South Korean officials are investigating whether AI agents were used in recent cyberattacks on several banks – including Shinhan, Hana, and KB Kookmin – after customer data was leaked in multiple incidents. The New York Times has more here.

OpenAI told Australian lawmakers at a parliamentary hearing Tuesday that it changed its systems to allow immediate human intervention after its AI agents gained unauthorized access to non-public data on an Australian Medicare portal in June, the first known instance of AI agents hacking a government site. The New York Times has more here.

Apple and LG are co-developing a slate of smart-home devices, including a video doorbell, thermostat, deadbolt lock, and indoor and outdoor security cameras, Bloomberg reports, as Apple prepares a broader reboot of HomeKit around its upcoming smart-home hub. 9to5Mac has more here.

"When we do our annual meetings with PortCos, we're just collating data. The decks are in some folder, there's an email in a partner’s inbox, there's a financial model somewhere. It's a lot of work to get the full story."  - VP Ops, $200M+ AUM VC  

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By Julie Bort

When self-taught coder Sigil Wen was 17, he moved to Silicon Valley and lived in an AI hacker house with famed AI researcher Andrej Karpathy.

While there, he hacked and coded alongside other people who would become the biggest names in AI, like Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas and OpenAI researcher Noam Brown. He tested early versions of AI tools that would later become well known, including a chatbot shared by Anthropic co-founder Ben Mann that would become Claude, an image generator from David Holz that would become Midjourney, and what would become OpenAI’s GPT-3 and the image generator Stable Diffusion. Prominent investor and entrepreneur Naval Ravikant hired him for Airchat, Ravikant’s now-defunct rival to the Clubhouse social network.

For fun, he figured out how to get GPT-2 running on his Apple Watch. “It was a magical time,” Wen told TechCrunch.

Now a Thiel Fellow — the program from investor Peter Thiel that invites young founders to pursue projects instead of college — Wen on Monday launched an invite-only beta of Underdog, one of the most private AI assistants Silicon Valley has yet to offer. The model runs wholly on-device, meaning the user’s data remains on devices they already own, currently Macs and Windows PCs, with Linux, iPhone, and Android versions coming soon.

Underdog is powered by Husky, the inference engine Wen built to run AI models quickly on a user’s own hardware. Wen says it moves less data between a computer’s main chip and its graphics chip than rival on-device engines.

Underdog has other security features baked in, too, like encrypting the keys to the email and other accounts that users authorize Underdog to access.

Capitolis, a nine-year-old New York startup that helps banks and financial institutions optimize funding, capital, and balance-sheet resources across capital markets, raised a $120 million Series E round at a $1.9 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Citi, with Bank of America, Nomura, Tradeweb Markets, Barclays, BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan, State Street, and UBS also stepping up. It also secured $100 million in debt financing. More here.

DeepSeek, a three-year-old startup based in Hangzhou, China, that develops open-source AI models, is reportedly in the market to raise at least $12 billion at a targeted valuation of roughly $74.6 billion. CATL and Tencent are among the company’s largest investors. Bloomberg has more here.

Lambda, a 14-year-old company based in San Jose, CA, that builds cloud infrastructure for training and running AI models, is reportedly raising up to $4 billion at a $14.5 billion pre-money valuation. The purported deal leads are Blackstone and Coatue Management. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Moonshot AI, a three-year-old Beijing startup that develops open-weight AI models, closed its latest funding round at a $50 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported. Silicon Republic has more here.

Multiply Labs, a 10-year-old San Francisco company that develops modular robotic systems that automate cell and gene therapy manufacturing, raised a $75 million Series B round led by NantWorks, with AstraZeneca Ventures, Lingotto, Legend Biotech, Fifty Years Ventures, Ora Global, Teradyne Ventures, Strange Ventures, Casdin Capital, Lux Capital, and Founders Fund also digging in. More here.

RougeTx, a five-year-old startup based in Naarden, Netherlands, that develops small-molecule drugs that stabilize fragile blood vessels in inherited bleeding disorders and other vascular diseases, raised a $58 million Series A round co-led by BioGeneration Ventures, Angelini Ventures, and Kurma Partners, with EIB, Aurea, Epidarex Capital, Vesalius Biocapital Partners, ROM Utrecht Region, p53 Invest, and Kerna Ventures also stepping up. More here.

SignSplit, a two-year-old startup that helps people and institutions protect, license, and earn money from data, work, and likeness used by AI, raised a $400 million round at a $1 billion valuation. W Group was the deal lead. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Spiko, a three-year-old Paris startup that designs tokenized, regulated cash funds that businesses, individuals, and financial platforms access through apps and APIs, raised a $90 million Series B round led by New Enterprise Associates, with additional participation from Index Ventures, Bpifrance, Speedinvest, Flourish Ventures, Shapers, White Star Capital, Blockwall, Frst, EQNX, Mirana Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, and Axel Weber. The company has raised a total of $120 million. EU-Startups has more here.

Turba Labs, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup that helps data center operators optimize AI workloads across different hardware to get more compute from existing infrastructure, raised a Series A round led by Creandum. The company has raised a total of $52 million. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Type One Energy, a seven-year-old startup based in Knoxville, TN, that develops fusion power plants using stellarator technology, raised a $200 million Series B round co-led by Clutterbuck Capital and previous investor Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with Lowercarbon Capital, Siemens Energy Ventures, and SiteGround Capital also taking part. TechCrunch has more here.

Vinci, a three-year-old Palo Alto startup that develops AI tools that simulate how complex hardware will physically behave during the design process, raised a $250 million Series B round at a $1.5 billion valuation. The deal was co-led by Advent, Temasek, and Xora, with AMD Ventures and Madrona as well as previous investors Eclipse and Khosla Ventures also participating. More here.

Avarra, a three-year-old startup based in San Mateo, CA, that uses AI avatars to train and assist enterprise sales teams, raised a $17 million Series A round led by Duration Ventures, with Draper Associates, GTMfund, Alumni Ventures, and Zoom as well as previous investor Lightspeed Venture Partners also stepping up. More here.

Clockwork, an eight-year-old Palo Alto startup that develops software that keeps distributed AI workloads running when GPUs, network links, or servers fail, raised a $31 million round co-led by Seligman Ventures, Wing Ventures, and Premji Invest, with previous investors New Enterprise Associates and e& Capital also taking stakes. The company has raised a total of $73 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Flai, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that develops AI software to handle customer communications, outbound campaigns, and appointment scheduling for car dealerships, raised a $27 million Series A round led by Base10 Partners, with Friedkin Group, Findlay Automotive, Toyota’s venture arm, Y Combinator, and First Round Capital also taking part. TechCrunch has more here.

Finmid, a five-year-old Berlin startup that enables software platforms to offer financing to their business customers, raised a $19.1 million extension of its Series A. Investors included Big Pi Ventures and Mainset as well as prior backer Earlybird. The company has raised a total of $58.5 million. Financial IT has more here.

Furientis, a one-year-old Los Angeles startup that develops low-cost missile interceptors designed for high-volume manufacturing, raised a $25 million seed round led by Benchmark. More here.

Hadrian, a five-year-old Amsterdam startup that uses AI agents to map companies’ internet-facing systems and identify vulnerabilities attackers could exploit, raised a $40 million round co-led by Forgepoint Capital International and SmartFin, with previous investors HV Capital, Motive Partners, Picus Capital, and Oetker Ventures also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $65 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Iris Labs, a one-year-old Cambridge, MA, startup developing personal AI products designed to support psychological wellbeing, launched with an initial $20 million funding commitment from Flagship Pioneering. Its first product, iris chat, is an AI conversational companion available through iMessage and RCS. More here.

Living Optics, a six-year-old startup based in Milton, UK, that develops hyperspectral cameras that analyze spectral data for industrial inspection, defense, life sciences, and environmental monitoring, raised a $20 million round led by BRV Capital Management, with Lockheed Martin Ventures, Applied Ventures, Lam Capital, GK Goh, and British Business Bank as well as previous investors Octopus Ventures, Foresight Group, OTIF Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, and Braavos Group also piling on. More here.

Melius, a one-year-old New York startup that develops AI tools for generating advertising campaigns, images, and videos, raised a $20 million Series A round led by CRV. The company also disclosed a previously raised $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst, bringing its total funding to $25 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Navra, a Las Vegas startup founded this year by SoFi and Figure co-founder Mike Cagney that gives retail and institutional investors access to blockchain-based lending, trading, and yield products, raised a $19 million Series A round led by Ribbit, with Baseline, DCM, Jump Crypto, and Figure Technology Solutions also investing. More here.

Pro Shop, a three-year-old startup based in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, that produces golf entertainment and operates digital media, lifestyle, and commerce brands, raised a $24 million Series B round co-led by Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment, with Causeway Media Partners and Ares Capital as well as previous investors PGA Tour, Powerhouse Capital, and Phoenix Capital Ventures also opting in. More here.

