**Donald Trump’s return to the White House** has sent shockwaves through the green technology sector, particularly affecting startups like **Carbon Clean**, a London-based developer of carbon-capture systems. The company's CEO, Aniruddha Sharma, has expressed significant concern over the future of their $1.5 billion worth of US projects in development.

One of **President Trump’s first actions** was to impose a temporary freeze on over **$90 billion in federal support** for climate technologies. This move has raised alarms about the potential repeal of an **$85-a-tonne subsidy for carbon-capture technology**, a critical component of Carbon Clean's business model.

The uncertainty surrounding these subsidies and federal support has left many green tech startups in a precarious position, questioning their survival in a rapidly changing political landscape.

Green technology firms were once being showered with money by Joe Biden. Can they survive now that the cash has dried up under Donald Trump?

Survival Struggle: America's Green Tech Startups Face Uncertainty Under Trump's Return

**Y Combinator-backed startup Firecrawl** is making headlines again with its ambitious plan to hire **three AI agents** as employees, allocating a **$1 million budget** for this innovative endeavor. After a previous attempt didn't pan out, Firecrawl is determined to find AI talent that can autonomously handle content creation, customer support, and junior development tasks.

### The AI Employees Firecrawl is Looking For
- **Content Creation Agent**: Tasked with producing SEO-friendly blog posts and tutorials, this agent will autonomously create, post, and optimize content based on engagement metrics. Salary: **$5,000/month**.
- **Customer Support Engineer Agent**: This AI will manage customer tickets, respond within two minutes, and know when to escalate issues to humans. Salary: **$5,000/month**.
- **Junior Developer Agent**: Focused on prioritizing GitHub issues, writing documentation, and coding in TypeScript and Go. Salary: **$5,000/month**.

### The Bigger Picture
Firecrawl, known for its **web crawling tool** that scrapes data for LLMs, is navigating the **shady waters of the AI ecosystem**. By implementing guardrails like honoring robot.txt settings and scraping data responsibly, Firecrawl aims to stand out in a field often criticized for unethical practices.

### The Human Element
Interestingly, the **$1 million budget** isn't just for the AI agents but also for the humans who will create and manage them. Whether hired full-time or as contractors, these individuals will play a crucial role in building and maintaining the AI systems.

### The Future of AI in the Workplace
Firecrawl's vision aligns with a growing trend where **AI agents** augment human capabilities rather than replace them entirely. As YC's job board fills with similar opportunities, the question remains: **Will AI ever fully replace human workers?**

Y Combinator startup Firecrawl is back on the hunt for AI agent employees, after a previous attempt to hire one didn't go as planned. Y Combinator startup Firecrawl is back on the hunt for AI agent employees, after a previous attempt to hire one didn't go as planned.

Firecrawl's Bold $1M Bet: Hiring AI Agents as Employees to Revolutionize Web Crawling

**AI startup Cohere** has made a significant stride in enhancing its capabilities by acquiring **Ottogrid**, a Vancouver-based platform specializing in **automating high-level market research** for enterprises. This acquisition marks a pivotal moment for both companies, promising to bring innovative solutions to the forefront of AI-driven business intelligence.

### The Deal Details
Sully Omar, a co-founder of Ottogrid, shared the news on **X**, though the financial specifics remain undisclosed. Ottogrid's existing product will be phased out, with assurances of a smooth transition for its current users.

### A Vision for the Future
"We’re very excited to join the Cohere team and integrate Ottogrid into Cohere’s platform," Omar stated. This collaboration aims to **transform workflow automation, data enrichment, and operational scalability** for businesses worldwide.

### Cohere's Current Landscape
This acquisition comes at a time when Cohere is navigating through some challenges, including **falling short of its 2023 revenue targets by 85%**, as reported by The Information. However, the company has recently announced reaching an **annualized revenue of $100 million**, thanks to its strategic pivot towards **private AI deployments** in sectors like healthcare, government, and finance.

