ZeroDrift raises $10 million to protect AI models from themselves
TechCrunch AI6h agoBusinessZeroDrift raised $10 million for an AI compliance service. The service sits between AI models and end users, checking messages before delivery. When an output might create a compliance problem, the system flags and replaces it, adding an intermediary control layer for AI applications.
Rocket engine startup Impulse raises $500 million to hire people, not AI
TechCrunch AI6h agoBusinessRocket engine startup Impulse raised $500 million, with hiring people positioned as the priority rather than AI. Impulse Space president Eric Romo said engineering physical systems still depends on human talent. The provided text does not specify investors, funding round, hiring targets, roles, valuation, or how the company may use AI in its workflows.
Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to pay for AI buildout
TechCrunch AI19h agoBusinessGoogle parent Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion by selling stock to pay for its AI buildout. The provided article text does not specify the offering timeline, pricing, allocation of proceeds, or the infrastructure projects involved. The key takeaway is the scale of capital Alphabet expects to commit to AI-related expansion.
The Groupthink Boom: What 3 Top VCs Really Think About the AI Frenzy
TechCrunch AI3d agoBusinessTechCrunch examines the AI investment frenzy through the views of three top venture capitalists. One VC joked that a 22-year-old building in AI in San Francisco may already have a seed term sheet, while a 19-year-old might have a Series A offer. The remark highlights intense competition for young AI founders and the risk of groupthink.
After Nvidia’s $20B not-aqui-hire, AI chip startup Groq reportedly raising $650M
TechCrunch AI4d agoHardwareTechCrunch cites Axios reporting that AI chipmaker Groq is seeking $650 million in internal funding. The company is reportedly pivoting from hardware toward AI inference, the stage focused on how models respond to prompts. The report comes after Nvidia’s $20 billion not-aqui-hire, underscoring continued investor attention around AI compute and inference infrastructure.
Anthropic Series H Valuation Reaches $965B, Backed by Memory Giants★ 78
INSIDE 硬塞 AI4d agoBusinessAnthropic completed a $65 billion Series H round, bringing its valuation to $965 billion and reportedly surpassing OpenAI. The round included strategic investments from memory makers Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix. The news highlights how frontier AI companies are increasingly tied to hardware and memory supply chains, as investors continue backing foundational model competition.
Anthropic raises $965B Series H, releases Opus 4.8 and Dynamic Workflows/ultracode
Latent Space4d agoBusinessThe visible AINews item centers on Anthropic, claiming a $965B Series H alongside Opus 4.8 and Dynamic Workflows/ultracode releases. The available body text is extremely brief, offering only the editorial line “Total Anthropic victory!” It signals a major Anthropic narrative across capital, Claude models, and developer workflows, but provides no detailed specs, benchmarks, investor terms, or availability information.
Anthropic's run-rate revenue hits $47 billion★ 76
Simon Willison's Weblog4d agoBusinessSimon Willison highlights Anthropic’s latest Series H announcement, where the company says run-rate revenue crossed $47 billion earlier in May. He traces prior disclosures: about $9 billion at the end of 2025, $14 billion in February 2026, and over $30 billion in April. The post also addresses skepticism, arguing that these numbers appeared in fundraising announcements, where knowingly misleading investors would be securities fraud.
Startup Battlefield 200 applications close today: Nominate a founder or submit your startup
TechCrunch AI6d agoBusinessTechCrunch says today is the final day to apply or nominate a startup for Startup Battlefield 200. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. PT, after which the application window closes. Selected startups can compete for $100,000 in equity-free funding, gain global visibility, connect with investors, and launch on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage.
OpenRouter more than doubles valuation to $1.3B in a year
TechCrunch AI7d agoBusinessOpenRouter, an AI gateway startup founded in 2023, raised a $113 million Series B led by CapitalG. The round reportedly values the company at about $1.3 billion post-money, more than doubling from its estimated $547 million valuation after its June 2025 Series A. The company says it now offers access to over 400 models, has 8 million global users, and processes 100 trillion tokens per month.