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Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck in 2027 after selling only tens of thousands over three years, far short of Elon Musk’s onetime target of 250,000 annually. The company plans to use the Texas factory space to build more Cybercab robotaxis as it shifts further toward AI and robotics. TechCrunch has more here.

The future starts small. 
Redpoint uses Scout to show up prepared for every founder meeting. 

Crusoe Sells Troubled Wyoming Data Center Project to Google

Image Credits: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle / Getty Images

By Marina Temkin

Crusoe, an eight-year-old, Denver-based data center developer recently valued at $30.9 billion, confirmed Friday it has sold an unfinished data center project in southeastern Wyoming to Google.

Google, which Crusoe had tried and failed to land as a customer for the project, is taking over the development after reportedly raising concerns about its cost and construction timeline under Crusoe’s management.

Crusoe initially announced the project last year with Blackstone-backed infrastructure company Tallgrass, planning to eventually scale it to 10 gigawatts of power capacity.

Google did not disclose how much it paid Crusoe for the unfinished project, but it announced  plans to invest $17 billion to develop the data center campus.

The deal highlights how difficult it can be for independent data center developers to deliver massive projects on time and within budget, given the challenges of securing equipment and power. Growing opposition from local communities can further complicate development.

Despite taking over the Wyoming facility, Google hasn’t walked away from working with Crusoe entirely. Crusoe is developing another data center for Google near Amarillo, Texas.

The deal to sell the site to Google was first reported by Bloomberg in June, but the Wyoming setback didn’t stop Crusoe from raising a $3.9 billion round in September.

Massive Fundings

CesiumAstro, a nine-year-old Austin startup that develops communications systems, satellites, and space infrastructure for commercial, government, and defense customers, raised a $630 million Series D round at a $4.5+ billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Janus Henderson, with Insight Partners, Sands Capital, Sumitomo, Woven Capital, Incharge Capital, Magnetar, AV, and NewSpace Capital also opting in. It also secured a $100 million debt facility provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United States and JPMorgan. The company has raised a total of $1.2+ billion in 2026. Payload has more here.

Cyera, a five-year-old New York cybersecurity startup whose software identifies sensitive corporate data and flags security gaps, is reportedly planning to raise around $800 million in a round led by previous investor Cyberstarts at a $20 billion valuation, up from $12 billion in June. The Information has more here.

Future Secure AI, a three-year-old Austin and Sydney startup that develops human-supervised AI agents that handle complex business processes for large organizations, raised $82 million in convertible notes with a reported $1.2 billion valuation cap. Investors included Square Peg, Yarra Capital Management, Macquarie Asset Management, and Firetrail. The Australian Financial Review has more here.

Monzo, an 11-year-old London digital bank with more than 16 million customers, is reportedly exploring a new venture funding round at roughly a $10.1 billion valuation after talks over a £10 billion takeover by Nubank broke down and discussions with buyout firms over a minority stake stalled. The Financial Times has more here.

Thinking Machines Lab, the nearly two-year-old San Francisco startup co-founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly raising a $5 billion round at a $40 billion pre-money valuation led by previous investor Accel. The company lets businesses train and customize AI models on their own data. Business Insider first reported the news, and Tech Funding News has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Anaheim Bio, a startup founded this year based in Leiden, Netherlands, that develops a small-molecule treatment that limits joint crystal formation in people with calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, raised a $44.9 million Series A round. Investors included Droia Ventures, Frazier Life Sciences, RTW Investments, Novartis Venture Fund, RV Invest, and Thuja Capital. European Biotechnology has more here.

Vensum Power, an eight-year-old startup based in Espoo, Finland, that develops software-controlled power converters that reduce electricity losses in EV charging, energy storage, and data centers, raised a $10.1 million Series A round co-led by Lifeline Ventures, Larsen & Toubro Group, and Eviny Ventures, with additional support from Grid.vc and Harjavalta Ventures. The company has raised a total of $17.1 million. Tech Funding News has more here.

Smaller Fundings

Claimlane, an 11-year-old Copenhagen company that connects brands, retailers, suppliers, and repair partners to manage product returns, warranty claims, repairs, replacements, and refunds, raised a $6.3 million Series A round led by Verb Ventures, with Skagerak Capital and Vendep Capital also pitching in. The SaaS News has more here.

Lombard Systems, a three-year-old Dubai and New York startup that develops infrastructure that lets financial institutions lend against tokenized assets without borrowers transferring their collateral, raised a total of $4 million in pre-seed and seed financing led by Ethereal Ventures, with Alps Capital, First Commit Capital, Veris Ventures, and Atka also taking part. More here.

Nyquis, a San Francisco startup founded this year that develops substation sensors that use machine learning to detect electrical faults and measure grid capacity, raised a $6.3 million seed round co-led by Gigascale Capital and South Park Commons, with Allison Pickens Ventures, Friale, Sovereign’s Capital, Pioneer Fund, Script Capital, and Lost Coast Ventures also taking stakes. More here.

Physicl, a one-year-old Paris startup that generates realistic 3D environments and synthetic data for training robots and physical AI models, raised a $10 million seed round led by Inovia Capital, with US Venture Partners also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.

PowerUp Money, a one-year-old startup based in Bengaluru, India, that offers mutual fund advice, managed portfolios, and AI-driven wealth planning to retail investors, raised a $10 million round led by Flourish Ventures, with previous investors Peak XV Partners, Accel, Blume Ventures, Kae Capital, 8i Ventures, and DeVC also chiming in. Moneycontrol has more here.

Prefer-Not-to-Say Fundings

Potential Sciences, an 11-month-old London startup that uses physics-based simulations to generate synthetic chemical data for training AI models to identify promising drug candidates, raised a seed round in the tens of millions of dollars. Investors included the UK’s Sovereign AI Fund (SovAI), Twin Path Ventures, and Patrick Collison. Wired has more here.

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Exits

Palo Alto Networks is reportedly in talks to acquire Clutch Security, a three-year-old startup that secures AI agents’ access to company systems, for $500 million in cash plus potential milestone payments. Clutch was valued at $85 million in early 2025 and is approaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue. TechCrunch has more here.

The New York Times Company reported that it is in exclusive talks to acquire Letterboxd, the 30 million-user social platform for film buffs, for roughly $330 million, though a deal has not yet been reached. More here.

Going Public

Kalshi odds that Anthropic will announce an IPO before December fell to 57% from more than 85% over the past week, as AI stocks sold off and investors worried Democratic control of Congress could slow data center construction. CNBC has more here.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar says Democrats’ sweep of Congress and three governorships has not materially changed the company’s plans to pursue an IPO next year, even as the election intensifies scrutiny of data center development; she said Q3 revenue rose 70% and enterprise sales doubled. Business Insider has more here.

People

House Republican committee leaders have asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to brief Congress behind closed doors about his relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese tech executive whom U.S. intelligence reportedly identified as funneling information to Beijing, as well as Nvidia’s safeguards against foreign espionage. CNBC has more here.

Nine of the world’s richest tech executives lost a combined $152 billion Thursday as AI and chip stocks plunged, with Elon Musk alone shedding about $80 billion after Tesla fell 11% and SpaceX dropped 9%. Business Insider has more here.

Post-Its

Data

The corporate spending platform Ramp says companies are using more AI, but spending growth is stalling: token spend rose just 1.5% across August and September, versus 42% in July, as price cuts, competition, and more cost-conscious customers squeeze revenue for OpenAI and Anthropic. TechCrunch has more here.

Roughly 40% of planned U.S. data center capacity sits in states where newly elected governors have promised to halt or pause construction, with Bloomberg Intelligence estimating the post-election backlash could cut 2027 AI infrastructure spending by 5% to 7% and delay as much as 10 gigawatts of capacity. Bloomberg has more here.

Essential Reads

Democrats are preparing a wave of congressional investigations into companies including Apple, Meta, and businesses led by Elon Musk, prompting Washington lawyers to warn executives to “lawyer up.” Venture capitalists are also advising startups to close funding rounds before year-end in case subpoenas, hearings, or Pentagon spending cuts chill financing. The Washington Post has more here.

The FAA will replace floppy disks still used for critical weather, airport-status, and equipment information at more than 400 air traffic control facilities by 2028, part of a broader modernization push backed by $12.5 billion in congressional funding. Mashable has more here.

Detours

A new trailer for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth just dropped.

Netflix is expanding Stranger Things with Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, a live-action prequel slated for a 2028 release that is set in Nevada in 1955.

Developers in Texas, Utah, and Arizona are building high-end residential communities around artificial surf lagoons, betting wealthy buyers will pay millions for predictable waves and private-club access despite construction costs that can reach hundreds of millions of dollars.

Brain Rot

Instagram post

Retail Therapy

Image Credits: Lutra

South Korean startup Lutra is launching the $289 HOA A1, a screen-free digital camera with a large transparent viewfinder designed to let photographers maintain eye contact with subjects.

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