Artificial Intelligence

PaleBlueDot AI: $150 Million Series B Raised At Over $1 Billion Valuation Closed To Scale Global AI Compute Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

PaleBlueDot AI, a Silicon Valley-based AI compute platform founded in 2024, has closed a $150 million Series B financing round that values the company at more than $1 billion. The round was led by B Capital, an investment firm headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore with more than $9 billion in assets under management.

Decagon: $250 Million Series D At $4.5 Billion Valuation Raised For AI-Based Customer Experience Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Raymond James Unveils ‘Rai,’ A Proprietary AI Operations Agent For Internal Q&A And Process Support

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Raymond James has launched a proprietary digital AI operations agent called Rai, expanding the firm’s long-term artificial intelligence strategy with a new internal tool designed to deliver fast, curated answers to operational questions. The agent uses natural language processing and generative AI to respond in plain language, drawing on multiple Raymond James knowledge bases and adapting over time based on user activity and preferences.

Yahoo Debuts Scout, A New AI Answer Engine Built On Its Search History and Data Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Yahoo has introduced Yahoo Scout, a proprietary AI-powered answer engine that the company says is now available in beta for U.S. users across Yahoo Search and the broader Yahoo product portfolio. Yahoo said Scout is being rolled out on desktop and mobile, positioning the product for a wide consumer footprint across Mail, News, Finance, Sports, and other Yahoo services.

Limy: $10 Million Raised To Help Brands Optimize For The Agentic Web And AI Storefronts

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Limy, an infrastructure platform focused on optimizing brand performance in what it calls the “Agentic Web,” has emerged from stealth and announced a $10 million funding round. The financing was led by Flybridge, with participation from a16z speedrun, along with other investors including Axiom, Clarim, Communitas, and JRV & AnD.

MBZUAI, G42, And Cerebras Release K2 Think V2, An Open Reasoning System For The UAE

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

G42, Cerebras Systems, and the Institute of Foundation Models at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence said they have released K2 Think V2, a 70 billion parameter reasoning system built on the new K2 V2 base model. The organizations described K2 V2 as IFM’s strongest frontier class open source foundation model and said it was purpose built to serve as the base for K2 Think.

Factify: $73 Million Seed Funding Closed To Build A Post-PDF ‘Intelligent Document’ Standard

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Factify, a startup aiming to replace static PDFs with what it calls “Factified” documents, announced it has raised $73 million in seed funding to build a new document standard designed for AI-driven business workflows. The round was led by Valley Capital Partners and included participation from technology and business leaders, including John Giannandrea, former Head of AI at Google and SVP of AI at Apple, Ken Moelis, founder of Moelis & Co., and Peter Brown, CEO of quantitative hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.

Datatruck: $12 Million Series A Closed To Build An AI-Native Operating System For Long-Haul Trucking

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Datatruck, a Chicago-based platform positioning itself as an AI-native operating system for North American long-haul carriers, announced it has raised a $12 million Series A round led by Avenue Growth Partners, with participation from existing investors. The company said the funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand its teams, and scale adoption among carriers that are replacing legacy transportation management systems with AI-driven platforms.

Scholé AI: $3 Million Raised To Bring Personalized And Role Based Learning To Enterprise AI Upskilling

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Scholé AI, an AI native workforce learning platform, has raised $3 million in funding to expand deployments, hire, and continue building its adaptive learning product. The round was led by ACE Ventures with participation from The House Fund and FundF.

Checkbox: $23 Million Series A Closed To Build AI Legal Front Door For In-House Legal Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Checkbox has raised a $23 million Series A round to accelerate development of its AI Legal Front Door platform, positioning the product as a single entry point for legal teams to capture, manage, and measure enterprise legal work. The round was led by Touring Capital, with participation from Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Conductive Ventures, Tidal Ventures, Five V Capital, and angel investors including Jerry Ting, VP and Head of Agentic AI at Workday and former co founder and CEO of Evisort.

Gyde Launches With $60 Million Funding To Build AI-Native Brokerage Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Gyde, an AI-native brokerage platform based in Austin, Texas, announced its official launch alongside $60 million in capital raised to modernize how brokers support clients across insurance, health, and wealth decisions.

Google Brings AI Plus To The U.S. As Part Of A 35 Market Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

Google is expanding Google AI Plus into 35 additional countries and territories, including the United States, widening access to a lower-priced subscription that bundles premium AI capabilities across multiple Google products.

OpenAI Launches Prism, A Free AI Writing Workspace For Scientists

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 29, 2026

OpenAI has launched Prism, a free, AI-native workspace designed to help scientists write and collaborate on research in one integrated environment, with GPT-5.2 embedded directly into the workflow. The product is available now to anyone with a ChatGPT personal account, with support for organizations on ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, and Education plans expected “soon.”

Phia: $35 Million Series A At $185 Million Valuation Raised To Build AI Alignment Layer For Commerce

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 28, 2026

Phia, a shopping agent co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has raised a $35 million Series A financing at a $185 million valuation as it looks to expand what it describes as an “AI alignment layer” connecting consumers and brands. The round was led by Notable Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures and returning investor Kleiner Perkins.

Agiloft: AI Adoption Crosses 50% Of ARR Base As Screens Usage Surges Across Contract Workflows

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 28, 2026

Agiloft reported accelerating adoption of its AI capabilities and rising usage of Agiloft Screens, saying the momentum reflects a shift from pilot programs to enterprise reliance as organizations use AI-driven workflows to speed contracting, reduce risk, and improve operational control across legal, procurement, sales, and finance teams.

de Risk Partners: Interview With Founder & CEO Ravi De Silva About The Global Regulatory Compliance Consultancy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 28, 2026

de Risk Partners is a global regulatory compliance consultancy that uses a blend of human expertise and AI to help financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, and fintechs, manage their compliance and internal audit functions, transforming regulatory obligations into a strategic advantage. They provide a range of services from fractional Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) support to AI-driven financial crime prevention solutions. Pulse 2.0 interviewed de Risk Partners founder and CEO Ravi De Silva to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Uber Launches AV Labs to Accelerate Autonomous Vehicle Data Flywheel

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 28, 2026

Uber announced it is launching AV Labs, a new team focused on speeding progress across the autonomous vehicle ecosystem by tackling what it calls one of the toughest constraints in the field: building a scalable data flywheel that captures real-world, long-tail driving scenarios.

Corning And Meta Strike Multiyear Deal Worth Up To $6 Billion To Speed US Data Center Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 28, 2026

Corning and Meta Platforms have signed a multiyear agreement valued at up to $6 billion to accelerate the construction of advanced data centers in the United States to support Meta’s apps, technology roadmap, and AI initiatives. Corning will supply Meta with its latest optical fiber, cable, and connectivity products engineered for the density and scale requirements of next-generation AI data centers.

Brickanta: $8 Million Seed Funding Raised To Bring AI To Construction

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 28, 2026

Brickanta, a Y Combinator-backed construction technology startup from the F25 batch, has raised an $8 million seed round as it builds what it describes as an AI-native operating system for the construction industry, according to a LinkedIn post from founder Linus B. Fahlander. Northzone led the financing, with additional participation from angel investors spanning both construction industry operators and AI founders.

Salesforce: $5.6 Billion IDIQ Contract Award From U.S. Army

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Salesforce announced that the U.S. Army has awarded the company a 10 year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a ceiling value of $5.6 billion, aimed at accelerating military modernization and supporting Department of War readiness. The agreement is executed through Computable Insights LLC, which Salesforce described as a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to its national security operations.

StrongSuit: Interview With CEO Justin McCallon About The AI-Based Litigation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

StrongSuit is an AI-powered litigation platform that helps attorneys with case law research, discovery analysis, and drafting motions/briefs (and related legal workflows), while keeping lawyers in control of the final strategic decisions. Pulse 2.0 interviewed StrongSuit CEO Justin McCallon to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

D-Wave Lands $10 Million Two-Year Quantum Computing Services Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

D-Wave Quantum announced it has signed a $10 million, two-year enterprise Quantum Computing as a Service agreement with a leading Fortune 100 company, positioning the contract as a meaningful commercial validation for its annealing quantum computing offering and its broader push to bring quantum capabilities into day-to-day enterprise workflows.

Nerd Apply: $3.2 Million Seed Funding Closed To Power Outcome-Driven College Counseling

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Nerd Apply, a privacy-first platform focused on outcome-driven college counseling, announced it has raised $3.2 million in seed funding to expand distribution and strengthen its security, compliance, and data governance infrastructure. The round included participation from Riverpark Ventures, Alumni Ventures, 1.61 Ventures, and a group of angel investors that includes Gokul Rajaram and David Krane (CEO and Managing Partner of Google Ventures).

Risotto: $10 Million Seed Funding Raised To Automate The Help Desk

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Risotto, an AI-native autonomous help desk platform, has raised $10 million in seed funding to accelerate its effort to automate internal employee support workflows across large enterprises. The round was led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from 645 Ventures, Y Combinator, Ritual Capital, Surgepoint Capital, and angels, including former Dropbox and HelloSign executives. Risotto says its platform integrates across a company’s technology, IT, and communications stack to autonomously resolve internal support tickets in seconds, and has already processed hundreds of thousands of tickets for customers, including Gusto and Jobber, helping automate up to 70% of IT requests.

Fulcrum: $25 Million Raised To Bring AI Agents Into Insurance Brokerage Workflows

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Fulcrum, an AI platform designed for insurance brokerages, has raised $25 million in combined Seed and Series A funding as it targets one of the industry’s most persistent bottlenecks: slow, manual back-office work tied to legacy systems, email-driven document flows, and outsourced servicing models.

Micron’s Planned $24 Billion Singapore Wafer Fab Breaks Ground As AI-Driven NAND Demand Rises

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Micron Technology has broken ground on a new advanced wafer fabrication facility in Singapore, marking a planned investment of about US$24 billion (SG$31 billion) over the next decade as the company scales manufacturing to meet long-term demand for NAND technology tied to AI growth and data-centric computing.

Compa: $35 Million Series B Raised To Scale Agentic AI For Enterprise Compensation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Compa, an AI-driven compensation intelligence provider, announced it has raised $35 million in Series B funding to accelerate product development and growth as large companies modernize how they set pay. The round was led by Jump Capital, with participation from Crosslink Capital, Storm Ventures, Permanent Capital, HR Tech Investments LLC (an affiliate of Indeed, Inc.), and PagsGroup.

Midship: $4.15 Million Seed Funding Raised To Automate SOX Testing With Agentic AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Midship, an AI-native platform focused on automating Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) testing and internal audit workflows, has raised $4.15 million in seed funding as it looks to modernize one of the most time-intensive parts of public-company compliance. The round was led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Seguin Ventures and additional angel investors.

Lanai: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Lexi Reese About The Enterprise AI Interaction Observability Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Lanai Software builds an enterprise AI interaction observability “system of record” that captures AI usage across tools, copilots, and agents, enabling organizations to measure workflows/ROI, manage risk, and scale AI adoption safely. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Lanai Software co-founder and CEO Lexi Reese to gain a deeper understanding of the company.

Fiddler: $30 Million Series C Raised For Powering The AI Agent Control Plane

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 27, 2026

Fiddler AI raised $30 million in Series C funding as it pushes to build what it calls a neutral “control plane” for compound AI systems that increasingly rely on autonomous agents. The round was led by RPS Ventures, with participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Insight Partners, Capgemini Ventures, Dallas VC, Dentsu Ventures, and Mozilla Ventures, as well as new strategic investors LG Technology Ventures, Benhamou Global Ventures, and LDV Partners. The financing brings Fiddler’s total funding to $100 million.