Walden Robotics, a humanoid robot startup spun out of a Toyota research lab, bursts onto the scene with a $1.1 billion valuation after raising $300 million in seed funding, already deploying robots on real factory floors as the humanoid robotics market races toward a projected $5 trillion by 2050.
DeepSeek is seeking $1.5 billion at a $71 billion valuation and eyeing a potential 2027 IPO — possibly as early as this year — just one month after closing a $7 billion round at $50 billion, as the Chinese AI startup surges to nearly 23% of tokens processed on Vercel's …
Reflection AI, an $8 billion open-model startup, secures a massive $1 billion compute deal with Nebius, gaining access to cutting-edge Nvidia chips as AI companies intensify their race to lock down critical computing infrastructure.
Anthropic and OpenAI are locked in an aggressive AI price war, offering free and expanded access to their most powerful models in a high-stakes battle for user loyalty, even as soaring compute costs raise serious questions about the long-term financial viability of their loss-leader strategy.
Greg Brockman seizes full control of OpenAI's products and enterprise teams after Fidji Simo's departure, now facing intense pressure to defend the company's $852 billion valuation, reverse ChatGPT's declining market share, and deliver a successful IPO amid fierce competition from Anthropic, Google, and xAI.
Tencent is in talks to become the largest external shareholder in agentic AI startup Manus at a $2 billion valuation, moving aggressively into the AI race after Chinese regulators blocked Meta's acquisition of the company.
A new Verasight survey finds 69% of Americans support forcing AI giants to hand over 50% of their stock to a public wealth fund, as Senator Bernie Sanders pushes the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act amid warnings that AI could displace over 15 million U.S. workers.
Chinese AI startup MiniMax Group is raising up to $2 billion through share sales and convertible bonds in Hong Kong, as the company sells 35.6 million shares at a 9.9% discount, sending its stock down nearly 9.8%, while simultaneously offering HK$6.5 billion in zero-coupon convertible bonds due 2027.
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work, a GPT-5.6-powered autonomous AI agent that executes complex multi-step tasks across email, Slack, GitHub, and calendars for all paid subscribers starting at $20 per month, intensifying a fierce enterprise AI race against Anthropic and Microsoft as OpenAI eyes an IPO valuation of up to $852 billion.
AI training startup Mercor is in talks to raise funding at a $20 billion valuation after doubling revenue to a $2 billion annualized run rate in just four months, while acquiring AI agent training company Deeptune — signaling a strong rebound after a turbulent early 2026 marked by a data …