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Art by Mike Sullivan

Microsoft’s Rivals Lean on AI to Pry Away Longtime Customers

By Aaron Holmes · Jul 28, 2025 10:00am PDT

Artificial intelligence has suddenly made it cheaper and easier for companies to switch to new software providers, IT executives say. Now large AI providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce and Palantir are scrambling to win over each other’s customers, who might previously have felt they were locked into using old apps because of the... Artificial intelligence has suddenly made it cheaper and easier for companies to switch to new...

Figma IPO Set to Be a Windfall for Silicon Valley’s Biggest Names

By Cory Weinberg and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 28, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Silicon Valley royalty are set to be the big winners from Figma’s initial public offering this week. Former Meta and Google executive Sheryl Sandberg, former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and venture capital firms Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins are all turning modest investments into windfalls ranging from tens of millions to more than $1... Silicon Valley royalty are set to be the big winners from Figma’s initial public offering this...

Image via Getty.

Ramp in Talks to Raise at $21 Billion Valuation, Up 30% From June Financing

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Cory Weinberg and Amir Efrati · Jul 25, 2025 3:50pm PDT

Ramp, a six-year-old corporate card and expense management startup, is in discussions with investors to raise $350 million at a valuation of about $21 billion with the investment, according to three people with direct knowledge of the fundraising, just a month after raising at a $16 billion valuation. Existing investor Iconiq is in talks to lead... Ramp, a six-year-old corporate card and expense management startup, is in discussions with...

Photo via Getty

Inside Tesla’s Secretive Optimus Robot Program

By Theo Wayt and Rocket Drew · Jul 25, 2025 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Photo via Getty

Inside Tesla’s Secretive Optimus Robot Program

By Theo Wayt and Rocket Drew · Jul 25, 2025 6:00am PDT · 7 comments

Elon Musk says humanoid robots will be the future of Tesla. The company has a long way to go. Tesla is well behind the pace necessary to meet Musk’s publicly stated goal of producing at least 5,000 of its Optimus humanoid robots this year, according to two people with knowledge of the program. So far, the number of robots it has made is in the... Elon Musk says humanoid robots will be the future of Tesla. The company has a long way to go. ...

Northvolt's plant in Skellefteå, Sweden. Photo via Getty.

Battery Industry Scavenger Lyten Hit by Cash Crunch

By Steve LeVine · Jul 24, 2025 8:43am PDT

Lyten, a tiny California battery startup, turned heads by snapping up assets from one of the industry’s most high-profile failures—but Lyten is now struggling itself. Lyten this week laid off its chief battery strategist, just three weeks after it bought a battery factory from bankrupt Northvolt. It also let go 45 of its 300 employees,... Lyten, a tiny California battery startup, turned heads by snapping up assets from one of the...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty

Founders Fund, Dragoneer Each Commit $1 Billion–Plus to OpenAI Deal

By Sri Muppidi · Jul 23, 2025 1:20pm PDT

As OpenAI tries to raise a record-breaking $40 billion in equity funding this year, it’s getting help from more of its existing investors. Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Dragoneer Investment Group have committed to investing more than $1 billion each in the second, $30 billion installment of the round, according to a person who spoke to OpenAI... As OpenAI tries to raise a record-breaking $40 billion in equity funding this year, it’s getting...

Crusoe co-founder and CEO, Chase Lochmiller. Photo via Getty

Upstart Crusoe’s Audacious Plan to Take On Cloud Giants

By Anissa Gardizy and Cory Weinberg · Jul 23, 2025 6:09am PDT

Crusoe, the startup developing a giant data center for OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate effort, is raising around $1 billion in a bid to join the race to provide computing power for artificial intelligence. The company burst into AI by promising quick access to electricity for power-hungry data centers. Its new effort will leverage that position... Crusoe, the startup developing a giant data center for OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate effort, is...

