Google unveiled a new quantum algorithm that runs 13,000 times faster than a top supercomputer, a milestone that suggests the long-promised era of practical quantum computing for drug discovery and materials science may finally be approaching. The New York Times has more here.

The Trump administration is weighing export controls that could bar China from importing goods made with U.S. software, like laptops and jet engines, exacerbating the tech and trade standoff between the two countries. Reuters has more here.

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By Maxwell Zeff

AI labs are racing to build data centers as large as Manhattan, each costing billions of dollars and consuming as much energy as a small city. The effort is driven by a deep belief in “scaling” — the idea that adding more computing power to existing AI training methods will eventually yield superintelligent systems capable of performing all kinds of tasks.

But a growing chorus of AI researchers say the scaling of large language models may be reaching its limits, and that other breakthroughs may be needed to improve AI performance.

That’s the bet Sara Hooker, Cohere’s former VP of AI Research and a Google Brain alumna, is taking with her new startup, Adaption Labs. She co-founded the company with fellow Cohere and Google veteran Sudip Roy, and it’s built on the idea that scaling LLMs has become an inefficient way to squeeze more performance out of AI models. Hooker, who left Cohere in August, quietly announced the startup this month to start recruiting more broadly.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Hooker says Adaption Labs is building AI systems that can continuously adapt and learn from their real-world experiences, and do so extremely efficiently. She declined to share details about the methods behind this approach or whether the company relies on LLMs or another architecture.

“There is a turning point now where it’s very clear that the formula of just scaling these models — scaling-pilled approaches, which are attractive but extremely boring — hasn’t produced intelligence that is able to navigate or interact with the world,” said Hooker.

Anrok, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that helps digital businesses automate global sales tax compliance using AI, raised a $55 million Series C round led by Spark Capital, with Sapphire Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Index Ventures also taking part. The startup has raised a total of $100+ million. More here.

Arbor Energy, a four-year-old startup based in El Segundo, CA, that builds modular, zero-emission gas turbines for baseload power, raised a $55 million Series A round co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Voyager Ventures, with Gigascale Capital and Marathon Petroleum also contributing. More here.

Cala Health, a 12-year-old company based in San Mateo, CA, that develops noninvasive wearable neuromodulation therapies for hand tremor relief, raised a $50 million round. Vertex Growth Fund and Nexus NeuroTech Ventures were the co-leads, with Action Potential, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Lightstone, Lux Capital, GV, OSF Ventures, Ascension Ventures, TriVentures, Reimagined Ventures, Peak6, and Fiscus also piling on. More here.

Chemify, a three-year-old Glasgow startup that uses AI and robotics to automate molecular design and synthesis for drug discovery and advanced materials, raised a $50+ million Series B round co-led by Wing Venture Capital and Insight Partners, with 8VC, Triatomic Capital, Blueyard, Rockspring, and Eos also pitching in. More here.

CourtReserve, a 10-year-old company based in St. Augustine, FL, that provides club management software for racquet and paddle sports facilities, raised a $54 million round. Mainsail Partners was the deal lead. More here.

Elevara Medicines, a one-year-old London startup that develops immunotherapies for chronic inflammatory diseases and women’s health conditions, raised a $70 million Series A round co-led by Forbion and Sofinnova Partners, with previous investor Monograph Capital also investing. The Pharma Letter has more here.

Expedition Medicines, a four-year-old startup based in Cambridge, MA, that uses generative AI and quantum covalent chemistry to design small molecule drugs for oncology, immunology, and other diseases, raised a $50 million seed round led by Flagship Pioneering, which also incubated the company. BioPharma Dive has more here.

Refurbed, an eight-year-old Vienna startup that runs a marketplace for refurbished electronics, household, and sports products, raised a $58.8 million round co-led by Alex Zubillaga and Orilla, with previous investors Evli Growth Partners, Bonsai, Almaz, C4 Ventures, and Speedinvest also anteing up. EU-Startups has more here.

Seneca, a two-year-old San Francisco company that builds autonomous aerial systems for wildfire detection and suppression, raised a $60 million round co-led by Caffeinated Capital and Convective Capital, with First Round Capital, Transition VC, Advance Venture Partners, Nextview Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Stepstone Group, DCVC, Offline Ventures, Roar Capital, and Slow Ventures also opting in. More here.

ShopMy, a five-year-old New York startup that builds creator commerce infrastructure connecting premium brands, curators, and consumers, raised a $70 million round at a $1.5+ billion valuation. The round was led by Avenir, with Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures also engaging. More here.

UnifyApps, a two-year-old New York startup that connects enterprise systems with AI to automate tasks like claims processing and HR management, raised a $50 million Series B round at a $250+ million valuation. The round was led by WestBridge Capital, with ICONIQ also participating. The startup has raised a total of $81 million. Reuters has more here.

Uniphore, an 18-year-old Palo Alto company that develops AI software to help large enterprises automate business workflows and data operations, raised a $260 million Series F round at a $2.5 billion pre-money valuation. The round included strategic investments from NVIDIA, AMD, Snowflake, and Databricks, with additional support from NEA, March Capital, BNF Capital, National Grid Partners, and Prosperity7 Ventures. More here.

Acelab, a five-year-old New York startup that helps architects and designers research and select building materials using AI, raised a $13.5 million Series A round led by Navitas Capital, with JLL Spark, DivcoWest, Pillar VC, Draper Associates, PJC, Klingenstein Fields, and Transcend Partners also participating. The startup has raised a total of $25+ million. More here.

Faeth Therapeutics, a six-year-old Austin startup that develops cancer therapies that target tumor metabolism, raised a $25 million round led by S2G Ventures, with Khosla Ventures, Future Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, KdT Ventures, Cantos, B Capital Group, Avicella, and THO Seed Fund also investing. The startup has raised a total of $92 million. Femtech Insider has more here.

Gravwell, an eight-year-old Minneapolis startup that provides a data analytics and security platform to collect and analyze IT and operational data, raised a $15.4 million Series A round led by Two Bear Capital, with Gula Tech Adventures and Next Frontier Capital also joining in. More here.

MATR Foods, a five-year-old Copenhagen startup that makes fermented plant-based meat alternatives, raised a raised a $23.2 million round co-led by Novo Holdings and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. It also raised the same amount in venture debt. Vegconomist has more here.

Starbridge, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that helps sales teams find and act on public sector contract opportunities, raised a $42 million Series A round. Craft Ventures was the deal lead, with Owl Ventures, Commonweal Ventures, and Autotech Ventures also investing. The startup has raised a total of $52 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Sumble, a three-year-old San Francisco company that surfaces company context for sales teams from public web data, announced that it raised an $8.5 million seed round led by Coatue and a $30 million Series A round led by Canaan Partners, with AIX Ventures, Square Peg, Bloomberg Beta, Zetta, Marc Benioff, and Nat Friedman also joining in. TechCrunch has more here.

Anchor Browser, a one-year-old Tel Aviv startup that develops infrastructure enabling AI agents to autonomously perform tasks on the web without relying on APIs, raised a $6 million seed round co-led by Blumberg Capital and Gradient Ventures. CTech has more here.

Atrium, a one-year-old Atlanta startup that helps investors and analysts detect bank balance sheet risks, raised a $4 million seed round co-led by Castle Island Ventures and EJF Ventures. More here.

Cybrid, a five-year-old Toronto startup that provides compliant stablecoin and fiat payment infrastructure for fintechs, banks, and enterprises, raised a $10 million Series A round led by BDC Capital and including Golden Ventures, Luge Capital, and Panache Ventures. More here.

Janta Power, a four-year-old Dallas startup that develops three-dimensional solar tower systems that generate more electricity using less land, raised a $5.5 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital, with Collab Capital also stepping up. Dallas Innovates has more here.

