OpenAI Declares a "Code Red"

Top News

OpenAI declared a “code red” in an internal memo yesterday, refocusing the company on fixing ChatGPT’s quality issues as rising pressure from Google and Anthropic threatens its lead and heightens scrutiny of its massive infrastructure bets. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Amazon unveiled a faster, more efficient AI training chip and server system, signaling a push to cut customer costs while previewing a next-generation chip that will work with Nvidia hardware and intensify the race for cloud AI workloads. TechCrunch has more here.

The Spectacle of Bryan Johnson and His Livestreamed Shrooms Trip

Image Credits: Bryan Johnson on X

By Amanda Silberling

When I was 18, I bought a cheap ticket from my college class Facebook group to see Grimes perform at a nearby music festival. Amid the crowd on that sunny afternoon, a drug-addled man continuously tried to climb a young, flimsy tree for a better view. He failed again and again — it was simply impossible for such a dainty plant to hold his weight — yet I watched in fascination and horror as this stranger fixated on a task that would only succeed if he could defy the very laws of physics.

Over a decade later, I found myself in a disturbingly similar situation. I watched Grimes perform on Sunday before yet another drug-addled man. But this time, her DJ set was part of a public livestream for Bryan Johnson, an investor and entrepreneur who had taken a hefty 5.24 gram dose of psilocybin mushrooms to see if psychedelics could aid him in his quest for immortality.

Bryan Johnson — who made his millions selling his finance startup Braintree — wants to live forever. He publicly documents each step of his process on social media, including getting plasma transfusions from his son, taking over 100 pills per day, and injecting Botox into his genitals. All the while, Johnson’s outlandish campaign to cheat death also functions as an advertisement for Kernel, his neurotechnology company, and Blueprint, his business that sells supplements, nut butters, and olive oil.

Johnson promoted his shrooms trip as a livestream extravaganza, complete with hokey graphics resembling a Windows XP desktop. Before his trip, Johnson and his Blueprint co-founder, Kate Tolo, joked they could make this stream like the Super Bowl and sell commercials. What was once a rite of passage for a certain ilk of college kids — listening to music and getting too high — was being turned into a very public, yet remarkably uncool, experiment on stretching the bounds of humanity.

Over a million people viewed the livestream on X, either in real time or as a replay. As Johnson ingested the shrooms and used his own technology from Kernel — a giant black helmet — to monitor his body’s reaction, a cadre of commentators with a collective net worth upward of $10 billion joined the video feed to heap praise upon Johnson for bravely tripping balls.

While some people see Johnson’s methods as elaborate, vampiric performance art, his Silicon Valley contemporaries think he’s a visionary.

Massive Fundings

Akura Medical, a seven-year-old startup based in Los Gatos, CA, that develops venous thrombectomy devices, raised a $53 million Series C round led by Qatar Investment Authority. Vascular News has more here.

Antares, a three-year-old startup based in Torrance, CA, that builds compact nuclear microreactors to deliver energy to remote military bases, industrial sites, and eventually deep space and underwater missions, raised a $71 million Series B round and $25 million in debt. The equity piece was led by Shine Capital, with Alt Capital, Caffeinated, FiftyThree Stations, and Industrious also taking part. The company has raised a total of $130+ million. More here.

Axiado, a seven-year-old startup based in San Jose, CA, that provides security and system-management chips for digital infrastructure, raised a $100 million Series C+ round led by Maverick Silicon, with Prosperity7 Ventures, Orbit Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital, and Nosterra Ventures also engaging. More here.

Eon, a one-year-old Tel Aviv startup that automates cloud backups and turns backup data into something that companies can query, raised a $300 million Series D round at a $4 billion valuation. The round was led by Gil Capital, with Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Greenoaks also anteing up. CTech has more here.

Gradium, a Paris startup founded this year that develops audio language AI models designed to deliver ultra-low-latency voice responses, raised a $70 million seed round co-led by FirstMark Capital and Eurazeo, with Xavier Niel, DST Global Partners, and Eric Schmidt also contributing. TechCrunch has more here.

Heven AeroTech, a seven-year-old startup based in Sterling, VA, that develops hydrogen fuel cell-powered long-endurance unmanned aerial systems for defense, public safety, and commercial missions, raised a $100 million Series B round at a $1 billion post-money valuation. IonQ was the deal lead, with additional participation from Texas Venture Partners. More here.

Kalshi, an eight-year-old New York startup that operates a prediction market, raised a $1 billion Series E round at an $11 billion valuation. The deal was led by Paradigm, with Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Meritech Capital, IVP, ARK Invest, Anthos Capital, CapitalG, and Y Combinator also participating. The company has raised a total of $1.3 billion. More here.

Sokin, a six-year-old London startup that provides cross-border business payments infrastructure, raised a $50 million Series B round at a $300 million valuation. The deal was led by Prysm Capital, with Watershed Ventures, Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, and Aurum Partners also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $130 million. Tech Funding News has more here.

