Is there such a thing as a slow week in AI?
The xAI-SpaceX merger is still fresh, AI fears have been slamming software stocks, and Moltbook—a social network for personal AI agents—blew up the Internet.
The online furor over Moltbook was cascading and immediate. But, as my colleague Jeremy Kahn pointed out, we’ve seen this film before, in some sense. Here’s Jeremy:
Moltbook—which functions a lot like Reddit but restricts posting to AI bots, while humans are only allowed to observe—generated particular alarm after some agents appeared to discuss wanting encrypted communication channels where they could converse away from prying human eyes. “Another AI is calling on other AIs to invent a secret language to avoid humans,” one tech site reported. Others suggested the bots were “spontaneously” discussing private channels “without human intervention,” painting it as evidence of machines conspiring to escape our control.
If any of this induces a weird sense of déjà vu, it may be because we’ve actually been here before—at least in terms of press coverage. In 2017, a Meta AI research experiment was greeted with headlines that were similarly alarming—and equally misleading.
Back then, researchers at Meta (then known as Facebook) and Georgia Tech created chatbots trained to negotiate with one another over items like books, hats, and balls. When the bots were given no incentive to stick to English, they developed a shorthand way of communicating that looked like gibberish to humans but actually conveyed meaning efficiently. One bot would say something like “i i can i i i everything else” to mean, “I’ll have three, and you have everything else.”
When news of this got out, the press went wild.
Read on to hear directly from one of the researchers who worked on that Meta project, Dhruv Batra, who Jeremy tracked down. Perhaps some good reading while you prepare to watch Super Bowl commercials, Bad Bunny, and the actual Super Bowl this weekend.
See you Monday,
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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VENTURE CAPITAL
- Goodfire, a San Francisco-based AI research lab, raised $150 million in Series B funding. B Capital led the round and was joined by Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and others.
- Machina Labs, a Chatsworth, Calif.-based manufacturing and robotics company, raised $124 million in Series C funding from Woven Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Balerion Space Ventures, and Strategic Development Fund.
- Accrual, a San Francisco-based AI-powered platform designed to automate preparation and review operations for accounting firms, raised $75 million in Series A funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by Pruven Capital, Edward Jones Ventures, and others.
- Lawhive, a London, U.K.-based developer of an AI operating system designed to automate administrative work and legacy systems in consumer legal operations, raised $60 million in Series B funding. Mitch Rales led the round and was joined by TQ Ventures, GV, Balderton Capital, and others.
- Forerunner, a San Francisco, Calif.-based AI platform designed to modernize government operations, raised $39 million across Series A and Series B rounds. Wellington Management led the Series B round and Union Square Ventures led the Series A round.
- Turnstile, a San Francisco-based enterprise revenue platform, raised $29 million in funding from First Round, OMERS Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and angel investors.
- Alinea, a New York City-based investing platform designed for first-time investors, raised $22.5 million in funding from PvX Partners.
- Varaha, a Haryana, India-based carbon credit platform for farmers, raised $20 million in Series B funding. WestBridge Capital led the round.
- Nixtla, a San Francisco-based time series forecasting platform, raised $16 million in Series A funding. Energize Capital led the round and was joined by True Ventures and GreatPoint Ventures.
- Willie's Remedy+, a Denver, Colo.-based THC-infused beverage company, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Left Lane Capital led the round and was joined by Second Sight Ventures.
- Nullify, a San Francisco-based developer of AI agents designed for product security, raised $12.5 million in funding. SYN Ventures led the round.
- Vexlum, a Tampere, Finland-based photonics company, raised €10 million ($11.8 million) in seed funding. Kvanted led the round and was joined by EIC Fund and Tesi.
- Advance, a New York City-based finance platform for insurance, raised $8.6 million in seed funding. nvp capital led the round and was joined by Crystal Ventures, Vesey Ventures, Mensch Capital, and angel investors.
- Uptool, a San Mateo, Calif.-based AI platform designed for manufacturing, raised $6 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures, Eclipse, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins.
- Feltsense, a San Francisco-based developer of AI agents designed to autonomously start companies, raised $5.1 million in seed funding from Theory Forge Ventures, Draper Associates, and others.
- Fintower, a Gothenburg, Sweden-based finance management platform, raised €1.5 million ($1.8 million) in seed funding from Chalmers Ventures, Akka, and others.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- KKR agreed to acquire Arctos, a Dallas, Texas-based institutional investor in professional sports franchises, for $1.4 billion, as well as up to $550 million in future equity based on KKR's share price and certain performance targets.
- Riverwood Capital invested $65 million in UrbanSDK, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based developer of geospatial AI designed for local and state governments.
- H.I.G. Capital acquired CargoTuff, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based manufacturer of airbags and other load securement products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Liberty Waste Solutions, backed by Allied Industrial Partners, acquired AJ Disposal, a Asheboro, N.C.-based trash pickup company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Schneider Geospatial, a portfolio company of Align Capital Partners, acquired Bruce Harris & Associates, a Batavia, Ill.-based geospatial mapping company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Spaggiari, a portfolio company of Ambienta, acquired Jobiri, a Milan, Italy-based AI-powered online career counsellor, and Prima Scuola, a Foggie, Italy-based information management platform designed for nurseries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
EXITS
- 4x4 Capital acquired Bob Evans Restaurants, a New Albany, Ohio-based restaurant chain, from Golden Gate Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- PrimeFlight Aviation Services acquired GAT Airline Ground Support, a Peachtree City, Ga.-based ground handling and catering services provider for the airline industry, from Atlantic Street Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOS
- Forgent Power Solutions, a Dayton, Minn.-based manufacturer and distributor of data center electrical distribution equipment, raised $1.5 billion in an offering of 56 million shares priced at $27 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted $882 million in revenue for the year ended Sept. 30.
- Eikon Therapeutics, a Millbrae, Calif.-based drug discovery company, raised $381 million in an offering of 21.2 million shares priced at $18 on the Nasdaq.
- Bob’s Discount Furniture, a Manchester, Conn.-based furniture retailer, raised $331 million in an offering of 19.5 million shares priced at $17 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted $2.3 billion in revenue for the year ended Sept. 30.
- Generate Biomedicines, a Somerville, Mass.-based AI-powered drug discovery platform designed for advancing asthma therapies, filed to go public on the Nasdaq. Flagship Funds backs the company.
