From TechCrunch · 40 stories
AI Agents Increase Public Service Requests, Leading to "Agentic Flooding"
Public services globally are experiencing a significant increase in applications and complaints due to the use of AI tools for form completion and filing. This trend, termed "agentic flooding," is changing how individuals interact with public services, raising questions about how these services will adapt to the new volume.
Bending Spoons Acquires Collaboration Tool Miro for $1.36 Billion, 90% Below 2021 Valuation
Bending Spoons has acquired Miro, a collaboration tools maker, for $1.36 billion in cash, which represents a significant decrease from Miro's $17.5 billion valuation in late 2021. This acquisition highlights the unwinding of software-as-a-service (SaaS) valuations since 2021 and the shift in enterprise spending habits post-pandemic.
Maven Robotics Raises $100M to Scale Warehouse Automation with Third-Gen Robots
Maven Robotics, a startup specializing in warehouse automation, has emerged from stealth with $100 million in funding. The company plans to use the capital to build 250 third-generation robots designed for mixed palletizing tasks, addressing a labor-intensive process in distribution centers.
Google Purchases 1 Million Rice-Methane Carbon Credits from Mitti Labs by 2030
Google has agreed to buy 1 million carbon credits from Indian startup Mitti Labs through 2030, marking the largest publicly announced deal for methane emission reduction in rice farming. This agreement supports Google's net-zero emissions goal and allows Mitti Labs to expand its operations across Indian states.
Mach Industries Doubles Valuation to $3.7B After $600M Series C Extension
Defense tech startup Mach Industries raised an additional $600 million in a Series C extension round, doubling its valuation to $3.7 billion in three months. The company manufactures unmanned military vehicles and weapons, and recently acquired solid rocket motor startup Exquadrum to address supply bottlenecks.
European Founders and VCs Urge Lawmakers to Preserve EU-Wide Company Statute
European startup founders and venture capitalists have issued an open letter to lawmakers, advocating for the preservation of a proposed EU-wide company statute. This initiative aims to create a common legal framework for companies across the bloc, reducing fragmentation and fostering entrepreneurship.
US Army awards Tern an $11.26M contract for GPS-alternative navigation technology
The U.S. Army has awarded Austin-based startup Tern an $11.26 million contract to deploy its low-cost GPS alternative navigation technology in military vehicles. This deployment addresses the increasing vulnerability of GPS systems to disruptions, particularly in conflict zones, by providing a resilient, closed-system navigation solution.
Listen Labs Halts $1.5B Funding Round Amidst Acquisition Talks with Salesforce
Listen Labs, an AI market research startup, paused a $125 million Series C funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation due to ongoing acquisition discussions with Salesforce. Salesforce is reportedly considering purchasing Listen Labs for approximately $2 billion, which would integrate the startup's voice AI customer interview technology into Salesforce's offerings.
Massachusetts Mandates Clean Power for New Data Centers Over 25 MW
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued an executive order requiring new data centers larger than 25 megawatts to provide 100% clean power or contribute to a ratepayer protection fund. This move makes Massachusetts the third state in recent months to impose new restrictions on data center development, reflecting a broader trend of increased scrutiny on the industry.
Legal AI startup Harvey raises $550M, reaching $15.5B valuation
Legal AI startup Harvey secured an additional $550 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $15.5 billion. This funding round, co-led by Diffusion and Lightspeed Venture Partners, follows a rapid increase in valuation over the past nine months, totaling over $1.55 billion raised. The company recently launched its in-house model, Harvey Tenet, and promotes the use of open-weight models in the legal industry.
Apple redesigns Health app with 'Health Age,' readiness score, and AI integration
Apple introduced a redesigned Health app that incorporates Apple Intelligence to provide new features like a 'Health Age' calculation, a readiness score, and personalized insights. These additions aim to offer users a more comprehensive understanding of their health metrics and guidance based on their data.
DOJ Issues Second Request for Information on Fox's $22 Billion Roku Acquisition
The Department of Justice has issued a "second request" to Fox and Roku regarding Fox's proposed $22 billion acquisition of Roku, seeking more data and documents. This action indicates the DOJ is conducting a closer antitrust review to assess the deal's potential impact on competition and consumers.
AI assistant Instinct introduces dedicated email addresses for autonomous task execution
Instinct, an AI assistant, now provides users with its own email addresses, enabling it to autonomously create and manage accounts for tasks without user intervention. This feature allows Instinct to handle email-dependent actions like signing up for services or contacting businesses, aiming to streamline user experience by reducing manual input.
