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AI startups are eating the venture industry and the returns, so far, are good; plus, Delve accused of misleading customers Mar 23, 2026

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AI startups accounted for 41% of the $128 billion in venture dollars raised by companies on Carta last year — a record-high annual share.

Also, an anonymous Substack post accuses compliance startup Delve of “falsely” convincing “hundreds of customers they were compliant” with privacy and security regulations.

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Geothermal startup Fervo catapults itself over the ‘valley of death’; K2 to launch its first high-powered satellite for space compute Mar 20, 2026

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Fervo landed a large new loan with terms that strongly suggest the company's most turbulent days are behind it.

Also, K2's Gravitas is an ambitious project that aims to demonstrate the tech needed to build data centers in space.

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Rebel Audio is a new AI podcasting tool aimed at first-time creators Mar 19, 2026

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Rebel Audio is a new all-in-one podcasting tool that allows creators to record podcasts, edit, clip content for social, and publish episodes, all without ever leaving the platform.

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H&M wants to make clothing from CO2 using this startup’s tech; plus, Niv-AI exits stealth to wring more power performance out of GPUs Mar 18, 2026

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Rubi has developed an enzymatic process to turn carbon dioxide into cellulose that's ready to be spun into lyocell or viscose.

Also, Niv-AI raised $12 million in seed funding to measure and manage GPU power surges.

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Fuse wants to disrupt aging loan origination systems used by US credit unions; plus, Another deep tech chip startup becomes a unicorn: Frore hits $1.64B Mar 17, 2026

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The startup also announced a $5M 'rescue fund' to help credit unions ditch legacy software for its AI-native platform.

Also, at Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's urging, Frore developed liquid-cooling tech for chips. That shift helped it just raise $143 million.

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The biggest AI stories of the year (so far) Mar 16, 2026

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Written by TechCrunch's Amanda Siberling. The AI industry is constantly churning out news, like major acquisitions, indie developer successes, public outcry, and existentially dangerous contract negotiations.

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A Chinese Brain-Computer Interface startup raised $21M just two months after launch; plus, Gumloop turns every employee into an AI agent builder Mar 13, 2026

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This is the largest early-stage funding in China’s brain computer interface industry.

Also, Benchmark’s new patner Everett Randell, sees Gumloop's enterprise automation as the largest opportunity in AI.

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Rivian spin-out Mind Robotics raises $500M for industrial AI-powered robots Mar 12, 2026

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The startup, which was created by Rivian founder RJ Scaringe, is looking to train on data from, and deploy in, Rivian's factory.

Plus, Replit raised a new $400 million round and said it hopes to have $1B in ARR by year's end.

And, Breakout Ventures is finding growing success by backing early-stage startups in scientific fields such as biology and chemistry.

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Canopii looks to succeed where past indoor farms have not; plus, Legora reaches $5.55 billion valuation as AI legal tech boom endures Mar 11, 2026

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Canopii's robotic farms can autonomously grow 40,000 pounds of herbs and leafy greens a year while being the size of a basketball court.

Also, Legora, an AI platform for lawyers, is now valued at $5.55 billion following a $550 million Series D led by Accel to fuel its growth in the U.S.

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Robinhood’s startup fund stumbled in NYSE debut, plus, AI network startup Eridu emerged from stealth, and ModRetro seeking funding at $1B valuation Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

-The fund currently offers retail investors exposure to eight startups, including Mercor, Ramp, and Stripe, with plans to expand its portfolio.

-Unlike a vibe-coded product built by a college dropout, Eridu's co-founder, Drew Perkins, has been inventing networking tech since the dawn of the internet.

-The company launched its first product, a Game Boy-style handheld device called the Chromatic, in 2024.

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