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OpenRouter, a Marketplace for AI Models, Raises $40 Million
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By Yuliya Chernova, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Startup OpenRouter has raised $40 million in venture funding to help software developers overwhelmed by the growing number of artificial-intelligence models.
“There’s been a Cambrian explosion of models,” said Alex Atallah, OpenRouter’s chief executive and co-founder, who previously co-founded OpenSea, an online marketplace for nonfungible tokens. “Our business is a one-stop shop for all models,” he said.
OpenRouter has raised back-to-back seed and Series A funding rounds this year led by Andreessen Horowitz and Menlo Ventures, respectively. The company is now valued at roughly $500 million, according to a person familiar with the situation. Atallah declined to comment on valuation.
OpenRouter directs prompts from AI apps to large language models and cloud hosting providers based on customer price, performance and other requirements.
Read the full article here.
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And now on to the news...
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink v2-mini satellites lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. earlier this month. PHOTO: STEVE NESIUS/REUTERS
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An investment platform plans to use blockchain technology to sell investors exposure to SpaceX, another effort in an arms race to give regular traders access to hot startups, The Wall Street Journal reports. Republic says it is starting to sell digital “tokens” that mirror the performance of private shares of Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company starting this week. The investment platform, which offers retail investors access to investments typically limited to the wealthy, plans to eventually expand its tokenization to other high-profile private companies like artificial-intelligence firms OpenAI and Anthropic.
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1.7%
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Inflation in Canada steadied in May. The consumer-price index rose a slightly hotter-than-anticipated 0.6% for the month to leave annual inflation unchanged at an as-expected 1.7%.
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Anthropic Lands Partial Victory in AI Case Set to Shape Future Rulings
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A federal judge found that the startup Anthropic’s use of books to train its artificial-intelligence models was legal in some circumstances, a ruling that could have broad implications for AI and intellectual property, The Wall Street Journal reports. Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California ruled Monday that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books for AI model training was legal under U.S. copyright law if it had purchased those books. The ruling is set to help shape future litigation against AI companies, legal experts said.
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Invictus Growth Invests $35 Million in Energy Analytics Provider
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Invictus Growth Partners, a technology-focused private-equity firm launched in 2019, has invested $35 million in energy-analytics technology company Novi Labs, WSJ Pro reports. Austin, Texas-based Novi Labs offers artificial intelligence-driven data analytics and forecasting technology to help energy producers and energy investors better plan and execute capital spending.
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Traditionally, the upstream oil-and-gas industry relied heavily on spreadsheets and older, inefficient data-gathering methods in making capital-expenditure decisions, according to Novi Labs Chief Executive Scott Sherwood.
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Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifying before the House Financial Services Committee. PHOTO: SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Powell reaffirms wait-and-see posture on rate cuts. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Tuesday that recent economic data would have likely justified continuing to lower interest rates if not for concerns that higher tariffs might derail the central bank’s yearslong fight to defeat inflation.
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Funds
San Francisco-based Sentinel Global closed its inaugural fund with $213.5 million in commitments.
People
Sapphire Ventures promoted Andrew Vogeley, Adam Liu, Aditya Reddy and Justin Liu to vice president. The firm also promoted Michael Hsu to senior associate.
Unshackled Ventures, which focuses on supporting immigrant founders, promoted Alexis (Ale) Maciel to principal. She joined the firm in 2022.
Quantum computing company Photonic named Kirsten Sutton as chief operating officer.
Accounting automation platform FloQast appointed Sri Ramalingam as chief technology officer.
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Digital Asset, a New York-based blockchain technology startup and creator of the Canton Network, secured a $135 million strategic funding round from investors including DRW Venture Capital.
Decagon, a San Francisco-based provider of conversational AI agents, raised $131 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Accel and Andreessen Horowitz co-led the round.
Halter, a New Zealand-based provider of a virtual fencing and animal-management system for cattle ranches, scored $100 million in Series D funding at a $1 billion valuation. BOND led the round, which included participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC and others.
Ledgebrook, an insurtech startup, completed a $65 million Series C round. The Stephens Group led the investment, with Managing Director Ryan Morrow joining the company’s board.
Pelico, a supply-chain orchestration platform with offices in Paris and Miami, grabbed $40 million in strategic financing led by General Catalyst. Larry Bohn will join the board.
Wispr, a San Francisco-based speech-to-text startup, landed $30 million in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led the round, with Matt Kraning joining the board.
Botpress, a Canada-based platform for building and deploying AI agents, raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Framework Venture Partners.
Eventual, a San Francisco-based startup building AI infrastructure for multimodal data, picked up $20 million in Series A funding led by Felicis.
Paraform, a San Francisco-based hiring marketplace, obtained $20 million in Series A funding led by Felicis.
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ILLUSTRATION: MICHELE MARCONI
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