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By Stephanie Palazzolo

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Recent Editions

Art by Mike Sullivan; Getty Images

How OpenAI Beat Math

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 8, 2026 8:00am PDT

Mathematicians are likely feeling the kind of anxiety that software engineers have experienced for months in the wake of OpenAI release on Tuesday of a whopping 722 research papers with AI-created solutions to a range of problems across math subjects. AI’s success solving ultra-difficult math problems—even though it still makes mistakes... Mathematicians are likely feeling the kind of anxiety that software engineers have experienced...

Art via Getty Images

Former Tesla Optimus Lead is Launching an Industrial Robot Startup

By Kevin McLaughlin · Oct 7, 2026 7:01am PDT

Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, has co-founded a startup developing non-humanoid robots that handle a variety of tasks that would normally be done by highly skilled workers in industries such as manufacturing and aerospace, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The San Francisco... Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, has co-founded a startup...

Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon during a New York City Council hearing on the threat of AI. Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images

AI Whistleblowers Say Researchers Are Checking AI Less Frequently

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 6, 2026 7:00am PDT

It won’t be any surprise to people with human intelligence that Monday’s New York City Council hearing on the risks of AI was as theatrical as a Broadway show. What was more surprising was what the AI researchers testified about how AI research is evolving, and what that means for their job.For those who missed it, the city council heard... It won’t be any surprise to people with human intelligence that Monday’s New York City Council...

Marius Hobbhahn, CEO of Apollo Research. Photo by Tom Williams/Getty Images

What’s Wrong With AI Safety Testing, and How to Fix It

By Rocket Drew · Oct 5, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Marius Hobbhahn, CEO of Apollo Research. Photo by Tom Williams/Getty Images

What’s Wrong With AI Safety Testing, and How to Fix It

By Rocket Drew · Oct 5, 2026 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

The idea that Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies could “embed” researchers from outside safety groups into their operations has been all the rage in recent weeks. But the devil is in the details.AI safety researchers worry that embedded evaluators won’t have the access they need to provide meaningful oversight.“I've become very cynical... The idea that Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies could “embed” researchers from outside...

Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch. Getty Images.

Why Coding Agents Are Choosing Vercel as Often as Humans Do

By Alix Coutures · Oct 1, 2026 7:00am PDT

The rise of AI agents that write software continues to pay off for the companies that host such software. Among them is Vercel, whose software helps developers make and host websites and AI apps, including so-called agents that automate white-collar tasks.The 11-year-old company is generating $600 million in annualized revenue, or $50 million a... The rise of AI agents that write software continues to pay off for the companies that host such...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on stage at OpenAI's DevDay 2026. Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Why OpenAI’s DevDay Looked Like Catch-Up

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 30, 2026 7:00am PDT

While the rest of us were distracted by details within Anthropic’s IPO filing and OpenAI’s plans to raise $30 billion in a new round that could value it around $1.4 trillion, app developers on Tuesday flooded to San Francisco’s Fort Mason for OpenAI’s annual developer conference, where it made a flurry of new product and feature... While the rest of us were distracted by details within Anthropic’s IPO filing and OpenAI’s ...

Proximal cofounders Justus Mattern and Calvin Chen. Photo courtesy of Proximal.

General Catalyst Backs Coding Data Startup Proximal As It Reaches Revenue Milestone

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 29, 2026 7:01am PDT

It’s no secret that leading AI developers are on the hunt for data to improve their models, especially in lucrative areas like software engineering. The insatiable appetite for data has lifted a whole host of so-called data labeling or data curation startups, including older ones like Scale and Surge and newer ones such as Fleet and Micro1.The... It’s no secret that leading AI developers are on the hunt for data to improve their models,...

Vinod Khosla. Photo by Big Event Media/Getty Images

Valuations for Most Robotics Startups Will Fall By 2030, Says Vinod Khosla

By Rocket Drew · Sep 28, 2026 7:01am PDT

Vinod Khosla. Photo by Big Event Media/Getty Images

Valuations for Most Robotics Startups Will Fall By 2030, Says Vinod Khosla

By Rocket Drew · Sep 28, 2026 7:01am PDT

Vinod Khosla has been one of the most optimistic investors in robotics, predicting the field will have a “ChatGPT moment” in the next two years. But he is also warning that too much investment and lofty valuations in the hottest robotics startups mean a big shake-out is coming. “I would say more than half will be below their current... Vinod Khosla has been one of the most optimistic investors in robotics, predicting the field will...

Stephanie Palazzolo and Alexander Embiricos, OpenAI's head of enterprise product.

What I Learned From AI Agenda Live

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 24, 2026 7:00am PDT

What a day! I loved meeting many of our amazing subscribers yesterday at our AI Agenda Live conference, where my colleagues and I interviewed leaders from companies like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Nvidia, Blackstone, Replit, Atlassian and more.Discussions at the conference touched on topics ranging from whether Google can catch up in the AI race... What a day! I loved meeting many of our amazing subscribers yesterday at our AI Agenda Live...

Art via Mike Sullivan

What To Expect at AI Agenda Live; Crusoe and Thinking Machines Labs Strike a Compute Deal

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 23, 2026 7:01am PDT

Happy AI Agenda Live day! For those joining us today at SFMOMA, I’m so excited to meet you all and talk about this exciting, if slightly contentious, moment in the AI industry.Our staff and attendees will ask top researchers, founders and executives from OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Nvidia some burning questions. Here are three at the top of my... Happy AI Agenda Live day! For those joining us today at SFMOMA, I’m so excited to meet you all...

Photo courtesy of Ande.

