Fusion power startups find new partners in the defense world; plus, Mecka AI nears $500M valuation amid rush for robot training data

Their startup, Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC) has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from First Harmonic. Also, Thatch is a five-year-old startup and the company raised $108 million from The General Partnership, Index Ventures, General Catalyst, and Andreessen Horowitz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fathom said that it has over 400,000 monthly active users. Also, Glass Imaging was founded by a pair of former Apple engineers who previously led the team that developed Apple's Portrait Mode. And Cornelis, a company creating networking technology to help AI chips communicate more effectively, announced Monday that it has raised $205 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fusion startups are inking defense-related deals, reigniting the relationship between fusion and national security that might have gone dormant, but never completely disappeared. Also, the round for Mecka is coming together months after Mecka announced its Series A. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mach Industries is a buzzy startup that raised $600 million in its Series C round. AlsoMaven Robotics emerged from stealth Thursday with a $100 million Series A and active deployments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UK-based manufacturing software startup CloudNC announced Wednesday a $20 million B extension round, bringing its lifetime total raised amount to $128 million. Also, Cymphony was valued at more than $100 million in a $25 million Series A co-led by Sequoia and SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Founder Kofi Asante wasn’t planning on fundraising this year, but calls kept coming after their pre-seed launch.  -Poseidon is embracing autonomy and remote piloting, but it’s not bothering with the vertical takeoff and landing tech that is de rigueur among so many aviation startups.  -Stoke is one of a handful of startups attempting to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the low-cost rocket launch space.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Atoms is reportedly preparing for a hiring spree, as well as acquisitions, that could make it a major player in the autonomous vehicle industry. -Krafton is a South Korean gaming company behind titles including PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), plans to invest another $250 million in India over the next three to four years as it pushes beyond gaming into AI, robotics, and deep tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The family-focused AI assistant wants access to the details of your everyday life, but says it won’t use that data to train AI models or share it with others. Ultrahuman is targeting a $200 million annual revenue run rate by January 2027 as it builds a new Qualcomm-powered smart ring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, apply to volunteer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our rebranded Boston event, ⁠TechCrunch Founder Summit⁠ (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, ⁠apply to volunteer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices