Listen, we're not in the business of telling you how to spend your evenings. However, if you're going to be anywhere near the Peninsula on Wednesday, December 3rd, we think you should come to Playground Global's space in Palo Alto for the latest StrictlyVC nighttime gathering. The venue alone is worth the trip, and the speakers and attendees are always the sort of people you actually want to talk to. Good drinks, great conversations, the kind of networking that won’t have you plotting your escape route. We’ll have more soon about our speaker line-up, but as longtime readers know these seats go fast, so don’t dawdle.

TechCrunch Disrupt is coming even faster — like, a week from Monday. October 27th fast. And this year's lineup is stacked. Think Cluely and Netflix and Microsoft and Waymo and Sequoia and Forerunner. Think talking Slate Automotive unveiling its customizable trucks right there on the TechCrunch stage. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie will be there. Solo GP Elad Gil will be there. Brynn Putnam, who sold Mirror for $500 million, will take her newest product live as she’s walking on stage. Miss it and you'll spend the rest of this fall kicking yourself. — CL

Revolut is reportedly finalizing a $3 billion mix of primary and secondary share sales at a $75 billion valuation, laying plans for global expansion while giving early holders liquidity as it prioritizes scale over going public. Bloomberg has more here.

Scale AI has agreed to settle four lawsuits from former California contractors alleging misclassification and underpayment, a move that eases legal pressure as it restructures its labor model and integrates under Meta’s partial ownership. Business Insider has more here.

Salesforce is facing fresh scrutiny after internal documents revealed it pitched ICE on using its AI tools to hire thousands of new agents, marking a sharp political turn for Marc Benioff as investors and San Francisco officials recoil. (See People below.) The New York Times has more here.

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By Connie Loizos

The AI era is giving fracking a second act, a surprising twist for an industry that, even during its early 2010s boom years, was blamed by climate advocates for poisoned water tables, man-made earthquakes, and the stubborn persistence of fossil fuels.

AI companies are building massive data centers near major gas-production sites, often generating their own power by tapping directly into fossil fuels. It’s a trend that’s been overshadowed by headlines about the intersection of AI and healthcare (and solving climate change), but it’s one that could reshape — and raise difficult questions for — the communities that host these facilities.

Take the latest example. This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that AI coding assistant startup Poolside is constructing a data center complex on more than 500 acres in West Texas — about 300 miles west of Dallas — a footprint two-thirds the size of Central Park. The facility will generate its own power by tapping natural gas from the Permian Basin, the nation’s most productive oil and gas field, where hydraulic fracturing isn’t just common but really the only game in town.

The project, dubbed Horizon, will produce two gigawatts of computing power. That’s equivalent to the Hoover Dam’s entire electric capacity, except instead of harnessing the Colorado River, it’s burning fracked gas. Poolside is developing the facility with CoreWeave, a cloud computing company that rents out access to Nvidia AI chips and that’s supplying access to more than 40,000 of them. The Journal calls it an “energy Wild West,” which seems apt.

Yet Poolside is far from alone. Nearly all the major AI players are pursuing similar strategies. Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman toured his company’s flagship Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas — around 200 miles from the Permian Basin — where he was candid, saying, “We’re burning gas to run this data center.”

Peptilogics, a 13-year-old Pittsburgh company that is developing surgical therapeutics to treat prosthetic joint infections, raised a $78 million Series B2 round co-led by Presight Capital, Thiel Bio, and Founders Fund, with AMR Action Fund, Narya Capital, and Beyond Ventures also participating. The company has raised a total of approximately $120 million. More here.

Suno, a three-year-old startup based in Cambridge, MA, that generates AI-created music, is in talks to raise more than $100 million at a $2+ billion valuation. Bloomberg News has more here.

Tempo, a San Francisco startup and Stripe spinout founded this year that is developing a layer-one blockchain for crypto payments, raised a $500 million Series A round at a $5+ billion valuation. The round was co-led by Greenoaks and Thrive Capital. Decrypt has more here.

Veradermics, a six-year-old startup based in New Haven, CT, that is developing an extended-release oral minoxidil for pattern hair loss in women and men, raised a $150 million Series C round led by SR One, with Viking Global Investors, Marshall Wace, Invus, abrdn, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Infinitium, and LifeSci Venture Partners as well as previous investors Longitude Capital, Suvretta Capital Management, and Surveyor Capital also piling on. More here.

Bexorg, a four-year-old New Haven, CT, startup that combines AI with whole-human brain science for CNS drug discovery, raised a $23 million Series A round led by Engine Ventures and including Connecticut Innovations, E1 Ventures, Amplify Partners, and Starbloom Capital. The company has raised a total of $42.5 million. Citybiz has more here.

BridGene Biosciences, an eight-year-old startup based in San Jose, CA, that develops small-molecule drugs that bind to targets traditionally unreachable by conventional therapies, raised a $28 million Series B+ round. The deal was led by Bayland Capital, with GTJA Investment Group, Proxima Ventures, Lapam Capital, and Grains Valley Venture Capital also investing. More here.

Counsel Health, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that uses AI to triage health questions and route cases to physicians for diagnosis and follow-up, raised a $25 million Series A round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and GV. More here.

Daylight, a four-year-old Austin startup that runs a decentralized energy network for home solar and batteries, raised a $15 million round and added a $60 million project finance facility. The round was led by Framework Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Hippeau, M13, Room40 Ventures, EV3, Crucible Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Not Boring Capital also digging in. The Block has more here.

ExaCare AI, a four-year-old New York startup that develops AI tools to automate admissions and clinical decision-making for post-acute care facilities, raised a $30 million Series A round led by Insight Partners, with Foundation Capital and Bienville Capital also contributing. Citybiz has more here.

Liberate Bio, a four-year-old Boston startup that develops in vivo genetic medicines to reprogram immune cells, raised a $31 million seed round. Khosla Ventures was the deal lead. More here.

Omnix Medical, an eleven-year-old Jerusalem company that develops antimicrobial peptide therapies for drug-resistant infections, raised a $25 million Series C round co-led by Harel Insurance & Finance and the European Innovation Council Fund, with Entrée Capital, Tal Ventures, Xenia Ventures, Oriella Limited, Prevail Partners, and OurCrowd also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $43 million. CTech has more here.

OneLayer, a four-year-old Boston startup that provides Zero Trust security and device management for private LTE and 5G networks, raised a $28 million Series A round led by Maor Investments, with McRock Capital, Chevron Technology Ventures, Viola Ventures, Grove Ventures, and Koch Disruptive Technologies also chipping in. Fierce Network has more here.

Second Nature, a six-year-old Tel Aviv startup that uses AI to train sales and service teams through simulated roleplays, raised a $22 million Series B round. The round was led by Sienna VC, with Bright Pixel, StageOne Ventures, Cardumen, Signals VC, and Zoom also participating. CTech has more here.

Step Pharma, an eleven-year-old Paris company that is developing CTPS1 inhibitors for targeted cancer treatment, raised a $41.4 million Series C round led by V-Bio Ventures, with Pontifax, Bpifrance, Kurma Partners, Hadean Ventures, Sunstone Life Science Ventures, and Inserm Transfert Initiative also taking part. More here.

Strella, a three-year-old New York startup that enables teams to conduct customer research through an AI moderator, raised a $14 million Series A round. Bessemer Venture Partners was the deal lead, with Decibel Partners, Bain Future Backed Ventures, MVP Ventures, and 645 Ventures also participating. Citybiz has more here.

Dialogue AI, a Los Angeles startup founded this year that is building an AI-powered market research platform, raised a $6 million seed round led by LightSpeed Venture Partners, with Seven Stars, Uncommon Projects, and the Tornante Company also engaging. Business Insider has more here.

Graph AI, a two-year-old startup based in Pleasanton, CA, that develops AI-driven pharmacovigilance tools to monitor and manage adverse drug events, raised a $3 million seed round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Entrepreneur has more here.

Triplemoon, a two-year-old Austin startup that delivers virtual pediatric mental health care integrated with primary care clinics, raised a $3.5 million seed round co-led by Activate Venture Partners and LiveOak Ventures. More here.

Affinity’s 2026 Predictions Survey. Affinity is collecting input from venture capital professionals on how firms are planning for 2026. The survey takes five minutes, and your perspective will be included in our upcoming 2026 Predictions Report. 
 
The report will share how VC teams are approaching sourcing, portfolio support, and fundraising as the market shifts. 
 
As a bonus, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $500 Airbnb gift card. 

BillionToOne, a Menlo Park diagnostics company known for prenatal and liquid biopsy tests, disclosed today in its Nasdaq IPO filing that it is targeting a valuation of up to $2.42 billion. The company’s backers include Norwest Venture Partners, 500 Global, HOF Capital, Adams Street Partners, and Y Combinator. Reuters has more here.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff walked back remarks supporting potential federal troop deployment to San Francisco. CNBC has more here.

Ousted earlier this year from Luminar, a company he co-founded, billionaire Austin Russell is now bidding to buy back the lidar maker through his new venture, aiming to fold it into a larger auto tech play. TechCrunch has more here.

ChatGPT’s mobile app is showing signs of saturation, with download growth and daily engagement slipping as users shift from experimentation to routine use, signaling it may need fresh features to reignite momentum. TechCrunch has more here.

Wikipedia is warning that AI chatbots and search engines are siphoning its traffic, threatening the volunteer base and donor support that sustain the encyclopedia, as users read its content elsewhere without visiting the site. 404 Media has more here.

Apple landed a five-year deal to stream every Formula 1 race on Apple TV starting in 2026, sharply outbidding ESPN with roughly $140 million per year in a bold push to dominate premium live sports. CNBC has more here.

Swiss athletic shoe company On is facing a class action lawsuit from customers who allege that its $140–$180 CloudTec running shoes emit an embarrassing squeak with every step and that the company has refused to issue refunds.

A new trailer for Sam Raimi’s Send Help just dropped; the film attempts to answer the question, “What would you do if you were trapped on a desert island with the boss from hell?”

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Zero Labs has unveiled its first electric restomod Bronco, a hand-built 1974 model rebuilt with a 350-horsepower EV drivetrain, carbon fiber body, and manual gearbox.

Pharrell’s Joopiter is auctioning off tattoo designs from artists like Thom Browne and Mickalene Thomas, with buyers ceding placement rights to the artist (!).

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