Ethos raises $22.75M from a16z for its expert network with voice onboarding; plus, Altara secures $7M to bridge the data gap that’s slowing down physical sciences

The investment comes as Pronto scales to 26,000 daily bookings and the market heads toward a potential $18 billion size. Also, Genesis AI, a startup that raised a $105 million seed round to build foundational AI for robotics, has unveiled its first model, GENE-26.5, but also a demo showcasing a set of robotic hands performing complex tasks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ethos says it is onboarding 35,000 experts per week Also, Altara’s AI aims to diagnose failures and help speed up R&D by unifying data siloed across spreadsheets and legacy systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI chip maker Cerebras is heading for a blockbuster IPO that could value it at $26.6 billion or more. It's relationship with OpenAI is deep and rich. Also, Katie Haun announced on Monday that $1 billion has been raised across new funds to continue the firm’s thesis of backing crypto and blockchain startups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The direct-to-consumer skin, hair, and and menopause care brand Musely will use the non-dilutive capital to super-charge customer acquisition. Also, Meta bought humanoid startup Assured Robot Intelligence to beef up its AI models for robots, the company said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The two wildly fast-growing rivals have raised massive sums, pushed into each other's home turf and now have dueling ad campaigns. Plus, Shapes, an app where humans and AI characters chat together in shared group conversations, is emerging from stealth with $8 million in seed funding. Think Discord, but with AI characters alongside humans.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ships and planes carrying parts to the front lines would be vulnerable to attack. Defense startup Firestorm Labs thinks the answer is a drone factory that fits inside a shipping container. Also, BMW i Ventures has launched a new $300 million fund and will invest in early-stage through Series B startups in North America and Europe that are working on agentic AI and physical AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The startup specializes in "non-invasive" "mind-reading" tech — a kind of neural data collection that, its CEO hopes, will have all sorts of consumer applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Series, a social networking app that's grown popular on college campuses, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed round from some big names in tech. Plus, Sierra, the AI customer service agent startup founded by technologist Bret Taylor, announced today that it has acquired the YC-backed French startup Fragment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beehiiv is clearly done being just a newsletter platform based on today's launch of a new webinar feature, customizable paywalls, and more. Plus, TechCrunch has confirmed that Delve was the compliance company that performed the security certifications for Context AI, the AI agent training startup that last week disclosed a security incident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucra offers corporate loyalty programs reimagined as interactive eSports. But winning ARK as a lead wasn't easy. Also, Mary Minno launches early-stage startup accelerator program, Treehub, and an early-stage firm, AI Health Fund, aimed at backing startups working at the intersection of healthcare and AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices