## A New Era in Cancer Treatment

**Peter Thiel**, **Jeff Bezos**, and other prominent investors are backing **HistoSonics Inc.** at a staggering **$3 billion valuation**. They're placing their bets on a groundbreaking technology that uses **sound waves** to treat tumors, offering a non-invasive alternative to traditional methods.

## Expanding the Reach of Ultrasound Therapy

Currently focused on **liver tumors**, HistoSonics plans to use a fresh **$250 million investment** to broaden the applications of its ultrasound therapy devices. The goal is to target growths in the **breast, prostate, pancreas**, and other areas. Additionally, the company is accelerating its efforts to tackle **brain cancer**, promising new hope for patients with this challenging condition.

This innovative approach could revolutionize how we fight cancer, making treatments safer and more accessible.

Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos and other investors are backing the health-care company HistoSonics Inc. at a $3 billion valuation — betting that its technology that can help treat tumors using sound waves.

Sound Waves That Destroy Tumors: Thiel and Bezos Bet Big on Revolutionary Health Tech

## Unprecedented Funding Drives AI Startup Valuations

In an extraordinary surge of investment, **AI startups** have seen their valuations soar to nearly **$1 trillion** in the past year alone. This frenzy includes major players like **OpenAI** and **Elon Musk's xAI**, highlighting a massive influx of capital into the artificial intelligence sector.

### Investor Frenzy and Bubble Concerns

Many experts are raising alarms, with some declaring, **'Of course it's a bubble'**, as the rapid increase in valuations outpaces traditional growth metrics. This trend mirrors historical tech bubbles, where speculative investments led to inflated asset prices.

### Key Players and Market Impact

- **OpenAI**: Continues to lead with groundbreaking AI models.
- **xAI**: Elon Musk's venture adds to the competitive landscape.
- **Other Groups**: At least 10 significant AI startups are driving this valuation spike.

The implications for **entrepreneurs** and **investors** are profound, as the potential for high returns is tempered by risks of a market correction. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for anyone involved in the startup ecosystem.

Unprecedented funding leads 10 groups including OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI to gain almost $1tn in value in past year

AI Startup Valuations Skyrocket: Is This the Next Tech Bubble?

## Poolside AI's Potential Funding Breakthrough

**Poolside**, a promising two-year-old startup focused on developing **artificial intelligence coding assistants**, is currently engaged in confidential discussions to secure new funding from **Magnetar**, a prominent hedge fund known for its significant backing of **CoreWeave**. This potential investment marks the first time Magnetar would be involved with Poolside, according to insider sources with direct knowledge of the fundraising negotiations.

### Key Details of the Funding Round

The startup is reportedly seeking to raise approximately **$2 million** in this funding round, though specific terms and valuation remain undisclosed. Magnetar's potential participation in this funding has not been previously reported, making this development particularly noteworthy in the AI startup ecosystem.

### Strategic Implications for AI Development

This potential funding partnership could significantly accelerate Poolside's development of **AI-powered coding tools**, positioning the company to compete more effectively in the rapidly growing market for **developer assistance technologies**. The connection to CoreWeave through Magnetar's backing suggests potential synergies in cloud infrastructure and AI deployment capabilities.

### Market Context and Industry Impact

The AI coding assistant space has seen substantial growth and investment activity in recent years, with companies racing to develop tools that can streamline software development processes and enhance programmer productivity. Poolside's ability to attract interest from established investors like Magnetar indicates strong confidence in their technology and business model.

 Poolside, a two-year-old startup that had been developing artificial intelligence coding assistants, is in talks to raise money from Magnetar, a hedge fund that is a major backer of CoreWeave, for the first time, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising discussions. Magnetar’s potential involvement hasn’t previously been reported. 

 The startup is seeking to raise around $2

Poolside AI in Secret Funding Talks With CoreWeave Backer Magnetar - Exclusive Report

![Viven | Image Credits: Viven](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/9E6nWBH0hddCCNYRUl7M1A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MTtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/cbead273c82531c3bd1aed19a9d3e2a5)

## The Problem of Unavailable Colleagues

In today's fast-paced work environments, teams often face delays when key colleagues are unavailable—whether they're on vacation, in different time zones, or simply busy. This can halt progress on critical projects, leading to inefficiencies and missed deadlines.

## Introducing Viven: AI-Powered Digital Twins

**Ashutosh Garg** and **Varun Kacholia**, the co-founders behind the successful AI recruiting startup **Eightfold** (last valued at $2.1 billion), have launched **Viven** to tackle this issue. Leveraging advances in **LLMs** and **data privacy technologies**, Viven creates a **digital twin** for each employee by analyzing their internal documents like email, Slack, and Google Docs. This allows team members to query the twin for immediate answers, even when the actual person is unreachable.

## Major Funding and Stealth Mode Exit

Viven recently emerged from stealth with a massive **$35 million seed funding round**. The investment was led by **Khosla Ventures** and **Foundation Capital**, with participation from **FPV Ventures** and others, signaling strong confidence in its innovative approach.

## How Viven's Technology Works

Each employee's digital twin is powered by a specialized **LLM** that accesses their electronic communications and documents. Other employees can interact with the twin as if they were speaking directly to the person, receiving quick responses based on shared knowledge and project details.

**Ashutosh Garg** explains, "When each and every person has a digital twin, you can just talk to their twin as if you're talking to that person and get the response."

## Addressing Privacy and Context Challenges

A significant hurdle in implementing such technology is handling **sensitive information** and personal data. Viven overcomes this through **pairwise context and privacy**, enabling its LLMs to determine precisely what information can be shared and with whom. The system is designed to recognize personal contexts and keep private matters confidential, such as questions about an employee's personal life.

Additionally, **query history visibility** acts as a safeguard, allowing employees to monitor interactions with their digital twin and deter inappropriate inquiries.

**Ashu Garg** of Foundation Capital noted, "It's a very hard problem to solve, and until recently, it was unsolvable."

## Early Adoption and Leadership

Viven is already being used by enterprise clients like **Genpact** and **Eightfold**. The co-founders continue to lead both Eightfold and Viven, dedicating their time to advancing AI solutions in recruitment and workplace efficiency.

Viven's seed funding was led by Khosla Ventures and Foundation Capital.

Unlock Your Team's Hidden Knowledge: How Viven's AI Digital Twins Are Revolutionizing Workplace Collaboration

## Anthropic Unveils Cheaper AI Model to Broaden Accessibility

Artificial intelligence startup **Anthropic** has significantly updated its smallest AI model, **Haiku**, responding to a growing trend where companies prefer AI systems that offer near-top-tier capabilities at a much lower cost.

![Illustration of Anthropic's logo](https://www.reuters.com/resizer/v2/D4WNLKIZSVLL5KRQX3ZR3SD3NY.jpg?auth=0c70fa14c3f6c447361c9a5ffb848640339777f2dddb366d021d3cfff86b632a&width=4000&quality=80)

*Anthropic's logo is seen in this illustration. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)*

### Key Updates and Performance

The new model, **Haiku 4.5**, is priced at about **one-third the cost of Sonnet 4** (one of Anthropic's medium-sized models) and **one-fifteenth the cost of Opus**, its most advanced offering. Despite the lower price, Haiku 4.5 performs as well as or better than Sonnet 4 on various tasks, including **coding**.

### Driving Enterprise Adoption

**Mike Krieger**, Anthropic's chief product officer, emphasized that traditional companies outside Silicon Valley are more inclined to adopt AI when presented with **cheaper, yet capable models**. This affordability also facilitates the integration of AI into internal systems used by hundreds or thousands of employees, enabling scalable deployments.

### Revenue and Customer Base

Anthropic derives the **vast majority of its revenue—about 80%—from enterprise customers**. The company boasts over **300,000 enterprise customers** utilizing Anthropic tools internally, in products, or both. Its annual revenue run rate is nearly **$7 billion**, with additional revenue from users of its chatbot, **Claude**.

### Company Background and Market Position

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, San Francisco-based Anthropic is valued at **$183 billion** and competes directly with industry leaders. This marks the first update to its smallest model in about a year.

### Shift in AI Strategy

Initially, AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI highlighted their most powerful, expensive models, which can cost over **$100 million to train** and require substantial computing resources. However, high computational costs have led many customers to seek alternatives, prompting a strategic pivot towards **smaller, more economical models**.

### Practical Applications and Model Synergy

Companies can leverage different models in tandem: using advanced models for strategic planning and smaller models for tasks like web searching and information synthesis, optimizing both cost and efficiency.

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has overhauled its smallest AI model, Haiku, as companies increasingly opt for AI systems that are nearly as capable as the most advanced tools – but come at a fraction of the cost.

