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07 Jul 2026

Intel-Backed Syntiant Files IPO to Bring On-Device AI Chips to Public Markets

Syntiant Corp., a maker of ultra-low-power chips for on-device AI, filed for an initial public offering on Nasdaq under ticker SYTN. Founded in 2017, the company has deployed over 100 million AI processors across earbuds, wearables, and automotive applications. Backed by Intel, Microsoft, and Knowles Corp., Syntiant posted $64.5 million in revenue for Q1 fiscal 2026.

3 Sources

06 Jul 2026

Even Realities hits $1B valuation as Meituan, Tencent back privacy-focused smart glasses

Even Realities, a Shenzhen-based smart glasses startup founded by ex-Apple engineers, has reached unicorn status with $150 million in funding led by Meituan and Tencent. The company's privacy-first approach skips cameras entirely, instead using heads-up displays controlled by a companion smart ring. With over half its users in the U.S. and frames retailing at $599, Even Realities is carving out a distinct position in a market dominated by Meta.

2 Sources

03 Jul 2026

Kling AI secures $2.8 billion funding from Tencent as Kuaishou spins off AI video unit

Kling AI has raised up to $2.8 billion in venture capital from investors including Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu, valuing the AI video generation subsidiary at $18 billion post-money. The funding round marks a major step as Kuaishou prepares to spin off its fastest-growing AI unit, which has seen annual recurring revenue surge to $500 million. The move positions Kling AI to fill the global void left by OpenAI's Sora shutdown while competing with ByteDance's Seedance in the rapidly evolving AI-powered video generation market.

5 Sources

Crusoe seeks $3 billion funding as AI computing power demand drives valuation to $30 billion

AI data center startup Crusoe is in talks to raise $3 billion in a funding round that may triple its valuation to around $30 billion, according to Bloomberg News. The company, which supplies AI computing power to Meta, Oracle, Microsoft, and Google, has contracts for nearly 5 gigawatts of computing capacity with over 40 gigawatts in its project pipeline.

2 Sources

02 Jul 2026

ElevenLabs explores $22 billion valuation through employee stock sale, doubling its worth

AI voice generation firm ElevenLabs is in early discussions for a secondary share sale that would value the company at $22 billion, according to Bloomberg News. The proposed valuation represents a 100% increase from its $11 billion Series D round just five months ago, as AI startups intensify efforts to retain top talent through employee stock sales.

3 Sources

Jeff Bezos backs five AI startups in June as family office leads 2026 investment surge

Jeff Bezos' family office invested in five AI startups in June, accounting for 10% of all family office dealmaking. Bezos Expeditions is now the most active family office investor in 2026 with eight direct investments, including a $12 billion Series B for Prometheus, where Bezos serves as co-founder and co-CEO.

2 Sources

Melinda French Gates Backs $46.6M Fund II Targeting AI-Driven Care Economy Solutions

Magnify Ventures closed a $46.6 million second fund with backing from Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures to invest in AI companies transforming family care, health, and wealth management. The early-stage venture firm targets the $648 billion care economy market, which has seen venture interest accelerate 45% over four years with $26 billion invested across 700 companies since 2015.

2 Sources

AI Boom Drives Global Venture Funding to Record $510 Billion in First Half of 2026

Global venture funding reached an unprecedented $510 billion in the first half of 2026, surpassing all of 2025's $440 billion total. The AI boom drove this record-breaking venture funding, with OpenAI and Anthropic alone capturing $217 billion—43% of all startup investment. While capital concentrated heavily in frontier AI labs, mega-rounds expanded across AI infrastructure, defense, robotics and healthcare, signaling the AI's outsized impact on the venture capital landscape.

3 Sources

Bhavin Turakhia invests $30M to build Neo, an AI alternative to Microsoft Office

Serial entrepreneur Bhavin Turakhia is backing his fifth venture with $30 million of his own capital. Neo aims to replace legacy office software with an AI-native enterprise work platform that integrates tasks, documents, and AI-led execution into a single workspace. The Zeta cofounder argues workplace tools built before the AI era can't simply add chatbots—they need complete redesign.

2 Sources

01 Jul 2026

Ashton Kutcher leaves Sound Ventures to launch new VC firm focused on AI infrastructure

Actor and investor Ashton Kutcher is stepping away from Sound Ventures, the firm he co-founded 11 years ago, to start a new venture capital firm with Morgan Beller. The unnamed firm will focus on early-stage investments in AI infrastructure, energy, and deep tech—signaling a strategic shift from backing established AI labs to betting on the foundational technologies that power them.

3 Sources

TwelveLabs raises $100M to bring superintelligence to AI video models

TwelveLabs secured $100 million in Series B funding to advance AI video models that natively understand video like humans. Led by NEA and NAVER Ventures with Amazon participating, the round brings total funding to over $207 million as the company aims to make every second of video addressable and usable by AI agents.

2 Sources

Venice AI reaches unicorn status with $65M Series A as privacy concerns fuel growth

Venice AI has raised $65 million in Series A funding at a $1 billion valuation, becoming a unicorn in just two years. The privacy-focused AI platform founded by crypto entrepreneur Erik Voorhees and Seattle tech veteran Jesse Proudman now serves 3 million users who value privacy over surveillance. The company is already profitable with over $70 million in annualized revenue.

4 Sources

Raja Koduri's Oxmiq raises $35M to license AI chip designs instead of selling finished chips

Oxmiq Labs, founded by veteran chip architect Raja Koduri, has closed a $35 million Series A to scale OxCore, a licensable GPU architecture that lets chipmakers build custom AI silicon without years of design work. The startup aims to become the 'Arm for AI GPUs,' licensing chip designs rather than selling finished chips, with backing from Samsung Catalyst Fund and legendary chip architect Jim Keller joining its board.

6 Sources

Together AI raises $800M at $8.3B valuation as companies shift to cost-effective AI models

Together AI has secured $800 million in Series C funding led by Aramco Ventures, more than doubling its valuation to $8.3 billion. The AI neocloud provider reports over $1.15 billion in annual bookings as companies increasingly adopt open-source AI models to reduce costs. The funding comes as demand for alternatives to expensive closed AI systems surges across the industry.

6 Sources

Datadog Acquires Adaptive ML to Accelerate Specialized AI Agents and Research Capabilities

Datadog has acquired Adaptive ML, a frontier AI startup behind the world's first Reinforcement Learning Operations platform. The acquisition strengthens Datadog's AI research capabilities, enabling enterprises to build and deploy specialized AI agents while advancing work on world models and agentic LLM post-training for observability and security.

2 Sources

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