Startup

• French industrial and technology groups have submitted bids to host a planned €10 billion EU-backed AI gigafactory. • The French proposals involve strategic partnerships between data-center operators, cloud providers, equipment suppliers, and industrial companies. • This initiative is part of a broader European effort to secure technological sovereignty, though France faces stiff competition from Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Nordic countries.

• OpenAI is tentatively targeting an initial public offering (IPO) for the autumn, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal. • The potential stock market listing aims to secure significant funding to accelerate the company's future artificial intelligence development. • This move represents a pivotal moment for both OpenAI and the broader AI industry as it transitions toward a public corporate structure.

• A viral feud between two AI startup founders over $31 million in funding has highlighted the volatile nature of Silicon Valley's current "attention economy." • Both companies are targeting users in developing markets, reflecting a trend where massive capital is being deployed into nascent sectors and very young founders. • The conflict underscores a shift in venture capital trends; a recent Crunchbase analysis shows that in 2025, over half of seed rounds exceeded $10 million.

• Chinese robotics startup Linkerbot has completed a Series B+ funding round, achieving a $3 billion valuation, according to a Reuters report covering the company's expansion in industrial robotics. • The funding round reflects strong investor appetite for advanced robotics solutions in Asia, where manufacturing automation and industrial AI applications are driving significant venture capital deployment. • Linkerbot's valuation milestone positions the startup among China's leading robotics firms, competing in the growing market for intelligent automation systems across manufacturing, logistics, and service sectors.

• Bucharest-based DesignVerse, an AI-driven startup modernizing aviation infrastructure software, secured €4.6 million ($5.5 million) in seed funding. • The funding follows a successful software upgrade project with EUROCONTROL, Europe's air traffic management organization, enhancing enterprise tools across the continent. • This investment highlights growing demand for AI innovations in aviation, positioning DesignVerse to expand its platform amid digital transformation in the sector.

• London-based Recursive Superintelligence, founded in 2025 by former leaders from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Meta AI, and Uber AI, has raised $650 million at a $4.65 billion valuation in a round led by GV and Greycroft with participation from AMD Ventures and NVIDIA. • The startup's core technology approach focuses on automating the AI research process itself, developing systems capable of improving their own architecture, training methods, and evaluation processes without continuous human oversight. • The company currently operates from San Francisco and London offices with over 25 researchers and engineers, and plans to use fresh funding to secure large-scale compute infrastructure and run its first Level 1 autonomous training system.

• Abstract has been selected for Notable Capital's Rising in Cyber 2026 report, recognizing it among top emerging cybersecurity firms. • The report is based on CISO survey data and market analysis, highlighting industry shifts from AI agents transforming security operations. • Inclusion signals Abstract's innovative approach in a competitive landscape, drawing attention from enterprise buyers and investors.

• Notable Capital unveiled Rising in Cyber 2026, its third annual list spotlighting 30 promising private cybersecurity startups, announced on May 12, 2026, from San Francisco. • The selected cohort has collectively raised over $6.9 billion according to PitchBook, amid a cybersecurity market projected to grow from $151 billion in 2025 to $250 billion by 2029 per Morgan Stanley. • This initiative highlights double-digit market growth and innovation in the sector, positioning these startups as leaders in next-generation defenses.

• Fable Security, a San Francisco-based human risk management platform, was named to the Rising in Cyber 2026 list recognizing the 30 most promising private cybersecurity startups. • The company uses AI and behavioral science to reduce organizational cybersecurity risks by shaping employee behavior and preventing social engineering attacks. • The annual list is independently curated by Notable Capital to highlight innovative early-stage firms addressing critical cyber threats.

• Evardi Energy, co-founded by UC Berkeley economics and cognitive science student Diva Bhartesh Shah, launched an AI platform to predict electricity demand surges and prevent blackouts. • The system uses machine learning to forecast peak loads up to 48 hours in advance, enabling grid operators to adjust supply dynamically and reduce outage risks by 70%. • This innovation addresses vulnerabilities in aging power infrastructure, potentially saving utilities $billions annually in downtime costs amid rising climate-driven demand.

• Netherlands-based eyeo, a computer vision startup, secured €40 million in Series A funding led by Innovation Industries, bringing total funding to €55 million. • The round included existing investors imec.xpand, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Brabant Development Agency. • Funds will support eyeo's first full in-house chip design team for nanophotonic chips that split light instead of filtering it, recovering 70% of light discarded by current image sensors.

• India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched a new AI-focused startup incubator under the Government of India’s GoAI initiative on May 8, 2026, with an initial corpus of $150 million to support early-stage AI and deep‑tech ventures. • The program will prioritize startups working on language‑ and domain‑specific AI models for Indian languages, healthcare, agriculture, and public‑sector automation, with selected firms receiving grants of up to $500,000 alongside regulatory sandbox access. • The move signals a broader shift in New Delhi’s strategy to rival private‑sector AI clusters in China and the United States, while also reducing dependency on foreign cloud infrastructures and large language models.

• Singapore‑headquartered AI‑analytics company NexaAnalytics raised $120 million in a Series B round led by Temasek Holdings on May 8, 2026, valuing the firm at $1.1 billion. • The startup, which specializes in real‑time marketing‑attribution and supply‑chain‑demand‑prediction models for ASEAN retailers, says it will allocate 60% of the capital to expand its GPU‑cluster footprint in Singapore and Malaysia and the rest to R&D and regional hiring. • NexaAnalytics reports current ARR of $49 million, up from $18 million a year ago, with its prediction models deployed across more than 850 enterprise clients including major e‑commerce and logistics networks in Indonesia and Thailand.

• Sierra, an AI customer experience startup, secured $950 million in a Series E funding round led by Tiger Global and Google Ventures on May 8, 2026, achieving a valuation exceeding $15 billion. • The round highlights the strength of high-growth vertical AI companies amid surging demand for agentic AI solutions in enterprise settings. • This funding victory underscores investor confidence in specialized AI applications, positioning Sierra as a leader in automating customer interactions.

• AI-native startup Pit, officially Pitdotcom Sweden AB, announced a $16 million funding round on May 7, 2026, led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Lakestar and executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Revolut, and Deel. • The platform acts as an AI 'product team-as-a-service,' replacing spreadsheets, emails, and SaaS tools with customized, production-grade software for internal operations in telecom, e-commerce, healthcare, and logistics. • Early adopters report 10,000 hours saved annually per deployment, 99% automated invoice acceptance rates, and 85% reduction in marketing campaign execution time, enabling scalable business automation beyond fragile prototypes.

• Meta Platforms has acquired Manus, a Singapore-based AI startup, in a $2 billion deal announced on May 7, 2026, focusing on autonomous agents that plan and execute complex tasks. • Manus specializes in agentic AI technology, enabling systems to independently handle multi-step processes without constant human oversight. • The acquisition positions Meta to expand its AI portfolio amid intensifying competition in generative and autonomous AI development globally.

• Ecosystem Roundup from e27.co reports that the AI pay gap in Southeast Asia's startup industry has emerged and is accelerating, with AI-skilled workers commanding significantly higher salaries than non-AI peers as of May 5, 2026. • Key details highlight disparities where AI engineers in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia earn 30-50% more than general software developers, driven by demand from firms like Sea Limited and Grab. • This matters as it risks exacerbating talent shortages and inequality across ASEAN tech hubs, potentially slowing non-AI startup growth while fueling AI dominance in Vietnam and Thailand.

• Samsung has launched its 2026 startup acceleration program in India, inviting applications from deep-tech startups to collaborate within its global mobile ecosystem. • The program provides up to $50,000 in grant funding with no equity stake required for Proof-of-Concept (PoC) development, allowing startups to validate and scale innovations. • Building on the success of the initiative launched in 2023, the program aims to bridge the gap between emerging Indian startups and Samsung's established mobile technology infrastructure.

• The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, providing federal grants to startups, has returned after a historic lapse, offering critical non-dilutive funding for technology innovation. • Founders need to know key changes in eligibility, application processes, and timelines for when funding may flow again to support R&D in AI, cybersecurity, and other tech areas. • This revival boosts US startup ecosystem amid competitive global pressures, enabling early-stage companies to advance prototypes without equity loss.

• Meta acquired ARI, a US-based robotics AI startup, to bolster its efforts in humanoid robots and physical artificial general intelligence. • The deal focuses on developing software for real-world machine control and agentic systems. • This acquisition positions Meta as a leader in embodied AI, competing with rivals in robotics hardware and software.

• A comprehensive mapping identifies every major startup credit program available in 2026, targeting AI and cybersecurity innovators. • Analysis shows most founders are leaving around $500K on the table by overlooking these non-dilutive funding sources. • The resource aids US-based scaling startups in accessing credits essential for growth amid competitive venture landscapes.

• TechCrunch correspondent Anna Heim identified 21 emerging European AI and tech startups positioned to capture venture investor attention beyond market leaders Mistral AI and Lovable. • The curated list of companies represents underreported opportunities in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies that venture insiders are quietly tracking. • These startups compete in a market where established European firms continue securing massive funding rounds and launching competitive products.

• Y Combinator's security startup cohort has expanded to 103 funded companies, reflecting accelerating investment in cybersecurity solutions amid rising threat landscapes. • The proliferation of YC-backed security startups demonstrates investor conviction that emerging cyber threats create durable market opportunities and venture-scale business potential. • This growth underscores the strategic importance of security infrastructure across enterprise and consumer markets, with founders addressing gaps in traditional defense mechanisms.

• Anthropic's valuation skyrocketed from $61B to $900B in approximately 14 months, reflecting unprecedented investor interest in the AI company's capabilities and growth trajectory. • The valuation surge is driven by strong revenue performance and investor confidence in Anthropic's AI models and research, positioning it as a formidable competitor to OpenAI in the generative AI market. • The rapid ascent demonstrates the intensifying capital competition in frontier AI development, with major investors backing multiple AI startups to hedge bets on the technology's transformative potential.

• In the first quarter of 2026, AI‑driven insurance technology firms attracted significant capital, including Harper Group’s $47 million seed plus Series A and Indigo Technologies’ $50 million Series B, both focused on AI‑automated underwriting and claims workflows. • Platforms such as Mea Platforms, Pasito, General Magic, and Qumis raised between $4.3 million and $50 million to automate document‑heavy processes, reduce loss ratios, and compress quote and bind times for small and midsize businesses. • Investors are backing U.S.‑based vendors that use AI to scale distribution without proportional headcount growth, reduce friction in benefits selection, and improve risk selection in commercial lines.

• Cognizant announced the launch of its Innovation Network on April 28, 2026, a corporate investment arm targeting early to mid-stage enterprise software startups in the US. • The AI Lab validates promising innovations, while the network supports startups in turning them into products for Global 2000 clients like those in logistics and recruitment. • This initiative accelerates integration of breakthrough technologies into Cognizant's solutions, enhancing enterprise value amid rising AI adoption.

Meta, which owns Facebook, acquired Manus in December 2025 for more than US$2 billion in a bid to boost its capabilities in AI agents.

Meta said Monday that the transaction "complied fully with applicable law" and that it anticipates "an appropriate resolution to the inquiry."(Image credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)