## Turbi's Major Funding Milestone

Brazilian startup **Turbi**, known for its innovative **car rentals by the hour**, has successfully secured a **156 million-real ($29 million) local note issuance**. This significant financial backing was anchored by **Itau Unibanco Holding SA**, one of Brazil's largest banks, marking a pivotal moment for the company.

### Strategic Expansion and IPO Ambitions

The newly acquired funds are earmarked for **domestic expansion**, allowing Turbi to scale its operations across Brazil. More importantly, this move is a strategic step towards preparing for a **potential public offering (IPO)**, signaling strong investor confidence and growth prospects in the competitive car-rental market.

### Leadership and Vision

Key figures driving Turbi's success include **Daniel Prado**, CEO and co-founder, **Mario Liao**, CFO, and **Eduardo Portelada**, investor relations director. Their leadership is crucial as the company navigates this expansion phase and eyes future public markets.

![Turbi’s leadership team: Eduardo Portelada, Daniel Prado, and Mario Liao](Source: Turbi)

Brazilian startup Turbi, which offers car rentals by the hour, secured a 156 million-real ($29 million) local note issuance anchored by Itau Unibanco Holding SA to fund its domestic expansion and prepare for a potential public offering.

Brazil's Turbi Secures $29M from Itau, Gearing Up for IPO in Car-Rental Revolution

## Tia's Workforce Reduction

**Tia**, a prominent **women's health startup**, has announced a significant workforce reduction, cutting **23% of its staff**. This move comes as the company navigates the challenging landscape of healthcare startups.

### About Tia

Tia operates a unique **hybrid care model**, offering both **in-person and virtual care services** specifically tailored for women. The company has gained attention for its comprehensive approach to women's health, addressing everything from primary care to specialized women's health services.

![Tia's Silver Lake clinic in Los Angeles](https://i.insider.com/68f2bacf1c1f80efbec5d6ee?width=700)

*Tia's Silver Lake clinic in Los Angeles*

### Investor Backing

One of Tia's most notable investors is **Melinda French Gates**, whose involvement has brought significant credibility and attention to the startup. This high-profile backing had positioned Tia as a promising player in the **women's health technology space**.

### The Current Situation

The staff reduction, announced on **October 17, 2025**, represents a substantial restructuring for the company. While the exact number of affected employees hasn't been disclosed, a 23% cut indicates significant operational changes within the organization.

### Industry Context

This workforce reduction occurs amid broader challenges in the **healthtech startup ecosystem**, where many companies are facing pressure to demonstrate sustainable business models and path to profitability. The women's health sector, while growing, has seen increased competition and funding challenges in recent quarters.

### What This Means

The layoffs suggest Tia is taking measures to **streamline operations** and potentially extend its **runway** amid current market conditions. For a company that had been expanding its physical clinic footprint while maintaining virtual services, this represents a notable shift in strategy.

Tia, which operates in-person and virtual care for women and counts Melinda French Gates as an investor, slashed its staff.

Tia Cuts 23% of Workforce: What's Next for This Women's Health Startup?

## The Rise of Tempo: A Blockchain Powerhouse

As excitement around **stablecoins** surges from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, one of the most prominent new crypto projects has secured a massive war chest to fuel its ambitious goals. **Tempo**, a payments-focused blockchain developed by fintech giant **Stripe** and blockchain venture firm **Paradigm**, has raised **$500 million** in a Series A funding round. This round was led by venture giants **Greenoaks** and **Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital**, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The funding values Tempo at an impressive **$5 billion**, marking one of the highest-valued blockchain venture rounds in recent years. Other notable participants include **Sequoia**, **Ribbit Capital**, and **Ron Conway’s SV Angel**. Notably, Paradigm and Stripe did not contribute capital to this round.

## Tempo's Vision for Stablecoins

The **Tempo blockchain** is designed with partners like **OpenAI**, **Shopify**, and **Visa**, primarily focusing on **stablecoins**. This initiative represents a bold bet that dollar-backed cryptocurrencies will become the new infrastructure layer for global payments.

Greenoaks and Thrive leading this round is significant, as these generalist firms typically invest in mainstream sectors like AI and business software. Their involvement signals that **crypto has entered the mainstream**. For Tempo, this backing will help it challenge established players such as **Circle** and **Tether**, and disrupt incumbents like **Mastercard**.

## Stripe's Expanding Crypto Ambitions

Tempo is just the latest move in Stripe's growing crypto portfolio. Earlier this year, Stripe acquired stablecoin startup **Bridge for $1.1 billion** and announced plans to buy crypto wallet company **Privy**. Stripe has also launched products like **Open Issuance**, enabling customers to create their own stablecoins. Bridge's CEO, Zach Abrams, recently announced an application for a national bank trust charter under the **Genius Act**, new legislation regulating stablecoin issuers.

Tempo stands as Stripe's most ambitious project yet, aiming to compete with established blockchains like **Ethereum** and **Solana** in processing stablecoin transactions. Paradigm's managing partner, **Matt Huang**, who also sits on Stripe's board, is leading Tempo. The launch date remains unclear, and it's uncertain if Tempo will issue its own token. The company has stated it will remain **stablecoin agnostic**, allowing various tokens for transaction fees.

## The Trend of Corporate Blockchains

Stripe isn't alone in this space. Since January, financial firms such as **Robinhood** and **Circle** have unveiled plans to launch their own blockchains. These efforts aim to control every layer of the crypto technology stack, from software for stablecoin transfers to the underlying servers processing transactions. Blockchains are networks of servers that handle crypto transactions, and these corporate initiatives highlight a push to dominate the infrastructure of digital payments.

The Series A values the Matt Huang–led Tempo at $5 billion and includes participation from Sequoia, Ribbit, and SV Angel.

Stripe-Backed Tempo Raises $500M at $5B Valuation: The New Blockchain Challenger for Stablecoins

## Don't Miss Out: Final Hours to Save Big on TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

**Today is your last opportunity to secure massive savings** on passes for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025! Register before 11:59 p.m. PT tonight to save up to **$624** on your admission. This is the **lowest rate available** before the event kicks off at San Francisco’s Moscone West from October 27-29. After today, prices will rise, and they'll be even higher at the door.

![TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 24 hours left](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/TC25_24Hours-16X9-Dark.png?w=680)

## Why You Should Attend Disrupt

### Connect with 10,000+ Founders, VCs, Operators, and Innovators

**TechCrunch Disrupt** is renowned as a **launchpad for scaling and innovation**. In just three days, you can make a year’s worth of connections with the brightest minds in tech. This is where ideas turn into opportunities.

### 20,000+ Curated and Impromptu Meetings

The **Braindate app** simplifies scheduling 1:1 or small-group discussions on topics that matter to you. Get candid feedback on your pitch, have your questions answered by leaders, and find potential partners, investors, or mentors.

Beyond formal networking in the Networking Lounge, the venue spans three floors with five industry stages, roundtables, breakouts, and the Expo Hall. Every corner offers a chance to meet someone influential. **Founders** and **investors** enjoy exclusive access to the **Deal Flow Cafe**, a quiet space for discussing deals over coffee.

![TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Braindate meeting with investor](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Braindate-Braindate-Meeting-with-Investor.jpg?w=680)

### 250+ Top Tech Voices

Gain insights from some of the biggest players in the tech ecosystem. The **Disrupt speaker lineup** is packed with industry leaders, including:

- **Chris Barman**, CEO, Slate Auto
- **Baiju Bhatt**, founder, Aetherflux
- **Roelof Botha**, managing partner, Sequoia Capital
- **Phoebe Gates** and **Sophia Kianni**, co-founders, Phia
- **Elad Gil**, CEO, Gil & Co.
- **Vinod Khosla**, founder, Khosla Ventures
- **Tekedra Mawakana**, co-CEO, Waymo
- **Bridgit Mendler**, co-founder, Northwood Space
- **Kevin Scott**, CTO, Microsoft
- **Elizabeth Stone**, CTO, Netflix

![Disrupt speaker lineup](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/54099913287_779d0d7808_k.jpg?w=680)

### 200+ Sessions

From **AI and fintech** to **climate and transportation**, Disrupt offers sessions for everyone in tech. This year features five industry stages: AI, Builders, Going Public, Space, and the Main Stage, where top leaders discuss the state of tech, scaling, and innovation.

Roundtables and breakouts run throughout the event, providing opportunities to learn from the greatest minds through highly engaging and dynamic sessions. Check out the growing lineup on the **Disrupt agenda**.

### 300+ Showcasing Startups

Explore an unprecedented number of **startups exhibiting this year**. Walk through the Expo Hall and venue to see innovations from early-stage startups to enterprise brands, and experience live demos firsthand.

![Startups exhibiting at Disrupt](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/8697162730_891d808f92_o.jpg?w=680)

## Act Now: Register Before 11:59 p.m. PT Tonight

This is your **final chance** to lock in the lowest Disrupt pass. Prices increase after today. **Save up to $624 by registering now**. We’ll see you October 27 to 29 at Moscone West in San Francisco.

![TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 event](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/TechCrunch-Disrupt-2024-SB200.jpg?w=680)

Register for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 before 11:59 p.m. PT tonight and save up to $624 on your pass. Save now.

Unlock Your Startup's Future: Last Chance to Save $624 on TechCrunch Disrupt 2025!

## From Dorm Room Geckos to Thriving Startups

In 2022, Kat Lee and her roommate at Tulane University thought the geckos sharing an enclosure in their dorm room were both females. They didn't learn otherwise until they discovered a happy family—mom, dad, and two babies—living in the habitat a few weeks later.

After the initial shock, Lee, who grew up around all sorts of exotic pets, came up with a solution with an upside: she would offer to sell the two new lizards to other students looking for low-maintenance companions. By the end of the school year, she had bred and sold 10 baby geckos for $400 each, including a complete "starter kit" that included an enclosure and supplies. Each transaction earned her a tidy profit.

![Kat Lee with her geckos](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d5/fd54924f-94a2-51c3-bcbd-6e050be8ebd7/68f006a0e45e7.image.jpg?resize=400%2C303)

After transferring from Tulane to the nursing program at Loyola University New Orleans at the end of her freshman year, Lee has continued to grow her startup company, **Katamaran Reptile Ranch**, now headquartered in her half of shotgun double near campus. Over the past 12 months, she has grossed roughly $30,000 by breeding and shipping the lizards nationwide.

## The Rise of Campus Entrepreneurship Support

As she's worked to grow the business, Lee has received support from **Loyola's Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development**, an 11-year-old initiative that's been cranking up programming to meet rising student interest in all things entrepreneurial.

She is far from the only one getting similar help.

![Kat Lee with a gecko named Rodeo](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/0e/e0e4b40b-731d-51f9-8f2e-0dfe569979f1/68f006a1db33c.image.jpg)

Across the state, colleges and universities are cultivating student entrepreneurs and helping them launch successful startups through new and expanded **entrepreneurship classes**, on-campus **business incubators**, and **pitch competitions**. The move comes as young people show a greater awareness of entrepreneurship than older generations and less interest in trying to climb the corporate ladder for the duration of their career.

## The Digital Advantage for Young Founders

The internet and social media have fostered the growth of this trend by providing access to low-cost marketing, customer feedback, e-commerce, and networking. Lee's business, for instance, is powered by the website MorphMarket, an "Etsy for reptiles" of sorts that connects buyers and sellers online.

![Shafin Khan](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/51/e51578d8-7587-11ec-bb6b-f3221156c4bf/61e1f6b294cf6.image.jpg)

"Students of this generation see an opportunity while they are young to take risks and try to build something on their own," said Shafin Khan, a vice president at the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, which runs some of the school's entrepreneurship programming. "They want to leave their mark and that’s why there’s high demand at the competitions."

## Diverse Student Ventures Across Louisiana

### From Better Basketball to Mochi Donuts

Lee's fellow undergrad entrepreneurs at schools across Louisiana have set out to solve a wide range of problems.

During his freshman year at UNO in 2022, Andrew Bradford partnered with his friend Julien Bourgeois to take the top prize at the school's inaugural StartupUNO pitch competition. Bradford and Bourgeois have since racked up about $70,000 in prize money for "Automatic," their Apple Watch app that helps basketball players improve their performance by providing shot-by-shot analysis as they practice. The app, recently renamed **Ball AI**, has been downloaded 40,000 times.

"Pitch competitions teach you how to speak publicly and how business works," Bradford said. "Engineering and computer science majors aren’t going to learn to write financial models, create a pitch deck or strengthen networking skills, but starting the business has given that to us for the rest of our lives."

In Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Lafayette student Ethan Ly launched a mochi donut business, **"Domochi,"** which offers an assortment of colorful, Instagram-worthy treats in flavors that include beignet, matcha and Nutella. Social media marketing is a key to the venture's growth.

Loyola student Tristan Sariego founded **Breeze Shuttles** in 2023 to provide safe and affordable late-night rides for students. The service began with golf carts and is expanding to add electric vehicles to its fleet.

Other student-led ventures include an online game to help children develop emotional intelligence; 3D-printed, biodegradable Mardi Gras beads; a tool to improve the efficiency of solar panels; and an app to help farmers manage their crops more efficiently.

## High-Growth Potential Ventures

Some of the companies have a higher potential for growth than others.

![Dylan Murray, co-founder of Exactics](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/95/d95b601d-8ec7-4086-a3e2-7bce6dd5cd13/68effb87d5005.image.jpg)

Tulane senior Dylan Murray is one of four co-founders of **Exactics**, a biotech startup that has raised $1.5 million from investors so far to help launch its first product, an at-home test that can confirm if a tick is infected with the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease, enabling early detection and treatment.

Last month, Tulane's 2-year-old venture capital fund, **Tulane Ventures**, announced a $250,000 investment in the young company, which has contracted the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center to validate the effectiveness of its product.

"They have plans for developing future diagnostic tools," said Kimberly Gramm, leader of the Tulane Innovation Institute. "Lyme disease is the first of many, and infectious diseases is one of Tulane’s areas of scientific focus."

## Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

### 'It's How You Take Control'

The school leaders supporting these young entrepreneurs see the coursework and extracurricular programming as a way to enhance learning in all departments.

"We’re giving students across all disciplines different tools to identify problems, analyze markets and pitch their solutions through new courses, mentorship programs and campus-wide competitions," said Gramm.

![Kimberly Gramm](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/c5/8c57495b-6b58-40df-9904-21fceafa016e/68dad11cd41ef.image.jpg)

The ultimate goal, she added, is to see more companies launched in New Orleans that create jobs and keep more talented graduates in the local community.

Changes at Tulane and elsewhere reflect efforts to achieve that goal.

Tulane's Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation debuted in 2017, and the school's minor in entrepreneurship became available five years later. Separately, Tulane's Innovation Institute launched in 2022 to help students, faculty and community members turn ideas into businesses.

The same year, UNO launched its StartupUNO pitch competition.

Xavier University of Louisiana established its Entrepreneurship Institute in 2023. LSU launched its major in entrepreneurship four years ago and hosts multiple pitch competitions and other similar programs across all disciplines.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe has a long-running event that attracts applicants from around the state. UL at Lafayette debuted its "Inn-eaux-vate" pitch competition six years ago and has seen growing interest.

![Jonathan Shirley, LEED Center program and operations manager at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/88/788271cb-8f87-4204-b071-2ffed54024cc/68effc3b90cb0.image.jpg)

"We had 83 students submit applications this year, which is crazy," said Jonathan Shirley, a program manager at UL's entrepreneurship center. "That's about double what we had last time."

Earlier this year, Tulane hosted a training program for faculty to help them find ways to embed innovation and entrepreneurship into their classes. The school also has created the Startup Strategy Lab for undergraduates, and the Tulane Innovation Institute has partnered with the Young Entrepreneurship Academy to provide an after-school program for high schoolers.

Loyola hosts the annual Wolf Pack LaunchU pitch competition, which Lee won last month, along with the 4-year-old Side Hustle Expo, which is a combination of a pop-up market and science fair.

![Sam McCabe, director of the Loyola University New Orleans Center for Entrepreneurship and Community](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/17/a179bb29-f36e-4959-8ed2-b2ac2f9782a1/67daf0d994c3d.image.jpg)

"Our goal is to help students survive off of their passions," said Sam McCabe, director of the school's entrepreneurship center.

Taking the goal a step further, Loyola began hosting New Orleans Entrepreneur Week last year. The multiday event originally created by the Idea Village now connects undergrads with founders, investors and entrepreneurial support organizations from around the region.

To Shirley, this type of programming is about more than developing business skills.

"It’s a philosophy for life," he said. "It’s how you take control and do what you want to do. That mentality is something more universities are looking to weave into their curriculum because it’s a skillset that transcends whatever job you might go get."

Across the state, colleges and universities are cultivating student entrepreneurs and helping them launch successful startups through new and expanded entrepreneurship classes, on-campus business incubators, and pitch competitions. The move comes as young people show a greater awareness of entrepreneurship than older generations and less interest in trying to climb the corporate ladder for the duration of their career.

How Louisiana Colleges Are Fueling the Next Generation of Student Entrepreneurs

Youth and passion are a potent combination. Add in drive, grit, and curiosity, and you have the perfect descriptors for this year's **Inno Under 25**, a six-member cohort of next-generation entrepreneurs ready to leave their mark.

![Inno Under 25 Hero Image](https://media.bizj.us/view/img/13075505/inno-under-25-hero-image01*900xx6400-3600-0-0.jpg)

Cincy Inno is recognizing six young entrepreneurs you need to know as part of our annual **Inno Under 25 list**. These rising stars are tackling big challenges and shaping the future of **Cincinnati's startup scene**.

Cincinnati's Inno Under 25 honors young entrepreneurs tackling big challenges. Meet the minds shaping the future of the Queen City's startups.

Meet Cincinnati's Top 6 Young Entrepreneurs Under 25: The Future of Innovation

## The Shift from Quantity to Quality in AI Training Data

For one week this summer, **Taylor and her roommate wore GoPro cameras strapped to their foreheads** as they painted, sculpted, and did household chores. They were training an AI vision model, carefully syncing their footage so the system could get multiple angles on the same behavior. It was difficult work in many ways, but they were well paid for it — and it allowed Taylor to spend most of her day making art.

“We woke up, did our regular routine, and then strapped the cameras on our head and synced the times together,” she said. “Then we would make our breakfast and clean the dishes. Then we’d go our separate ways and work on art.”

They were hired to produce five hours of synced footage each day, but Taylor quickly learned she needed to allot seven hours a day for the work, to leave enough time for breaks and physical recovery.

“It would give you headaches,” she said. “You take it off and there’s just a red square on your forehead.”

Taylor, who asked not to give her last name, was working as a data freelancer for **Turing**, an AI company. Turing’s goal wasn’t to teach the AI how to make oil paintings, but to gain more abstract skills around **sequential problem-solving and visual reasoning**. Unlike a large language model, Turing’s vision model would be trained entirely on video — and most of it would be collected directly by Turing.

Alongside artists like Taylor, Turing is contracting with chefs, construction workers, and electricians — anyone who works with their hands. Turing Chief AGI Officer Sudarshan Sivaraman told TechCrunch the manual collection is the only way to get a varied enough dataset.

“We are doing it for so many different kinds of blue-collar work, so that we have a **diversity of data in the pre-training phase**,” Sivaraman said. “After we capture all this information, the models will be able to understand how a certain task is performed.”

## The Growing Importance of Proprietary Data in AI

Turing’s work on vision models is part of a growing shift in how AI companies deal with data. Where training sets were once scraped freely from the web or collected from low-paid annotators, companies are now **paying top dollar for carefully curated data**.

With the raw power of AI already established, companies are looking to **proprietary training data as a competitive advantage**. And instead of farming out the task to contractors, they’re often taking on the work themselves.

The email company **Fyxer**, which uses AI models to sort emails and draft replies, is one example.

After some early experiments, founder Richard Hollingsworth discovered the best approach was to use an array of small models with tightly focused training data. Unlike Turing, Fyxer is building off someone else’s foundation model — but the underlying insight is the same.

“We realized that the **quality of the data, not the quantity**, is the thing that really defines the performance,” Hollingsworth said.

In practical terms, that meant some unconventional personnel choices. In the early days, Fyxer engineers and managers were sometimes outnumbered four to one by the executive assistants needed to train the model, Hollingsworth says.

“We used a lot of experienced executive assistants, because we needed to train on the fundamentals of whether an email should be responded to,” he said. “It’s a very people-oriented problem. Finding great people is very hard.”

The pace of data collection never slowed down, but over time Hollingsworth became more precious about the datasets, preferring smaller sets of more tightly curated datasets when it came time for post-training. As he puts it, “the quality of the data, not the quantity, is the thing that really defines the performance.”

## The Role of Synthetic Data and Competitive Moats

That’s particularly true when **synthetic data** is used, magnifying both the scope of possible training scenarios and the impact of any flaws in the original dataset. On the vision side, Turing estimates that 75% to 80% of its data is synthetic, extrapolated from the original GoPro videos. But that makes it even more important to keep the original dataset as high-quality as possible.

“If the pre-training data itself is not of good quality, then whatever you do with synthetic data is also not going to be of good quality,” Sivaraman says.

Beyond concerns of quality, there’s a powerful competitive logic behind keeping data collection in-house. For Fyxer, the hard work of data collection is one of the best **moats the company has against competition**. As Hollingsworth sees it, anyone can build an open source model into their product — but not everyone can find expert annotators to train it into a workable product.

“We believe that the best way to do it is through data,” he said, “through building custom models, through high-quality, human-led data training.”

Where training sets were once scraped freely from the web or collected from low-paid annotators, companies are looking to proprietary training data as a competitive advantage.

The Secret Weapon of AI Startups: Why High-Quality Data Collection Is Becoming Their Biggest Competitive Edge

## The AI-Fusion Partnership

Energy startup **Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS)** announced it's collaborating with **Google's DeepMind** division to optimize and enhance the operation of its upcoming **Sparc reactor** using artificial intelligence.

![Alex Creely, director of Tokamak operations at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, points to a reactor schematic.](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/V1ql49hpFEkCInEOSIlJFg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTQ1NztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/08e270e765192aacaef87dfb9b0d19a8)

*Alex Creely, director of Tokamak operations at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, at the company's campus in Devens, Massachusetts, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. Commonwealth Fusion Systems LLC's growing conviction that fusion is within reach after decades of research comes as the company completes the magnet that will be critical for containing the superheated plasma needed to generate power. | Image Credits:Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg / Getty Images*

## How AI Is Transforming Fusion Energy

The partnership will use DeepMind's specialized software **Torax** to simulate the plasma behavior inside CFS's reactor. The companies plan to combine Torax with **AI models** to identify the most effective approaches for achieving **fusion power**.

**Fusion power** offers the potential for massive electricity generation with **zero emissions** from an almost limitless fuel source: water. This has attracted significant interest from **AI companies** seeking reliable power for energy-intensive data centers.

## Google's Growing Fusion Portfolio

This isn't Google's first venture into nuclear fusion. The tech giant previously worked with another fusion startup, **TAE Technologies**, using AI to study plasma behavior in their fusion device.

Google's continued interest stems from AI's unique capability to solve one of fusion's biggest challenges: maintaining plasma stability. Unlike self-sustaining nuclear fission reactions, **fusion reactions** are extremely difficult to maintain outside stellar conditions. The plasma constantly risks diffusion and extinction without massive gravitational forces.

## The Plasma Control Challenge

In CFS's reactors, powerful magnets replace gravity to contain the plasma, but they're imperfect. Reactor operators must develop **control software** that can continuously adapt to changing plasma conditions.

The complexity lies in the numerous variables involved—far more than humans can manage effectively. This is precisely where **AI excels**, and experts consider it one of the key technologies driving the industry's recent remarkable advances.

## Sparc Reactor Progress

CFS is currently building its **Sparc demonstration reactor** in a Boston suburb. The device is approximately **two-thirds complete** and scheduled for completion in late 2026. The startup predicts Sparc will be the **first fusion device** capable of producing more power than it consumes.

## Advanced AI Applications

Google states that Torax can be integrated with **reinforcement learning** or **evolutionary search models** to identify the most efficient and robust paths to achieving **net energy generation**. The companies are also exploring whether AI can directly control reactor operations.

## Strategic Investments and Partnerships

In August, Google participated in CFS's **$863 million Series B2** funding round alongside **Nvidia**. Earlier this year, Google committed to purchasing **200 megawatts of electricity** from CFS's first commercial power plant, **Arc**, planned for construction outside Richmond, Virginia. Google also maintains investments in CFS competitor TAE Technologies.

Google has invested in fusion startups as potential power suppliers. This latest move suggests Google sees them as potential customers, too.

Brazil's Turbi Secures $29M from Itau, Gearing Up for IPO in Car-Rental Revolution

Summary:

Turbi's Major Funding Milestone

Strategic Expansion and IPO Ambitions

Leadership and Vision

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The Secret Weapon of AI Startups: Why High-Quality Data Collection Is Becoming Their Biggest Competitive Edge

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