Reflection AI raises $2B to be America’s open frontier AI lab, challenging DeepSeek

Co-founded by a former Uber Freight product manager, and backed by Uber's lead seed investor, FleetWorks is quickly scooping up customers in the trucking world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flint raised a $5 million seed round led by Accel, with participation from Sheryl Sandberg’s fund, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, and prior investor Neo. Also, Coco Robotics is working toward automating its fleet of delivery robots using its millions of miles of collected data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Indian drone startup called Airbound raised nearly $9 million in seed funding as it begins a drone-delivery pilot with a private hospital and works toward one-cent delivery using its ultra-light, blended-wing-body aircraft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kalshi, a prediction market that allows people to bet on future events, announced that it raised over three hundred million dollars at a 5 billion dollar valuation. The company’s value has increased two and a half times since its last fundraise just three months ago, when it was valued at two billion dollars. Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup led by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has lost one of its co-founders to Meta. The Wall Street Journal reports that AI researcher Andrew Tulloch announced his departure to employees in a message on Friday. A Thinking Machine Labs spokesperson confirmed Tulloch’s departure to the WSJ, saying he “has decided to pursue a different path for personal reasons.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reflection, once focused on autonomous coding agents, has raised $2B at an $8B valuation to expand into both an opensource alternative to closed frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, and a Western equivalent to Chinese AI firms like DeepSeek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novoloop has signed a deal with a contract manufacturer to produce its Lifecycled TPU material. Also, Knapsack creates a unified workspace that integrates design and coding tools to ensure design and engineering teams are on the same page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Base Power's Series C will help the company expand beyond Texas, its beachhead market, and build batteries in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump's Department of Energy wants to cancel billions more in awards that were granted by the Biden administration, and startups are in the crosshairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By coating regular rebar with a thin layer of stainless steel, Allium Engineering could reduce the amount of concrete needed to build a bridge while also prolonging its life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The third-party app store known as AltStore, one of the first companies to offer an alternative app marketplace in the European Union, is preparing to connect its platform with the open social web known as the fediverse. Also, ÄIO has developed a process to turn agricultural waste like sawdust into fats for the food and cosmetic industries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices