September 26th Newsletter

Author

Da Yu
September 26, 2025

As of close on September 25, 2025

Markets took notice as Fed Chair Powell flagged equity prices as “fairly highly valued,” even as he downplayed broader financial stability risks. JPMorgan forecasts U.S. GDP to slow from 2.5% in Q3 to 1.2% by early 2026. In tech, Trump’s proposed $100K H-1B visa fee rattled firms already navigating labor constraints, while Amazon sidestepped a trial by agreeing to a $2.5B FTC settlement over deceptive Prime practices, with $1.5B going to 35 million customers. TikTok’s U.S. operations, valued at $14 billion, may soon fall 45 percent under Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX via a Trump-endorsed deal, with Oracle overseeing security and ByteDance holding 19.9 percent. On the AI front, Microsoft deepened its Copilot suite by adding Anthropic’s Claude models, offering users more model choice. Meanwhile, general-purpose AI made headlines by passing the rigorous CFA Level III exam, an inflection point in financial AI reasoning. Rounding out the week, Halloween spending is set to hit a record $13.1B, up 13% YoY.

Top 5 AI Highlights

[1] 💰 Nvidia will invest up to $100B in OpenAI, supplying data center chips and taking non-voting shares, a deal that could draw antitrust scrutiny. The pact comes shortly after OpenAI announced $100B in backup cloud spending to meet surging demand. Read more from Reuters.

[2] ⚡ xAI debuts Grok 4 Fast and is reportedly raising $10B at a $200B valuation. The model cuts thinking tokens by 40% and costs by 98%, ranking #1 in search tasks on LMArena. Elon Musk added that he now believes xAI could reach AGI with Grok 5. Read more from CNBC and Engadget.

Source: X

[3] OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank will build five new U.S. data centers under the $500B Stargate project, targeting 10 GW capacity. The expansion adds 7 GW, over $400B in three-year investment, and 25,000 jobs, with Nvidia pledging up to $100B. Read more from Reuters.

[4] ⚖️ Musk’s xAI sues OpenAI for trade secret theft and staff poaching tied to its Grok chatbot, escalating a fierce legal feud as both battle for AI dominance. Read more from The Guardian.

Source: X

[5] 🏗️ In aqui-hire news, Nvidia spent over $900M in cash and stock to hire Enfabrica CEO Rochan Sankar and license the startup’s tech. Enfabrica, last valued at $600M, raised $115M in 2024 after a $125M 2023 round, connecting 100K+ GPUs. Read more from CNBC.

Founder’s Corner

The Bay Area is only 4th in the share of capital devoted to AI

Source: X

What We Read This Week

  • Meta launched the American Technology Excellence Project, a national super PAC to fight AI regulation, after 1,100 state tech bills this year. Backed by tens of millions in funding, it follows Meta’s $14M lobbying spend in 2025. (TechCrunch)

  • Intel has approached Apple for a potential investment to support its turnaround, following recent backing from Nvidia and SoftBank, as the chipmaker seeks validation and growth amid U.S. government support. (Bloomberg)

  • Pfizer will acquire obesity drugmaker Metsera in a deal worth up to $7.3B, including future milestone payments. The buyout gives Pfizer a pipeline of oral and injectable weight-loss drugs after setbacks with its own candidates. CEO Albert Bourla said the move “propels Pfizer into this key therapeutic area.” (CNBC)

  • Office Depot will be acquired by Atlas Holdings in an all-cash $1B deal, with shareholders receiving $28 per share, a 34% premium. The buyout, approved by ODP’s board, takes the company private by year-end 2025. (BusinessWire)

  • Waymo launched “Waymo for Business,” a free tool for employers, universities, and events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Piloted with Carvana, the service targets commuters with 1 in 6 Waymo riders and competes with Uber and Lyft, where commutes make up over 30% of rides. (Bloomberg)

AI Fundraising news (Sep 19 — Sep 25)

  • ANYbotics: AI-powered four-legged industrial inspection robots, raised $150M+

  • AppZen: AI-powered finance workflow automation platform, raised a $180M Series D

  • Cerebras Systems: AI chipmaker preparing for IPO, raised a $1B Round

  • Circuit & Chisel: AI agents autonomous payment infrastructure, raised a $19.2M Seed

  • Cohere: Enterprise AI model builder, raised a $100M Extension

  • Distyl AI: AI workflow automation tools, raised a $175M Series B

  • Emergent: No-code AI agent app builder, raised a $23M Series A

  • Empower Semiconductor: Power management chips for AI processors, raised a $140M+ Series D

  • Enter: Brazilian legal AI startup, raised a $35M Series A

  • Ensoma: In vivo stem cell engineering company, raised $53M

  • Factory: AI coding agents developer, raised $50M

  • Filevine: AI-powered legal workflow management platform, raised $400M

  • Forgent AI: AI platform for public sector contract bidding, raised a $5.1M Preseed

  • Genstore: AI-powered online store creation platform, raised a $10M Seed

  • Greptile: AI-powered code review automation tool, raised a $25M Series A

  • Helios AI: AI supply chain resilience for agriculture, raised a $4.7M Seed

  • Holy Technologies: AI and robotics for composite manufacturing, raised a $5M Seed

  • Huxe: AI-generated personalized audio news and podcasts, raised a $4.6M Seed

  • Manas AI: AI-powered drug discovery and development, raised a $26M Seed Extension

  • Mimica: Process intelligence for AI agent training, raised a $26.2M Series B

  • Modular: AI software development platform, raised $250M

  • Mycroft: AI agents for security and compliance, raised a $3.5M Seed

  • Obot AI: Secure AI agent connections via MCP, raised a $35M Seed

  • Omnea: AI-powered procurement and supplier management, raised a $50M Series B

  • Prosper AI: Voice AI agents for healthcare administration, raised a $5M Seed

  • Rekord: AI-powered credit decisioning for lenders, raised a $2.1M Preseed

  • Rocket.new: Indian AI app development platform, raised a $15M Seed

  • Salt AI: Life sciences AI workflow platform, raised $10M

  • Sevaro Health: Virtual neurology care with AI support, raised a $39M Series B

  • Signal AI: Enterprise reputation monitoring with AI, raised a $165M Round

  • Synthesized: AI-automated software testing platform, raised a $20M Series A

  • Track3D: AI for construction project monitoring, raised a $10M Series A

  • Wexler.ai: AI litigation fact-checking platform, raised a $5.3M Seed

  • Xania Monet: AI‑generated R&B persona created by Telisha Jones, raised a $3M recording deal