### Ottogrid's Journey
Launched in 2023 as Cognosys, Ottogrid underwent a rebranding in October 2024, introducing a suite of new tools and APIs. Its platform offers **AI-powered document analysis** and data extraction capabilities, enabling businesses to streamline processes like sales lead enrichment.

### Funding and Future Plans
Prior to the acquisition, Ottogrid secured **$2 million in venture capital** from notable investors, including GV and Replit CEO Amjad Masad. Moving forward, the team will focus on developing **North**, Cohere's ChatGPT-style application designed to assist knowledge workers.

This strategic acquisition underscores the growing importance of **AI in automating and enhancing business processes**, setting a new benchmark for innovation in the tech industry.

AI startup Cohere has acquired Ottogrid, a Vancouver-based platform that develops enterprise tools for automating certain kinds of high-level market research.

Cohere's Strategic Move: Acquiring Ottogrid to Revolutionize AI-Powered Market Research

**The Nuclear Company**, a groundbreaking nuclear startup, has successfully raised **$51.3 million** in a Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to an impressive **$70 million**. This significant financial injection is set to accelerate the development of massive reactor sites using **existing nuclear designs**, a strategy that sets the company apart in the competitive clean energy sector.

### A Strategic Approach to Nuclear Energy
Founded in 2023 by **serial entrepreneurs Jonathan Webb, Kiran Bhatraju, and Patrick Maloney**, The Nuclear Company is focusing on sites that already possess the necessary permits or licenses. This approach not only streamlines the development process but also leverages the potential of fewer than a dozen sites identified by the **Nuclear Regulatory Commission**.

### Meeting the Surging Demand for Clean Energy
With the U.S. electricity demand expected to surge by **nearly 16% by 2029**, driven largely by data centers, The Nuclear Company's initiative couldn't be timelier. The startup aims to develop **6 gigawatts** in its first fleet, positioning itself as a key player in addressing the looming power shortages.

### The Tech Industry's Nuclear Embrace
Tech giants like **Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft** are increasingly turning to nuclear energy to power their data centers, signaling a strong vote of confidence in nuclear power's role in the future of clean energy. However, the sector faces challenges, including competition from solar power and potential financial hurdles following proposed cuts to nuclear subsidies.

### Looking Ahead
Despite these challenges, The Nuclear Company is forging ahead with its ambitious plans, though most new nuclear plants, including theirs, aren't expected to come online until the early **2030s**. This timeline underscores the long-term vision required to revolutionize the energy sector.

The Nuclear Company, a nuclear startup, has raised $46 million to develop massive reactor sites, according to an SEC filing.

The Nuclear Company's $51M Boost: Pioneering the Future of Clean Energy with Massive Reactor Sites

**Moonvalley**, a Los Angeles-based startup specializing in **AI tools for video creation**, has recently secured an additional **$10 million**, bringing its total funding to approximately **$53 million** from 14 unnamed investors, as per a recent SEC filing. This follows closely on the heels of a **$43 million funding round** just a month prior, elevating the company's total raised funds to about **$124 million**.

### The Competitive Landscape

The AI video generation space is becoming increasingly crowded, with startups like **Runway, Lightricks, Genmo, Pika, Higgsfield, Kling, and Luma**, alongside tech giants such as **OpenAI, Alibaba, and Google**, all vying for dominance. Despite the saturation, Moonvalley aims to stand out through its **Marey model**, developed in collaboration with **Asteria**, an AI animation studio. Marey offers unique features like **fine-grained camera and motion controls** and the ability to generate **HD clips up to 30 seconds long**.

### Ethical Differentiation

What sets Moonvalley apart is its commitment to **ethical data usage** and **safeguards in video creation tools**. Unlike many competitors that rely on public data, potentially including copyrighted material, Moonvalley works with partners to **license content legally**, purchasing datasets to train its models. This approach mirrors strategies employed by **Bria and Adobe**, ensuring compliance and reducing legal risks.