Photos via Getty

Meta Hires Three Google AI Researchers Who Worked on Gold Medal-Winning Model

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Jul 22, 2025 1:07pm PDT

Photos via Getty

Meta Hires Three Google AI Researchers Who Worked on Gold Medal-Winning Model

By Kalley Huang and Erin Woo · Jul 22, 2025 1:07pm PDT

Meta Platforms has hired three more artificial intelligence researchers from Google DeepMind as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues his aggressive efforts to recover from stumbles earlier this year with an unprecedented AI recruiting push. The latest hires—Tianhe Yu, Cosmo Du and Weiyue Wang—worked on a version of Google’s Gemini... Meta Platforms has hired three more artificial intelligence researchers from Google DeepMind as...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Why Apple Is Losing Ground in the AI Talent War (It’s Not Just Money)

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · Jul 22, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Earlier this year, the Apple team working on the company’s artificial intelligence models wanted to release several of them as open-source software. Doing so would have shown Apple’s technical progress in AI while also harnessing the help of outside researchers to improve the models. Still, it also would have revealed to the public how... Earlier this year, the Apple team working on the company’s artificial intelligence models wanted...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo via Getty

Nvidia’s China Restart Faces Production Obstacles

By Qianer Liu · Jul 19, 2025 6:08am PDT

President Donald Trump’s recent decision allowing Nvidia to resume sales of the H20 artificial intelligence chips to China sent its Chinese customers—mostly big tech firms like ByteDance and Alibaba—into a frenzy to snap up chips before the U.S. administration changes its mind again. Nvidia’s message: not so fast. The AI chip giant... President Donald Trump’s recent decision allowing Nvidia to resume sales of the H20 artificial...

Photo via Getty

The Education of Roku’s Anthony Wood

By Catherine Perloff · Jul 18, 2025 6:00am PDT

For years, Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood ran the streaming device maker with some strict rules. He wouldn’t allow advertisements on the Roku home screen—the first thing its viewers see when they switch on their TV—for anything besides other entertainment companies. He also wouldn’t allow the home screen to promote individual... For years, Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood ran the streaming device maker with some strict...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei via Getty

Investors Float Deal Valuing Anthropic at More Than $100 Billion

By Sri Muppidi and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 16, 2025 11:33am PDT · 1 comment

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei via Getty

Investors Float Deal Valuing Anthropic at More Than $100 Billion

By Sri Muppidi and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 16, 2025 11:33am PDT · 1 comment

As Anthropic’s sale of artificial intelligence has surged, the company has told investors some of its profit-related metrics are improving even as it burns a tremendous amount of cash. That financial performance has prompted some investors to indicate interest in funding Anthropic at a valuation of more than $100 billion if the company decides... As Anthropic’s sale of artificial intelligence has surged, the company has told investors some of...

SandboxAQ CEO Jack Hidary, center, and his backers, clockwise from top right: Marc Benioff, Eric Schmidt, Jim Breyer, Sergey Brin and Ray Dalio. Photos by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

Lavish Spending and Weak Growth Engulf Billionaire-Backed AI Startup SandboxAQ

By Michael Roddan · Jul 16, 2025 6:00am PDT

An array of billionaire backers and the dream of two world-changing technologies has turned SandboxAQ into a $5.6 billion startup star. The company’s business has failed to keep up with the hype, and its CEO’s behavior is now under scrutiny. SandboxAQ’s success so far is illusory. Nearly all of the company’s first-quarter revenue can be traced... An array of billionaire backers and the dream of two world-changing technologies has turned...

Art via Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Preps ChatGPT Agents in Challenge to Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 15, 2025 2:59pm PDT · 2 comments

As OpenAI tries to turn ChatGPT into a core application for white-collar work, it’s developing agent features that could make its customers less dependent on productivity apps from Microsoft. In the latest example, OpenAI has developed features that let ChatGPT customers quickly create and edit presentations and spreadsheets that are compatible... As OpenAI tries to turn ChatGPT into a core application for white-collar work, it’s developing...

