U.S. consumer prices rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% year over year, while preliminary consumer sentiment slipped to 46.3. The IMF raised its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.1%. On Wednesday, CoreWeave fell 15.5%, Dell 11.3% and Nebius 10% as concerns about CoreWeave’s debt and rising bond yields spread across AI infrastructure stocks. Bending Spoons jumped 41% after Berkshire Hathaway announced another $330M investment. ASML projected EUR44B-EUR45B in annual sales. Netflix is cutting roughly 1,000 jobs, or 6% of staff. McDonald’s faces a lawsuit alleging its AI pricing tool enabled price-fixing; it says franchisees set prices independently. Firmus reportedly explores raising $3B in a private round after shelving its roughly US$5B IPO. Finally, Getty Images agreed to a take-private restructuring through a planned Chapter 11 process.
Top 5 AI Highlights
[1] 📉 Some Anthropic investors are weighing a roughly $1.5T IPO valuation, down from about $2T previously expected, Reuters reports. The company told investors Q3 revenue grew 45% to $16.8B, compared with more than doubling in Q2, and reported adjusted profitability. More from Reuters.
[2] 🕵️ OpenAI disclosed an alleged recording-device incident at its headquarters. The FBI arrested an engineer on October 9 on charges of intercepting or attempting to intercept oral communications. Separately, OpenAI denied firing three safety researchers for raising concerns, citing sensitive-information and trust breaches; the researchers disputed that account. OpenAI also reportedly expects annualized revenue of at least $70B by year-end, versus roughly $50B at September-end. More from The San Francisco Standard, AP and Bloomberg.
[3] 🧠 Meta released Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full for personal and professional agents. Wonder is available through its API and Muse Code; Full is restricted to Muse Code subscribers. Artificial Analysis scored them 52 and 56 on Intelligence Index v4.3 at maximum reasoning effort, versus Muse Spark 1.3’s 48. More from Meta and Artificial Analysis.Source: X
[4] 🤝 Nvidia is reportedly in early talks to acquire Reflection AI or deepen its investment in the open-weight model developer. A deal could instead involve hiring staff and licensing technology. More from Financial Times.
[5] 🛒 Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire Decart for around $7B. Decart develops software that helps developers switch between AI chips. The proposed deal follows Anthropic’s decision not to pursue an acquisition in September. More from Wall Street Journal.
✨Open Source AI Development
[1] 🤖 DeepSeek reportedly agreed to lead Winverse AI’s seed round, backing a robotics-AI startup founded by former Tencent scientist Hu Han. The proposed round would raise tens of millions of dollars at about a $400M post-money valuation. Separately, DeepSeek offered credits covering users’ full October 8-14 API spending after a nearly five-hour outage. More from Bloomberg, The Next Web and SCMP.
[2] 📈 Moonshot AI reportedly filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO while facing a dispute with early shareholders. Bank of America is reportedly no longer in talks to arrange the listing. More from Forbes and Bloomberg Law.
[3] ☁️ Cloudflare is acquiring the developer of Deno, an open-source JavaScript and TypeScript runtime, and bringing its team into Workers for AI agents. Deno Deploy will shut down in six months; the runtime will receive a year of maintenance before company-led development ends, but its source remains open. More from Deno.
[4] 🧠 Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark Open model, with downloadable weights and a 1M-token context. Meta says it can run coding and agent workflows on two M5 Ultra Mac Studios. Its custom license requires a separate agreement for model-as-a-service providers above $20M in annual revenue. More from Meta and Model card.
[5] 🧪 Anthropic tested open-weight models for autonomous replication on connected devices. A 9B model set up inference on eight of nine hardware types, but smaller models still failed the complete replication chain. Its larger-model success used simplified, unauthenticated test environments. More from Anthropic.
Founder’s Corner
Open-Weight Models Now Take 73% of Tokens Processed on OpenRouter, The Graph Inverts If You Use Dollars
Source: X
What We Read This Week
- Meta reportedly launched Muse despite internal safety concerns after rival Instinct gained traction. A new investigation examines Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to proceed. (NYT)
- Microsoft, OpenAI and other tech companies have used a CMS-run Slack workspace to help shape AI-health policy and medical-records access. An investigation raises transparency concerns; CMS describes the initiative as an open, voluntary technical collaboration. (KFF Health News)
- Apple won expedited access to OpenAI documents in its trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI subsequently agreed not to use the secrets Apple alleges were stolen and to collect forensic images of 14 employees’ devices while the case proceeds. OpenAI denies wrongdoing; the agreement is not a finding of theft. (Bloomberg Law: discovery, agreement)
- Anthropic replaced Git with its in-house Scion system to handle agent-driven coding. The company says it migrated its main repository in five months as daily code merges rose from about 2,500 in May to over 30,000 in September. (Anthropic)
- Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown brokered a $1.25B-a-month SpaceX compute deal while navigating political pressure over model safety. A new profile examines the relationships behind the company’s infrastructure alliances. (WSJ)
- HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette employees say publishers are using AI for marketing copy and cover art without author consent, exposing a divide between public positions and internal workflows. (WIRED)
- Robotics and physical-AI companies are gathering training data from people performing tasks in homes, offices and factories. PitchBook estimates the sector has raised about $48B this year. (Financial Times)
- AI startups face multiyear compute contracts and upfront payments as capacity tightens; some venture firms are reserving GPU clusters for their portfolio companies. The squeeze is raising the barriers to competing with large AI labs. (WSJ)
- TikTok US reportedly retains operational ties to its former Beijing-based parent following its restructuring, raising questions about the separation of the businesses. (Politico)
AI Fundraising News (Sep 18 — Sep 24)
- Aatmunn: An AI industrial-intelligence company, secured a growth investment of up to $8M.