Anthropic's Game-Changing AI Model Haiku 4.5: High Performance at a Fraction of the Cost

Lauryn Chun's story proves that sometimes the biggest setbacks can lead to the greatest opportunities. After being laid off from her marketing job during the 2008 recession, she didn't see it as a failure—she saw it as **"my ticket to freedom."**

## The Turning Point

"There's something magical about the worst of times—you decide you have nothing to lose and just go for it," Chun told Fortune. She embarked on what she calls "a year of self-discovery," attending small-business seminars and networking with people doing interesting work. While initially considering opening a wine shop, a conversation about Brooklyn's foodmaker movement sparked her **aha moment**.

## The Birth of Mother-in-Law's

When a consultant mentioned a DJ making kimchi, Chun realized: "My mom makes the best kimchi on the planet." She'd been transporting her mother's homemade kimchi from California to New York for 15 years to share with friends. Armed with her mother's family recipe, she founded **Mother-in-Law's** in 2009, naming it after her mother's Korean restaurant, Jang Mo Jip ("Mother-in-Law's House").

Chun maintained an authentic, **homegrown approach**—cutting napa cabbage and daikon by hand, hand-packing jars for balanced fermentation. "I'd make 70 or 80 jars, then rent a Zip car and drop them off," she recalls. "The scale was so small, and the growth so incremental—I was doing everything, but I didn't know any better."

## Strategic Vision and Market Timing

As kimchi's popularity grew—Chun remembers hearing about it on NPR—she saw a **marketing opportunity**. Her vision was to **elevate kimchi as a delicacy**, positioning it alongside winemaking and cheesemaking as a handcrafted, premium product suitable for various cuisines beyond Korean meals.

## Breakthrough and Expansion

An unexpected **New York Times review** in October 2009 put Mother-in-Law's on the map. Soon after, **Dean & DeLuca and Zabar's** became her first corporate accounts. "From day one, my goal was for Mother-in-Law's to be the first kimchi carried by Dean & DeLuca," she says. "I basically willed it to happen."

The brand continued to grow:
- 2012: Chun authored a kimchi cookbook
- 2014: Launched gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste)
- Today: 12 products, 30 full-time staff, sold in **9,000 stores nationwide** including Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and Albertsons

## Pandemic Lessons and Business Resilience

Recent supply chain challenges have been "nerve-racking," but Chun applies lessons learned during COVID. When metal cap prices tripled overnight, she quickly pivoted to plastic alternatives. "One of the big advantages of being a small business is that you develop the ability to **pivot quickly** and really think on your feet," she notes.

She also emphasizes **diversification**—Mother-in-Law's sells both refrigerated and shelf-stable kimchi, with the latter seeing sales surge during pandemic pantry-stocking. "People talk about diversified investment portfolios," Chun says, "while I feel that way about business: Do whatever you can so your **eggs aren't in one basket.**"

## Entrepreneurial Wisdom

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Chun offers straightforward advice: **"Always know your margins, and you'll never make a bad deal."**

“There’s something magical about the worst of times—you decide you have nothing to lose and just go for it,” said Lauryn Chun, founder of artisanal kimchi company Mother-in-Law’s. 

From Layoff to 9,000 Stores: How One Woman's Kimchi Dream Became a Multi-Million Dollar Empire

## The Revival of Industrial Heartlands

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, a once-vacant factory surrounded by empty warehouses in America's auto industry heartland has been brought back to life. **Swarm Defense Technologies** moved into an 8,000-square-foot section last year to manufacture drones for defense. Rapid demand growth led them to take over the entire 14,000-square-foot facility by this summer.

Today, 47 employees work in the cavernous space, producing thousands of drones monthly for the U.S. military and other clients. These drones, just over 10 inches long and under 2 pounds, are used to test anti-drone systems and simulate attacks, turning the factory into a hub of activity in an area dotted with "For lease" signs.

Kyle Dorosz, 33, co-founder of Swarm, noted the huge demand for such drones and how making them in this location "feels right," as it's "in the DNA of this place."

## A Broader Trend in Defense Tech Manufacturing

Swarm is part of a larger movement where **hundreds of defense technology companies** are revitalizing manufacturing in once-vibrant industrial cities across the Midwest and Northeast. Drawn by **local talent, cheap labor, and state cash incentives**, these firms are building future weapons in old factories or constructing state-of-the-art sites in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware.

In January, **Anduril**, an AI-backed weapons manufacturer, announced a $1 billion factory in Ohio for drones and other AI-enabled weapons, with additional plans for Rhode Island and Mississippi. **Regent**, a shipbuilding startup, is building a factory in Rhode Island for electric sea gliders for military use, while **UXV Technologies**, a Danish drone and robotics company, opened a facility in Pennsylvania last year.

## Political and Economic Drivers

The locations of these factories are not only good for business but also align with political agendas. President Donald Trump has promoted domestic manufacturing, imposed tariffs on imports, and restricted military purchases from foreign adversaries like China. State lawmakers are eager to attract defense tech firms to **create jobs** and boost local economies.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, emphasized that "America is waking up to the fact that our national security depends on making more stuff in America," highlighting Ohio's manufacturing competency. Christian Garrett, an investor at 137 Ventures, which backs companies like Anduril and Palantir, advised startups to build in industrial towns to gain favor with the federal government and military, noting that the government sees this as bringing valuable jobs to these states.

## Workforce and Infrastructure Advantages

Despite advances in AI and autonomous systems reducing the need for massive labor forces, these companies can train workers in transferable tech skills. Zachary Mears, Anduril's senior vice president of strategy, cited Ohio's $310 million grant and tax-incentive package, workforce access, existing infrastructure, and logistics as key reasons for their expansion. The new 5 million-square-foot modular facility, set for completion early next year, will employ 4,000 people.

Billy Thalheimer, CEO of Regent, chose Rhode Island for its boatbuilding heritage, making it a "mecca" for talent and more affordable than relocating experts. Maddie Macfarlane, a former Navy officer, joined Regent for its Rhode Island location and defense-focused mission, noting the skilled workers and proximity to the Naval War College as advantages.

## Challenges and Success Stories

Aaron Slodov, CEO of Atomic Industries, cautioned that building in former industrial towns requires time and long-term planning due to supply chain complexities and volume manufacturing hurdles. However, Swarm's success serves as a case study. Founded in 2017 as Firefly for drone light shows, it pivoted to defense last year, renaming to Swarm and converting an old Qualcomm chip factory with help from local welders and assembly line experts.

The Army, Air Force, and Navy now purchase Swarm's drones, each taking less than five minutes to produce, while the company continues making drones for entertainment. Dorosz highlighted the local connection, with nearly every employee having family ties to nearby auto assembly lines, underscoring the revival's personal impact.

Drawn by local talent, cheap labor and state cash incentives, startups building the weapons of the future are revitalizing manufacturing in once-vibrant industrial towns.

How Defense Tech Startups Are Reviving America's Rust Belt with High-Tech Factories

## Anthropic's Strategic Shift Towards Startup Acquisitions

In the rapidly evolving AI landscape, **Anthropic**, a key rival to OpenAI, is signaling a major strategic pivot. Recently valued at a staggering **$170 billion** in a funding round, Anthropic has informed investment bankers that it is preparing to ramp up its acquisition activities. This move comes as **OpenAI** has aggressively pursued startup deals, spending approximately **$6.4 billion in stock** to acquire three startups over the past 16 months. In contrast, Anthropic has remained relatively quiet on the M&A front until now.

This development highlights the intensifying competition in artificial intelligence, where acquiring innovative startups can provide critical technological advantages and talent. As Anthropic gears up for potential deals, the industry watches closely to see how this will reshape the AI ecosystem and challenge existing giants.

OpenAI has spent roughly $6.4 billion in stock to buy three startups over the last 16 months, while its smaller rival Anthropic has done barely any deals. But Anthropic, recently valued at $170 billion in a funding round, told investment bankers in recent weeks that it is getting ready to move ...

Sound Waves That Destroy Tumors: Thiel and Bezos Bet Big on Revolutionary Health Tech

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A New Era in Cancer Treatment

Expanding the Reach of Ultrasound Therapy

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Other Latest News

AI Startup Valuations Skyrocket: Is This the Next Tech Bubble?

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From Layoff to 9,000 Stores: How One Woman's Kimchi Dream Became a Multi-Million Dollar Empire

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Other Latest News

AI Startup Valuations Skyrocket: Is This the Next Tech Bubble?

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Anthropic's Game-Changing AI Model Haiku 4.5: High Performance at a Fraction of the Cost

From Layoff to 9,000 Stores: How One Woman's Kimchi Dream Became a Multi-Million Dollar Empire

How Defense Tech Startups Are Reviving America's Rust Belt with High-Tech Factories

Anthropic's $170B Valuation Sparks Startup Acquisition Spree - What's Next?