Accel reportedly in talks to lead $1B round for Thinking Machines at $40B valuation

techcrunch.com Sep 4, 2026

Accel reportedly in talks to lead $1B round for Thinking Machines at $40B valuation

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Sep 4, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Thinking Machines, the AI lab founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is negotiating a $1 billion funding round at a valuation of at least $40 billion, according to The Information. Existing investor Accel is expected to lead the round, which would place the company below the $50 billion valuation it sought last year. The startup’s annual revenue run rate exceeds $100 million, giving the valuation a very high revenue multiple. The company previously raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, GV, Lightspeed, and Conviction Partners.

💡 Why It Matters

· The deal underscores the continued appetite for high‑valuation AI startups, even when revenue multiples appear extreme.
· It also signals Accel’s confidence in Murati’s leadership and the potential of Thinking Machines’ open‑weight model, Inkling, to reshape how AI services are monetized.

AI Capsules Funding Startups

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An Interview with OpenAI President Greg Brockman About Astra and Alignment

OpenAI President and co‑founder Greg Brockman, who left college in 2010 to join Stripe and later co‑founded OpenAI, discussed his career and the company’s new model, Astra, in a Stratechery interview. Brockman outlined his progression from Stripe CTO to OpenAI co‑founder and president, reflected on the 2023 ChatGPT launch and its user‑base challenges, and examined OpenAI’s position in the AI value chain against competitors like Microsoft and suppliers such as Nvidia. He emphasized OpenAI’s commitment to alignment and addressed security concerns highlighted by the recent Hugging Face incident.

💡 The interview reveals how OpenAI’s leadership balances rapid growth with safety, positioning Astra as a potential game‑changer in the AI race. It also highlights the company’s strategic focus on alignment, a critical factor for long‑term trust in increasingly powerful models.

analyticsinsight.net · Sep 4

Silicon Valley’s New High-Paying Job Offers Engineers Up to USD 400,000

Silicon Valley firms are rapidly hiring “forward‑deployed engineers,” a role popularized by Palantir that blends software development with on‑site client consulting to embed AI models into business workflows. Labor‑market data from Lightcast, cited by Fortune, show postings for these engineers surged more than 1,000 % between January and August 2026 versus the prior year and over 4,600 % since 2023, dwarfing the sector‑wide 13 % tech employment growth. Median advertised salaries exceed $188,000, with some firms like Anthropic offering total compensation up to $400,000, well above the $145,000 typical for traditional engineers. Major players—including Microsoft, Meta, Google, OpenAI, Nvidia and Scale AI—have launched similar positions, demanding expertise in coding, machine learning, generative AI, cloud infrastructure and business consulting across multiple industry sectors today.

💡 Embedding AI expertise directly in client operations turns sophisticated models into immediate revenue streams, making forward‑deployed engineers the critical bridge between technology and profit.

therobotreport.com · Sep 4

How FPGAs become the gatekeepers of physical AI security

Episode 260 of The Robot Report Podcast featured Eric Sivertson, vice‑president of the security business at Lattice Semiconductor, discussing how field‑programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are becoming central to physical AI security. Sivertson, who brings more than three decades of experience in embedded‑system trust, wireless connectivity and reconfigurable computing, explained Lattice’s strategy to embed cryptographic and safety functions directly into FPGA fabrics used in robots and autonomous machines. He highlighted recent advances that allow developers to lock down AI models, enforce runtime integrity checks, and isolate critical control loops without sacrificing performance. The conversation also touched on market trends, including growing demand for secure AI hardware in agriculture, manufacturing and logistics, and Lattice’s plans to expand its security‑focused product line portfolio.

💡 Embedding security in the silicon that runs AI workloads stops tampering at the hardware level, a protection software updates alone cannot provide.

hawaiitribune-herald.com · Sep 4

Nvidia bets $13 billion on AI models with Hugging Face deal

Nvidia announced a $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, the leading open‑source AI model repository, one of the chipmaker’s largest deals. The purchase gives Nvidia access to the developer community that searches, downloads and fine‑tunes models, steering hardware purchases toward its GPUs. Hugging Face will remain a platform, allowing users to run models on chip or cloud provider, CEO Jensen Huang said. The transaction includes $11.9 billion to investors and up to $1 billion in equity incentives for retained staff. Nvidia’s cash pile topped $22 billion in July, and the move aims to broaden its customer base as rivals like Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft build their own chips. Analysts warn the deal could inflate AI valuations, while developers fear Nvidia may bias hardware choices.

💡 By embedding an open‑source hub within its ecosystem, Nvidia can lock developers into its GPU stack, turning a community resource into a direct sales pipeline.

us.headtopics.com · Sep 4

This NAS company wants to run your local smart home

Ugreen, traditionally known for power banks and NAS storage, launched its HomeAgent smart home platform at the IFA tech show. The system integrates a network-attached storage device, a security camera NVR, and an on-device AI assistant named Uliya into a single hub. Designed to operate entirely locally, the HomeAgent addresses privacy concerns and eliminates recurring monthly subscription fees common with cloud-based competitors like Amazon Ring and Google Nest. The flagship MasterAgent MA100 hub utilizes an Nvidia Jetson Thor T5000 platform, delivering up to 2,070 TFLOPS of AI performance. This hardware enables advanced features such as cross-camera tracking, smart alerts for specific objects, and natural language voice control for Matter-compatible smart home devices. By processing video footage and storing personal files locally, Ugreen offers a self-contained ecosystem for home automation and media management. The launch positions the company against other local-first solutions from brands like SwitchBot and Reolink, emphasizing data sovereignty and upfront hardware investment over ongoing service costs.

💡 Ugreen’s entry challenges the dominant cloud-subscription model by proving that high-end AI processing can happen entirely offline. This shift empowers users to own their data while accessing premium features like object recognition without paying monthly fees.

salon.com · Sep 4

Zuckerberg says AI is “for everyone.” So why the secrecy?

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly champions artificial intelligence as a tool accessible to everyone, promoting a narrative of open access and broad societal benefit. However, a significant contradiction exists between this public messaging and the company’s actual business practices. While Meta and other major AI competitors loudly tout transparency and inclusivity, their most substantial commercial agreements and strategic partnerships are conducted in strict secrecy, far from public scrutiny. This disparity raises questions about the true nature of AI distribution and control. The article highlights how these tech giants manage their public image versus their private operations. By keeping major deals out of the public eye, these companies maintain leverage and control over the AI landscape. This secrecy contrasts sharply with the democratic ideals often associated with open-source technology. The disconnect suggests that while the rhetoric emphasizes universal access, the economic realities of the AI industry rely on exclusive, closed-door negotiations. This pattern is not unique to Meta but is prevalent among leading AI developers. The tension between public promises of openness and private practices of exclusivity defines the current state of the artificial intelligence market.

💡 The gap between public rhetoric and private deals reveals that AI accessibility is a marketing strategy rather than a structural reality. This opacity allows tech giants to monopolize infrastructure while maintaining a facade of democratic innovation.