Tesla unveiled a redesigned Roadster with SpaceX-derived thrusters that can lift the car off the ground, spin it in midair, and hit 60 mph in about 1 second, with production now slated for 2028 after years of delays. TechCrunch has more here, and here is a video of Musk’s presentation.

Some Anthropic investors and prospective IPO buyers are discussing a valuation around $1.5 trillion, down from roughly $2 trillion previously expected, after Q3 revenue rose 45% sequentially to $16.8 billion, a sharp slowdown from the prior quarter’s growth. Reuters has more here.

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By Connie Loizos

For decades, the unwritten rule of venture capital was that a firm doesn’t back two companies that compete head-on. But speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this week, the partners of Benchmark readily acknowledged that the AI boom is straining that rule.

It’s been on the verge of snapping for some time. The towering AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic share dozens of the same investors at this point. Then, at the end of September, Factory, a startup that builds an AI agent to write software, said it was firing board observer and adviser Chris Degnan for “unethical conduct involving Cognition,” its direct rival and the maker of the Devin coding agent. Factory’s CEO alleged Degnan had discussed a job at Cognition while privy to Factory’s board-level discussions. Degnan said he had already resigned and denied sharing anything confidential. Soon after, he announced he was joining Cognition as chief revenue officer. Powerhouse investor Vinod Khosla sided with Degnan on X, blasting Factory’s CEO and calling the company “a struggling second tier competitor.” Khosla Ventures backs both companies.

Even Benchmark, a firm whose reputation rests on 10-to-15-year partnerships with founders at the earliest stage, said the old rule can no longer be counted on. Asked at Disrupt whether the pact against backing rivals still holds as portfolio companies expand into each other’s territory, its partners described the conflicts as a matter of necessity, not preference.

“The harsh reality of this world is every company is evolving very quickly,” said Eric Vishria. Companies pivot and change, he said, and “you are going to get conflicts, and that’s just the reality of the current dynamic.”

Vishria said Benchmark stays committed to each founder and keeps what it learns confidential, and he downplayed how much a VC could pass along anyway: “We are not product or technology experts.” Seemingly referring to the Factory-Cognition dispute, he said Benchmark has been fortunate not to land in “that type of insane direct conflict.” Exclusivity, he said, remains “really important” at the very early stage Benchmark favors. “But things are evolving. There’s no doubt about that.”

Abby Care, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that trains and pays family members to provide Medicaid-covered care at home, raised an $82 million Series C round led by Transformation Capital, with CVS Health Ventures, Frist Cressey Ventures, and Pivotal Ventures as well as previous investors Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Sequoia Capital also investing. Fortune has more here.

Binance.US, a seven-year-old Miami startup that operates a cryptocurrency exchange for U.S. customers, is reportedly seeking to raise up to $100 million in a round that could value the company at $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. Cointelegraph has more here.

Bolt Graphics, a six-year-old startup based in Sunnyvale, CA, that is designing GPUs for scientific computing, professional rendering, and eventually gaming, is reportedly seeking to raise roughly $100 million at a valuation of about $700 million. Reuters has more here.

MMI, an 11-year-old medical robotics company founded near Pisa, Italy, that makes a robotic system for delicate microsurgery on blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves, raised a $125 million Series D round led by BioStar Capital, with additional participation from S3 Ventures and Angelini Ventures. More here.

Mueon, a Portland startup that makes modular computing systems integrating compute, memory, power, and cooling for AI data centers, raised a $65 million Series A round led by Maverick Silicon, with Intel Capital, Geodesic Alliances Fund, Oregon Venture Fund, M-Ventures, Wellington Capital, IQT, and Defined also participating. More here.

North.cloud, a three-year-old Brooklyn startup that automates cloud, AI, and data spending for finance and engineering teams, raised a $60 million Series B round led by PeakSpan Capital, with Litquidity Ventures, Companyon Ventures, Alpaca, Uncommon Denominator, Gaingels, and Mana Ventures also stepping up. More here.

OMass Therapeutics, a 10-year-old company based in Oxford, UK, that develops small-molecule drugs for endocrine and immune diseases by studying drug targets in their natural protein environments, raised a $310 million Series C round co-led by Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion, and Novo Holdings, with Janus Henderson Investors, SV Health Investors, and Jefferson Life Sciences as well as previous investors Syncona, Oxford Science Enterprises, GV, Northpond Ventures, Sanofi Ventures, British Business Bank, and University of Oxford also chiming in. The company has raised a total of approximately $475 million. European Biotechnology has more here.

Skeleton Technologies, a 17-year-old company based in Tallinn, Estonia, that develops fast-response supercapacitor systems that manage power fluctuations in AI data centers, raised a $100+ million round alongside a €5.7 million partial secondary share purchase expected to be completed during the current year at a $1+ billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Siemens. Tech Funding News has more here.

Altay Therapeutics, a seven-year-old startup based in San Carlos, CA, that develops small-molecule drugs that target proteins driving muscular dystrophy and cancer, raised a $37 million Series A round co-led by Sound Bioventures and HealthCap, with Fountain Healthcare Partners, Biogen New Ventures, Pappas Capital, and Global BioAccess Fund also engaging. More here.

CarbonAI, a one-year-old New York startup that uses AI agents to automate underwriting, due diligence, and loan monitoring for commercial real estate lenders, raised a $12 million round led by Cowboy Ventures, with Timber Grove Ventures, Bling Capital, and Max Ventures also pitching in. More here.

Opsin Security, a two-year-old San Jose startup that helps companies monitor and control AI models and agents with access to sensitive systems, raised a $21 million round. Investors included SYN Ventures and Race Capital. More here.

Sharp Performance, a three-year-old New York startup that matches first responders with confidential one-on-one coaches who have public safety or special operations experience, raised an $18 million Series A round led by Hidden Variable, with Commonweal Ventures, Wolfson Group, FJ Labs, and the Ford Foundation as well as previous investor Andreessen Horowitz also digging in. The company has raised a total of $30 million. More here.

Sunbound, a five-year-old Washington startup that automates admissions, billing, payments, and revenue-cycle management for senior living and post-acute care providers, raised a $24 million Series A round led by TTV Capital, with additional support from Bling Capital, Fika Ventures, Live Oak Bank, and Ziegler Linkage Fund. It also acquired Richter Healthcare Consultants. Sunbound has raised a total of $36 million. More here.

Aatmunn, a 12-year-old company based in Livonia, MI, that connects industrial devices and analyzes their data for worker safety, asset tracking, and inspections, raised an $8 million round led by Memento Growth Partners. More here.

Ambio, a three-year-old Helsinki startup that uses AI and quality data to source, verify, and deliver recycled plastics to industrial buyers, raised a $5.7 million seed round led by b2venture, with Montis as well as previous investor Lifeline Ventures also investing. EU-Startups has more here.

Chariot Claims, a four-year-old New York startup that uses AI to identify consumer claims and coordinate mass arbitration with partner law firms, raised a $10 million Series A round led by Silverton Partners, with Indicator Ventures, Lightbank, Neon Fund, ZVC, Rosecliff Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures, FJ Labs, Graph Ventures, and Vermilion Ventures also anteing up. More here.

CodeWall, a London startup founded this year that uses autonomous AI agents to continuously test enterprise systems from outside and identify exploitable attack paths, raised a $4 million pre-seed round led by Osney Capital, with InReach Ventures and Antler also taking part. More here.

Holo, a Vilnius startup founded this year that uses AI to plan, create, run, and optimize marketing campaigns for small businesses, raised a $5.6 million seed round led by Market One Capital, with Silicon Gardens, FirstPick, Leonis Capital, NGL, and Tekton Ventures also taking stakes. EU-Startups has more here.

IPX Exchange, a Miami startup building a tokenized marketplace and operating system that lets creators tokenize, monetize, and distribute intellectual property, raised a $4 million seed round at a $125 million valuation. The round was co-led by Bitsurge Holdings and YICIPX Holdings Family Office. More here.

KP Labs, a 10-year-old company based in Gliwice, Poland, that makes onboard satellite computing hardware and software to process data in orbit before transmission to Earth, raised a $5 million round from Momentum Capital Partners. The Recursive has more here.

Marklo, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that uses AI to analyze sales, inventory, and marketing data and plan campaigns for consumer brands, raised a $5 million seed round led by Forerunner, with Freestyle Capital also participating. Dealroom has more here.

Miracly, a Stockholm startup founded this year that helps brands track how they appear in AI search and automate content and marketing workflows, raised a $2 million pre-seed round co-led by Beenext Ventures and Lotus. Retail Technology Innovation Hub has more here.

Molagri, a Toronto startup founded this year that develops biopesticides that target specific insect pests and can be updated as resistance emerges, raised a $5.8 million seed round led by Convective Capital, with Superorganism, Y Combinator, Julian Capital, and Paul Graham also opting in. Dealroom has more here.

