Apple Is Making an AI Pin

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According to reporting from The Information, Apple is developing a wearable AI pin with two cameras, three microphones, a speaker, and magnetic charging and targeting a possible 2027 launch. TechCrunch has more here.

Anthropic is now on a $9+ billion run rate (more than double what it was doing just six months ago), and Iconiq, Lightspeed, and Menlo are now ready to join its latest funding round, which is priced at $350 billion. Bloomberg has the scoop here. Meanwhile, you’ve probably already read that Sequoia is also in the mix, which is surprising in ways. TechCrunch has more on why here.

From Berkeley Lab to $400M: RadixArk Joins Wave of Open Source AI Tools Becoming Startup Darlings

Image Credits: Yuichiro Chino / Getty Images

By Marina Temkin

A pattern is emerging in the AI infrastructure world: popular open source tools are transforming into venture-backed startups worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The latest example is RadixArk, the commercial company behind SGLang, an increasingly popular tool that helps AI models run faster and cheaper.

RadixArk was recently valued at about $400 million in a funding round led by Accel, according to two people familiar with the matter, a notable amount for a startup that was only announced last August. TechCrunch could not confirm the size of the funding.

The news comes as some of the team responsible for maintaining SGLang, which is used by companies like xAI and Cursor to accelerate AI model training, has transitioned to the recently launched commercial startup. RadixArk originated as SGLang in 2023 inside the UC Berkeley lab of Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica.

The startup previously raised angel capital from investors, including Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the people said.

Ying Sheng, a key contributor to SGLang and a former engineer at xAI, left Elon Musk’s AI startup to become the co-founder and CEO of RadixArk, according to a LinkedIn announcement she made last month. Sheng was previously a research scientist at Databricks.

RadixArk’s Ying Sheng, Accel, and Lip-Bu Tan did not respond to a request for comment.

Both SGLang and RadixArk focus on optimizing inference processing — essentially allowing models to run faster and more efficiently on the same hardware. Together with model training, inference represents a large portion of the server costs associated with AI services. As a result, tools that optimize the process can create enormous savings almost immediately.

Massive Fundings

AheadComputing, a two-year-old startup based in Portland, OR, that is developing RISC-V CPUs for AI data centers and high-performance computing, raised a $30 million seed round co-led by Eclipse, Toyota Ventures, and Cambium, with Corner, Trousdale, EPIQ, MESH, and Stata also taking stakes. The company has raised a total of $53 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Anchorage Digital, a nine-year-old San Francisco startup that provides custody, trading, and staking services for digital assets, is reportedly seeking to raise up to $400 million investors. Current backers include Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, KKR, GIC, and Visa. Crypto Briefing has more here.

Datarails, a nine-year-old New York and Tel Aviv startup that has developed an AI-native finance platform for teams that work in Excel, raised a $70 million Series C round led by One Peak, with support from Vertex Growth, Vintage Investment Partners, Zeev Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, ClalTech, and Qumra Capital. The company has raised a total of $175+ million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Jetson, a two-year-old Vancouver startup that installs all-electric heat pump systems to replace gas furnaces in homes, raised a $50 million Series A led by Eclipse, with 8VC, Activate Capital, Garage Capital, and Active Impact also pitching in. More here.

OpenEvidence, a four-year-old Miami startup that provides doctors with a clinical decision-support chatbot trained on peer-reviewed medical research, raised a $250 million round at a $12 billion post-money valuation. The deal was co-led by Thrive Capital and DST, with Google Ventures, Nvidia, Kleiner Perkins, Craft Ventures, and Mayo Clinic also contributing. TechCrunch has more here.

Preply, a 14-year-old company based in Brookline, MA, that runs a marketplace connecting language learners with online tutors, raised a $150 million Series D at a $1.2 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by WestCap, with Horizon Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Techstars Berlin also taking part. TechCrunch has more here.

