When the world’s elite gathered in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2024, **Sachin Dev Duggal** was at the pinnacle of his career. As the founder of **Builder.ai**, a startup that had quickly soared to a **$1.5 billion valuation**, Duggal was celebrated as an **Entrepreneur of the Year**. Builder.ai's sponsorship of high-profile events and Duggal's self-styled title as the company's **"Chief Wizard"** captured the imagination of many, positioning him as a leading voice in the **generative AI** revolution.

However, the fairy tale quickly unraveled. By the following year, Duggal was ousted as CEO amid serious allegations of **inflated revenue** and **financial mismanagement**. The board's subsequent restatement of sales and the seizure of the company's funds by a major lender led to Builder.ai's shocking **bankruptcy filing** in June 2025. This dramatic downfall serves as a stark reminder of the **volatile nature of startup success** and the importance of **transparency and accountability** in the fast-moving AI sector.

Sachin Dev Duggal helped Builder.ai reach a $1.5 billion valuation. Then its board ousted him amid allegations of inflated revenue and the startup filed for bankruptcy.

The Rise and Fall of Builder.ai: A Cautionary Tale in the AI Gold Rush

## **SixSense: A Game-Changer in Semiconductor Manufacturing**

A Singapore-based deep tech startup, **SixSense**, has developed an **AI-powered platform** that enables semiconductor manufacturers to predict and detect potential chip defects in real time. This innovation is set to transform the industry by improving yield and reducing manual inspection work.

### **$8.5M Series A Funding Led by Peak XV’s Surge**

The startup has secured **$8.5 million in Series A funding**, bringing its total funding to approximately **$12 million**. The round was led by **Peak XV’s Surge** (formerly Sequoia India & SEA), with participation from **Alpha Intelligence Capital, FEBE, and others**.

### **Founders with a Vision**

Founded in 2018 by engineers **Akanksha Jagwani (CTO)** and **Avni Agarwal (CEO)**, SixSense addresses a critical challenge in semiconductor manufacturing: converting raw production data into real-time insights. Their platform helps factories prevent quality issues and enhance efficiency.

- **Akanksha Jagwani**: Brings expertise in manufacturing, quality control, and software automation from her roles at Hyundai Motors, GE, and Embibe.
- **Avni Agarwal**: Leverages her experience in building large-scale data analytics systems at Visa, with a focus on applying AI beyond fintech.

![SixSense Team](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-29-at-15.59.51-2-1.jpeg?w=345)

### **Why Semiconductors?**

The co-founders identified a significant gap in the semiconductor industry: despite the abundance of data, **real-time intelligence was lacking**. Traditional inspection processes are manual and fragmented, creating inefficiencies.

> "The burden of using data for decision-making still falls on engineers. That’s time-consuming, subjective, and doesn’t scale well," says Agarwal.

### **How SixSense Works**

SixSense’s platform is designed for **process engineers**, not data scientists. Key features include:
- **Defect detection**: Early warnings to prevent issues.
- **Root cause analysis**: Identifies the source of problems.
- **Failure prediction**: Proactively addresses potential failures.

Engineers can fine-tune models using their own fab data and deploy them **in under two days—without writing code**.

### **Competitive Edge**

While competitors include in-house engineering teams and startups like **Landing.ai and Robovision**, SixSense stands out with its **user-friendly, AI-native approach**.

### **Proven Results**

SixSense’s platform is already in use at major manufacturers like **GlobalFoundries and JCET**, with:
- **100 million chips processed**
- **30% faster production cycles**
- **1-2% boost in yield**
- **90% reduction in manual inspection work**

The system is compatible with inspection equipment covering **over 60% of the global market**.

### **Expanding Globally**

With geopolitical tensions reshaping chip manufacturing, SixSense is expanding into the **U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Israel**. New facilities in these regions are particularly open to AI-native solutions.

> "We’re already based in the region, and many new facilities are starting fresh—without legacy systems. That makes them far more open to AI-native approaches like ours," Agarwal explains.

SixSense offers an AI-powered platform that helps chip makers prevent defects. It landed backing led by Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia India & SEA).

How SixSense's AI Platform is Revolutionizing Semiconductor Manufacturing with $8.5M Funding

## OpenAI's Financial Leap

In an astonishing financial revelation, **OpenAI** has doubled its revenue to **$12 billion** in the first seven months of 2025, marking a significant milestone in the AI industry. This growth translates to a staggering **$1 billion in monthly revenue**, with **ChatGPT** boasting **700 million weekly active users**. The company's aggressive expansion and innovation in AI technologies have positioned it as a leader in the sector.

![OpenAI](https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/OpenAI.jpg?w=768)

## Investment and Future Projections

OpenAI's ambitious projects have led to an **increase in cash burn projections to $8 billion** for the year, up from earlier estimates. The company is currently engaging investors for the next phase of its **$30 billion funding round**, with significant contributions expected from **Sequoia Capital** and **Tiger Global Management**. This move underscores OpenAI's commitment to scaling its operations and enhancing its AI offerings.

## Microsoft's Role and Cloud Growth

As a key backer, **Microsoft** has seen a **34% increase in Azure's annual revenue**, reaching **$75 billion**, driven by the surge in demand for cloud and AI services. Analysts predict that Azure will remain the preferred public cloud vendor, benefiting from the ongoing AI revolution.

## The AI Landscape and Meta's Vision

The AI sector continues to evolve rapidly, with **Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg** envisioning a future where **"personal superintelligence"** integrated into smart glasses could replace smartphones. This bold prediction highlights the transformative potential of AI in everyday life.

OpenAI doubled its revenue during the first seven months of 2025 to $12 billion and has about 700 million weekly active ChatGPT users.

OpenAI's Revenue Skyrockets to $12 Billion: A Deep Dive into Its AI Dominance

**The tech world is buzzing** as yet another AI cloud startup achieves unicorn status, underscoring the frenetic pace at which investors are pouring money into companies that provide developers with **Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs)**. These startups are pivotal in enabling rapid development and deployment of AI models, a sector that's seeing explosive growth despite lingering questions about **profit margins**.

### Why Investors Can't Get Enough
Investors are betting big on these cloud startups, drawn by the promise of **cutting-edge AI capabilities** and the scalability these platforms offer. The demand for **Nvidia GPUs**, known for their efficiency in handling complex AI computations, is at an all-time high, making these startups highly attractive.

### The Profitability Puzzle
However, the road to profitability isn't as clear. The high costs associated with maintaining and scaling GPU infrastructure pose significant challenges. Yet, the potential for **disruptive innovation** in AI keeps the investment flowing.

### The Bigger Picture
This trend reflects a broader shift in the tech landscape, where **AI and cloud computing** are becoming increasingly intertwined. Startups that can navigate the complexities of this space stand to gain immensely, but they must also contend with fierce competition and the ever-present pressure to innovate.

Lately, investors have been eager to back cloud startups that provide application developers with access to Nvidia graphics processing units and help them to develop and run AI models quickly. The investor interest comes despite questions about the profit margins of these startups, otherwise ...

The AI Cloud Gold Rush: How Startups Are Racing to Unicorn Status with Nvidia GPUs

**Figma's IPO on Thursday minted a $1.8 billion fortune for its cofounder and CEO Dylan Field.**

![Figma's CEO Dylan Field's stake in the design startup is now valued at $1.8 billion.](https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/688b5ba3e187584c4b40fa78/Figma-s-CEO-Dylan-Field-s-stake-in-the-design-startup-is-now-valued-at--1-8-billion-/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1482,1112,x0,y549,safe&width=960)

When staff at San Francisco-based design startup Figma returned from the Christmas holiday in January 2024, they were met with sobering news. A $20 billion takeover by Adobe, which had been stuck in 15 months of regulatory purgatory, had fallen apart amid antitrust concerns. In the wake of that news, cofounder and CEO Dylan Field pushed the reset button for the startup that aims to be the Google Docs for design. Figma slashed its internal valuation to just $10 billion and offered employees a voluntary exit package of three months’ severance. Only around 4% of the company’s 1,300 employees took the buyout.