OlsAro, a 12-year-old company based in Gothenburg, Sweden, that uses AI and genetic technologies to develop climate-resilient crop varieties for seed companies, raised a $5.6 million seed round co-led by Industrifonden and Nordic Foodtech VC, with previous investors Future Food Fund, AgFunder, GU Ventures, and PINC also buying in. The company has raised a total of about $8.4 million. Tech Funding News has more here.

Othello, a one-year-old New York startup that develops AI models that provide sales representatives with live coaching during customer calls, raised an $8 million seed round. Investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Owl Capital, Long Journey Ventures, Andy Fang, and Chris Larsen. More here.

Silvia Bio, a one-year-old startup based in Sheffield, UK, that profiles mammalian cells and develops precision media additives to improve biomanufacturing yields, raised a $4 million seed round led by Northern Gritstone, with Parkwalk Northern Universities Venture Fund, UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, and Wren Capital also opting in. More here.

TechNovaTime, a three-year-old New York startup that maps hospital workflows and deploys AI agents to automate administrative work inside existing software, raised a $3.4 million pre-seed round led by AIN Ventures, with Speedinvest, Multiball Capital, Negative Burn Ventures, and Techstars Follow-On Fund also stepping up. More here.

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SYN Ventures, a five-year-old VC firm based in West Palm Beach, FL, that backs early-stage cybersecurity and security-focused startups, is raising $100 million for its second seed fund, according to a new SEC filing. More here.

Hatteras Venture Partners, a 26-year-old VC firm based in Durham, NC, that backs biotech, medtech, and healthtech companies, has raised $22.3 million toward a $100 million second opportunity fund for follow-on investments in select portfolio companies. More here.

Tamarind Hill, a nine-year-old VC firm based in Dublin, OH, that backs early-stage B2B healthcare startups, is raising $70 million for its third fund, the firm disclosed in a new filing. More here.

San Diego-based Iambic Therapeutics, a seven-year-old AI biotech, raised $150 million in an IPO after pricing 9.37 million shares at $16, with proceeds earmarked largely for clinical development of its internally discovered cancer drugs and continued investment in its drug-discovery technology. MedCity News has more here.

Anthropic is emerging as one of the few major US IPOs investors still expect to get done this year, as higher rates, geopolitical uncertainty, and the Nov. 3 Congressional midterm elections push Oura, Bamboo Insurance, and other prospective issuers to delay or hold back offerings. Bloomberg has more here.

Bloomberg chronicles Marc Andreessen’s transformation from Silicon Valley kingmaker to Washington power broker, arguing that the a16z co-founder’s rightward shift has been fueled by often unfounded grievances over Biden-era AI and crypto regulation, a proposed billionaire tax, progressive universities like Stanford, and even the National Science Foundation. More here.

Apple CEO John Ternus tells TIME that Apple isn’t chasing Silicon Valley’s race to build superintelligence but is betting instead that its advantage lies in privacy, personal context, and the devices people already use; even the most powerful AI will still need somewhere to live, he argues. More here.

AI podcaster Dwarkesh Patel maintains that today’s models remain far from AGI but could overcome key cognitive limitations within one to three years. The New York Times has more here.

Amazon devices chief Panos Panay says AI could usher in a generation of users who no longer ask for an app to get something done but instead expect devices working quietly in the background to understand what they need and act on their behalf. TechCrunch has more here.

Overture Ventures named Lucinda Hankin as a partner on its investment team, bringing on the former Grok Ventures head of venture who most recently served as an investor at True Vectors. She will be based in San Francisco. More here.

Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, and ServiceNow were among the major tech companies that helped fund President Trump’s White House ballroom, with Nvidia and Apple each committing $25 million as part of a $333 million private fundraising effort. The Washington Post has more here.

Accenture has capped centrally funded Claude usage at $29 per employee per month, forcing workers who had been spending as much as $1,000 monthly to find project budgets or upgrade plans, even as the consultancy aggressively promotes AI adoption to clients. 404 Media has more here.

Researchers have discovered that a mercenary spyware firm is using targeted digital advertisements to infect phones with zero-click malware invisibly, bypassing the need for users to click any malicious links. Wired has more here.

Florida Man, meet Florida Snail. Giant African land snails, which can stretch up to 9 inches, eat buildings and crops, and spread rat-lungworm parasites, have triggered a 300-acre quarantine in Hialeah, FL, as state officials mount their latest eradication campaign against the invasive species.

Vanity Fair answers all of your burning questions about Whalefall, a new thriller about a man who gets swallowed by a sperm whale that hits theaters tomorrow. (One question left unanswered: how does a film like this get made?)

Sony has just made the somewhat bizarre decision to release a $5,899 gold-plated Walkman.

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