Jeff Dean Leaves Google After 27 Years to Launch Discovery Loop AI Startup
Jeff Dean, Google's 30th employee and one of its most influential AI researchers, is stepping down to co-found Discovery Loop, a public benefit corporation using AI to automate scientific experiments. The startup is co-led by Radical Ventures and Khosla Ventures with participation from Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed.
Sam Altman's World Foundation Raises $52.5M to Scale World ID Against AI Impersonation
World Foundation, the nonprofit behind Sam Altman's iris-scan World ID, raised $52.5M through a locked WLD token sale led by Pantera. The network has 39M+ users and plans to scale integrations with Zoom, Docusign, Okta, and Tinder as a defense against AI agents impersonating humans.
Hark Raises $700M Series A at $6B Valuation for Secretive 'Universal' AI Interface
AI lab Hark, founded by robotics entrepreneur Brett Adcock, raised $700M in Series A funding to build a universal AI personal assistant with custom hardware, backed by Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and Salesforce.
Hark raises $700M Series A for its secretive 'universal' AI interface
Hark raised $700M in a Series A for its secretive universal AI interface, with first multimodal models due this summer and dedicated hardware devices to follow.
Recursive Superintelligence Raises $650M to Build Self-Improving AI
Richard Socher's Recursive Superintelligence emerges from stealth with $650 million to create AI that autonomously improves itself without human intervention.
AI Startups Capture Record $242B in Q1 2026 Funding
Global AI investment reaches $300B as startups lead the charge in artificial intelligence innovation.
Listen Labs raises $69M after viral billboard hiring stunt to scale AI customer interviews
Listen Labs closed a $69 million Series B led by Ribbit Capital at a $500 million valuation, scaling its AI-powered customer interview platform past one million interviews and 15x annualized revenue growth in nine months.