Crusoe reportedly raises $3B at a $30B valuation

The round came together after the data center developer reportedly secured a $13 billion contract with Jane Street.

AfterQuery reportedly becomes Y Combinator’s fastest-ever unicorn, now valued at $3.2B

AI model-training startup AfterQuery has reportedly raised a round that valued it at $3.2 billion, just five months after announcing its $30 million Series A at a $300 million valuation in April.

Thrive’s Kushner defends involvement in FIFA mess, hires Elon’s go-to lawyer

New York’s prestigious-yet-secretive venture firm Thrive Capital finally speaks out about its involvement in the messy drama upending international soccer.

a16z brings growth fund to $8.5B days after launching new $1.1B fund

Andreessen Horowitz held out its hand and returned with billions more in new funds to invest in startups.

A group funded by Andreessen, Horowitz, and Brockman plans data center ads to sway midterms

Build American AI plans to lobby voters in select states about the virtues of data centers by spending millions of dollars on ads.

At TechBBQ, Europe’s AI conversations kept coming back to: Who’s actually in control?

Investors, founders, and operators from across Europe arrived for the annual Nordic TechBBQ conference to talk about how humans can have agency over AI.

How Sweden built one of Europe’s hottest startup ecosystems 

Sophia Bendz, founder of Cherry Ventures, stopped by Equity to break down the latest in the Swedish tech ecosystem.

a16z creates a $1.1B ‘Machine Age’ fund to ‘accelerate the physical buildout of AI’

The firm, known for its focus on software, is going to start throwing more money at the hardware behind AI.

Fashion startup Atorie raises $9.5M to bring consumers luxury goods without the markup

Shoppers can visit the Atorie website and buy handbags or clothes made from the same material — and coming from the same factory — that manufacturers use in high-end goods.

Capital F closes $17M debut fund with goal to back the future of the ‘female economy’

Capital F, one of the few all-female-led VC firms, announced Wednesday the $17 million close of its debut fund. The firm backs companies building in the “female economy” — or the markets where women drive demand. That mainly falls into three buckets fo…