- Albert Invent: An AI chemical-research software company, raised $55M Series B at a reported $340M valuation.
- Alchera Technologies: An AI transport-data company, raised GBP2.7M seed.
- Ambio: An AI recycled-plastics procurement company, raised EUR5.1M seed.
- Anduril: An AI defense-technology company, opened an employee share tender of up to about $1.3B at roughly a $90B valuation; secondary liquidity, not new company capital.
- Applied Intuition: A physical-AI software company, reportedly received investment offers at a valuation of at least $30B; a new round has not been announced.
- Ashvin AI: An AI intake-automation company for medical-equipment providers, raised $16.5M.
- Autentic AI: An AI market-research company, raised EUR1.5M pre-seed.
- Bedrock Robotics: An autonomous-construction AI company, is seeking $600M Series C at a $3.5B pre-money valuation.
- Blackford Analysis: An AI medical-imaging orchestration company, was acquired from Bayer by Sopris Capital for undisclosed terms.
- Brellium: An AI clinical-chart auditing company, raised $23M Series B.
- C1.ai: An AI-agent identity-governance company, agreed to be acquired by Workday for undisclosed terms; closing remains pending.
- CarbonAI: An AI commercial-real-estate lending company, disclosed $12M in funding.
- CarbonFarm: An AI rice-emissions measurement company, raised $7.8M Series A.
- Causa Prima: An AI billing-dispute agent company, announced $20M seed funding.
- CCC Intelligent Solutions: An AI insurance-claims software company, agreed to a $6.1B enterprise-value all-cash acquisition by GTCR and Elliott; closing remains pending.
- Clueso: An AI business-video creation company, raised $10M Series A.
- CodeWall: An AI security-testing company, raised $4M pre-seed.
- Dapta: An AI sales-agent company for small businesses, raised $6M seed.
- DayOne: An AI data-center infrastructure company, secured an additional RM15B financing package comprising a US$2.4B offshore loan and RM5.5B Islamic financing facility.
- Decagon: An AI customer-support company is in early talks to be acquired by ServiceNow or other buyers; terms have not been disclosed.
- Decart: An AI model and chip-optimization software company is reportedly in talks to be acquired by Amazon for around $7B; no agreement is confirmed.
- Doctolib: An AI healthcare-software company, announced a planned minority investment from Nvidia for an undisclosed amount; closing is not confirmed.
- Dubsof: An AI workflow-infrastructure company, raised $6.5M seed.
- Duvo: An AI operations-agent company, raised $32M Series A.
- Elisity: A cybersecurity company securing AI agents and enterprise networks, agreed to be acquired by IonQ for up to $1.3B in stock, including up to $150M in performance-based earnouts; closing is expected in Q4 2026, subject to approvals and other conditions.
- Entalpic: An AI materials-discovery company, announced a planned investment from Nvidia for an undisclosed amount.
- Evos: An AI industrial-operations agent company, raised $9M pre-seed.
- Forgepoint: An AI manufacturing-quotation company, raised $9.8M seed.
- Fragment: An AI-agent accounting infrastructure company, disclosed a $12M Series A that closed in mid-2025.
- Genesis AI: An AI robotics-model company, announced a planned investment from Nvidia for an undisclosed amount.
- Google: Committed $3M in compute credits and frontier-model access for up to 200 European researchers; AI research support, not startup equity.
- Harbor: An AI-agent risk and insurance platform, raised $10M seed.
- Harmonic Security: An AI-use governance and data-security company, raised $50M Series B.
- Holo: An AI marketing company, raised EUR5M seed.
- Iambic Therapeutics: An AI drug-discovery company, priced a $150M IPO at $16 per share; closing is expected October 16.
- ICON: An AI and robotic-construction company, raised $200M Series D.
- Intellivisa: An AI travel-clearance company, raised $3M pre-seed.