SambaNova Systems, an eight-year-old Palo Alto startup that develops AI computing systems and software that help enterprises and governments build and run large-scale AI workloads, is reportedly seeking to raise up to $500 million after a potential Intel acquisition stalled. Bloomberg has the scoop here.

Think Bioscience, a seven-year-old Boulder startup that develops small-molecule drugs using synthetic biology to unlock historically hard drug targets behind diseases such as Noonan syndrome, raised a $55 million Series A co-led by Regeneron Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, and Janus Henderson Investors, with T.A. Springer, CE-Ventures, MBX Capital, YK Bioventures, AV8 Ventures, CU Innovations, and Buff Gold Ventures also participating. More here.

Upscale AI, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup that develops scale-up AI infrastructure that tightly integrates GPUs, accelerators, memory, storage, and networking into a single synchronized system for large-scale AI workloads, raised a $200 million Series A round at a $1+ billion valuation. The deal was co-led by Tiger, Premji Invest, and Xora Innovation, with Maverick Silicon, StepStone Group, Mayfield, Prosperity7 Ventures, Intel Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures also joining in. The company has raised a total of $300+ million. More here.

Zanskar, a seven-year-old Salt Lake City startup that uses AI to identify and develop overlooked geothermal fields for power generation, raised a $115 million round led by Spring Lane Capital, with Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Lowercarbon Capital also participating. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Zarminali Pediatrics, a two-year-old Chicago startup that operates outpatient pediatric clinics offering integrated primary and specialty care, raised a $110 million Series A led by Healthier Capital and including General Catalyst and K2 HealthVentures. CityBiz has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Cloover, a four-year-old Stockholm startup that provides embedded financing for homeowners and installers to fund heat pumps, solar panels, batteries, and other green home upgrades, raised a $22 million Series A co-led by MMC Ventures and QED Investors, with Lowercarbon Capital, BNVT Capital, Bosch Ventures, Centrotec, and Earthshot Ventures chipping in. It also secured a $1.2 billion debt facility. Forbes has more here.

Cosmos, a five-year-old New York startup that runs a Pinterest-style platform for creatives to collect, organize, and share visual inspiration, raised a $15 million Series A led by Shine Capital, with Matrix Partners, GV, and Accel also stepping up. Fast Company has more here.

Infinitopes, a five-year-old startup based in Oxford, UK, that is developing a precision therapeutic cancer vaccine to prevent post-surgical recurrence in oesophageal cancer, raised a $15.4 million seed extension co-led by previous investor Octopus Ventures and Amplify Bio, with Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research Horizons, and Manta Ray Ventures also joining in. TipRanks has more here.

L-Nutra, a 17-year-old Los Angeles company that develops clinically validated medical nutrition and longevity programs, raised a $36.5 million Series D led by Mubadala Investment Company, with Brentwood Associates, Stéphane Bancel, and 618 Ventures also investing. Pulse 2.0 has more here.

Statusphere, a nine-year-old startup based in Orlando, FL, that helps enterprise retailers and consumer brands run large-scale micro-influencer programs for product discovery and sales, raised an $18 million Series A led by Volition Capital, with additional participation from HearstLab, 1984 Ventures, and How Women Invest. More here.

Stoïk, a five-year-old Paris startup that provides cyber insurance and security coverage for mid-sized companies across Europe, raised a $23.4 million Series C round co-led by Opera Tech Ventures and Impala, with Alven and Andreessen Horowitz also anteing up. Coverager has more here.

VieCure, an 11-year-old Denver company that provides community oncology clinics with an AI-driven clinical decision platform and oncology EMR, raised a $43 million round co-led by Mitch Rales and Northpond Ventures, with Durable Capital Partners, Socium Ventures, and Sator Grove Holdings also engaging. More here.

Smaller Fundings

Asymmetric Security, a one-year-old startup based in London and San Francisco that uses AI and human cyber forensics to automate cyberattack investigations, raised a $4.2 million pre-seed round led by Susa Ventures, with Halcyon Ventures and Overlook Ventures also taking part. Tech Funding News has more here.