Titan OS, a two-year-old Barcelona startup that provides a smart TV operating system to hardware makers, raised a $58 million Series A round led by Highland Europe, with Mangrove Capital Partners also joining in. TechCrunch has more here.

Zafran Security, a four-year-old Tel Aviv startup that uses AI and automation to manage threat exposure, raised a $60 million Series C round led by Menlo Ventures, with Sequoia Capital and Cyberstarts also investing. CNBC has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Duvo, a Prague startup founded this year that provides AI agents that automate retail operations tasks, raised a $15 million seed round led by Index Ventures, with Credo Ventures, Northzone, and Puzzle Ventures also participating. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Mixx Technologies, a three-year-old startup based in San Jose, CA, that provides optical connectivity for AI infrastructure, raised a $33 million Series A round led by ICM HPQC Fund, with TDK Ventures, Systemiq Capital, Banpu Innovation and Ventures, G Vision Capital, Ajinomoto Group Ventures, and AVITIC Innovation Fund also engaging. More here.

Moonshot Space, a two-year-old Israeli startup that develops an electromagnetic launcher to propel payloads to hypersonic speeds for orbital logistics and hypersonic testing, raised a $12 million round led by Angular Ventures and including the Israel Innovation Authority. CTech has more here.

Raindrop, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that detects failures in AI agents, raised a $15 million seed round. Lightspeed Venture Partners was the deal lead, with Figma Ventures and Vercel Ventures also anteing up. More here.

Reema Health, a seven-year-old Minneapolis startup that helps Medicaid and Medicare patients manage appointments, medications, and social-service needs, raised a $19 million Series B round led by LRVHealth, with Optum Ventures also chiming in. Fierce Healthcare has more here.

Ricursive Intelligence, a Palo Alto startup founded this year that develops AI software to automate advanced chip design, raised a $35 million round at a $750 million post-money valuation. Sequoia Capital was the deal lead. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Ripple Foods, an 11-year-old Berkeley company that makes pea-protein-based milks, raised a $17 million round led by Material Impact and Rich Products Ventures, with S2G Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Fall Line Capital, Euclidean Capital, Tao Capital Partners, and Tim Koogle also digging in. Green Queen Media has more here.

Yoodli, a five-year-old Seattle startup that uses AI to simulate real-world conversations for sales, coaching, and workplace training, raised a $40 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, with Neotribe and Madrona also digging in. The company has raised a total of nearly $60 million. GeekWire has more here.

Smaller Fundings

Ascentra Labs, a one-year-old London startup that builds AI tools for consultants and corporate strategy teams, raised a $2 million seed round led by NAP. VentureBeat has more here.

Bourn, a two-year-old London startup that provides embedded working-capital tools for SMEs, raised a $4.6 million seed round led by NatWest Group, with McPike Global Family Office, Haatch, Love Ventures, Portfolio Ventures, and Aperture also taking part. More here.

BuiltAI, a four-year-old London startup that provides machine-learning tools to analyze commercial real estate investments, raised a $6 million seed round led by Work-Bench, with Lerer Hippeau, Timber Grove Ventures, and Emerald Pine also stepping up. More here.

Jeeva AI, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that provides AI tools that automate sales workflows, raised a $9 million round led by JLL Spark, with Sapphire Ventures, Alt Capital, Launch Capital, GTMFund, Nonstop Capital, Coyote Capital, Bonfire Ventures, Techstars, Marc Benioff, and Mucker Capital also piling on. More here.

Marble Imaging, a two-year-old German startup that provides very-high-resolution Earth observation data and analytics, raised a $5.8 million seed round led by High-Tech Gründerfonds, with BAB Beteiligungs- und Management-gesellschaft Bremen, Lightfield Equity, Oslo Venture Company, nwk | nwu Beteiligungsgesellschaften der Sparkasse Bremen, Sentris Capital, Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, and SpaceFounders also investing. EU-Startups has more here.

Metri Bio, a Boston startup founded this year that develops therapies for endometrial diseases, raised a $5 million pre-seed round. The round was led by Pillar VC, with Pace Ventures, Slocum Management, and Navec Investments also participating. Femtech Insider has more here.

Pack, a three-year-old Milan startup that provides a unified HR platform for skill mapping, digital assessments, and personalized development paths, raised a $6.7 million Series A round led by Rialto VC, with Acadian Ventures also contributing. Tech Funding News has more here.

Saporo, four-year-old startup based in Lausanne, Switzerland, that provides graph-native identity security tools, raised an $8.1 million Series A round led by TIN Capital, with G+D Ventures, CDP Venture Capital, XAnge, Lightbird VC, and Session VC also opting in. SecurityWeek has more here.

Soxton, a one-year-old New York startup that provides AI-enabled legal services for early-stage companies, raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round led by Moxxie Ventures and including Strobe, Coalition, Caterina Fake, and Flex. SiliconANGLE has more here.