On the venture capital front, Austin-based defense startup Saronic raised $600 million, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion. AI coding startup Codeium is reportedly in talks for a new funding round at a $2.85 billion valuation. Other notable funding news includes Hightouch's $80 million Series C round, Augury's $75 million Series F, and Luminance's $75 million Series C in the legal AI space. Amid potential NIH budget cuts, Altitude Lab's Pre-seed Venture Fund plans to invest in biotech startups qualified for SBIR grants. Lastly, Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz discussed the firm's long-term vision on the Invest Like the Best podcast.
Key takeaways:
- Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, emerged from stealth without disclosing its VC funding, while Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence is reportedly raising $1 billion.
- Humane's assets, including its AI Pin, were acquired by HP for $116 million, marking an end for the hardware startup.
- Austin-based defense startup Saronic raised $600 million in a Series C round, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion.
- AI-powered legal tech startup Luminance raised $75 million in a Series C funding round, highlighting the growing interest in legal AI.