Amazon fulfillment competitor Stord raises $250M at $3B valuation; OpenRouter more than doubles valuation to $1.3B in a year

Datadog veterans launch AI coding startup Niteshift on a bet against Big AI lock-in; plus, Zest launches a restaurant discovery app

AI coding agent startup Niteshift has raised a $7 million seed round from a who's who of angels. It's betting companies will want power over, not lock-in, with model makers. Also, backed by Alexis Ohanian’s 776 and Kindred Ventures, Zest uses transaction data and AI to generate restaurant recommendations based on users’ real dining habits and the places they frequent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Evotrex raises $30M to build the RV that doesn’t need a charging station; plus, so long FAANG and hello to MANGOS

The startup is one of many entering the RV space, but it's banking on a hybrid power system that can go far beyond campsites. Also, with SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI all eyeing massive public debuts, the tech industry may soon have a new class of corporate overlords — and a new acronym to match. Say goodbye to FAANG and hello to MANGOS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Helion, the Sam Altman-backed fusion startup, raises $465M to build a power plant for Microsoft

Fusion startup Helion is racing to complete a power plant for Microsoft by 2028. A fresh infusion of cash should help with that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Is Silicon Valley ready to put robots in people’s homes? Hello Robot is.

The California startup released the fourth-generation of its home assistance robot, Stretch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Brynn Putnam's Board raised $20M; plus, ZeroDrift raises $10M to protect AI models from themselves

Board, the startup building what it calls "together tech" designed to bring people into the same room, has closed a Series A led by Union Square Ventures. Also, a new AI compliance service sits between AI models and end users to flag and replace any messages that might present a compliance problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]