Vantora, formerly known as UP.Labs, raised $100M to build startups for industrial corporations, betting heavily on physical artificial intelligence. The startup-building platform is targeting companies seeking to deploy AI in manufacturing and other physical domains, moving beyond the software-focused AI applications that have dominated recent venture investment. Source
Manus, a robotics firm that earlier this year terminated a merger with Meta, is seeking to raise $500M at a $4B valuation as it resumes operating independently. The fundraise marks a restart for the company after its high-profile deal collapse with the social-media giant. Source
Security researchers using Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.8 and 5 broke into OpenAI's systems in less than 72 hours, gaining access to employee accounts and OpenAI's GitHub repository, Monorepo, which contains the company's algorithmic secrets. The independent team at Hacktron disclosed the vulnerabilities to OpenAI before publishing their findings. Source
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger issued Executive Order 22, which bans state executive-branch officials from signing nondisclosure agreements with data center developers and directs the government to take steps that could empower local communities to influence data center development. The order also establishes an AI task force to study the state's energy and infrastructure challenges as it hosts the nation's data center capital. Source
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a new executive order positioning the state to lead on AI oversight, including exploring the potential to mandate a "kill switch" for frontier models. The order directs state officials to convene a group of experts who will deliver recommendations within two months on how California should approach regulating advanced artificial intelligence systems. Source