Anthropic is reportedly nearing a $20 billion annual revenue run rate, up from about $9 billion at the end of 2025, though the new figure predates the Pentagon’s recent designation of the company as a supply chain risk. Bloomberg has more here.

OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman says the company has amended its Pentagon contract days after signing it, calling the rollout “opportunistic and sloppy.” Changes include language barring domestic surveillance of U.S. nationals and excluding intelligence agencies such as the NSA for now. The Financial Times has more here.

Amazon said drone strikes tied to the Middle East conflict damaged two AWS data centers in the United Arab Emirates and disrupted a facility in Bahrain, knocking services offline and causing widespread outages. CNBC has more here.

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By Marina Temkin

As competition among AI startups heats up, founders and VCs are turning to novel valuation mechanisms to manufacture a perception of market dominance.

Until recently, the most sought-after companies raised multiple rounds of funding in quick succession at escalating valuations. However, because constant fundraising distracts founders from building their products, lead VCs have devised a new pricing structure that effectively consolidates what would have been two separate funding cycles into one.

Recent rounds employing this scheme include Aaru’s Series A. The synthetic-customer research startup raised a round led by Redpoint, which invested a large portion of its check at a $450 million valuation, The Wall Street Journal reported. Redpoint then invested a smaller portion at a $1 billion valuation, and other VCs joined at that same $1 billion price point, according to our reporting. TechCrunch was the first to report Aaru’s financing, including its multi-tiered valuation.

The approach allows desirable startups like Aaru to call themselves a unicorn — valued at more than $1 billion — even though a significant portion of the equity was acquired at a lower price.

“It is a sign that the market is incredibly competitive for venture capital firms to win deals,” said Jason Shuman, a general partner at Primary Ventures. “If the headline number is huge, it’s also an incredible strategy to scare away other VCs from backing the number two and number three players.”

The massive ‘headline’ valuation creates the aura of a market winner, even though the lead VC’s average price was significantly lower.

Anduril, a nine-year-old startup based in Costa Mesa, CA, that makes autonomous defense systems and military hardware, is raising up to an $8 billion round at a $60 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. The deal is being co-led by earlier investors in the company Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with Lux Capital and Founders Fund (also earlier investors) also expected to join in. Anduril closed a $2.5 billion round last June at a $30 billion valuation. TechCrunch has more here.

Ayar Labs, an 11-year-old company based in San Jose, CA, that provides open standards-based optical interconnect technology optimized for AI training and inference workloads, raised a $500 million Series E round at a $3.75 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Neuberger Berman, with Alchip Technologies, ARK Invest, Insight Partners, MediaTek, Qatar Investment Authority, Sequoia Global Equities, and 1789 Capital as well as previous investors Advent Global Opportunities, Boardman Bay Capital Management, IAG Capital Partners, Light Street Capital, Playground Global, AMD Ventures, and NVIDIA also piling on. The company has raised a total of $870 million. More here.

Flink, a five-year-old Berlin startup that runs a quick commerce grocery delivery service, raised a $100 million round led by Prosus, with Btomorrow Ventures also taking part. Tech Funding News has more here.

Gropyus, a six-year-old Vienna startup that uses a digitally controlled factory with industrial robots to manufacture customizable timber-hybrid walls and ceilings for multi-story housing, raised a $100 million round. Investors included prior backers Vonovia and Semapa Next. The company has raised a total of $463+ million. Tech Funding News has more here.

Grow Therapy, a six-year-old New York startup that has built a mental health platform that connects patients with in-person and online therapy and psychiatric care covered by insurance, raised a $150 million Series D round co-led by previous investors TCG and Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with BCI and Menlo Ventures as well as prior backers Sequoia, SignalFire, and Transformation Capital also contributing. The company has raised a total of $328 million. More here.

Fig Security, a one-year-old New York startup that monitors how data flows through security tools to ensure detection and response systems work as intended in real-time, raised a $38 million seed round. Team8 and Ten Eleven Ventures were the co-leads. TechCrunch has more here.

Firmable, a three-year-old Melbourne startup whose AI sales platform assembles proprietary account data, tracks real-time buying signals, and automates sales tasks, raised a $14 million Series A round. Airtree was the deal lead. More here.

Guild.ai, a San Francisco startup founded this year that enables centralized governance, audit logging, and access controls for AI agents across multiple models and vendors, raised a total of $44 million in seed and Series A financing at a $300 million post-money valuation. Both rounds were led by GV, with Khosla Ventures, Acrew Capital, NfX, Scribble Ventures, and Webb Investment Network also pitching in. More here.

JetStream Security, a recently founded San Francisco startup that provides an AI governance platform for enterprises, raised a $34 million seed round led by Redpoint Ventures, with CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, George Kurtz, Assaf Rappaport, and Frederic Kerrest also investing. More here.

KeyCare, a four-year-old Chicago startup that offers an Epic-integrated virtual care network connecting health systems with independent providers across primary care, behavioral health, and urgent care, raised a $27.4 million round led by HealthX Ventures, with 8VC, LRVHealth, BOLD Capital Partners, Ikigai Venture Partners, WellSpan Health, Allina Health, University of Chicago Ventures, Edge Ventures, and Exact Sciences also chiming in. The company has raised a total of $55+ million. MobiHealthNews has more here.

Smack Technologies, a two-year-old startup based in El Segundo, CA, that is developing advanced AI models and tools to help military and national security decision-makers analyze operational and sensor data, raised a $32 million Series A round co-led by Geodesic Capital and Costanoa Ventures, with Point72 Ventures and Felicis also stepping up. More here.

Antiverse, a nine-year-old Cardiff startup that operates an AI-led computational platform to generate and test therapeutic antibodies for complex disease targets, raised a $9.3 million Series A round led by Soulmates Ventures, with Innovation Investment Capital, DOMiNO Ventures, DBW, Kadmos Capital, and i&i Biotech Fund also participating. The company has raised a total of $20+ million. Tech.eu has more here.

Groundhawk, a five-year-old startup based in Espoo, Finland, that is developing a real-time 3D mapping platform that captures and digitizes underground utility infrastructure during construction, raised a $2.3 million seed round. Greencode Ventures and 2C Ventures co-led the deal. Tech Funding News has more here.

Payr, a two-year-old London startup that enables renters in the UK to pay monthly rent with credit cards while landlords continue to receive standard bank transfers, raised a $2.1 million round led by Ingenii Capital, with Haatch, Velocity Capital, and the British Business Bank also participating. FinTech Global has more here.

Pluvo, a one-year-old Ottawa and San Francisco startup that transforms financial and operational data into structured, explainable analysis and decision support for CFOs and finance teams, raised a $5 million seed round. Investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Deel, The Perseverance Fund, StandUp Ventures, and AltaIR Capital. More here.

Procode, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that automates coding, claims management, and accounts receivable processes for private practice surgeons through AI-powered revenue cycle management tools, raised a $4 million round led by Story Ventures, with CHAP Health Ventures, and Progression Fund also investing. Pulse 2.0 has more here.

Vento Games, a one-year-old Istanbul startup that develops and publishes family-friendly mobile puzzle games, raised a $4 million seed round. Makers Fund and Arcadia Gaming Partners co-led the deal. Pocket Gamer has more here.

Xsensio, a nine-year-old startup based in Lausanne, Switzerland, that enables continuous metabolic and physiological monitoring using wearable sensor technology, raised a $7 million Series A round. WI Harper led the investment, with Privilège Ventures and the European Innovation Council also anteing up. More here.

Fidelity 

Your Pitch Isn’t the Only Thing Investors Are Evaluating.  

Investors don’t just listen to what you say—they look at how your company operates. Is ownership clear? Do your numbers match your story? Can you answer follow-up questions without digging through spreadsheets? The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips founders with the materials investors expect to see, before pressure is on. Because confidence in the room doesn’t come from slides. It comes from preparation. 

PitchBook senior analyst Franco Granda thinks a $1.75 billion IPO for SpaceX could make sense if investors accept heavy volatility and look several years out, citing growth in Starlink, launch services, and a potential $150 billion revenue run rate by 2040. Bloomberg has more here.

Speaking at Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism Summit today, Palantir CEO Alex Karp was blunt about the role of LLMs. “If Silicon Valley believes we’re going to take everyone’s white collar jobs AND screw the military … If you don’t think that’s going to lead to the nationalization of our technology, you’re retarded.” More here.

Ethan Agarwal, a 40-year-old tech entrepreneur who founded an audio fitness startup, is running to unseat California Representative Ro Khanna with the backing of Silicon Valley figures like Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, VC Ron Conway, and DoorDash cofounder Stanley Tang, many of whom are angered by Khanna’s support for a billionaire wealth tax. TechCrunch has more here.

Junyang Lin, a central technical leader behind Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, said he is stepping down from the project just a day after the company unveiled its new Qwen 3.5 small models, leaving unanswered questions about leadership of one of China’s most prominent open-weight AI efforts. TechCrunch has more here.

Following news of OpenAI’s deal with the Department of Defense, U.S. uninstalls of the ChatGPT mobile app jumped 295% day-over-day on Feb. 28th, according to data from Sensor Tower. The app’s typical day-over-day uninstall rate over the past 30 days is about 9%. TechCrunch has more here.

An investigation by two Swedish newspapers found that contractors in Kenya routinely review footage captured by Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses – including scenes of people undressing or using the bathroom – to train Meta’s AI systems. Gizmodo has more here.

An internal DHS document obtained by 404 Media shows Customs and Border Protection bought phone location data collected through online ad auctions in apps such as games, dating services, and fitness trackers, allowing officials to track people’s movements over time. More here.

After Microsoft blocked “Microslop,” a mocking portmanteau of “Microsoft” and “AI slop,” on its official Discord server, users spread the word across social media and began posting variations to evade the filter. Fast Company has more here.

Research suggests dog ownership is associated with lower blood pressure, reduced cardiovascular risk, and a 24% lower chance of dying over 10 years, though scientists say the benefits may partly reflect healthier lifestyles among people who choose to own dogs. (Another complicating factor? Brodie.)

Woman pays $350 for a "teacup pig," ends up with a 200-pound couch-destroying roommate.

Does your country need a regime change? A quiz.

A 6,400-square-foot Tribeca penthouse known as Sky House just listed for $20 million, featuring a stainless steel spiral slide that drops four stories through the apartment as well as a rope swing, rock climbing column, glass bridges, secret ladders, and a living room with ceilings more than 40 feet high.

Demand for vintage-style watches like the Rolex Datejust and Cartier Tank has surged in part due to their prominent role in the JFK Jr. series Love Story, with resale marketplace Bezel reporting an 11% jump in Datejust sales since the show’s February 12th debut.

A new smartphone from Leica.

An innovative travel backpack from Peak Design.

UK Quantum - The Commercial Frontier 

Building on historic strength in physics, cryptography, and computing, the UK is becoming the commercial frontier of quantum computing. This multi-decade journey is now seeing early-stage commercial trials in finance, healthcare, and energy. Supported by international investment and an integrated national strategy, the UK aims to be a quantum‑enabled economy by 2033. This means allowing businesses to do things faster, cheaper, more securely, and at levels of complexity previously impossible. 

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