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Washington Research Foundation names Ankit K. Azad to ninth Venture Analyst cohort to evaluate health-tech grants and startups
The Washington Research Foundation named Kolkata-born consultant Ankit K. Azad to its ninth cohort of Venture Analysts, bringing his life sciences and healthcare commercial strategy experience to evaluate grant applications and early-stage startups. Azad, a former ZS Associates consultant and current MBA candidate at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, will work part-time with the Seattle-based foundation to assess the commercial viability of scientific discoveries from Washington research institutions.
Starcloud raises $250M extension to March Series A, valuing company at $2.3B to build Starcloud-3 and expand manufacturing
Space startup Starcloud extended its March Series A with a $250 million addition, bringing its valuation to $2.3 billion and funding expansion of manufacturing and its Starcloud-3 orbital data center planned to fly on SpaceX’s Starship. The round, led by Manhattan West Ventures with participation from Nvidia and Cisco, will also help secure launch capacity amid tightening rocket availability.
OpenAI’s Kevin Weil Joins Stoke Space Board as Company Prepares First Launch of Fully Reusable Nova Rocket
OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil has joined the board of reusable rocket startup Stoke Space as it prepares for the launch of its fully reusable Nova rocket. Weil's expertise in scaling tech and AI products is expected to help guide Stoke from development to commercial operations.
Palo Alto Networks to acquire Seattle startup Protect AI in deal reported above $500 million
Seattle-based Protect AI, founded in 2022 to secure machine-learning systems and serving Fortune 500 clients, is being acquired by Palo Alto Networks; sources report the deal is worth over $500 million after Protect AI raised $60 million in a 2024 Series B at a $400 million valuation. Palo Alto plans to integrate Protect AI into its Prisma AIRS platform to expand AI security capabilities.