The move, insiders and investors say, was meant to anchor the company and prepare it for the long-term future as an independent startup. “The net effect was that you had a lot of extremely motivated folks who have been working relentlessly to deliver new products,” says Figma investor Mamoon Hamid, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.

Nearly 18 months later, Field’s gamble paid off. Figma and its investors are set to raise $1.2 billion Thursday by selling shares to the public at a more than $19 billion valuation on a fully diluted basis (including options and other equity awards outstanding). The tech IPO will be among the five biggest in its sector this year.

One of the biggest winners of that listing is Field himself. At today’s IPO price, he is now worth an estimated $1.8 billion, but that may only be the first chapter of his payout. Over the next 10 years, the 33-year-old could unlock additional stock currently worth $1.3 billion at the IPO price (before taxes) between the compensation plans awarded to him in 2021 and 2025, if he remains with Figma and the company’s stock price quadruples to $130 per share (Adobe had offered him a similarly historic retention package). The structure reflects a trend of aggressive long-term incentive plans akin to Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla moonshot grant, which a Delaware court voided in January 2024 after ruling that the process underlying the award was not fair due to Musk’s control over the board (Musk has appealed the ruling).

Field might have taken Figma public but he still exercises a huge amount of control over the startup he cofounded in 2013. The terms of the initial public offering give Field the right to vote his cofounder Evan Wallace’s shares (worth nearly $900 million at the IPO price). Field and Wallace will own 99% of Figma’s Class B shares, which carry 15 times as many votes as the Class A shares held by other investors. All told, that gives Field, a Forbes 30 under 30 alum, control of around 74% of the company’s voting rights (including nearly 26% tied to his former Brown University classmate Wallace’s shares).

The listing marks a remarkable comeback for Figma from the collapse of its $20 billion takeover by Adobe in 2023. At the time, Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen branded the deal as “transformational” for the publisher of Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Indesign. Adobe investors however balked at paying a sum that valued Figma at twice its last valuation and at around 50 times the startup’s $400 million of revenue. The deal was also met with concern by antitrust regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe–not to mention Figma fans, many of whom had bailed on Adobe’s own costly tools.

The acquisition, which was first announced in September 2022, was ultimately called off in late December 2023, after the British antitrust watchdog warned that the deal could reduce competition for design software. Adobe had to pay Figma a $1 billion breakup fee after the deal was cancelled but the company and its cofounder still faced a painful reset. “When you abandon a plan like the merger that’s a hard day but Dylan assessed and said: ‘That was that, here’s the new plan and let’s get going,’ says Figma investor John Lilly, a partner at venture capital firm Greylock. “It’s always a little scary when you offer to pay people to quit but not for Dylan and it was really healthy for the company.”

Figma’s team hadn’t been idle while its founder had been locked in talks with Adobe and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. The company had earlier that summer launched a tool to help developers turn designs into code, and then over the last year has released a series of new design and AI tools.

That’s helped Figma to nearly double its revenue since the Adobe deal was first announced. Last year, Figma generated $749 million of revenue and its growth is accelerating, with the company reporting sales of $228.2 million for the first quarter of 2025, up 46% over the same period last year. Even so, Figma is not making money, yet. It posted a $732 million loss last year, largely driven by an $889 million stock grant to employees.

Figma still has a cult following and thousands of people flocked to the company’s annual Config meetup in San Francisco and London this year. Field, who dropped out of the computer science program at Brown University in 2012 to take a Thiel Fellowship, was the star speaker. Field and his Brown classmate Wallace worked on several business ideas like software for drones and a meme generator, before focusing on Adobe’s Photoshop editing tool. It would take years for the pair to launch the test version of Figma’s browser-based canvas but when it came out in 2015 it quickly became a hit with designers and insiders at big tech companies like Microsoft. That helped Figma catapult to a $10 billion valuation just six years after its first product launch making it one of the most closely tracked startups in Silicon Valley.

