We're starting to recover from our recent travels (you can check out pictures from StrictlyVC London and StrictlyVC Athens here). We also just published some notes from our sit-down with renowned VC Sonali De Rycker of Accel. Among other things, De Rycker said on Tuesday night in London's Holborn neighborhood: “We’re in a supercycle” right now. “These cycles don’t come often, and we can’t afford to be leashed" by AI regulation.

Have a wonderful weekend . . .

Top News

In the latest round of Epic Games’ long war with Apple, Apple has reportedly blocked Fortnite from appearing in both its U.S. and EU App Stores. TechCrunch has more here. 

After Elon Musk's Grok went rogue this Wednesday and kept talking about "white genocide in South Africa," xAI has published Grok's system prompts, revealing code that requires the AI to be "extremely skeptical" and "challeng[e] mainstream narratives." The Verge has more here. 

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OpenAI’s Planned Data Center in Abu Dhabi Would Be Bigger than Monaco

By Connie Loizos

OpenAI is poised to help develop a staggering 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, positioning the company as a primary anchor tenant in what could become one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure projects, according to a new Bloomberg report.

The facility would reportedly span an astonishing 10 square miles and consume power equivalent to five nuclear reactors, dwarfing any existing AI infrastructure announced by OpenAI or its competitors. (OpenAI has not yet returned TechCrunch’s request for comment, but to put that into perspective, that’s bigger than Monaco.)

The UAE project, developed in partnership with G42 – an Abu Dhabi-based tech conglomerate – is part of OpenAI’s ambitious Stargate project, a joint venture announced in January that could see OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle build massive data centers around the globe stocked with powerful computer chips to support AI development.

While OpenAI’s first Stargate campus in the U.S. – already under development in Abilene, Texas – is expected to reach 1.2 gigawatts, this Middle Eastern counterpart would more than quadruple that capacity.

The project is emerging amid broader AI ties between the U.S. and UAE that have been years in the making, and have made some lawmakers nervous.

OpenAI’s relationship with the UAE dates back to a 2023 partnership with G42 aimed at driving AI adoption in the Middle East. During a talk earlier that same year in Abu Dhabi, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised the UAE, saying it “has been talking about AI since before it was cool.”

More here.

Massive Fundings

Akido Labs, a ten-year-old Los Angeles company that builds AI tools that assist healthcare providers by generating clinical questions, documenting patient responses, and streamlining medical workflows, raised a $60 million Series B round led by Oak HC/FT, with Greco and SNR as well as previous investors Y Combinator, Future Communities Capital, and the Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center also buying in. More here.

Alpheus Medical, a four-year-old startup based in Oakdale, PA, that is working on a non-invasive therapy that combines ultrasound energy with tumor-targeted drugs to treat solid cancers such as glioblastoma, raised a $52 million Series B round co-led by HealthQuest Capital and Samsara BioCapital, with OrbiMed, Action Potential VC, BrightEdge, the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, and Sontag Innovation Fund also investing. MassDevice has more here.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a seven-year-old startup based in Devens, MA, that is building compact fusion power plants using superconducting magnets to generate net energy gain, raised a $1 billion round. An undisclosed hyperscale developer led the financing. Data Center Dynamics has more here.

Moonvalley, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that is developing AI tools for video creation, including customization options like fine-grained camera and motion controls, raised a $53 million total from a group of 14 unnamed investors. The company has raised a total of approximately $124 million. TechCrunch has more here. 

The Nuclear Company, a two-year-old startup that aims to develop large-scale nuclear power plants using existing reactor designs at pre-permitted sites, raised a $51.3 million Series A round led by Eclipse, with CIV, Goldcrest Capital, MCJ Collective, True Ventures, and Wonder Ventures also joining in. The company has raised a total of $70 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Pathos AI, a three-year-old Chicago startup that uses AI and robotic automation to accelerate the discovery of drugs that target solid tumors, raised a $365 Series D round at a $1.6 billion valuation. The deal was led by an undisclosed set of backers. Fierce Biotech has more here.

Stord, a ten-year-old Atlanta company that helps businesses streamline warehousing, fulfillment, and freight through cloud-based supply chain tools, raised an $80 million Series E round led by Strike Capital, with Baillie Gifford, NewView Capital, G Squared, and Georgia Tech Foundation as well as previous investors Kleiner Perkins, Franklin Templeton, Founders Fund, Bond, and Lux Capital also piling on. Fortune has more here.

ZeroAvia, an eight-year-old startup based in Hollister, CA, that develops hydrogen-electric propulsion systems designed for regional aircraft to reduce emissions in commercial aviation, is in the market to raise a $150 million Series D round, according to Bloomberg. The company has raised a total of approximately $300 million from investors and through grants. GeekWire has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Adyton, a six-year-old Dallas startup that builds mobile-first software that tracks personnel, gear, and mission schedules for military teams, raised an $11 million seed round led by Venrock, with Khosla Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Initialized Capital, Kindred Ventures, and Leblon Capital also participating. Dallas Innovates has more here.

InfinitForm, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that builds AI-powered design tools that help engineers optimize manufacturable parts by refining CAD models early in the production process, raised a $12.7 million seed round led by UP.Partners, with participation from Schematic Ventures, Counterpart Ventures, Yamaha Motor Ventures, and former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass. Develop 3D has more here.

OroraTech, a seven-year-old Munich startup that operates a network of thermal-sensing satellites that detect and forecast wildfires to help emergency services respond faster, raised a $13.4 million Series B extension round led by BNP Paribas, with Rabo Ventures as well as previous investors Bayern Kapital, Edaphon, and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund also taking part. Tech Funding News has more here.

Solestial, a twelve-year-old company based in Tempe, AZ, that manufactures lightweight solar panels engineered for use in space environments such as satellites and orbital platforms, raised a $17 million Series A round. AE Ventures was the deal lead, with Crosscut Ventures, Zeon Ventures, and Mitsubishi Electric as well as previous investors Airbus Ventures, General Purpose Venture Capital, Industrious Ventures, Stellar Ventures, and Techstars also digging in. More here.

Tern, a four-year-old New York startup that provides back-office automation software that helps travel agencies manage bookings, payments, and commission tracking more efficiently, raised a $13 million Series A round led by Viewpoint Ventures, with previous investor Upfront Ventures also stepping up. PhocusWire has more here.

Smaller Fundings

Fieldstone Bio, a two-year-old startup that develops AI-driven biosensor technology that programs microbes to detect environmental hazards like toxins and explosives and then uses hyperspectral imaging and AI to map where those compounds are located, raised a $5 million seed round led by Ubiquity Ventures, with LDV Capital and previous investor E14 also pitching in. TechCrunch has more here.

Plakar, a one-year-old Paris startup that develops collaboration and version control software designed to help engineers manage and back up their development files more effectively, raised a $3 million pre-seed round led by Seedcamp, with HelloWorld, IrregularExpression, and Galion.exe also taking part. More here.

Pronto, a one-year-old Indian startup that enables busy professionals to book home help for chores like laundry and cleaning, raised a $2 million seed round at a $12.5 million post-money valuation. The deal was led by Bain Capital Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

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Exits

Cohere, a six-year-old Toronto startup building enterprise AI infrastructure, has acquired Ottogrid, a two-year-old Vancouver startup that offers tools to automate market research and data extraction. Terms were not disclosed. Ottogrid's investors include GV and Untapped Capital. TechCrunch has more here. 

Going Public

Voyager Technologies, a six-year-old Denver startup that develops spacecraft, space stations, and national security systems for commercial, civil, and defense customers, has filed to go public. The company has raised over $170 million from investors like Scout Ventures, Seraphim Space, Jackson Moses, Industrious Ventures, and NewSpace Capital. Reuters has more here. 

Is the tech IPO market finally back? CNBC is seeing "signs of life." More here. 

People

Since January, more than 36 allies of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Palmer Luckey have quietly landed roles across the federal government, often in agencies that regulate or bankroll their companies. The Wall Street Journal has more here. 

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who can't seem to stop talking about replacing humans with artificial intelligence, says reports of an AI pullback at Klarna are untrue and that the company’s bots are actually handling more work than ever, including higher-level support jobs once reserved exclusively for humans. Big Technology has more here.

At some point during his tenure, Google CEO Sundar Pichai was apparently thisclose to buying Netflix. Business Insider has more here. 

Essential Reads

Despite bold predictions from tech leaders, researchers across the AI world tell The New York Times we’re nowhere close to artificial general intelligence. More here. 

Forbes is calling Tesla's planned robotaxi rollout "a disaster waiting to happen." More here. 

Detours

Wes Anderson says his famously stylized films have always had a dark streak, and with The Phoenician Scheme, he is leaning harder than ever into the chaos beneath the pretty pictures.

The quest for the perfect pizza.

Retail Therapy

An iconic '70s dive watch lives again.