Good day. Staying on the bleeding edge of artificial intelligence is mandatory these days—even for companies at the forefront of AI. So far this month, two key AI players have turned to venture investing to keep their edge—though in different ways.

Last week, San Francisco-based Databricks, a data-analytics software company riding a surge in growth from AI, launched a startup accelerator for AI pre-seed and seed startups. And earlier this month, cloud computing provider CoreWeave launched a venture arm to invest in AI startups.

Databricks’ initiative, called the AI Accelerator Program, will write checks of up to $250,000, provide mentorship and connect founders with prominent venture firms in its network. Databricks said the accelerator will complement the company’s venture arm, which targets Series A or later startups.

The accelerator has made five deals to date, spanning sectors such as enterprise automation and security.

WSJ Pro spoke with Andrew Ferguson, a vice president at Databricks Ventures, who will oversee the accelerator. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WSJ Pro: We’ve seen at least a couple of initiatives just this month by leading AI companies to tap into the nascent startup world. Why are we seeing more of this?

Ferguson: I know the CoreWeave guys pretty well and we traded notes as they were setting up their program. Startups are always going to be pushing the boundaries of what's possible with a platform like ours. For us, this is an ecosystem-focused play. We want to have a thriving ecosystem of AI-native companies that are building their businesses on top of the Databricks platform. That will be great for the startups because they'll have a fantastic data AI platform on the back end.

WSJ Pro: What is Databricks' strategy with the accelerator and how will it work in conjunction with Databricks Ventures?

Ferguson: Early-stage companies are great at providing rapid and honest feedback on our platform. They can use the full capabilities of our platform and provide feedback to us that makes our platform better for our 20,000 enterprise customers. Another strategic benefit is we have a lot of customers who have data in Databricks, and over time, we want to build an ecosystem of AI-first startups that provide more data options to our customers. 

WSJ Pro: Can you offer an example of this?

Ferguson: Of the initial companies in the program, a couple are in security. Databricks is often used as a data lake for security companies, and so it’s a win-win if we can provide security-related tools from a startup that a customer can use.

And now on to the news...

Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee sets off a scramble at U.S. companies. The White House raced to calm panicked tech executives over the weekend after President Trump’s changes to the popular H-1B visa plunged the program into chaos. The announcement on Friday that the administration planned to add a new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday caught companies and employees off guard. The White House on Saturday said the changes only apply to new visas, not renewals, current visa holders or 2025 lottery winners. The new policy doesn’t affect the ability of existing visa holders to travel to and from the U.S., and the $100,000 is a one-time—not annual—fee, the White House added. Read the full article.

• More: Will the $100,000 Visa Fee Help U.S. Workers? Economists Aren’t So Sure

It’s been a bruising year for the climate and sustainability industry. Rollbacks in regulation, slashes to public funding and lawsuits targeting some of the biggest nonprofits have hobbled an industry that had long been riding a wave, spurred by governments worldwide signaling a commitment to lowering emissions. But nine months into President Trump’s presidency, the mood has soured. Many heading to New York this week for the city’s annual Climate Week summit acknowledge that the momentum seen in previous years has waned.

Nvidia is holding discussions with Wayve Technologies over a potential $500 million investment in the self-driving car startup, a move that could further expand their collaboration in autonomous vehicles. The companies signed a letter of intent to evaluate the funding which, if it materializes, would come as part of Wayve’s next funding round, further cementing a partnership that dates back to 2018.

People

Inspired Capital promoted Kamran Ali and Chris Brown to partner. Before joining the firm in 2020, Ali was an investor at Point72, while Brown was at First Round Capital.

Fertility clinic network Kindbody appointed Brian E. Miller as chief operating officer. He was previously chief executive officer of The Center for Advanced Reproductive Services.

Exits

ServiceTitan agreed to acquire Conduit Tech, a design and sales platform for heating, ventilation and air conditioning technicians.

Console, a San Francisco-based startup building an AI platform for IT, scored $23 million in Series A funding co-led by Thrive Capital and DST Global.

Envive AI, a Seattle-based startup building AI agents for digital commerce, closed a $15 million Series A round. Fuse VC led the investment, which included participation from Point72 Ventures.

Factor2 Energy, a Germany-based geothermal energy startup, picked up a $9.1 million investment led by At One Ventures.

MoldCo, a Boston-based telehealth platform providing mold and environmental toxins diagnosis and treatment, was seeded with an $8 million investment co-led by Cantos and Collaborative Fund.

Seven Starling, a Washington, D.C.-based virtual provider of women's behavioral health services, landed an $8 million investment led by Rethink Impact.

Iris Finance, a Chicago-headquartered financial planning and analysis platform for consumer brands, collected $6.2 million in seed funding led by Glasswing Ventures.

Le Walk, a New York-headquartered location-based, immersive tour guide app, was seeded with a $4.1 million investment co-led by Adverb Ventures and Lerer Hippeau.

• Seattle, Tech Boomtown, Grapples With a Future of Fewer Tech Jobs
   
• Trump Says Murdochs Likely to Be Part of TikTok U.S. Investor Consortium
   
• A Tech CEO’s Lonely Fight Against Trump
   
• Hard Drives Are Making an AI Comeback. Yes, Hard Drives.
   
• The New Apple Watch Has Longer Battery Life and Other Perks. Should You Upgrade?

• L.A. tech startups get big cash infusion as Silicon Valley pivots to defense (Los Angeles Times)
   
• Phoenix-based 'deep tech' startup hub will focus on AI, semiconductors (azcentral)

This newsletter was compiled by Marc Vartabedian, Matthew Strozier and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.