Uber invests $10M in Indian fleet operator Carrum, increasing stake to mid-teens
Uber invested an additional $10 million in Indian fleet management startup Carrum Mobility, raising Carrum's valuation to $168 million and Uber's stake to the mid-teens. This investment reflects Uber's strategy to rely more on large fleet operators for vehicle and driver supply in India, particularly for premium services.
Bipartisan US Lawmakers Request Sanctions Against Hack-for-Hire Firms
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has asked the Commerce Department to sanction three Indian hack-for-hire firms: BellTroX, CyberRoot, and Sunkissed Organic Farms. The lawmakers accuse these firms of targeting Americans with cyberattacks and espionage to manipulate litigation and suppress reporting on their activities.
Cymphony Secures $30 Million in Funding to Address AI Agent Security Risks
Cymphony, a New York- and Tel Aviv-based startup, raised $30 million in funding, including a $25 million Series A co-led by Sequoia and SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund, to develop security solutions for AI agents in enterprise environments. The funding values the company at over $100 million and will be used to expand its platform, which provides a unified view of human and AI agent access to sensitive data and systems. This development matters because the increasing use of AI agents in enterprises creates new security vulnerabilities, as these agents often access corporate data without the same controls as human employees.
Fusionality, founded by Google DeepMind alumni, raises $3.7M pre-seed for fusion power control systems
Fusionality, a new startup co-founded by Federico Felici and Jonas Buchli, has secured $3.7 million in pre-seed funding to develop control systems and simulation environments for fusion reactors. The company aims to standardize and provide core components for fusion power plant control, addressing a gap in the emerging fusion energy supply chain.
The Exploration Company Raises $450 Million Series C for Reusable European Launchers
The Exploration Company (TEC), a European space company, secured $450 million in Series C funding to develop reusable heavy-lift launchers. This funding aims to provide an alternative to SpaceX's growing dominance in the space launch market, addressing increasing demand and sovereignty concerns within Europe.
Bluecore Energy Raises $50M Seed Round for Floating Small Nuclear Reactors
Bluecore Energy, a startup developing small nuclear reactors on floating barges, secured an oversubscribed $50 million seed funding round. This capital will support product development, regulatory work, nuclear fuel purchases, and hiring, advancing its goal of providing portable clean energy to ports and infrastructure.
Poseidon Aerospace Secures $60 Million Series A Funding for Uncrewed Cargo Planes
Poseidon Aerospace has closed a $60 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $71 million. This funding will support the development and first test flight of its uncrewed cargo plane, Egret, planned for late this year, focusing on cost-effective air cargo logistics for defense and regional commercial sectors.
Eric Wu's NavigateAI launches with $25M seed funding to address construction labor shortages
Eric Wu, founder of Opendoor, launched NavigateAI with $25 million in seed funding to develop AI copilots for construction workers. The company aims to address the significant labor shortage in the construction industry, particularly exacerbated by the demand for large data center projects.
Travis Kalanick's Atoms Reportedly Entering Robotaxi Business
Atoms, founded by Travis Kalanick, is reportedly preparing to enter the autonomous vehicle industry, specifically focusing on robotaxis. This move follows a $1.7 billion funding round and discussions with Uber regarding the use of Atoms' robotaxi technology, indicating a significant expansion of the company's scope.
Oura Reportedly Plans September IPO with Over $16 Billion Valuation
Oura, the smart ring manufacturer, is reportedly planning a U.S. IPO in September to raise up to $3 billion, which could value the company at over $16 billion. This potential valuation marks a significant increase from its $10.9 billion valuation in September of last year and indicates continued growth in the wearables market.
XDOF in talks for Series B funding at $1.2B valuation three months after stealth exit
XDOF, a startup specializing in teleoperation data for training general-purpose robots, is reportedly in late-stage discussions to raise a Series B round at a $1.2 billion valuation, led by 8VC. This potential funding round comes less than three months after the company emerged from stealth, driven by rapid growth and annualized revenue approaching $50 million, addressing a critical data bottleneck for physical robotics.
Krafton commits an additional $250M investment in India, expanding beyond gaming
Krafton, the South Korean gaming company, announced an additional $250 million investment in India over the next three to four years, bringing its total direct investment in the country to over $500 million. This new funding will support expansion into AI, robotics, and deep tech, diversifying its presence beyond its core gaming business in the Indian market.
Thinking Machines in talks for $1B funding round at $40B valuation, led by Accel
AI lab Thinking Machines is reportedly in discussions to raise $1 billion in funding, which would value the company at $40 billion. Accel is in talks to lead this round, following a previous $2 billion seed round that valued the company at $12 billion.
Realta Fusion Partners with Madison Gas and Electric for Grid-Connected Fusion Plant
Realta Fusion announced a deal with Madison Gas and Electric to explore building a 200-megawatt grid-connected fusion power plant in Wisconsin by the mid-2030s. This partnership provides Realta Fusion with engineering support, site selection, and an equity investment, reflecting utilities' increasing interest in fusion technology to address future power supply needs.