Luster, a one-year-old Indianapolis startup that uses AI to coach customer-facing teams before calls, raised a $3 million seed round co-led by High Alpha and Ivy Ventures. More here.

MythWorx, a four-year-old Dallas startup that develops low-power AI models designed to mimic human reasoning, raised a $5 million seed round at a $100+ million valuation. Eagle Venture Fund IV and Eagle Freedom Fund II were the co-leads. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Piere, a three-year-old New York startup that automatically manages and executes personal finance decisions, raised a $2.1 million pre-seed round led by Grand Ventures, with Selah Ventures, Trustage Ventures, Samvid Ventures, and Fabric VC also digging in. Tech Funding News has more here.

Sizable Energy, a three-year-old Milan startup that is developing offshore pumped hydro storage systems that harness ocean depth and gravity for long-duration energy storage, raised an $8 million round. Investors included Playground Global, Exa Ventures, Verve Ventures and Unruly Capital also joining in. Tech Funding News has more here.

Syntracts, a two-year-old startup based in Washington, DC, that helps law firms and corporate legal teams analyze and manage contracts securely on-premises, raised a $5.3 million seed round led by Hyperplane, with Khosla Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Top Harvest Capital, Fortitude Ventures, and Myriad Venture Partners also chipping in. CityBiz has more here.

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Polaris Partners, a 27-year-old Boston VC firm that invests in biotech and healthcare companies, is targeting $500 million for its eleventh fund, according to an SEC filing. Endpoints News has more here.

FalconX, a seven-year-old San Francisco crypto trading firm that facilitates institutional digital-asset transactions, agreed to acquire Zurich-based 21shares, a seven-year-old ETF manager known for launching some of the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs. Terms were not disclosed. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Yangtze Memory Technologies, a seven-year-old Wuhan-based chipmaker that produces 3D NAND flash memory, is considering an IPO in mainland China next year that could value it at up to $40 billion, in one of the country’s largest potential listings in years. Bloomberg has more here.

Speaking of China, Leju Robot, a nine-year-old Shenzhen startup that develops humanoid robots, raised a $207 million pre-IPO round led by Greenwoods Asset Management. Robotics & Automation News has more here.

Sequoia Capital COO Sumaiya Balbale resigned after the firm declined to discipline partner Shaun Maguire over comments about New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani that she viewed as Islamophobic, deepening tensions inside the storied VC firm. The Financial Times has more here.

Meta is laying off about 600 employees from its AI division, reportedly to streamline overlapping research groups and tighten control under new AI chief Alexandr Wang, signaling a power consolidation. CNBC has more here.

Reddit is suing four companies it says scraped its data from Google search results and resold it to AI firms, accusing them of acting as middlemen in order to enable large language model makers to sidestep direct scraping bans. The New York Times has more here.

Prediction market startup Kalshi is fielding new investor offers valuing it above $10 billion, just weeks after raising $300 million at a $5 billion valuation, as trading volume surges and its rivalry with Polymarket heats up. Bloomberg has more here.

The parents of a 16-year-old who died by suicide expanded their wrongful-death suit against OpenAI, alleging the company weakened its safeguards to boost engagement and that its chatbot encouraged their son’s death. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Top AI researchers and executives at companies like Anthropic, Google, and Microsoft are working 80- to 100-hour weeks as the race to build smarter models accelerates, fueling burnout and record pay in Silicon Valley’s most intense boom yet. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

A new trailer just dropped for Pluribus, a new series on Apple TV by Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad.

What it’s like to own a Cybertruck.

Rolls-Royce unveiled the $3 million Phantom Centenary Private Collection, a 25-car series marking the model’s 100th anniversary, featuring 24-karat gold accents, embroidered tapestries, Blackwood veneer door panels, and a shimmering black-and-white finish inspired by Hollywood’s golden age.

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