It's official: OpenAI has closed a $40 billion round at a $300 billion post-money valuation. Previous investor SoftBank was the lead, with prior backers Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive also piling on. According to CNBC, almost half of the money will go to Stargate, the AI data center project co-led by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. TechCrunch has more here. 

Speaking of OpenAI, the company is releasing a new "open" model in response to growing pressure from Meta and DeepSeek, whose more permissive approach has gained traction among developers and users by encouraging experimentation and integration into new apps. TechCrunch has more here. 

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Tech giant Oracle is facing criticism for how it’s handling two seemingly separate data breaches.

At least one of the incidents appears to still be unfolding, despite Oracle reportedly denying a breach at all. The other relates to a breach of patient data under the tech giant’s healthcare subsidiary, Oracle Health.

Oracle did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment about the two incidents.

Oracle Health breach affects patient data, per reports

The breach disclosed most recently involves Oracle Health, which provides hospitals and other healthcare providers with technology to access health records online. Oracle Health is a unit that was combined with Cerner, an electronic health records company that Oracle acquired in 2022 for $28 billion.

Bloomberg and Bleeping Computer reported last week that the breach affects patient data, although it’s unclear exactly what kinds of data were stolen, nor which organizations and companies that use Oracle Health are affected.

Oracle notified some of its healthcare customers in March of a breach that happened sometime earlier this year, in which hackers accessed Oracle servers and stole patient data, according to the publications.

More here.

Isomorphic Labs, a three-year-old DeepMind spin-off based in London that uses AI to improve drug discovery and design, raised a $600 million. Thrive Capital was the deal lead, with additional participation from GV as well as previous investor Alphabet. The New York Times has more here.

ReliaQuest, an 18-year-old company based in Tampa, FL, that uses AI to automate threat detection and response, raised a $500+ million round at a $3.4 billion post-money valuation. The deal was co-led by EQT, KKR, and FTV Capital, with Ten Eleven Ventures and Finback Investment Partners also joining in. The Wall Street Journal has more here. 

Retym, a five-year-old startup based in Cupertino, CA, that develops programmable coherent digital signal processing chips to enhance data transmission speed and efficiency within and between AI data centers, raised a $75 million Series D round led by Spark Capital, with previous investors Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, and Fidelity also taking part. The company has raised a total of $180+ million. TechCrunch has more here. 

Sesame, a buzzy two-year-old San Francisco startup that is focused on developing hyper-realistic voice assistants that it plans to integrate into lightweight eyewear, is reportedly in the market to raise a $200+ million round at a $1+ billion valuation. The rumored co-leads are Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. Bloomberg has the scoop here. 

Temporal, a six-year-old Seattle startup that helps developers incorporate multi-step processes like handling an e-commerce order from payment to shipping, raised a $146 million Series C round at a $1.72 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Tiger Global, with previous investors Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $350 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Gable, a two-year-old Seattle startup that scans source code to detect data-producing elements, automatically creates data contracts, and alerts developers about potential problems affecting downstream applications, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Crane Venture Partners, with Zetta Venture Partners, Databricks Ventures, B Capital, Capital One Ventures, and In-Q-Tel also contributing. The company has raised a total of $27 million. GeekWire has more here.

LightSource, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that uses AI to help businesses manage their procurement processes, control costs, and strengthen vendor relationships, raised a $33 million round co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. CNBC has more here.

Kay.ai, a one-year-old Brooklyn startup that provides an AI assistant to automate data entry tasks for insurance brokers and agencies, such as processing quotes and managing policy renewals, raised a $3 million round led by Wing VC, with support from South Park Commons, and 101 Weston Labs. More here.

LTV.ai, a one-year-old Austin startup that uses AI to help retail brands send personalized emails and text messages to their customers, raised a $5.2 million Series A round co-led by Bling Capital, Protagonist, and Justin Yoshimura, with OVO Fund also investing. Business Insider has more here.

Sohar Health, a two-year-old New York startup that provides an AI-powered platform to help healthcare providers verify patients' insurance coverage and benefits in real time, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by Kindred Capital and including Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, and Concept Ventures. More here.

Sourcetable, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that offers an AI-powered spreadsheet platform that allows users to interact with data using natural language commands, raised a $4.3 million seed round led by Bee Partners. More here.

Voize, a five-year-old startup based in Potsdam, Germany, that provides an AI-powered app enabling caregivers to document patient information via voice input on smartphones, automatically generating structured reports and logs, raised a $9 million seed round. HV Capital led the investment, with previous investors Y Combinator, redalpine, and HPI Ventures also pitching in. Tech Funding News has more here.

Affinity spoke to Lauren MacDonald, Principal at Sozo Ventures, about the firm’s successful CRM implementation. The outcome? This comprehensive yet simple-to-follow checklist, covering every step from pre-implementation planning to ways you can maximize CRM adoption and business impact. With MacDonald’s best practices spread throughout the checklist, this is your essential companion to launching a new CRM in your firm. Download the checklist now.

Construct Capital, a five-year-old VC firm based in Washington, DC, has raised a $300 million fund, its third. Construct targets early-stage startups in areas like manufacturing, logistics and transportation, defense, and energy. TechCrunch has more here.

According to a leaked letter from its board, plus-size fashion site CaaStle is on the verge of bankruptcy despite raising more than $530 million in capital. To make matters worse, law enforcement is investigating alleged financial misconduct, reports Axios, which has more here. 

The planned IPO of Cerebras, a nine-year-old startup based in Sunnyvale, CA, that specializes in designing and manufacturing AI-specific processors, had been on hold because of its relationship with Group 42, an AI company based in the United Arab Emirates that has been rumored to have strong ties to China. However, Cerebras announced today that the  Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has blessed its sale of shares to Group 42 and, by extension, its planned public offering. CNBC has more here. 

Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have merged their company, American Data Centers, with Hut 8's American Bitcoin, aiming to create the world's largest bitcoin mining operation and establish a significant bitcoin reserve. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made numerous moves to win over President Donald Trump; now, he's calling in a chit, reports the WSJ. It says his first big ask involves pressing U.S. trade officials to help Meta fight against an expected European Union fine and cease-and-desist order.

Apple and Elon Musk's Starlink are squaring off over spectrum rights to enable satellite-based communications. The Wall Street Journal has more here. 

Fraudsters are using ChatGPT's new image generation capabilities to create fake receipts. TechCrunch has more here. 

A "do not play" wedding playlist.

A $50,000 Rolex for lefties only. 

A $690 pair of flip flops.