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Good morning ☀️, leader of the next generation.
Technology is reshaping how the world works.
The real question is not what it can do — but how we choose to use it.
We focus on using technology to support human evolution.
Progress works when responsibility stays human.
⚡ WHAT'S AT STAKE TODAY ⚡
- 🤖🚀 Humans&, a 'human-centric' AI startup founded by Anthropic, xAI, Google alums, raised $480M seed round
- 🚗🌌 Elon Musk says Tesla's restarted Dojo3 will be for 'space-based AI compute'
- 🛡️👶 In an effort to protect young users, ChatGPT will now predict how old you are
- 😲💥 Anthropic's CEO stuns Davos with Nvidia criticism
- 🏢⚡ ServiceNow powers actionable enterprise AI with OpenAI
- 🇨🇦⚠️ Critics, pollsters warn Canadians are wary of AI, want government to set guardrails
- 💰⚠️ Current approach to AI in financial services risks serious harm to consumers and wider system
- ❌🤖 X Publishes AI-Powered Algorithm Code
- 🇮🇳📈 Indian vibe-coding startup Emergent triples valuation to $300M with $70M fundraise
AI Startup Raises Record $480M Emphasizing Human Collaboration
Humans&, a 'human-centric' AI startup founded by Anthropic, xAI, Google alums, raised $480M seed round
A three-month-old AI startup called Humans& has secured $480 million in seed funding at a $4.48 billion valuation, marking another massive investment in the artificial intelligence sector. The company, which emphasizes human empowerment over replacement, attracted backing from high-profile investors including Nvidia, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and venture capital firms SV Angel, GV, and Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective.
The startup was founded by a stellar team of AI industry veterans. Andi Peng, formerly of Anthropic, brings expertise in reinforcement learning and post-training of Claude models 3.5 through 4.5. Georges Harik, Google's seventh employee who helped build the company's first advertising systems, adds significant tech industry experience. The team also includes Eric Zelikman and Yuchen He, former xAI researchers who contributed to developing the Grok chatbot, and Noah Goodman, a Stanford professor specializing in psychology and computer science.
With approximately 20 employees drawn from prestigious organizations including OpenAI, Meta, Reflection, AI2, and MIT, Humans& aims to revolutionize how people collaborate through AI-powered software. Their vision centers on creating an AI-enhanced instant messaging platform that facilitates human-to-human collaboration rather than replacing human workers.
The company's technical approach involves training AI systems in innovative ways, such as programming chatbots to actively request information from users and store it for future reference. According to their website, Humans& seeks to build AI that serves "as a deeper connective tissue that strengthens organizations and communities" by rethinking model training at scale and human-AI interactions.
The startup has identified key areas for innovation, including "long-horizon and multi-agent reinforcement learning, memory, and user understanding," while maintaining an integrated focus on both scientific research and product development.
This massive funding round reflects the current AI investment frenzy, though it's not unprecedented. Thinking Machines Lab holds the record for the largest seed round at $2 billion, raised in July at a $12 billion valuation with backing from Andreessen Horowitz. Founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and researchers from Meta and Google, that company initially generated enormous excitement, though recent departures of half the founding team suggest that massive capital and impressive pedigrees don't guarantee smooth sailing.
Other notable mega-rounds include Unconventional AI's $475 million seed funding in December at a $4.5 billion valuation. Founded by former Databricks AI head Naveen Rao, the company focuses on developing energy-efficient neuromorphic computing systems. Lila Sciences raised $200 million last March for its autonomous AI-powered laboratory platform.
The trend extends to academic spinoffs as well. LMArena, the AI model benchmarking platform from UC Berkeley, raised $100 million at a $600 million valuation in May, followed by a $150 million Series A round this month at a $1.7 billion post-money valuation.
These massive early-stage investments highlight investors' eagerness to back AI startups led by experienced teams from major tech companies and research institutions, even as the industry grapples with questions about sustainable business models and long-term viability in an increasingly competitive landscape.
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Tesla revives abandoned AI chip project for orbital computing
Elon Musk says Tesla's restarted Dojo3 will be for 'space-based AI compute'
Elon Musk announced Tesla will restart its previously abandoned Dojo3 AI chip project, but this time for "space-based AI compute" rather than self-driving cars. Tesla shut down Dojo five months ago after key personnel departed, with the company shifting to rely on Nvidia partners instead.
Now Tesla is rebuilding the team, with Musk directly recruiting engineers via X. The announcement follows Nvidia's CES unveiling of autonomous driving AI that competes with Tesla's FSD software. Musk plans using SpaceX to launch compute satellites operating in constant sunlight, though significant technical challenges remain.
🎙️ The Supercharged Podcast Is Growing
Conversations with the People Building the AI Future
The Supercharged Podcast is becoming a place where real conversations about AI happen — beyond hype, tools, or surface-level takes.
We sit down with industry leaders, founders, builders, and operators who are actively using AI — or building AI-first businesses — to understand how it’s actually changing the way work gets done.
From strategy and systems to experimentation and execution, these are practical, honest conversations with people shaping what comes next.
⚡ Trends for the Future
Indian vibe-coding startup Emergent triples valuation to $300M with $70M fundraise
AI startup raises $70M, tripling valuation in four months.
Emergent, an Indian AI "vibe-coding" startup, has secured $70 million in Series B funding just four months after raising $23 million in Series A, demonstrating the intense investor appetite for AI-powered development platforms.
The round was co-led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Khosla Ventures, tripling the company's valuation from $100 million to $300 million post-money. Other participants included Prosus, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Together, and Y Combinator, bringing Emergent's total funding to $100 million within seven months of launch.
The startup's platform uses AI agents to help users design, build, test, and deploy full-stack web and mobile applications without requiring extensive programming knowledge. This approach targets entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking to develop products without hiring large engineering teams.
Emergent reports impressive growth metrics, claiming $50 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and over 5 million users across 190+ countries. The company aims to exceed $100 million ARR by April 2026, with founder Mukund Jha highlighting strong demand across key markets including the U.S., Europe, and India.
While headquartered in San Francisco, 70 of Emergent's 75 employees work from Bengaluru, India. The company is aggressively hiring across both locations as it scales operations.
The startup competes with established players like Lovable, Cursor, and Replit in the rapidly growing vibe-coding space. These platforms have transformed app development by making programming accessible to non-technical users through AI assistance.
This funding round marks SoftBank's return to Indian startup investments after nearly four years, previously backing ElasticRun. The deal also highlights continued investor confidence in India's AI startup ecosystem, with competitors like Rocket securing significant funding from major venture firms.
Emergent plans to use the fresh capital to expand its workforce, accelerate product development, and strengthen its market presence globally.
⚡ Let’s Make AI Actually Useful:
What Would Move the Needle in *Your* Industry?
AI has potential — but generic advice rarely helps.
What would be genuinely valuable for AI to do in your industry right now?
• Automate a painful workflow?
• Improve decision-making?
• Replace a manual process that wastes time?
• Help your team upskill faster?
Tell us what you’d want AI to handle — or where you feel stuck.
We’re using these insights to curate **industry-specific trainings, live webinars, and practical guidance** you can actually apply.
AI is the great enabler of human dreams, giving us the ability to transcend limitations and create breakthroughs that will benefit all of civilization.
Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, known for launching groundbreaking AI systems including ChatGPT and GPT-4. He previously served as president of Y Combinator, one of the world's most influential startup accelerators, and has been a prominent voice advocating for responsible AI development.
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