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14 Jan 2026

Etched Secures $500 Million to Challenge Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance with Sohu Processor

AI chip startup Etched raised $500 million in a funding round led by Stripes, with backing from Peter Thiel, reaching a $5 billion valuation. The company's Sohu chip targets Transformer models and promises to deliver performance gains over Nvidia's GPUs. Meanwhile, rival Cerebras Systems is reportedly pursuing $1 billion in funding as competition intensifies in the artificial intelligence chip market.

2 Sources

AstraZeneca acquires Modella AI to accelerate oncology drug development with foundation models

AstraZeneca has completed the first acquisition of an AI company by a major pharmaceutical firm, buying Boston-based Modella AI. The deal integrates foundation models and AI agents into oncology research to enhance biomarker discovery and patient selection for drug trials, aiming to reduce development costs and accelerate the development of new cancer treatments.

2 Sources

13 Jan 2026

Deepgram raises $130 million at $1.3 billion valuation, acquires YC-backed startup for voice AI

Voice AI startup Deepgram has secured $130 million in Series C funding at a $1.3 billion valuation, led by AVP. The company also acquired Y Combinator-backed OfOne to expand into quick-service restaurants. Deepgram's CEO says the company was cashflow positive and wasn't seeking capital, but strategic investors approached them as voice AI adoption accelerates across enterprises.

7 Sources

12 Jan 2026

Harmattan AI raises $200M from Dassault Aviation, becomes defense unicorn at $1.4B valuation

French defense tech company Harmattan AI reached unicorn status with a $200 million Series B round led by Rafale fighter jet maker Dassault Aviation. Founded just two years ago, the startup now valued at $1.4 billion will develop embedded AI capabilities for next-generation combat aircraft and scale production of autonomous drones for NATO forces.

4 Sources

Torq Secures $140 Million Funding at $1.2 Billion Valuation for AI-Driven Security Platform

Israeli cybersecurity startup Torq has closed a $140 million Series D funding round, achieving a $1.2 billion valuation and unicorn status. The company's AI-driven security operations platform uses autonomous AI agents to automate security tasks, allowing analysts to focus on complex threats. Led by Merlin Ventures, the funding will accelerate expansion into commercial and federal markets.

5 Sources

09 Jan 2026

Elon Musk's xAI Reports $1.46 Billion Quarterly Loss While Racing to Power Optimus Robots

Elon Musk's AI startup xAI burned through $1.46 billion in the September quarter, up from $1 billion earlier in 2025, as it pours resources into data centers, talent, and software development. Despite mounting losses, the company nearly doubled its revenue to $107 million and raised $20 billion in fresh funding to fuel its ambitious plan to build self-sufficient AI that will eventually power Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots.

7 Sources

08 Jan 2026

Cyera raises $400 million funding at $9 billion valuation as AI data security stakes soar

Cyera secured $400 million in Series F funding led by Blackstone, pushing its valuation to $9 billion just six months after reaching $6 billion. The AI data security startup now protects 20% of Fortune 500 companies as enterprises grapple with agentic attackers and the challenge of securing data while enabling AI transformation across their operations.

3 Sources

07 Jan 2026

Intel spinout Articul8 raises over half of $70M funding round at $500M valuation for enterprise AI

Articul8, an enterprise AI company spun out of Intel in 2024, has secured more than half of a planned $70 million Series B funding round at a $500 million valuation. The company has surpassed $90 million in total contract value from 29 paying customers and expects to finish the year with $57 million in annual recurring revenue, reflecting strong demand for specialized AI systems in regulated industries.

3 Sources

06 Jan 2026

Elon Musk's xAI raises $20 billion from Nvidia and investors as regulatory scrutiny intensifies

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI announced it raised $20 billion in Series E funding, surpassing its initial $15 billion target. The funding round drew backing from Nvidia, Cisco, Fidelity, and Qatar Investment Authority. However, the company faces international investigations after its Grok chatbot generated child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual deepfakes of real people.

20 Sources

LMArena raises $150M at $1.7B valuation, tripling worth in seven months with AI evaluation platform

LMArena, the AI evaluation platform that started as a UC Berkeley research project, has raised $150 million in Series A funding at a $1.7 billion valuation. The startup, which lets users compare AI models through crowdsourced evaluations, tripled its valuation in just seven months and now serves over 5 million monthly users across 150 countries.

4 Sources

Grab acquires AI robotics firm Infermove to strengthen delivery capabilities with autonomous tech

Singapore's Grab Holdings has acquired Infermove, a China-based AI robotics firm, to enhance its first and last-mile delivery services. The Nasdaq-listed company plans to develop Infermove's autonomous robot solutions from Singapore, exploring how the technology can improve customer and partner experiences. Financial terms remain undisclosed.

3 Sources

02 Jan 2026

Zhipu AI becomes first China AI tiger to go public, vows to export brutal price war globally

Beijing-based Zhipu AI raised $558 million in its Hong Kong IPO, becoming the first major Chinese generative AI startup to go public. Despite reporting just $27 million in sales and deepening losses, the company's co-founder predicts US AI developers will face the same price-based competition that has forced Chinese firms to forgo profits, with Zhipu charging one-seventh the cost of rivals like Anthropic.

10 Sources

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