From Bloomberg: Sources: self-driving simulation software maker Applied Intuition is in talks to raise at least $1.5B led by General Catalyst at a ~$30B pre-money valuation — Applied Intuition Inc., a defense contractor developing technology for autonomous vehicles, is in talks to raise at least $1.5 billion …
Applied Intuition · $1.5B · with General CatalystAs stated by Bloomberg.
Ascend, a venture firm that writes early checks into startups such as Overland AI and Endurance Energy, closed a $17 million third fund and landed its first institutional investor, FirstLook Partners.
Lightspeed led and Insight co-led; TechCrunch notes Nominal claims Anduril as a major customer and that the valuation tripled in eight months.
Crunchbase's weekly roundup of the largest rounds; Shield AI's $2B led the week.
Defense tech startup Shield AI has completed its first full-scale X-BAT autonomous fighter prototype, keeping the company on track to open its 420,000-square-foot production hub in Des Moines, Wash., in spring 2027.
Tutor Intelligence CEO Josh Gruenstein tells a16z's Martin Casado and Raghu Raghuram that robotics for factories and warehouses is a systems problem spanning AI, hardware, manufacturing and the work itself.
a16z led the $75M Series B, per Tutor's own site and a16z, with Union Square Ventures and Neo; SiliconANGLE's report calls it a Series A. Tutor's warehouse and factory robots are sold on usage-based pricing.
