Blackwall quadruples valuation to $2.2B as websites wrangle an increasingly crowded internet

Blackwall has raised $100M at a $2.2B valuation to continue building security and filtering tools that help websites grapple with growing bot and AI traffic.

Replika’s founder built the AI assistant she pitched at Disrupt 12 years ago

Eugenia Kuyda’s newest startup Wabi is positioned to take advantage of an idea she had more than a decade ago. Wabi offers a personal AI assistant with a twist, free and downloadable to anyone today.

Elorian’s first AI model wants to reason with images, not just about them

According to Elorian’s evaluations, Glimpse outperforms even GPT-6 Astra on scientific chart reasoning and short-form video captioning, with competitive results on other visual reasoning tasks. 

Scimplify raises $25M to challenge China’s grip on critical materials with AI

Scimplify’s annualized revenue run rate has tripled to $200 million as it eyes U.S. expansion.

Cambridge Heavy Industries has been quietly building a desktop fusion device

Fusion power startup Cambridge Heavy Industries is building a small, laser-powered fusion device to fuel the coming wave of fusion power plants.

Rivian spinoff Mind Robotics hires former Ford EV chief Doug Field

Field also worked on Apple’s secretive car project and oversaw development of the Tesla Model 3.

Giraffe Bio aims its bespoke biomolecules at the looming copper shortage

As AI data centers and EVs drive up demand for copper, Giraffe Bio has unearthed a $6.4 million seed round to help miners extract more of the mineral.

WindBorne wins a hefty US Air Force contract for its balloon data

A Silicon Valley startup that uses weather balloons and AI to predict the weather won a U.S. military contract worth almost $50 million.

We can’t help treating AI like it’s human. But should we?

“When we are drawn into even the most primitive exchanges with a relational artifact, we believe it cares for us,” Dr. Sherry Turkle writes. “And we are wired to care for it in return.”

A16z’s Olivia Moore on the state of consumer AI

Moore sees a huge opportunity in consumer AI, particularly if the industry can tap into revenue streams beyond just subscriptions and API charges.