Figure co-founder Mike Cagney. Photo by Noam Galai

Blockchain Lender Figure Technology Plans IPO

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 15, 2025 8:26am PDT · 1 comment

Figure Technology Solutions, a startup that makes home loans on its blockchain and runs a crypto exchange, is planning to go public this fall, Figure co-founder Mike Cagney said. Figure is part of a wave of crypto companies taking advantage of a more crypto-friendly White House and surging investor interest in the industry. The move is a big... Figure Technology Solutions, a startup that makes home loans on its blockchain and runs a crypto...

From left: Varun Mohan, Sergey Brin, Demis Hassabis, Scott Wu and Jeff Wang. Photos and screenshots via Getty; YouTube

Windsurf Whiplash: Inside 96-hours of Frantic AI Dealmaking

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Valida Pau · Jul 15, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

From left: Varun Mohan, Sergey Brin, Demis Hassabis, Scott Wu and Jeff Wang. Photos and screenshots via Getty; YouTube

Windsurf Whiplash: Inside 96-hours of Frantic AI Dealmaking

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Valida Pau · Jul 15, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Last Thursday, more than 40 researchers and engineers at Windsurf, a startup that has developed an artificial intelligence–powered coding tool, began gathering at a hotel in Mountain View, Calif., after receiving an invitation to a mysterious meeting from the startup’s management. The agenda became soon obvious when the staffers were... Last Thursday, more than 40 researchers and engineers at Windsurf, a startup that has developed...

Art by Mike Sullivan

ByteDance Developing Mixed Reality Goggles in Challenge to Meta

By Juro Osawa and Wayne Ma · Jul 14, 2025 8:55am PDT

Competition in mixed reality devices is heating up. TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, is working on a lightweight mixed reality device that resembles a pair of goggles, according to three people with direct knowledge of the project. It’s following in the footsteps of Meta Platforms, which has been working on a similar product scheduled for release in... Competition in mixed reality devices is heating up. TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, is working on a...

Google to Pay $2.4 Billion for Windsurf Staff, IP After Startup Ends OpenAI Talks

By Miles Kruppa, Natasha Mascarenhas and Erin Woo · Jul 11, 2025 2:49pm PDT · 8 comments

OpenAI’s discussions to buy Windsurf, the maker of a popular artificial intelligence coding assistant formerly known as Codeium, have ended. Instead, Google will hire Windsurf’s CEO, Varun Mohan, and some of the startup’s staff, both Google and Windsurf said. The monthslong talks between OpenAI to buy the startup for $3 billion ended in recent... OpenAI’s discussions to buy Windsurf, the maker of a popular artificial intelligence coding...

Photo via Getty

Huawei AI Chip Redesign Aims to Break Nvidia’s China Dominance

By Qianer Liu · Jul 11, 2025 6:00am PDT

China’s Huawei Technologies is plotting a fundamental redesign of its next artificial intelligence chip in a bid to seize market share from Nvidia. The Chinese tech giant is working on a new AI chip design that would allow its chips to be used for a wider array of AI development work than its current ones can handle, according to two people with... China’s Huawei Technologies is plotting a fundamental redesign of its next artificial...

Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq. Photo via Getty

Nvidia Challenger Groq Discusses $6 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Cory Weinberg · Jul 9, 2025 3:28pm PDT · 5 comments

Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq. Photo via Getty

Nvidia Challenger Groq Discusses $6 Billion Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Cory Weinberg · Jul 9, 2025 3:28pm PDT · 5 comments

Groq, an Nvidia challenger that develops chips to power large language models, has talked to investors about raising between $300 million to $500 million at a $6 billion post-investment valuation, according to two people with direct knowledge of the fundraising effort. The deal discussions come as the company told investors its revenue will more... Groq, an Nvidia challenger that develops chips to power large language models, has talked to...