Facts
- HQ
- San Francisco, US
- Sectors
- Data labeling, AI infrastructure
Rippling sues Runlayer for patent infringement on Aug 10 after Runlayer accused the $16.8B HR firm of cloning its AI-agent security product
Rippling filed a patent-infringement countersuit against AI startup Runlayer on August 10 after Runlayer sued July 28 accusing the $16.8 billion HR-tech firm of using a paid trial and NDA access to clone its AI-agent security product, escalating into competing claims of theft and patent violations tied to Model Context Protocol infrastructure.
Modal Labs opens London Marble Arch office for up to 40 staff as New York AI startup scales after $355M raise at $4.65B valuation
New York–headquartered AI infrastructure startup Modal Labs is opening a London office in Marble Arch for up to 40 workers, aiming to staff it by early September; the company raised $355M in May at a $4.65B valuation and employs about 170 people.
Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 Trained on 20,000 Nvidia GPUs via Alibaba as U.S. Alleges Export-Control Breach
Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 — a 2.8 trillion-parameter model with a one-million-token context window and public weights — was trained using a 20,000-Nvidia-GPU cluster provided through Alibaba, raising U.S. export-control concerns that restricted Nvidia Blackwell-class chips may be reaching Chinese labs via cloud and funding arrangements.
Motorola Solutions Leads $125M Round in BRINC as Startup Aims to Put 911 Drones on 80,000 U.S. Police and Fire Stations
Seattle startup BRINC raised $125 million in a round led by Motorola Solutions with participation from Index Ventures and Figma CEO Dylan Field, taking total funding above $280 million. The company plans to deploy 911 response drones to the roughly 80,000 U.S. police and fire stations, citing rapid revenue, production, and contract growth amid shifting U.S. rules favoring domestic drones.
Motorola Solutions Leads $125M Round for Brinc to Expand 911 Drone Manufacturing and HQ
Seattle-based emergency-response drone maker Brinc raised $125 million in a round led by Motorola Solutions to expand manufacturing, bring new products to market, and move into a larger Seattle headquarters and factory later this year. The funding comes amid U.S. restrictions on Chinese-made drones; Brinc’s valuation has nearly doubled from $480 million a year ago, bringing total funding to over $280 million.
Databricks Eyes $165-$175B Valuation with $5.4B Revenue, Surging Data Warehousing Growth Ahead of 2026 IPO
Databricks has surpassed $5.4 billion in annualized revenue growing at 65% year-over-year, with its data warehousing product revenue more than doubling to over $1 billion. It is targeting a $165 to $175 billion valuation in its next funding round, positioning itself as a strong competitor to Snowflake ahead of a potential 2026 IPO.
Raj Singh, Concur Co-Founder, Named CEO of Smartsheet to Drive Growth with AI in Enterprise Software
Rajeev 'Raj' Singh, co-founder of Concur and former CEO of Accolade, has been named CEO of Smartsheet as the company looks to leverage its strong foundation and $1 billion revenue base to grow with AI innovations. Singh aims to capitalize on Smartsheet's established enterprise presence and significant opportunity to reshape work management software amid evolving industry dynamics.
Concur Co-Founders Back SCALA.AI to Revolutionize Customer Experience with AI Across Healthcare, Finance, and Retail
Seattle startup SCALA.AI, backed by Concur co-founders Raj Singh and Mike Hilton, is developing AI-driven customer experience solutions for sectors like healthcare, finance, and retail. Led by CEO Ardie Sameti, SCALA.AI aims to offer advanced, vertically tailored AI platforms beyond basic automation.
Devin Lammers Named CEO of TerraClear to Drive Growth After $15M Series A for Rock-Clearing AI Technology
Devin Lammers was appointed CEO of TerraClear, a rock-mapping and picking startup, to lead its market expansion following a $15 million Series A funding round. TerraClear develops AI-driven technology to help farmers remove large rocks from fields, addressing a common agricultural challenge.
Blake Resnick, 23, Leads Seattle Drone Startup Brinc to Enhance Public Safety with Advanced UAVs
Blake Resnick, founder and CEO of Seattle-based drone company Brinc, uses technology to improve public safety with drones designed for first responders. At 23, he secured significant early investment and aims to expand drone use for police and medical emergencies.
DefinedCrowd raises $50.5M Series B to scale crowd-powered AI training data for Mastercard, BMW and other Fortune 500s
Seattle-based DefinedCrowd raised $50.5 million in Series B funding to expand its AI training data platform that uses machine learning plus a 290,000-strong global crowd to provide datasets in 50 languages. Revenue grew over 650% in 2019, headcount more than doubled to 265 with plans to reach 500 employees and expand offices despite the pandemic.
People
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Ardie Sameti Executive, CEO
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Mike Hilton Investor
