September 2026

Palo Alto Networks has acquired Console, an AI IT service automation startup backed by Thrive Capital, for $500m, according to sources. The deal leaves Serval, a Sequoia-backed competitor in AI-driven IT service automation, as the de facto startup leader in the category. Source Wonderful, an AI startup, has raised $550m in a Series C funding

AfterQuery, an AI model-training startup backed by Y Combinator, has raised funding that values the company at $3.2 billion, just five months after its Series A in April at a $300 million valuation. The round marks a tenfold increase in valuation in half a year and positions AfterQuery as Y Combinator's fastest-ever unicorn. Source OpenAI

Nvidia invested $3.5 billion into MediaTek, a Taiwanese chipmaker. The investment signals Nvidia's strategy for remaining essential to AI infrastructure as major technology companies begin building their own AI chips in-house. Source Blue Voice, founded by a Harvard Law dropout, raised $6 million to build an AI legal assistant tailored for police officers. The system