Startups Weekly: AMD Acquires Enosemi and Other Noteworthy Moves in AI

This week’s startups news highlights AMD’s acquisition of Enosemi to enhance AI innovation, Anthropic appointing Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, and Life360 launching tracking features. Funding activities saw significant investments in various sectors, including Neuralink’s $600 million raise and Snapbit’s $19 million round, reflecting the ongoing evolution of the tech landscape.

Welcome to another edition of Startups Weekly, where we sift through the noise of the startup landscape to bring you the highlights you shouldn’t miss. This week was a bit quieter in terms of buzzworthy news, especially compared to Nvidia’s earnings releases, but there were definitely happenings worth noting, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and venture capital (VC) funding, which keeps evolving in interesting ways.

To kick things off, AMD made waves by acquiring Enosemi this week. This Boston-based startup specializes in designing custom materials to enhance silicon photonics for product development. While the details of the deal remain under wraps, AMD’s motivation is clear: they aim to fast-track their co-packaged optics innovation, specifically in the realm of AI systems.

In another noteworthy move, AI startup Anthropic appointed Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, to its board of directors. Hastings, who’s been on boards for firms such as Meta and Microsoft, was tapped through Anthropic’s independent Long-Term Benefit Trust. His experience is expected to steer Anthropic as it navigates the growing landscape of AI technology.

Meanwhile, safety app Life360 has finally rolled out lost item tracking capabilities through collaboration with Tile, more than three years after acquiring the company for a cool $205 million. This feature, akin to Apple’s AirTags, is particularly essential as the app aims to grow its offerings in smart family safety.

Sahil Lavingia, a known entrepreneur and angel investor, also shared some candid details about his brief tenure at Elon Musk’s DOGE operation, revealing he lasted just 55 days before his exit. Meanwhile, Musk himself is reportedly on the way out, bringing an end to an era, or at least a chapter.

On to TechCrunch Sessions: AI, where you can snag $300 off your ticket until June 4. This event promises a day filled with panels, workshops, and networking featuring leaders like those from OpenAI and Anthropic. Don’t let these deals slip through your fingers, they vanish when doors open on June 5.

In funding news, Ten-year-old cybersecurity company Thinkst Canary is making headlines for hitting $20 million in annual recurring revenue—all without a dime of VC investment. Quite the feat in today’s funding climate!

For some juicy rumors, it appears Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, has raised around $600 million at a pre-money valuation of $9 billion. Also, Samsung is reportedly looking to inject $100 million into Exo, a startup focusing on medical devices, through its venture arm.

Cybersecurity startup Horizon3.ai is seeking to raise $100 million, having already secured a good chunk of it at $73 million. Over in Chicago, construction tech startup Buildots scored $45 million in Series D funding, bringing its total to a hefty $166 million.

In other funding rounds, Rillet raised $25 million led by Sequoia after just 10 months of earlier fundraising efforts, while Snabbit, an Indian startup in the home services world, locked in $19 million in its Series B round with a post-money valuation of $80 million.

Matthias Niessner’s new venture SpAItial has brought in $13 million to build a foundation model for interactive 3D environments, closely mirroring a recent competitor’s AI model. Gridcare, emerging from stealth, announced an oversubscribed $13.5 million seed round, set to connect data centers with utilities through its AI-powered system.

Lastly, the Saudi government is revving up plans to launch Humain Ventures, a massive $10 billion fund aimed at U.S., European, and Asian startups. Meanwhile, Outset Ventures in New Zealand has closed its second fund of about $25 million targeting deep tech startups.

As for the nuclear energy front, fusion startups continue to attract heavy investor interest, though, let’s face it, the projects are still experimental. In contrast, fission startups are catching the eye of Big Tech as they have a clearer path to powering data centers. Stay tuned as the energy wars heat up.

In summary, this week showcased several key movements in the startup landscape, notably with AMD’s acquisition of Enosemi to bolster AI capabilities, and Anthropic gaining Netflix’s Reed Hastings on board. Meanwhile, fundraising across sectors revealed strong VC interest, particularly in AI, cybersecurity, and energy—illustrating how diverse and dynamic the startup ecosystem remains. Overall, the week offered a mix of announcements that point towards a surging demand for innovative technology in everyday applications.

Original Source: techcrunch.com