### User-Centric Features

Moonvalley is also developing an **intuitive interface** for its model, featuring **storyboarding and granular clip adjustment tools**. The Marey model can generate videos from **text prompts, sketches, photos, and other video clips**, offering versatility to creators. Additionally, Moonvalley pledges to allow creators to **request content removal** from its models and provides users with the ability to **delete their data at any time**.

### Addressing Industry Concerns

With the rise of AI video generators, concerns about job displacement in the **film and television industry** are growing. A 2024 study by the **Animation Guild** predicts over **100,000 U.S.-based jobs** could be disrupted by AI by 2026. Moonvalley seeks to mitigate these fears by implementing **content guardrails**, blocking NSFW phrases, and preventing the generation of videos featuring specific individuals or celebrities.

### Founders' Vision

Founded by **Naeem Talukdar**, former product growth lead at Zapier, alongside **former DeepMind scientists Mateusz Malinowski and Mik Binkowski**, Moonvalley is driven by a mission to create **generative video technology that serves filmmakers and creative professionals**. The team emphasizes addressing both **technical challenges and ethical concerns** to make AI a viable tool for professional production.

Roughly a month after Moonvalley, a Los Angeles-based startup developing AI tools for video creation, secured $43 million in new funding, the company has raised again, according to a filing with the SEC.

Moonvalley AI Video Startup Secures $53M in Funding: A Leap Towards Ethical Video Creation

## **Chainlink Launches Build on Solana Program to Accelerate Web3 Projects**

Chainlink, the leading platform for onchain finance, has unveiled the **Build on Solana** program, a groundbreaking initiative designed to foster the development of **Web3 projects** on the Solana blockchain using Chainlink's robust infrastructure. This program offers **technical mentorship, go-to-market resources, and enhanced visibility** across both ecosystems, aiming to **accelerate onchain innovation**.

![Chainlink Solana Banner](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2689660/Chainlink_Solana_Banner.jpg?w=350)
*Selected teams will benefit from technical mentorship, go-to-market resources, and enhanced visibility across both ecosystems.*

### **Key Features of the Build on Solana Program**
- **Support for Diverse Projects**: Open to both early-stage and established teams across **DeFi, consumer apps, infrastructure, and emerging sectors**.
- **Ecosystem Collaboration**: The Solana Foundation will provide **incentives, infrastructure support, and developer guidance** to ensure projects can scale effectively.
- **Enhanced Visibility**: Participants can make their native tokens claimable by Chainlink ecosystem members, including eligible **LINK stakers**, broadening community reach.

### **Who Should Apply?**
Ideal applicants are teams focused on **long-term ecosystem alignment, innovative use cases, and deep integration** with both Solana and Chainlink technologies. The program is particularly suited for projects planning to use **Chainlink's platform, including CCIP, CRE, Data Feeds, Data Streams, and SmartData**.

### **How to Join**
Applications are now open and will remain so for the next **three months**. Interested teams can apply and learn more [here](https://chain.link/economics/build-program/build-solana).

### **About Chainlink**
Chainlink is the **standard for onchain finance, verifiable data, and cross-chain interoperability**, having enabled over **$20 trillion** in transaction value across the blockchain economy. Major institutions like **Swift, Fidelity International, and ANZ Bank**, as well as top **DeFi protocols** such as **Aave, GMX, and Lido**, rely on Chainlink for next-generation applications.

/PRNewswire/ -- Chainlink, the standard for onchain finance, today announced the launch of Build on Solana—a new startup program to accelerate the next...

Chainlink and Solana Unite to Fuel Web3 Innovation with New Startup Program

## Alaska startup pitches ‘iron fertilization’ to Trump to reverse fishing declines

**Russ George**, founder of **Ocean Pasture Restoration (OPR) Alaska**, is advocating for a controversial geoengineering technique known as **iron fertilization** to combat the decline in Alaska's fish stocks. This method involves adding iron to the ocean to stimulate phytoplankton growth, which in turn supports the marine food chain.