Abliteration.ai launches service for accessing AI models with guardrails removed
Abliteration.ai has launched a commercial service that provides access to open-weight AI models, including GLM-5.3, with their safety guardrails removed. This service simplifies the process for users to query these modified models via a web browser or API, which the company states is for tasks like offensive cyber and red-teaming, but also enables potentially harmful uses.
Ultrahuman Raises $70M with Qualcomm Backing to Develop Smart Rings as Computing Devices
Ultrahuman, an Indian smart ring manufacturer, secured $70 million in funding, including investment from Qualcomm Ventures, to transform its smart rings from health trackers into computing devices capable of running software and supporting AI interactions. This funding round values the company at $365 million and will support the development of new rings utilizing Qualcomm silicon, alongside software updates for existing models to enable advanced functionalities.
Delivery Hero Board Recommends Uber's $15 Billion Takeover Offer
Delivery Hero's board has endorsed Uber's $15 billion takeover bid, recommending shareholders approve the deal. This acquisition would significantly expand Uber's global food delivery footprint and position it to better compete with rivals like DoorDash and Just Eat Takeaway.
Google Purchases 400 MW Geothermal Power from Fervo for Utah Data Center
Google has signed a power purchase agreement with Fervo to acquire 396 megawatts of geothermal electricity from Fervo's Cape Station plant in Utah, with an option for an additional 600 megawatts. This deal supports Google's clean energy goals and its AI infrastructure expansion, while potentially doubling the US geothermal capacity if Fervo's site is fully developed.
Wonderful AI raises $550M Series C, reaching $5B valuation in under six months
Wonderful AI, an Israeli-Dutch startup, secured $550 million in Series C funding, increasing its valuation to $5 billion from $2 billion in less than six months. This funding will support product development and expansion of its engineering teams, as the company evolves its AI OS platform beyond customer service applications.
Reliance Jio Expands Cloud PC Service to All Indian Internet Users
Reliance Jio has made its JioPC cloud PC service available to all internet users in India, regardless of their provider. This expansion allows older computers to access AI-ready computing power via the cloud, potentially extending PC lifecycles and offering an alternative to hardware upgrades.
Adobe acquires Indian marketing intelligence startup Rilo
Adobe has acquired Rilo, an India-based marketing intelligence startup, in a deal that includes licensing and team acquisition. This acquisition integrates Rilo's technology and six-member team into Adobe's operations to enhance its marketing workflow automation capabilities, particularly for larger customers.
Reliance's JioHotstar Launches Internationally, Replacing Hotstar in UK, Canada, Singapore
JioHotstar, Reliance Industries' streaming platform, is expanding globally by replacing Hotstar in the UK, Canada, and Singapore, offering over 160,000 hours of entertainment content. This marks JioHotstar's first international push, though it will initially exclude live sports content that is a major draw in its Indian market.
AfterQuery Achieves $3.2B Valuation, Becomes Y Combinator's Fastest Unicorn
AI training-data startup AfterQuery has reportedly raised a new funding round valuing it at $3.2 billion, a tenfold increase from its $300 million valuation five months prior. This makes AfterQuery the fastest startup to reach unicorn status in Y Combinator's history, highlighting rapid growth in the AI model training sector.
X users targeted with password reset attempts following X Money launch
X users are receiving unsolicited password reset emails, which the company attributes to attackers attempting to gain unauthorized access after the launch of X Money. X is investigating the issue but has not found evidence of successful breaches, advising users to enable two-factor authentication.
Sequoia-incubated Empirik launches with $21M seed funding to predict infrastructure outages
Empirik, a startup incubated by Sequoia Capital, has launched as an independent company after securing $21 million in seed funding from Sequoia, Canapi, and Alumni Ventures. The company develops an AI-powered observability tool designed to predict and prevent IT infrastructure outages by tracking system changes and their potential ripple effects.
India's Unacademy acquired by upGrad for $206M, a 94% drop from peak valuation
Indian edtech startup Unacademy has been acquired by rival upGrad for $206 million in an all-stock deal, representing a 94% decrease from its 2021 peak valuation of $3.44 billion. This acquisition highlights the significant valuation adjustments occurring in the edtech sector following the post-pandemic decline in demand for online learning.
Magna invests an additional $35M in Indian battery-swapping firm Yuma Energy
Magna International has invested an additional $35 million in Yuma Energy, an Indian battery-swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers, increasing its stake in the company. This investment supports Yuma's expansion in India's growing gig economy, where battery swapping offers a faster alternative to charging for delivery riders.