A U.S. investor group including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz is nearing a deal with Beijing that would give it an 80% stake in TikTok’s U.S. business, although negotiations continue and control of the app’s recommendation algorithm remains unresolved. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

“Some commerce will be eaten by AI, some will be immune to it, and some will be up for grabs by new startups.”

a16z’s new AI x Commerce thesis sets the stage for Commerce 2.0, spotlighting AI opportunities across the stack.

Building on their framework, we mapped 80+ startups defining AI-driven commerce. See their funding, founder, and growth details here.

By Connie Loizos

Twenty-five years ago, Al Gore was in the final stretch of his U.S. presidential campaign, just weeks away from an election that would ultimately slip through his fingers despite winning the popular vote. His platform included ambitious climate action, with America positioned as the natural leader of a global environmental transition.

The irony of what has transpired since is not lost on him. “Looking from the standpoint of 25 years ago, I have to say no, I would not have seen this as the most likely outcome,” Gore admits when asked about China’s emergence as the world’s leading force in the energy transition, a reality that would have seemed almost fantastical to the candidate who once hoped to steer American climate policy from the Oval Office.

But Gore isn’t lamenting China’s climate leadership so much as celebrating that someone is stepping up while expressing frustration that America has ceded the field. As far as he’s concerned, the planet doesn’t care which country leads the charge toward sustainability as long as someone does. What troubles him more is the opportunity cost, the sense that American innovation and influence could be accelerating global progress if the country weren’t busy dismantling its own climate policies.

Gore and Lila Preston of sustainability-focused investment firm Generation Investment Management talked with this editor early Monday morning about their ninth annual climate report, which comprehensively documents both concerning setbacks in U.S. climate policy and China’s remarkable rise as what they call the world’s “first electro state.” 

We spent much of our conversation examining what’s making headlines right now: the tech industry’s growing appetite for rare earth minerals and what responsible mining might look like, how the AI boom’s demand for massive data centers could impact global energy consumption, and whether the space industry’s rocket launches really represent the net positive for climate goals that industry observers believe them to be.

AllRock Bio, a one-year-old startup based in Natick, MA, that develops therapies for cardiopulmonary and fibrotic diseases targeting pulmonary arterial hypertension and ILD-PH, raised a $50 million Series A round. Versant Ventures and Westlake BioPartners were the co-leads. More here.

Chestnut Carbon, a three-year-old New York startup that develops U.S.-based afforestation projects to turn marginal farmland into biodiverse forests and generate verified carbon removal credits for companies pursuing decarbonization goals, raised a $90 million Series B extension led by previous investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, bringing its total Series B funding to $250 million. More here.

CodeRabbit, a two-year-old startup based in Walnut Creek, CA, that uses AI to automate code reviews, raised a $60 million Series B round at a $550 million post-money valuation. The deal was led by Scale Venture Partners, with NVentures and previous investor CRV also investing. The company has raised a total of $88 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Dyna Robotics, a one-year-old startup based in Redwood City, CA, that develops AI-powered general-purpose robots for commercial use, raised a $120 million Series A round at a $600+ million valuation. The deal was co-led by Robostrategy, CRV, and First Round Capital, with Salesforce Ventures, NVentures, the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Samsung Next, and LG Technology Ventures also taking part. More here.

Figure AI, a three-year-old startup based in Sunnyvale, CA, that develops humanoid robots for industrial and household tasks, says it has raised a $1 billion-plus Series C round at a $39 billion post-money valuation. Parkway Venture Capital was the deal lead, with Nvidia, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Salesforce, LG Technology Ventures, and T-Mobile Ventures also opting in. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Invisible Technologies, a 10-year-old New York company that helps enterprises clean and structure messy data so they can build agentic AI workflows, raised a $100 million round at a $2 billion post-money valuation, according to Bloomberg. The deal was led by Vanara Capital, with investors including Princeville Capital, HOF Capital, Freestyle VC, Rocketeer Management, and Tallwoods Capital as well as prior backers Acrew Capital, Greycroft, Backed VC, BY Ventures, and Deepwater Asset Management. The company has raised a total of $144 million. PYMNTS has more here.

PayNearMe, a 15-year-old company based in Santa Clara, CA, that helps non-commerce businesses manage the entire payment journey across digital wallets, cards, ACH, and cash, raised a $50 million Series E round led by AVP. More here.

SEON, an eight-year-old Austin and Budapest startup that helps businesses prevent fraud and comply with anti-money-laundering rules, raised an $80 million Series C round led by Sixth Street Growth, with investors including IVP, Creandum, Firebolt Analysts, and Hearst Communications. The company has raised a total of $187 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Tabs, a two-year-old New York startup that develops AI agents to automate finance team workflows like invoicing, collections, and revenue recognition, raised a $55 million Series B round led by Lightspeed, with General Catalyst, Primary Venture Partners, and World Innovation Lab also chiming in. The company has raised a total of $91+ million. PYMNTS has more here.

Vega, a one-year-old New York startup that provides AI-driven security analytics and threat detection across enterprise data systems, raised $65 million in seed and Series A rounds led by Accel, with Cyberstarts, Redpoint, and CRV also taking stakes. The company has been valued at $400 million, according to CTech, which has more here.

BIOWEG, a six-year-old German startup that turns agricultural waste into biodegradable replacements for microplastics using bacterial cellulose, raised a $19 million Series A round led by Axeleo Capital, with additional participation from EIC Fund, NBank Capital, and BonVenture. Tech Funding News has more here.

Console, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that uses AI agents to automatically handle IT support tickets and is expanding into HR, finance, and legal workflows, raised a $23 million Series A round co-led by DST Global Partners and Thrive Capital, with SV Angel and Abstract Ventures also contributing. The company has raised a total of $29 million. Upstarts has more here.

Druid AI, a nine-year-old New York and Bucharest startup that develops AI agents to automate business tasks, raised a $31 million Series C round led by Cipio Partners and including TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, and Smedvig. The company has raised a total of $31 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Envive, a two-year-old Seattle startup that builds AI agents for online retailers, raised a $15 million Series A round led by FUSE, with Point72 Ventures, the AI2 Incubator, and Ascend also contributing. GeekWire has more here.

Feld.energy, a one-year-old Munich startup that enables farmers to grow food and generate clean electricity through agricultural photovoltaics, raised an $11.9 million seed round. HV Capital led the financing, with Future Energy Ventures, AENU, and Angel Invest also stepping up. EU-Startups has more here.

Highlight Therapeutics, a 12-year-old Spanish company that develops immunotherapies for skin tumors, raised a $17.8 million round. Buenavista Equity Partners was the deal lead, with Columbus Venture Partners also engaging. EU-Startups has more here.

Modern Animal, a six-year-old Los Angeles startup that provides veterinary care through in-clinic services and 24/7 virtual care, raised a $46 million funding round co-led by Addition, True Ventures, and Upfront Ventures, with Founders Fund also opting in. More here.

Noble Mobile, a New York startup founded this year by former U.S. presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang and whose MVNO service will pay cellular customers for using less data, raised a $10.3 million seed round led by Corazon Capital, with Circle Ventures, Idea Fund Partners, Oversubscribed Ventures, Hustle Fund, Brown Angel Group, Acquired Wisdom Fund, Scott Galloway, Jim McKelvey, and David Ko also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.

Nory, a five-year-old Dublin and London startup that uses AI to help restaurants manage operations like inventory, workforce, payroll, and business intelligence, raised a $37 million Series B round led by Kinnevik. The company has raised a total of $63 million. Silicon Republic has more here.

Ray Security, a one-year-old Tel Aviv startup that provides a predictive data security platform to help enterprises anticipate and block threats in real-time, raised an $11 million seed round co-led by Venture Guides and Ibex Investors. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Rodatherm, a three-year-old startup based in Calgary and Salt Lake City that has developed a closed-loop geothermal system optimized for hot sedimentary basins, raised a $38 million Series A round led by Evok Innovations, with TDK Ventures, Toyota Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, MCJ, Active Impact Investments, Renewal Funds, Grantham Foundation, and Giga Investments also piling on. Think Geoenergy has more here.

Sharp Performance, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that provides first responders with performance coaching from former Special Ops and public safety professionals, raised a $12 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz and including A*, Commonweal Ventures, Formation, SV Angel, and Liquid 2. More here.

WorkFusion, a 13-year-old New York company that develops AI agents to automate financial crime compliance tasks such as anti-money laundering, sanctions, KYC, and fraud review, raised a $45 million round. Georgian led the investment, with Serengeti Asset Management, Nokia Growth Partners, Teralys Capital, Hawk Equity, Chubb INA Holdings, and Declaration Partners also participating. More here.

Birches Health, a New York startup that provides online clinical treatment for gambling and other behavioral addictions, raised a $10 million Series A and seed round. AlleyCorp was the deal lead. The company has raised a total of $20 million. More here.

DianaHR, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that provides AI-powered HR-as-a-service for SMBs, raised a $3.7 million seed round led by SNR Ventures, with General Catalyst and Y Combinator also participating. More here.

Ethosphere, a one-year-old Seattle startup that uses voice AI to turn in-store conversations into insights that help retail associates improve customer interactions, raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round led by Point72 Ventures, with AI2 Incubator, Carya Ventures, Pack VC, Hike Ventures, and J4 Ventures also investing. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Fabrix Security, a Tel Aviv startup founded this year that uses AI agents to automate identity and access management for enterprises, raised an $8 million seed round co-led by Norwest and toDay Ventures, with Jibe Ventures also pitching in. CTech has more here.

