The OpenAI Graveyard: All The Deals And Products That Haven’t Happened

As it announces one of the biggest funding rounds in history, OpenAI has trumpeted hundreds of billions in other deals and products—including Sora—that haven’t yet become reality.

Billionaire VC Doug Leone Back Investing At Sequoia In Chairman Role

Three years after his official retirement, the Midas List investor is back as a partner making active investments at the blue chip Silicon Valley fund.

Meet The $580 Million Startup Making AI Models To Fight Artificial Hackers

AI cybersecurity firm Depthfirst has scored $120 million in funding to build a kind of “general security intelligence” that can defend against malicious AI.

TomoCredit Revamps Marketing Claims, Emphasizes Coaching Instead Of Boosting Credit

The San Francisco fintech has significantly revised its product descriptions, addressing some of the issues Forbes previously reported as misleading to consumers.

The ‘AI Gods’ Spending As Much As They Can On AI Tokens

At companies including Meta, Nvidia and Databricks, engineers are celebrated the more they spend to use AI. “This is easy money,” Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said. “No limit.”

Why Electric Utility Stocks Are A Smart Way To Bet On AI

Data centers have turned some electricity producers, like Constellation and Talen, into growth stocks.

Why This AI Law Firm Is Ditching The Billable Hour

New York-based startup Crosby’s AI agents and lawyers work together to review contracts quickly, billed by the page, for the likes of Cursor and Runway. CEO Ryan Daniels calls it a “neofirm.”

Hong Kong Property Tycoon Peter Lee Leads $300 Million Round In U.S. Battery Startup

EnerVenue develops grid-scale energy storage systems, which are critical to AI data centers.

Can Surging Gas Prices Reverse U.S. EV Sales Slump?

This week’s newsletter also looks at why the world may be on the verge of a bigger oil shock than in 1973 and investor Tom Steyer’s plan to cut California energy prices

NASA Is Planning A Nuclear-Powered Trip To Mars

Why nuclear makes sense for the Red Planet. Google’s new memory math for AI. Why video games help you sleep. All that and more in this week’s edition of The Prototype.