China blocks Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus
China’s NDRC has blocked Meta’s roughly $2 billion to $3 billion acquisition of agentic AI startup Manus, ordering both parties to unwind the deal.
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Startups & Funding
810 storiesCohere to acquire Aleph Alpha in sovereign AI push
Cohere is acquiring Germany-based Aleph Alpha to build a sovereign AI alternative, backed by €500 million in financing from Schwarz Group, subject to regulatory approval.
Snabbit nears $400M valuation in new funding round
Indian startup Snabbit is reportedly nearing a $50 million funding round at an around $400 million valuation, signaling continued investor interest in the instant house-help sector.
Pronto nears $200M valuation in new funding round
Indian house-help startup Pronto is reportedly finalizing a funding round of about $20 million led by Lachy Groom, which would value the company at about $200 million.
Cohere to merge with Aleph Alpha, forming $20B AI company
Cohere, the Canada-based enterprise AI company, said Friday it will merge with Germany's Aleph Alpha in a deal that would value the combined company at $20 billion, the Financial Times reported.
Thinking Machines Lab secures Google deal amid Meta talent war
Thinking Machines Lab has secured a multibillion-dollar Google cloud deal and a $12 billion valuation while aggressively recruiting top AI talent from Meta.
ComfyUI raises $30M at $500M valuation for node-based AI tools
ComfyUI raised $30 million at a $500 million valuation to scale its node-based workflow platform, which helps creators gain granular control over AI-generated media outputs.
Google plans up to $40 billion investment in Anthropic
Google plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, as the AI firm secures massive compute capacity deals with Amazon and Broadcom to scale its Mythos model.
Sierra acquires AI startup Fragment to boost agent development
Sierra has acquired French AI startup Fragment, marking its third acquisition as the $10 billion company expands its agent development capabilities.
Why scaling a startup requires slowing down your hiring
Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack warns that rapid, indiscriminate hiring can hinder scaling, emphasizing that founders must prioritize team quality over sheer headcount to avoid execution lag.
Era raises $11 million to build an AI software platform for gadgets
Era has raised $11 million to build a software platform that could power the next generation of AI devices and potentially replace the traditional app model.
Salmon raises $100M to expand digital credit in the Philippines
Salmon has raised $100M in equity and debt to scale its digital lending platform for underbanked consumers in the Philippines.
Shade raises $14M to simplify creative file management
Shade raised $14 million to expand its AI-powered cloud storage platform, which uses natural language search and streamable file systems to help creative teams manage media.
SpaceX preempts $2 billion Cursor fundraise with buyout offer
SpaceX has offered a $60 billion buyout to AI coding startup Cursor, preempting the company's planned $2 billion funding round ahead of SpaceX's IPO this summer.
ARK Invest makes first-ever lead startup investment in Lucra
Lucra raised a $20 million Series B round led by the ARK Invest Venture Fund, marking the firm's first-ever lead investment in an early-stage startup.
Mary Minno launches residency-venture program for health AI
Mary Minno launched Treehub, a six-month residency, and the AI Health Fund, which intends to raise $10 million to support early-stage healthcare and AI startups.
10x Science raises $4.8M to automate drug candidate characterization
10x Science raised $4.8 million in seed funding to deploy an AI-driven platform that automates the characterization of drug candidates, addressing a key bottleneck in pharmaceutical research.
SpaceX partners with Cursor, eyes $60B acquisition
SpaceX has partnered with software platform Cursor to develop AI tools, with an option to acquire the startup for $60 billion later this year.
NeoCognition raises $40M to build self-learning AI agents
NeoCognition has raised $40 million in seed funding to develop self-learning AI agents designed to improve reliability and specialization in enterprise environments.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026: A deal room for 60,000 attendees
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 replaces traditional conference panels with a "deal room" model, facilitating 10,000 business meetings for 60,000 attendees in Japan.