Iris Finance, a one-year-old Chicago startup that provides an AI-driven financial planning and analysis platform for consumer-packaged goods brands, raised a $6.2 million seed round led by Glasswing Ventures, with Founder Collective and Hyde Park Angels as well as previous investors Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Barrel Ventures, and Rosecliff Ventures also joining in. Beauty Independent has more here.

MicroFactory, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that builds compact AI-powered robotic factories for precision manufacturing tasks, raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round at a $30 million valuation from a group of investors that included Naval Ravikant. TechCrunch has more here.

Scalekit, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that helps businesses verify the identity of AI agents and control what data and apps they can access, raised a $5.5 million seed round co-led by Together Fund and Z47. CityBiz has more here.

suena energy, a Hamburg-based startup that uses AI to optimize trading for energy storage systems and renewable energy assets, raised a $9.2 million Series A round led by Eneco Ventures, with 4impact capital as well as previous investors InnoEnergy, J.O.S.S., Santander, and Energie 360° also pitching in. More here.

Temelion, a French startup founded this year that uses AI to streamline pre-construction engineering workflows, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by 360Capital, with additional investors including ISAI Build Venture, SE Ventures, and Kima Ventures. Tech.eu has more here.

uiAgent, a one-year-old New York startup that automates accounting, tax, and audit workflows for firms and enterprises, raised a $4.6 million seed round. Marathon Management Partners was the deal lead, with Rerail also joining in. More here.

Big investors bet on this “unlisted” stock. When the former Zillow exec who sold his first company for $120m starts a new venture, people notice. Like the pre-IPO investors behind Uber and eBay? They already backed Pacaso. Their tech completely revamps a $1.3 trillion market, earning $110+ million in gross profit in under 5 years. They even recently reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO. And you can join as an investor. But not for long. Invest before the opportunity ends Thursday.

*This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving the ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approvals.

Alt Capital, a two-year-old San Francisco VC firm led by Lattice co-founder Jack Altman, raised its second fund in the amount of $275 million. Altman told The Wall Street Journal that it took him a week to raise it from start to finish. The firm will target early-stage AI enterprise startups. TechCrunch has more here.

Tandem Ventures, a three-year-old Salt Lake City VC firm that backs early-stage technology founders with an emphasis on B2B SaaS and vertical AI, raised a $50 million Fund I and has since surpassed $100 million in total capital raised across the fund and SPVs. More here.

Fiverr, a 15-year-old company based in Tel Aviv that runs an online marketplace for freelance services, is laying off 30% of its workforce as it shifts resources into AI to automate more of its operations. Reuters has more here.

Apollo is weighing a sale of AOL after fielding interest that could value the onetime internet giant at about $1.5 billion. AOL is ending its dial-up internet service later this month. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

D-ID, a seven-year-old Tel Aviv startup that builds AI-powered avatar video tools, has acquired Simpleshow, a 17-year-old Berlin startup that makes B2B video creation software. The deal combines two VC-backed players targeting the enterprise avatar video market. TechCrunch has more here.

Online ticket marketplace StubHub priced its IPO at $23.50 a share for an $8.6 billion valuation after multiple delays, marking another sign of the IPO market’s rebound.

Netskope, a 13-year-old California company that helps businesses secure their cloud systems against cyber threats, just boosted the price range for its upcoming Nasdaq IPO to $17–$19 a share, aiming to raise up to $908 million at a $7.3 billion valuation. CNBC has more here.

OpenAI just poached Mike Liberatore, the former finance chief at Elon Musk’s xAI, to oversee its ballooning infrastructure spend, turning up the heat in the already ugly Altman-Musk rivalry as OpenAI doubles down on its compute spend. CNBC has more here.

Silicon Valley investors are piling into startups building reinforcement learning “environments” to train AI agents, betting these simulated workspaces could become the new data-labeling gold rush, even as skeptics warn the tech may be harder to scale than hype suggests. TechCrunch explains it here.

Meta’s Connect conference kicks off Wednesday with Mark Zuckerberg expected to spotlight new Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, including a leaked heads-up display model called Hypernova, while trying to reframe Meta as a leader in AI wearables just as its new Superintelligence Labs ramps up. TechCrunch has more here.

The real villain of the hit Gen Z show The Summer I Turned Pretty is none other than a VC bro.

What it feels like to climb Mount Everest in under seven days.

RIP, Robert Redford.

Swatch just dropped a cheeky Switzerland-only watch that flips the 3 and 9 markers into a “39” to protest the 39% U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods, a $175 collector’s piece the brand vows to discontinue once trade tensions ease.

Nike and Cactus Plant Flea Market just unveiled the Swamp Sponge collection, a $155 trio of neon-splashed, fur-and-sponge covered kicks dropping September 17th that are already polarizing sneakerheads and destined to sell out fast.

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