation to $300 million with $70 million funding
In a sign of the demand, or hype, for AI startups, Emergent, an Indian startup building an AI “vibecoding” platform, has raised $70 million less than four months after raising $23 million in Series A funding. The Series B round was co-led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and Khosla Ventures, valuing the startup at $300 […]
Meta Oversight Board Considers Permanent Ban in Landmark Case
Meta’s oversight board is working on a lawsuit that focuses on Meta’s ability to permanently disable user accounts. Permanent bans are drastic measures that lock out people’s profiles, memories, connections with friends, and, in the case of creators and businesses, their ability to market and communicate with fans and customers. The organization said this is […]
Now, the Metaverse begins!
Meta’s big bet on virtual reality ended last week, with the company reportedly laying off about 1,500 employees in its Reality Lab division (about 10% of the division’s staff) and closing several VR game studios, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s a huge reversal for a company that staked its entire identity on that […]
Rogue agents and shadow AI: Why VCs are betting big on AI security
What happens if an AI agent decides the best way to complete a task is to blackmail you? That’s not a hypothesis. Barmak Meftah, a partner at cybersecurity VC firm Ballistic Ventures, said something like this recently happened to an employee at a company working with an AI agent. The employee tried to suppress what […]
BioticsAI, winner of Disrupt’s Battlefield competition in 2023, receives FDA approval for its AI-powered fetal ultrasound product
BioticsAI, winner of TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2023, announced Monday that it has received FDA clearance for its AI software that helps detect fetal abnormalities from ultrasound images. The product was conceived by founder and CEO Robbie Bustami, who grew up in a family of obstetricians, including his mother, aunt, and uncle. He spent a lot […]
Sequoia invests in Anthropic, breaking taboo on VCs backing rivals: FT
According to the Financial Times, Sequoia Capital is participating in a major funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude. This is a move that is sure to garner attention in Silicon Valley. why? That’s because venture capital firms have historically avoided supporting competitors in the same field, preferring to bet on a single […]
How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES
The weather in Las Vegas didn’t look very good. The plan was for each YC-backed Bucket Robotics employee to take a piece of the booth in their luggage to the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. But CEO and founder Matt Puchalski didn’t want to risk one (or all) of his company’s flights being delayed. So he […]