Procuros, a five-year-old Hamburg startup that lets businesses exchange standardized orders, invoices, and other supply-chain data through a single integration, raised a $22.5 million Series A round led by XAnge, with W23 Global as well as previous investors Point Nine, Creandum, b2venture, and SquareOne also pitching in. Tech Funding News has more here.

Santé, a three-year-old New York startup that provides sales, payments, and AI back-office software for independent wine and liquor retailers, raised a $15 million Series A round led by FINTOP Capital, with Bonfire Ventures, Operator Collective, Y Combinator, and Veridical Ventures also taking part. More here.

Sensible Biotechnologies, a five-year-old Oxford startup that uses engineered living cells to design and manufacture mRNA for vaccines and other medicines, raised a $27 million Series A round from OTB Ventures and In-Q-Tel as well as previous investors Recode Ventures, Isomer Capital, Y Combinator, Backed VC, Kaya VC, Civilization Ventures, and BlueYard Capital. It also secured up to $20 million in non-dilutive funding from the Government of Slovakia and the European Union. More here.

WhiteLab Genomics, a seven-year-old Paris startup that uses AI to design and experimentally test delivery vehicles and genetic payloads for genomic medicines, raised a $26.1 million Series B round led by AVP, with Yaday Health and Blast Club as well as previous investors Omnes Capital and Debiopharm Innovation Fund also anteing up. EU-Startups has more here.

Altro Health, a one-year-old New York startup that lets gyms, personal trainers, and medical spas offer clinician-prescribed peptides, GLP-1s, hormone therapy, and lab testing under their own brands, raised a $7 million seed round led by NFX, with Founder Collective and Abby Miller Levy also investing. Athletech News has more here.

Cleavr, a one-year-old Paris startup that uses AI agents to identify contacts, send payment reminders, track payment promises, and manage invoice disputes for businesses, raised a $9 million seed round led by Varsity, with Portfolio Ventures, Kerala Ventures, and Financière Saint James as well as previous investors Kima Ventures and Better Angle also taking part. The company has raised a total of $10.1 million. Tech Funding News has more here.

Comparables.ai, a five-year-old Helsinki startup that uses AI to help deal teams identify acquisition targets, buyers, comparable companies, and market opportunities, raised a $6 million seed round co-led by Pragmatech and Araya Ventures, with additional participation from Purple Ventures, Gorilla Capital, hi5 Ventures, and Somersault Ventures. More here.

HyperLink, a one-year-old startup that operates a prime broker for professional traders on the Hyperliquid derivatives exchange, raised a $2.5 million round. Investors included Alliance, North Island Ventures, Reverie, Node Capital, Breed VC, and Smartest Money. CryptoRank has more here.

Minerva Humanoids, a San Francisco startup founded late last year that builds semi-autonomous humanoid robots for hazardous energy and public-safety work, raised a $10 million pre-seed round led by General Catalyst, with Long Journey Ventures and Credo Ventures as co-leads and MVP Ventures, Kaya, RunwayVC, Compound, Founders Embassy, Hugging Face, Codecademy, YG, Walter Ventures, Tiny Ventures, Chaotica, and Babylon also contributing. More here.

Monid, a San Francisco startup founded this year that lets AI agents discover, use, and pay for third-party tools and APIs, raised a $7.7 million seed round led by Long Journey Ventures, with Madrona, Essence VC, and Pioneer Fund as well as previous investor 1984 Ventures also participating. Crypto Briefing has more here.

Nettle, a two-year-old London startup that uses AI to identify physical risks, analyze inspection evidence, and prepare reports for commercial insurers, raised a $4.8 million seed round led by MTech, with Sure Valley Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, and Ventures Together as well as previous investor Project A Ventures also engaging. The company has raised a total of $6.8 million. Tech Funding News has more here.

Outer Spaces, a one-year-old startup based in El Segundo, CA, that builds modular backyard pavilions with integrated solar panels and battery storage to generate electricity and provide backup power, raised an $8 million pre-seed round led by Upfront Ventures, with Unlock Venture Partners, Mucker Capital, and Genius Ventures also investing. More here.

Torch Systems, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that uses solar-powered sensors and AI to monitor remote infrastructure for fires, equipment faults, security breaches, and environmental changes, raised a $9.5 million round. Investors included Khosla Ventures, Abstract, Construct Capital, and Starship Ventures. It also secured $2 million in venture debt financing from First Citizens Innovation Banking. More here.

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Story Ventures, a 10-year-old New York VC firm that backs early-stage frontier technology companies across data, AI, and hardware-software integration, has raised $63.1 million for Story VP II, a new SEC filing shows. More here.

1540 Ventures, a three-year-old New York VC firm that backs early-stage medtech, TechBio, diagnostics, and women’s health startups, is raising $50 million for its first fund. More here.

Future Ventures, an eight-year-old Los Altos VC firm co-founded by Steve Jurvetson that backs seed- and early-stage frontier technology companies, has raised $78.3 million for a vehicle called Future Ventures PNT 1, according to a new SEC filing. More here.

Uber has agreed to acquire ezCater, a 19-year-old Boston workplace catering platform that lets businesses order and manage meals from more than 140,000 restaurants, for $2.3 billion in cash. ezCater has raised over $425 million from investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Wellington Management, and ICONIQ Capital. More here.

Kling AI, the two-year-old Chinese AI video startup owned by Kuaishou, has tapped CICC, Goldman Sachs, and UBS for a Hong Kong IPO that could raise at least $1 billion as soon as next year after raising $2.8 billion in July at a roughly $15 billion pre-money valuation. Bloomberg has more here.

DayOne, the Singapore data center operator spun out of China’s GDS last year, filed for a Nasdaq IPO as it plans to more than double active capacity from 962MW to 2.3GW by 2028; first-half revenue jumped to $512 million while its net loss widened to $77 million. Data Center Dynamics has more here.

Anthropic's IPO filing shows CEO Dario Amodei took home $18 million in 2025, mostly in stock and options. He and his sister, co-founder Daniela Amodei, have also pledged to give away 80% of their personal Anthropic equity to charitable causes. Reuters has more here.

Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey must be feeling especially lucky these days: his company just won a Navy contract worth up to $2.9 billion to support Virginia-class submarine production days after Luckey was named to the Pentagon’s Project Meridian weapons initiative. CNBC has more here. Meanwhile, Connie talked recently to Justin Fanelli, CTO of the Navy, about what else is on its shopping list.

Venture-backed AI companies acquired 195 AI startups through Sept. 29, 14% more than in all of 2025, while the number of buyers rose just 2%, suggesting a small group of serial acquirers led by OpenAI is driving the surge. Crunchbase News has more here.

The Financial Times reports that insurers are bracing for multimillion-dollar claims tied to rogue AI agents, with industry figures warning CEOs including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei could face personal liability for models’ actions under directors-and-officers policies. PYMNTS has more here.

Nieman Lab documented more than 15 New Yorker cartoonists whose signatures appeared on ChatGPT-generated cartoons without their permission or compensation, falsely attributing AI-made work to real artists even after OpenAI introduced new guardrails. Nieman Lab has more here.

China is struggling to attract foreign AI researchers despite new visas and research grants, with a Carnegie Endowment study finding that for every Chinese AI researcher who moved to China from the U.S. in 2025, 30 Chinese researchers were working in the U.S. The New York Times has more here.

A 16-year-old hiker had to be rescued from a cliff near Vancouver after using AI to plan a route that led him into steep rock-climbing terrain. Gizmodo has more here.

Some parents are using ChatGPT to turn homemade snapshots into school portrait-style photos, while others are using AI to remove watermarks from professional proofs to avoid paying for them. Fast Company has more here.

The New York Times visits Royal Canin’s pet center in southern France, where hundreds of cats and dogs help researchers fine-tune kibble for taste, texture, aroma, and nutrition.

It turns out that Warren Buffett, 96, spends nearly every evening going down YouTube rabbit holes from 1950s commercials and early Frank Sinatra performances to Uzbekistan’s version of America’s Got Talent and old Charlie Munger speeches.

Jaguar just unveiled the Type 01, a $130,500 electric luxury sedan packing 1,015 horsepower, more than 400 miles of projected range, and an unusual fastback design with no rear window. Deliveries are expected around mid-2027. Road & Track has more here.

Otherlab’s $4,495 Lightfoot packs a 20 mph top speed and 37-mile range into a 137-pound solar-powered electric scooter whose dual solar panels can add up to 18 miles of range per day under ideal conditions.

TechCrunch reviews the $499 Dyson Hot+Cool HF1, a bladeless space heater and fan with app controls, scheduling, an intelligent thermostat, and 26-decibel sleep mode; its cooling function circulates air rather than lowering room temperature like an air conditioner.

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