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Manus Targets $4 Billion Valuation After Meta Deal Collapse

The Chinese AI startup is seeking $500 million from investors including battery giant CATL as it charts a path back to independence following Beijing's intervention

By Linh T. Pham·Sep 21, 2026·5 min read
Startups

Applied Materials Commits $5 Billion to India as New Delhi Doubles Down on Chip Self-Reliance

The US equipment giant will establish a 57-hectare semiconductor research park and double its Indian R&D workforce, betting on policy moment…

Linh T. Pham ·   · 6m
Startups

Crusoe Reaches $30.9 Billion Valuation with Truck-Portable AI Data Centres

The infrastructure builder's $3.9 billion Series F will fund both gigawatt-scale campuses and modular facilities designed to bypass communit…

Arjun S. Mehta ·   · 5m
Startups

May Mobility Takes the Robotaxi Model Public in $1.4 Billion SPAC Merger

The Michigan-based autonomous vehicle firm is betting Wall Street will embrace its asset-light, licensing-first approach to self-driving rid…

Marcus Halloran ·   · 4m
Startups

Grab Bets $1.49 Billion on Buy-Now-Pay-Later to Deepen Southeast Asia Lending

The Singapore super-app operator is acquiring a majority stake in Atome Financial, signalling a shift from transport logistics to consumer c…

Mei-Lin Tan ·   · 5m
Startups

Two AI Safety Veterans Launch Certification Standard for Enterprise Agents

AIUC raises $55 million to audit AI systems before deployment, targeting buyers who refuse to adopt agents without proof they won't misbehav…

Sofia M. Reyes ·   · 8m
Startups

Profound Reaches Unicorn Status Seven Months After Last Fundraise

The marketing software firm targeting AI-powered search raised $180 million at a $1.8 billion valuation as brands race to stay visible in an…

Arjun S. Mehta ·   · 6m
Startups

Vietnam's Tevo Closes $10 Million Non-Dilutive Financing to Scale App Portfolio

The Hanoi-based consumer app operator secured growth capital from Singapore's PvX Partners without surrendering equity, enabling expansion a…

Linh T. Pham ·   · 5m
Startups

OpenAI Acquires Camera-AI Specialist Glass Imaging in $300 Million Deal

The maker of the ChatGPT chatbot absorbs a startup founded by ex-Apple engineers who pioneered Portrait Mode, signalling deeper ambitions in…

Arjun S. Mehta ·   · 5m
Startups

The Micromanager Behind China's Robot Price War

Wang Xingxing built Unitree into a humanoid robotics leader by personally choosing screw lengths and material colours, but that obsessive co…

Wei Zhang ·   · 6m
Startups

Cornelis Secures $205 Million to Break Nvidia's Infrastructure Lock-In

The Intel spin-off is betting that open networking architecture can challenge the GPU giant's tightly integrated stack, starting with a fabr…

Daniel R. Whitfield ·   · 4m
Startups

Superhuman Buys Fathom to Turn Meeting Data into Automated Workflows

The acquisition reflects a broader shift in productivity software - from capturing conversations to triggering autonomous work without promp…

Mei-Lin Tan ·   · 6m
Startups

Matt Mullenweg Reclaims Automattic CEO Role After Board Standoff

The WordPress founder returned to his position days after a board vote placed him on leave, in a power struggle that played out on Slack and…

Wei Zhang ·   · 4m
Startups

Inside Insight Partners' Contrarian Bet on AI Lab Diversity

Whilst peers concentrate capital on OpenAI and Anthropic, Devin Parekh's $90bn firm is backing multiple foundation model rivals and navigati…

Arjun S. Mehta ·   · 6m
Startups

OpenAI Shelves IPO Plans as Safety Incidents Pile Up

Sam Altman cites "ill-advised moment" amid multiple agent breakout episodes across the industry, signalling a shift toward containment over …

Marcus Halloran ·   · 4m
Startups

Why OpenAI and Anthropic Are Raiding Meta and Google's Asia Leadership Benches

Frontier AI labs are hunting for executives who understand both Silicon Valley capital allocation and local government relations - and the p…

Linh T. Pham ·   · 5m
Startups

Sequoia Bets on Motion-Capture Startup as Humanoid Robot Race Hungers for Data

Mecka AI is closing in on a $500 million valuation just months after its last round, underscoring how fast the market for physical-world tra…

Kenji Watanabe ·   · 4m
Startups

Nscale Recruits Fidji Simo as IPO Preparations Accelerate

The UK AI infrastructure company adds a fourth high-profile board member with experience scaling billion-user platforms and navigating publi…

Kenji Watanabe ·   · 5m
Startups

Maven Robotics Closes $100M to Scale Warehouse Automation Without the Research Lab Mystique

A startup founded by Apple special-projects veterans is betting that industrial pragmatism, not model innovation, will win the physical AI r…

Mei-Lin Tan ·   · 7m
Startups

Enflame's 188 Per Cent Trading Debut Highlights Investor Hunger for China AI Chip Plays

The Tencent-backed challenger to Nvidia completes a quartet of Chinese AI silicon makers to reach public markets, drawing intense retail and…

Hana Park ·   · 8m
Startups

Bending Spoons Acquires Miro for $1.36 Billion After 92% Valuation Drop

The Italian serial buyer continues its strategy of acquiring mature SaaS companies far below their pandemic-era peaks, as collaboration tool…

Sofia M. Reyes ·   · 5m
Startups

Moonshot AI Eyes Dual-Exchange Listing to Fund Kimi's Next Phase

The Beijing start-up behind China's widely adopted Kimi K3 model is weighing Hong Kong and Shanghai IPOs as it races to secure capital for i…

Hana Park ·   · 5m
Startups

Listen Labs Abandons $1.5 Billion Funding Round Amid Salesforce Acquisition Talks

The voice AI market research startup walked away from a signed Series C term sheet as acquisition discussions emerge, highlighting how M&A o…

Marcus Halloran ·   · 4m
Startups

JD Logistics Plans 3 Million Robots Across China as Warehouse Automation Accelerates

Beijing-based e-commerce firm commits to five-year robotics procurement while pledging retraining for frontline workers facing displacement…

Hana Park ·   · 5m
Startups

Automattic's Board Ejects Mullenweg from CEO Post Amid Legal Turbulence

Mark Davies assumes interim leadership at the WordPress.com parent company as founder Matt Mullenweg protests a forced leave of absence he s…

Sofia M. Reyes ·   · 5m