The IPO also marks a major windfall for some of Figma’s venture capital backers. A trio of blue chip venture firms – Index, Greylock and Kleiner Perkins – now hold nearly $6 billion worth of shares collectively, based on the listing price.

Index was named as Figma’s largest shareholder in its S-1 filing, translating to a stake worth around $2.1 billion at the IPO price, after Midas List investor Danny Rimer invested in Figma’s seed round when Field was just 19-years-old.

Sequoia Capital and Silicon Valley wealth manager Iconiq are also major winners from the initial public offering that could open the door to more companies going public after a long hiatus. A handful of initial public offerings like Coreweave’s $23 billion and Chime’s $12 billion listings, in addition to a flurry of takeovers, have helped break an unusual, and painful, drought of exits for venture capital investors.

Some of Figma’s major backers are now on track for a bumper year that goes beyond Figma. Index also stands to gain from Google’s $32 billion takeover of Wiz, Meta’s $14 billion Scale AI coup, and a buyout deal for Turkey’s $5 billion games developer Dream. Kleiner Perkins had chipmaker Ambiq list earlier this week on the New York Stock Exchange, and saw Google pay $2.4 billion for vibe coding startup Windsurf’s executives.

The same AI mania that has fueled some of this deal making also poses a threat to Figma. A crop of new startups like Lovable, Replit and StackBlitz have raised big rounds and seen revenues explode by using AI to turn simple written instructions into not the just type of prototypes and sketches that Figma is often used for but entire working websites and apps.

Antitrust pressure killed Adobe's $20 billion takeover for design startup Figma. Its cofounder Dylan Field floated the business on NYSE at nearly the same valuation.

Figma's $20 Billion IPO Journey: From Adobe's Failed Takeover to Billionaire Status

**Anaconda Inc.**, a leading artificial intelligence startup, has recently secured a monumental funding round, catapulting its valuation to an impressive **$1.5 billion**. This significant financial milestone underscores the growing demand and trust in AI development tools tailored for developers and data scientists.

### The Funding Breakdown
- **Amount Raised**: Over **$150 million** in the latest round.
- **Lead Investor**: **Insight Partners** spearheaded the investment.
- **Notable Participants**: **Mubadala Investment Co.**, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, among others.

This infusion of capital is set to accelerate Anaconda's mission to empower the global developer community with cutting-edge AI tools and platforms. The announcement, scheduled for Thursday, marks a pivotal moment in the AI industry, highlighting the sector's robust growth and the increasing importance of specialized development environments.

Artificial intelligence startup Anaconda Inc. has raised a new funding round that values the company at $1.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Anaconda Inc. Soars to $1.5 Billion Valuation in Groundbreaking AI Funding Round

## **The Copper Crisis and Still Bright's Solution**

With the global economy shifting away from fossil fuels, the demand for copper is skyrocketing. **Humanity will need twice as much copper in the coming years than has been mined throughout all of history.** This presents a significant challenge, as easily mineable copper is already depleted, and opening new mines is a slow and environmentally damaging process.

![A worker lifts a bundle of copper windings.](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gmZwq_HppOigFY.thqPDAw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/e27ad115687c52543c89c15d8f87b36f)

*Image Credits: Monty Rakusen / Getty Images*

**Still Bright**, a New Jersey-based startup founded in 2022, has developed a **novel and cleaner way** to extract copper, potentially slashing costs and meeting this soaring demand. Their technology can recover nearly all the copper from typical ores, including tailings—discard piles that still contain smaller amounts of the metal.

## **How It Works**

Still Bright's process involves soaking copper-containing ores in a **vanadium-based solution**, which draws the metal out of the ore. Unlike traditional methods that burn away unwanted parts of the ore—releasing harmful pollution—Still Bright's system uses electricity to regenerate the vanadium solution, making it **environmentally friendly**.

This innovation was inspired by **vanadium flow batteries**, a type of long-duration energy storage. The company's modular system is **smaller and faster** than traditional refiners, processing copper in minutes to an hour.

## **Funding and Future Prospects**

To scale up production, Still Bright has raised **$18.7 million in seed funding** led by Material Impact and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Other participants include Azolla Ventures, Fortescue, Impact Science Ventures, and SOSV.

With this funding, Still Bright aims to boost production from single digits to **hundreds of tons per year**, offering a sustainable solution to the looming copper shortage.

Still Bright is now loaded up with $18.7 million in seed money to build out its demonstration unit.

Revolutionary Copper Extraction: How Still Bright's Innovation is Cutting Costs and Saving the Planet

**Building a startup in the AI era presents a paradox**: early stage companies can scale rapidly — but they’re also more vulnerable than ever. 

“It’s never been a more disruptive time. That’s the good news,” said **Matt McIlwain**, managing director at Madrona. “The bad news is, it’s never been a less durable time.”

McIlwain joined his former colleague **Greg Gottesman**, managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, on stage at Seattle Venture Day to share insights on how the AI era is rewriting the startup playbook.

### **New Moats in the AI Era**
In a world where large language models and open-source tools are widely accessible, defensibility looks different. McIlwain introduced the concept of **“reasoning flywheels”** — a new type of moat where startups use data, engagement, and tailored workflows to build value.

The pattern works like this: 
- Start with publicly available data and models. 
- Build a superior user experience, grow customer engagement, collect proprietary data, and use that data to refine the models.
- That, in turn, improves workflows and generates even more data.

Gottesman emphasized that traditional defensibility based on ideas or basic IP is less reliable now. Startups must explore **new pricing structures, delivery models, and user experiences** — not just product features.

### **Unprecedented Pace of Change**
The Seattle VCs compared the AI revolution to the dot-com era but noted its breakneck speed makes the internet revolution look slow. “Even having done this for almost 30 years, I’m unfamiliar with this pace of change,” Gottesman said.

McIlwain highlighted how models become obsolete rapidly, using GPT-2 as an example. “The models depreciate — but intelligent applications and agentic workflows tend to have a flywheel effect,” he noted.

Both stressed the importance of **customer feedback** and building diverse teams. “Surround yourself with the most incredible people you can,” Gottesman advised.

### **Seattle’s Position in the AI Revolution**
Both investors are bullish on Seattle’s potential to lead the next wave of AI innovation. “We have such incredible talent in the right areas,” Gottesman said, envisioning the creation of the next great iconic company in Seattle.

Greg Gottesman (left), managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, and Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona, speak at Seattle Venture Day on Tuesday

The Rise and Fall of Builder.ai: A Cautionary Tale in the AI Gold Rush

Summary:

Comments

Subscribe our newsletter to receive our daily digested news

ListMyStartup.app

Other Latest News

How SixSense's AI Platform is Revolutionizing Semiconductor Manufacturing with $8.5M Funding

OpenAI's Revenue Skyrockets to $12 Billion: A Deep Dive into Its AI Dominance

The AI Cloud Gold Rush: How Startups Are Racing to Unicorn Status with Nvidia GPUs

Figma's $20 Billion IPO Journey: From Adobe's Failed Takeover to Billionaire Status

Anaconda Inc. Soars to $1.5 Billion Valuation in Groundbreaking AI Funding Round

Revolutionary Copper Extraction: How Still Bright's Innovation is Cutting Costs and Saving the Planet

Seattle VCs Reveal: How Startups Can Thrive in the AI Revolution's Unpredictable Waters

Other Latest News

How SixSense's AI Platform is Revolutionizing Semiconductor Manufacturing with $8.5M Funding

OpenAI's Revenue Skyrockets to $12 Billion: A Deep Dive into Its AI Dominance

The AI Cloud Gold Rush: How Startups Are Racing to Unicorn Status with Nvidia GPUs

Figma's $20 Billion IPO Journey: From Adobe's Failed Takeover to Billionaire Status

Anaconda Inc. Soars to $1.5 Billion Valuation in Groundbreaking AI Funding Round

Revolutionary Copper Extraction: How Still Bright's Innovation is Cutting Costs and Saving the Planet

Seattle VCs Reveal: How Startups Can Thrive in the AI Revolution's Unpredictable Waters