![Russ George presenting at ComFish](https://www.undercurrentnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/russgeorge2-e1746734762633.jpg)

*Russ George, founder of OPR Alaska, makes his case for iron fertilization on April 17, 2025 at ComFish in Kodiak, Alaska. (Photo by Brian Venua)*

George argues that this approach could be authorized under a **national emergency declaration** by the US president, citing past precedents where such declarations have been used following natural disasters. He believes this could be one of the **most important and least contested executive orders** ever issued.

The proposal has sparked debate among scientists and environmentalists, with some questioning the long-term ecological impacts of iron fertilization. Despite the controversy, George is confident in his plan and claims to have direct access to the **Trump administration** to push his agenda forward.

'The most important and least contested executive orders ever issued by any president are the emergency declarations following natural disasters' -- Russ

Revolutionary Iron Fertilization: Alaska Startup's Bold Plan to Revive Fishing Stocks

**My journey from a nature-loving child in rural Canada to a clean-tech entrepreneur in San Francisco** has been driven by a deep passion for the planet. This passion led me to found **Magrathea in 2022**, aiming to revolutionize magnesium production from seawater—a process that promises zero CO2 emissions and reduces the need for terrestrial mining.

### A Mission Redefined by Global Events

The **Ukraine war unexpectedly reshaped our trajectory**. Magnesium, a critical component in military hardware, became a priority for the U.S. and NATO. This demand led to a **partnership with the U.S. Defense Department**, funded by a Defense Production Act Title III grant. This pivot taught us a crucial lesson: **successful technology must meet market demands**.

### The Expansive Market for Magnesium

Magnesium is indispensable in manufacturing, from **electric vehicles to aerospace applications**. Our technology builds on a proven process once used by Dow Chemical, enhanced with modern innovations. With **five patent applications and trade secrets**, our small team has achieved what larger companies couldn't in years.

### The Urgent Need for Investment

While we've raised **$12 million privately and secured a $28 million DOD partnership**, scaling up requires **billions in capital**. We advocate for **government grants and loan guarantees** to make America a leader in critical minerals, a strategy China mastered decades ago.

### Climate Solutions at the Core

Despite our defense pivot, **climate solutions remain central**. We believe in a future where **national security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability** are interconnected. America has the technology; now it needs the **investment to scale it**.

As we plan to establish the **first commercial electrolytic magnesium facility in 50 years**, our commitment to the planet remains unwavering. The journey may involve more pivots, but the focus will always be on **building solutions that help our planet**.

Magrathea’s founders didn’t have the Defense Department in mind when they started out—but they made the pivot.

Survival Struggle: America's Green Tech Startups Face Uncertainty Under Trump's Return

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Other Latest News

Firecrawl's Bold $1M Bet: Hiring AI Agents as Employees to Revolutionize Web Crawling

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The Nuclear Company's $51M Boost: Pioneering the Future of Clean Energy with Massive Reactor Sites

Moonvalley AI Video Startup Secures $53M in Funding: A Leap Towards Ethical Video Creation

Chainlink and Solana Unite to Fuel Web3 Innovation with New Startup Program

Revolutionary Iron Fertilization: Alaska Startup's Bold Plan to Revive Fishing Stocks

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Other Latest News

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Cohere's Strategic Move: Acquiring Ottogrid to Revolutionize AI-Powered Market Research

The Nuclear Company's $51M Boost: Pioneering the Future of Clean Energy with Massive Reactor Sites

Moonvalley AI Video Startup Secures $53M in Funding: A Leap Towards Ethical Video Creation

Chainlink and Solana Unite to Fuel Web3 Innovation with New Startup Program

Revolutionary Iron Fertilization: Alaska Startup's Bold Plan to Revive Fishing Stocks

From Clean-Tech to Defense: How Magrathea's Unexpected Pivot Led to a Pentagon Partnership