Entertainment-Booking Startup Ande Raises $52 Million From Lightspeed, Redpoint

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 22, 2026 7:00am PDT

Personal AI agents like Instinct and Muse have promised to take away the hassle of booking hard-to-get restaurant reservations, Broadway tickets and sporting events. Now, a startup is coming out of stealth to do the same for corporate entertainment—events, group dining, catering, sporting events and more. Ande, founded nearly three years... Personal AI agents like Instinct and Muse have promised to take away the hassle of booking...

Art via Getty Images; Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Develops Features to Counter Grok Bot, Mulls Response to Meta’s Muse

By Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 21, 2026 7:30am PDT

Art via Getty Images; Mike Sullivan

OpenAI Develops Features to Counter Grok Bot, Mulls Response to Meta’s Muse

By Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 21, 2026 7:30am PDT

OpenAI pioneered AI that can take over web browsers and other applications on people’s behalf, and its ChatGPT app brought generative AI to consumers. Now that rivals like SpaceX and Meta are pushing the boundaries by launching personal AI agents that handle multistep tasks, OpenAI is playing catch-up.For instance, OpenAI is developing features... OpenAI pioneered AI that can take over web browsers and other applications on people’s behalf,...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Getty Images.

OpenAI Is Close To Solving Another Millennium Prize Math Problem

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Sep 17, 2026 7:01am PDT

Remember when OpenAI landed in hot water earlier this month after mathematicians accused the company of trying to steal their thunder for solving an ultra-difficult math problem? (I know it feels like a million years ago given all the news cycles since then.)Well, it turns out OpenAI is close to solving another math problem from the Millennium... Remember when OpenAI landed in hot water earlier this month after mathematicians accused the...

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. Stephen Brashear/Getty Images.

Is Anthropic Making Claude Too Human to Control?

By Aaron Holmes · Sep 16, 2026 7:02am PDT

Anthropic’s call to slow down AI development to keep humans safe has dominated the news cycle and drew similar calls from the leaders of OpenAI, Microsoft and others (and subtle disagreement from Mark Zuckerberg). But Mustafa Suleyman, who runs Microsoft’s AI model development, has a warning about Anthropic itself. Suleyman, who... Anthropic’s call to slow down AI development to keep humans safe has dominated the news cycle and...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Developers Find Ways to Use Claude Code Without Anthropic Models

By Alix Coutures · Sep 15, 2026 7:00am PDT

Boris Cherney, the head of Anthropic’s coding tool Claude Code, last month found himself in the middle of an online spat that highlighted how some developers are finding workarounds to using Claude Code with cheaper non-Anthropic models, including those of rival OpenAI, to save costs.Developer Alex Getman used a proxy made up of lines of code to... Boris Cherney, the head of Anthropic’s coding tool Claude Code, last month found himself in the...

Art via Getty Images

Why China’s Answer to Surge AI Got a $1 Billion Valuation On Just $30 Million in Orders

By Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2026 7:16am PDT

Art via Getty Images

Why China’s Answer to Surge AI Got a $1 Billion Valuation On Just $30 Million in Orders

By Juro Osawa · Sep 14, 2026 7:16am PDT

Unless you’ve been under a rock over the weekend, you’d know that the debate about AI safety took a big leap forward, as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Saturday called for leading AI companies to slow the development of advanced AI, drawing supportive responses from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis and SpaceX CEO Elon... Unless you’ve been under a rock over the weekend, you’d know that the debate about AI safety took...

Art by Mike Sullivan

What Anthropic Doomsayer Jacob Coxon Saw

By Rocket Drew · Sep 10, 2026 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Yesterday, Amir and I examined the shock waves that have rippled through the AI industry and far beyond since former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon very publicly quit his job over concerns that AI “could kill us all”—and another Anthropic AI safety specialist put the probability of such a catastrophe at greater than 10%.Coxon told me that is... Yesterday, Amir and I examined the shock waves that have rippled through the AI industry and far...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Getty Images.

OpenAI Math Result Stokes Data-Sharing Concerns

By Rocket Drew and Tiffany Li · Sep 9, 2026 7:00am PDT

In case you missed it: we got an eye-catching X post on Tuesday night from Evan Hubinger, a leader of Anthropic's alignment efforts. Responding to the resignation announcement of an Anthropic employee who warned that AI companies aren’t doing enough to ensure AI won't kill humanity, Hubinger wrote that the employee is “correct here—we really do... In case you missed it: we got an eye-catching X post on Tuesday night from Evan Hubinger, a...

Art by Clark Miller; YouTube

ElevenLabs Hires CFO, Eyes 2028 IPO

By Aaron Holmes and Valida Pau · Sep 8, 2026 5:01am PDT

While all eyes are on Anthropic’s forthcoming IPO prospectus, set to drop in the coming weeks, other fast-growing AI startups are laying the groundwork for their own public offerings.The latest is AI voice startup ElevenLabs, which has hired a chief financial officer as it eyes a possible IPO in 2028.The London-based startup has tapped Ethan... While all eyes are on Anthropic’s forthcoming IPO prospectus, set to drop in the coming weeks,...

Art via Getty Images

Rogo, Hebbia Revenue Rises as Claude Finance Threat Looms

By Alix Coutures · Sep 3, 2026 7:05am PDT · 1 comment

Art via Getty Images

Rogo, Hebbia Revenue Rises as Claude Finance Threat Looms

By Alix Coutures · Sep 3, 2026 7:05am PDT · 1 comment

AI startups that aim to supplant the grunt work of junior bankers, private equity analysts and corporate finance associates have attracted billions of dollars of funding. They also face nagging doubts about whether Anthropic and OpenAI will annihilate them before long. The two most highly valued finance AI startups—Rogo and Hebbia—have been... AI startups that aim to supplant the grunt work of junior bankers, private equity analysts and...