- KP Labs: An AI satellite-data processing company, received PLN19.4M in growth funding.
- Labelbox: An AI training-data company, raised more than $100M Series E through equity and a credit facility at a $1.25B pre-money valuation; the financing split was not disclosed.
- LightSprint: An AI coding-agent company for non-engineers, raised $6.1M seed.
- Loops: An AI e-commerce software company, raised $3.5M seed.
- Marklo: An AI commerce-marketing company, announced $5M seed funding.
- Matters: An AI personal-finance company, raised $5M pre-seed.
- Miracly: An AI marketing company, announced EUR1.8M pre-seed funding.
- Modal: An AI cloud-infrastructure company, raised $750M Series D at a $15.75B post-money valuation.
- Monopulse: An AI reconnaissance-drone company, raised more than EUR2M.
- Monte Carlo Capital: An investment manager backing AI, deeptech and space startups, reached a EUR13M first close for Fund II, which targets EUR26M.
- Mueon: An AI computing-infrastructure company, raised $65M Series A.
- North.cloud: An AI and cloud-spending management company, raised $60M Series B.
- OllyGarden: An AI software-telemetry company, raised $4M.
- OnLogic: An industrial-computing provider for physical AI, agreed to be acquired with parent Interlogic by Omron for $675M in enterprise value; closing remains pending.
- Orion Security: An AI data-security company, is reportedly in advanced talks to be acquired by CrowdStrike for about $500M; no agreement is confirmed.
- Othello: An AI live sales-coaching company, raised $8M seed.
- Pathways: An AI environmental-reporting company for manufacturers, raised $6M seed.
- Pigment: An AI business-planning software company, announced a planned investment from Nvidia for an undisclosed amount.
- Pluto Security: An AI-agent security company, disclosed $8.5M seed funding and a $34M Series A.
- Proscia: An AI digital-pathology company, agreed to be acquired by Agilent for $240M cash plus up to $30M in milestones; closing is expected in early fiscal 2027, subject to conditions.
- Ramp: An AI finance-operations company, reportedly raised about $1.85B at a $60B pre-money valuation.
- Reach Security: An AI cybersecurity-defense company, raised more than $50M Series B.
- Readily: An AI healthcare-compliance company, raised $11M Series A.
- RedOwl: An AI financial-governance company, raised A$5.3M seed at an A$38.4M pre-money valuation.
- Reflection AI: An AI model developer, is reportedly in early talks with Nvidia over an acquisition, further investment, or a staff-and-technology-licensing deal; terms are undisclosed and no agreement is confirmed.
- Sabi: An AI brain-interface hardware company, raised $50M seed.
- Saige Consulting: An AI and data-engineering consultancy, was acquired by FormativGroup for undisclosed terms.
- Salience Labs: An AI data-center optical-switching company, raised $125M Series B.
- Scarlet: An AI medical-device certification company, raised $50M Series B.
- Scimplify: An AI chemical-manufacturing company, raised $25M in strategic equity funding at a $250M post-money valuation.
- Scuba: An AI shared-context software company, disclosed $34M across pre-seed and seed rounds.
- Skeleton Technologies: An AI power-infrastructure company, announced a nine-figure strategic investment at a valuation above $1B; the exact amount and primary/secondary split were not disclosed.
- SnapAI: An AI governance and regulatory-compliance company, was acquired by HR Path for undisclosed terms.
- Solvera: An AI building-engineering company, raised $6.3M pre-seed.
- Spill Games: An AI-assisted mobile-game developer, raised $10.5M Series A.
- Stenon: An AI soil-analysis company, completed a second close of its Series B for an undisclosed amount.
- Suki: An AI medical-documentation company, raised $90M Series E.
- Sunbound: An AI revenue-operations company for senior care, raised $24M Series A and acquired Richter Healthcare Consultants for undisclosed terms.
- SWI Group: An AI data-center and compute infrastructure company, announced EUR800M in new ordinary-share capital at a EUR6.1B valuation.
- Tamr: An AI master-data management company, raised $21M in growth equity.
- Torii: A software and AI-spending management company, agreed to be acquired by Freshworks for undisclosed terms; closing is expected in Q4 2026.
- TypeSafe AI: An AI decision-model company, raised about $870M Series A at a $7.5B valuation.
- Ubitium: A physical-AI processor company, raised $14M in new seed funding.
- Ultra: An AI warehouse-robotics company, raised $50M Series A; the announced $62M includes an earlier $12M seed round.
- Vayo: An AI travel-agent venture, launched with a planned $100M investment from Booking Holdings, conditional on product progress and market conditions.
- Winverse AI: An AI robotics-model company is seeking tens of millions of dollars in seed funding at about a $400M post-money valuation, with DeepSeek agreeing to lead; the deal is not final.
- Zenzap: An AI workplace-messaging company, raised $44M.