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1.	Databricks is Raising Funding at $100 Billion-Plus Valuation  By Kevin McLaughlin Source: The Information

Databricks, an artificial intelligence and database provider, said it is raising an undisclosed amount of new funding at a valuation of more than $100 billion, up at least 60% from a financing in December. The 12-year-old firm reached $3.7 billion in annualized revenue in July, up 50% from the previous year, and has previously raised nearly $15 billion from investors.

Thrive Capital, an existing investor in the company, is co-leading the round, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Databricks became a key provider of AI-related software in the years before the launch of ChatGPT and recently has made several moves to boost its AI business, including acquiring database startup Neon, whose product is designed to work with AI agents that handle complex tasks. Databricks has also recently struck agreements with AI providers like Anthropic and Google Cloud.

Databricks’ publicly-traded rival, Snowflake, has a market capitalization of around $64 billion and was recently on track to hit a $100 million sales target for AI products that its leaders set at the start of this year.

2.	Deel Cinches Victory in a Rippling-linked Lawsuit By Michael Roddan Source: The Information

Payroll startup Deel has cinched a victory in a case linked to its larger battle with Rippling. A judge in Florida on Monday dismissed a case that was filed earlier this year against Deel.

The action was filed by a court-appointed receiver to a Ponzi operation that the Securities and Exchange Commission says ripped off elderly church members. Deel was accused of facilitating payments for the scheme. The suit was filed with the assistance of a Florida-based Rippling investor, Tom Grady, who represents Rippling in licensing and regulatory matters. It was accused of a range of failures relating to compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

US District Judge Jose Martinez dismissed the case based on a lack of standing and a failure to sufficiently establish that Deel operated a racketeering enterprise. Separately, Rippling has sued Deel in California and Ireland over alleged corporate espionage. Those cases are ongoing. Deel has counter-sued Rippling for Defamation.

On Monday, Deel’s senior director of global corporate and policy communications, Allie Mack, confirmed on Linkedin her resignation from Deel for a new role external to the company. Deel’s head of communications Elisabeth Diana resigned earlier in April. Deel hired a new corporate communications lead, Bobby Zafarnia, last month.

3.	Data Center Developer Plans $25 Billion AI Facility Near OpenAI Site By Anissa Gardizy Source: The Information

Vantage Data Centers, which develops data centers for large cloud providers, said Tuesday it is building a large-scale artificial intelligence facility in Shackelford Country, Texas, a 20-minute drive from Oracle and OpenAI’s “Stargate” data center in Abilene.

The announcement reflects the intensifying race to secure computing power for AI applications, as multiple large projects emerge in a region of Texas that only recently became a data center destination. It isn’t clear whether OpenAI will use the Vantage site. If it doesn’t, the Vantage facility could compete to hire the same laborers that are working on data centers for OpenAI.

Vantage did not announce a customer for the proposed data center but said it would house advanced graphics processing units. Vantage said it plans to invest $25 billion in the site, which will eventually have 1.4 gigawatts of power capacity across 10 data centers. That would make it around the same size as the one Crusoe is developing for Oracle and OpenAI in Abilene.

4.	Tether Hires Ex-White House Crypto Adviser Bo Hines By Yueqi Yang Source: The Information

Tether, the biggest stablecoin issuer, said it has hired Bo Hines, the former White House crypto executive director, to advise the company on its U.S. strategy and expansion.

Hines, 29, announced his surprise resignation from the White House on Aug.9 to return to the private sector. A deputy of David Sacks, President Trump’s crypto and AI czar, Hines had served as a liaison between the White House and the crypto industry.

Tether said Hines will cultivate relationships with policymakers. Tether’s stablecoin USDT could be at risk of being delisted in the U.S., if it can’t comply with requirements under the newly-passed stablecoin legislation. The El Salvador-based company has said it plans to establish a U.S. entity and launch a separate stablecoin for the U.S. market, focusing on institutions.

5.	AI Agent Manus Achieves $90 Million Annualized Run Rate By Juro Osawa Source: The Information

Manus, an artificial intelligence agent that briefly went viral earlier this year and got financial backing from Benchmark, said it has achieved an annualized run rate of $90 million.

Manus Co-founder Peak Ji revealed the number Wednesday during a conference in Singapore hosted by Stripe. The $90 million figure was calculated based on Manus’s revenue over the past 30 days.

Generating revenue is a big challenge for startups like Manus, which pay to use foundation models from Anthropic and others that power their AI agents. While most AI agents offer paid subscriptions—starting at $16 a month for Manus—they are still figuring out how to build sustainable business models. In April, a month after the Manus agent was launched, the startup raised $75 million in a funding round led by Benchmark.

Genspark, a major competitor to Manus, previously said it reached $36 million in annual recurring revenue within 45 days of launching its AI agent known as Super Agent in April.