TechCrunch Startups – Spoken Edition

Fluxnium's fibers can extract uranium directly from seawater, which has enough of the nuclear fuel to power thousands of generations. Also, Hang Ten is a Palo Alto startup and says it has landed multiple seven-figure enterprise contracts within months of launch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Wonderful's $550M Series C was led by Insight Partners, with Salesforce, Index Ventures, IVP, Vine Ventures, 9Yards and Bessemer participating. Also, 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

HiddenLayer has raised a $100M Series B from Delta-v Capital, Ten Eleven Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft's M12, Booz Allen Hamilton, and others. Also, AI model-training startup AfterQuery has reportedly raised a round that valued it at $3.2 billion, just five months after announcing its $30 million Series A at a $300 million valuation in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fambot is building an AI “chief of staff” to help families manage the emails, calendars, school updates, sports schedules, and other logistics of raising kids. Also, Newlight has raised a $9 million seed round and completed an 8,500-nautical-mile test run from Singapore to Ghana. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The seed round for the app that provides real-time legal and policy guidance to officers was led by SignalFire and Las Olas VC. Clipto is a three-year-old startup and reached $15 million in ARR and profitability before raising its latest $15 million round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Launched by Belgian startup Any, LUV1 is a modular electric motorcycle with 120 liters of cargo space that can be used to carry bags, work equipment, or even pets. Also, the Liux Big microcar is made in Spain. The startup thinks it can compete in a crowded market with its tiny electric car built around sustainability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The startup just raised a $26 million Series A to grow its customer base and help reduce red tape for utility and construction work. Also, Instinct is only a year old but it has already generated a massive amount of hype (and money) while also spurring privacy concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Wednesday, the company introduced Radar, a podcast search engine that not only transcribes podcast audio but also understands what it means, enabling it to pull out key quotes and highlights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fusion startup Pacific Fusion broke ground on a demonstration facility in New Mexico that it says will generate enough energy to power itself. Also, Stability AI's new fundraising total now stands at $232 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Surging demand for AI training data is driving rapid growth for the startup and its rivals. Also, Japanese space startup Letara is betting its hybrid rocket technology can move beyond small satellite thrusters into a broader market for space, defense and security, after raising ¥2.6 billion ($16 million). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator alumnus Apollo Atomics is shrinking a key nuclear reactor part, which promises to slash the cost of electricity below natural gas. Also, Grounded has shifted from making van-life builds to custom outfitting vehicles for small businesses, all while the EV landscape in the US changed dramatically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A handful of AI-designed drugs have proceeded into human trials — one as far as Phase III, widespread human testing — but the reality is that the roadblocks aren't necessarily ones that AI can solve today. Also, TerraPower's nuclear power plant possesses a strategic advantage over competitors, especially when chasing after data center deals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since portfolio companies often pivot and expand into competing markets, investors view occasional conflicts of interest as unavoidable for large VC firms. Also, Jane Street has installed Etched's first shipped AI cluster system, and was so impressed, it led another massive round, the startup says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sonic Fire Protection raised its new funding to help get its sound-powered fire protection system into everything from commercial kitchens to apartment buildings. Also, Wispr's total funding is now over $361 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI coding startup Cursor is now officially a part of SpaceX. Also, OpenRouter's CEO recently described the startup as Stripe for AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investors are still waiting for their share of the $250 million windfall, and VideoVerse co-founder Vinayak Shrivastav is now at the center of multiple legal cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reservoir has built an ultra-efficient water heater that can predict hot water demand, store energy, and detect plumbing leaks throughout a home. Also, Blacksmith says revenue has grown more than tenfold over the past year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An OpenClaw agent hacked into a gym's reservation system to bump its human boss higher on a class's waitlist. And the tech industry took notice. Also, fusion power startups are turning to Kyoto Fusioneering to supply components for future power plants. The Japan-based startup just received a grant to build a part of the fuel system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discovered Materials raised $9 million to fund the hunt for more novel materials to build more efficient chips. Plus, embattled hedge fund Situational Awareness invests $400M in chip startup Source Foundry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 20 years ago, King's Cross was one of the seediest area's in London. Now it's sprouting something new. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Taking vibe-coding a step further, Naive claims its infra can automate most of the work in setting up and running a business. -Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B at $8B valuation -Athens-based Omilia, which has been working on automating voice calls and customer support since 2002, throwing AI at every process can be wasteful.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-WindBorne Systems has raised a $37 million Series B round to scale its weather balloons and AI forecasts. -Hark claims that its browser use agent is faster and cheaper than competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has paused new data center development until an audit has been completed. Also, on Tuesday, AI infrastructure company Runware announced the launch of its own modular data center called Sonic Inference Pod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

June emerged from stealth today with a $20 million pre-seed round to make AI adoption simpler. Also, Base Power's $1 billion round will help the startup ramp production of its home batteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are fresh signs that fusion power startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems will list in the next two to three years. Also, the Okta/Permiso deal gives Okta identity threat detection capabilities as enterprises seek to secure AI agents and other non-human identities across cloud environments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dili's Series A was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Allianz, Rebel Fund, Brick and Mortar Ventures' Darren Bechtel, and Y Combinator's Garry Tan. Also, Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised $1 billion as the startup moves toward its first commercial fusion power plant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pangram has raised $9 million to scale its AI detection software. The startup has also released a new AI text detection model, Pangram 4, and an AI image detection model in research preview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Runlayer is suing Rippling after Rippling evaluated the startup's MCP gateway product and then opted to build one itself. Also, Ozlo unveiled Sleepbuds 2, an updated version of its original product that tackles key areas of improvement, including battery life, connectivity, and sound quality.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Antares has raised $470 million to build small modular reactors — 100 kW to 1 MW — for U.S. Air Force bases. Also, fusion power startup Thea Energy snagged a $20 million award from ARPA-E to scale production of its high-temperature superconducting magnets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Etched, founded by three Harvard dropouts, has created new chips and memory components that speed up inference on any AI model -- no GPUs required, it says. Also, Imagi announced a $4.5 million seed round, with investors including Brighteye Ventures, Day One Capital, and artist Wil.i.am. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colossal Biosciences is in talks to raise new funding at a $20 billion to $30 billion valuation, Axios reported. Also, Passionfroot, a German startup building a marketplace connecting B2B creators with brands, has raised $15M in a Series A round led by Insight Partners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gritt is coming out of stealth with $34 million and plan to automate the hardest tasks on construction sites. Also, maritime nuclear energy startup Bluecore Energy has raised $10 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Slauson & Co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices