The haves and have nots of the AI gold rush

The vibes around the current AI boom aren’t great, even in the tech industry.

Marketing operating system Nectar Social raises $30M Series A led by Menlo

AI-powered marketing platform Nectar Social announced Thursday that it raised a $30 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures and its Anthology Fund, which was created alongside Anthropic.

OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman reportedly takes charge of product strategy

OpenAI’s latest shakeup comes as the company reportedly plans to combine ChatGPT and its programming product Codex.

$60B AI chip darling Cerebras almost died early on, burning $8M a month

Cerebras Systems was 2026’s biggest tech IPO so far. But years ago, it burned through hundreds of millions working on a chip many believed impossible.

Meridian Ventures launched $35M fund to back MBA-deferred founders

Meridian Ventures, the venture firm founded by Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney, announced on Friday the raise of a $35 million second fund to back pre-seed and seed-stage companies founded by those who have deferred MBAs.

Lovable just backed a company that’s looking to bring vibe coding to hardware

Hardware company Atech raised $800,000 in pre-seed funding, including from a16z’s scout fund, Sequoia Scout Fund, and Nordic Makers. 

Two weeks left: Startup Battlefield 200 applications close May 27

Your shot at VC access, global visibility, TechCrunch coverage, and $100K equity-free funding is running out. Deadline to apply is May 27. Apply now.

Clio’s $500M milestone arrives just as Anthropic ups the ante

Legal tech startups, including Clio, which just hit $500 million in ARR, are seeing massive customer adoption.

Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B

After achieving $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025, the defense tech startup has raised another massive round, led by Thrive and a16z, it says.

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