Elon Musk’s Boring Company reportedly raising funding at a $20 billion valuation

techcrunch.com Jul 25, 2026

Elon Musk’s Boring Company reportedly raising funding at a $20 billion valuation

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Jul 25, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Elon Musk’s tunneling venture, The Boring Company, is reportedly negotiating a $4 billion financing round that would value the startup at roughly $20 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed valuation marks a rise from the $5.7 billion figure assigned in 2022. The company, which spun out of SpaceX in 2018, currently operates a Las Vegas tunnel system that shuttles Tesla vehicles between stations, but its record is marred by worker injuries and nearly 800 environmental violations cited by Nevada regulators last year. In addition to the Nevada project, The Boring Company has unveiled plans for tunnel networks in Nashville and Dubai and is courting contracts in Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles. The deal remains and terms may shift before closing.

💡 Why It Matters

· A $20 billion price tag signals that investors are betting on large‑scale underground transport as a viable urban solution, despite the company’s safety and regulatory setbacks.

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TechCrunch Mobility: Uber bets on its former CEO

Uber invested $100 million in Atoms, the holding company led by former CEO Travis Kalanick, which also acquired Anthony Levandowski’s industrial automation startup Pronto. Andreessen Horowitz led the $1.7 billion funding round, with Ben Horowitz joining Atoms’ board. The investment marks a significant reconciliation between Uber and Kalanick, who resigned nearly a decade ago amid scandals and a trade secret lawsuit involving Levandowski. Atoms plans to use the capital to scale Pronto’s practical, OEM-agnostic autonomy technology for mining and transport sectors. This move contrasts with Tesla’s recent earnings disclosures, where CEO Elon Musk admitted that Cybercab production is delayed due to the need for specific driving data. Musk revealed that Tesla’s existing fleet data does not fully calibrate to the new Cybercab chassis, requiring retrofitted vehicles for testing. Consequently, Tesla’s paid robotaxi miles dropped 36% quarter-over-quarter. Meanwhile, Tesla’s capital expenditures doubled, pushing the company into negative free cash flow territory despite rising revenue. Net income fell 5% year-over-year as the automaker prioritizes next-generation product development over immediate profitability.

💡 Uber’s financial backing of Kalanick and Levandowski signals a strategic pivot toward industrial automation, effectively burying past legal and cultural conflicts for tangible technological gains. This contrasts sharply with Tesla’s admission that its consumer fleet data is insufficient for its dedicated robotaxi, highlighting a critical divergence in autonomous vehicle development strategies.

en.sedaily.com · Jul 26

Incisionless Korean Surgical Robot Clears FDA, Signs Exclusive Olympus Deal

Endorobotics, a Korean medical robotics firm, has secured U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its ROBOPERA surgical robot and signed a global exclusive distribution agreement with Olympus. ROBOPERA distinguishes itself by attaching robotic arms to existing diagnostic endoscopes, enabling incisionless procedures through the mouth or anus. This approach eliminates the need for large-scale surgical equipment, reducing hospital adoption costs. The device enhances precision in complex endoscopic submucosal dissection for early-stage cancers by stabilizing tissue manipulation. Endorobotics became the first Korean company to receive the "NAY" product code for robotic control surgical systems, matching the classification of Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robot. The firm previously raised 32.5 billion won in Series C funding and was recognized by the Korea Innovation Foundation for successful commercialization of public research achievements.

💡 By leveraging existing endoscopy infrastructure, this technology drastically lowers the financial barrier for hospitals to adopt robotic surgery. It challenges the dominance of traditional incision-based systems by offering a more accessible, precision-driven alternative for gastrointestinal treatments.

quantumcomputingreport.com · Jul 26

Zero Point Cryogenics and Ability Engineering Technology Anchor IQMP FaQtory in Chicago

Zero Point Cryogenics and Ability Engineering Technology have become the first two supply‑chain tenants of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park’s new IQMP FaQtory in Chicago. The facility, created under the Bloch Quantum Tech Hub and funded by state tax incentives and federal EDA Tech Hubs money, will host ZPC’s U.S. research, sales and service operations for its cryogen‑free dilution refrigerators and AET’s R&D satellite office for rapid prototyping of cryogenic and vacuum equipment. ZPC will add more than 20 specialized engineering jobs, while AET will invest $1.8 million, create five new positions and upgrade its South Holland plant. Co‑location with anchor quantum‑computing firms such as IBM and PsiQuantum is intended to speed hardware iteration and cut reliance on overseas components domestically nationwide.

💡 Clustering cryogenic hardware makers with quantum chip designers gives the Midwest a homegrown alternative to overseas supply chains, accelerating prototype turnover for next‑gen computers.

memeburn.com · Jul 25

DeepSeek Says Self-Upgrading AI Is the Fastest Path to AGI

DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng informed investors that the company prioritizes achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) through self-improving AI over short-term profitability or product expansion. Reported by Reuters citing Yicai, these remarks followed DeepSeek’s first external funding round, valuing the firm at approximately $52 billion. Liang emphasized that openness and profit are not mutually exclusive, confirming plans to keep top models open source. The strategic roadmap focuses on step-by-step reasoning, general-purpose agents, and ongoing learning, explicitly deprioritizing 3D and video generation. Liang identified compute resources, rather than technical skill, as the primary gap between DeepSeek and US competitors. This approach marks a distinct shift from industry norms that favor rapid application deployment and user acquisition. By focusing on raw model intelligence and self-refinement capabilities, DeepSeek aims to compound progress without constant human oversight, positioning itself as a leader in foundational AI research rather than commercial app development.

💡 This strategic pivot challenges the prevailing industry consensus that commercial viability requires immediate product monetization. By validating open-source AGI research as a viable path to a $52 billion valuation, DeepSeek forces competitors to reconsider whether chasing user metrics or foundational intelligence yields greater long-term advantage.

techcrunch.com · Jul 25

Prentis, new AI lab co-founded by Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus in talks…

Prentis, an AI research lab co-founded by Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus, and Ritankar Das, is negotiating a $100 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation. Launched in April, the startup develops computer-use models designed to automate routine office workflows, such as handling insurance claims and customs refunds. Prentis claims its Hive-32B model outperforms competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic on specific benchmarks while offering significantly lower operational costs. The company has secured contracts worth up to $50 million with clients in healthcare and manufacturing, projecting a $75 million annualized run rate by the third quarter. These figures represent estimated savings-based fees rather than recognized revenue. Prentis aims to position automated office tasks as AI’s primary use case, competing against major players including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Thinking Machines Lab. The startup employs over 25 researchers from leading tech firms. CEO Ritankar Das, founder of holding company Titan, leads the venture alongside Hoffman and Pincus, who are treating Prentis as a side project amid their other investments and roles.

💡 Prentis challenges the dominance of general-purpose AI by proving that specialized, cost-effective agents can capture enterprise value through direct workflow automation. Its performance-based pricing model shifts the risk from buyer to seller, potentially accelerating adoption in industries where efficiency gains are measurable and immediate.

riauone.com · Jul 25

Novum Studio Secures New Funding to Launch Ahoy Project, an AI-Native Enterprise…

Novum Studio has secured new funding to launch Ahoy Project, an AI-native enterprise transformation platform, with internal testing scheduled for July 2026. The company, known for its Gen Z social app Frog which boasts over 20 million users in the U.S. and Europe, is expanding into the enterprise sector. Ahoy Project serves as infrastructure for AI-native communication, delivered as a tailored solution rather than a standalone subscription. Novum Studio aims to apply lessons from operating high-frequency social platforms to workplace collaboration systems. Founder Anna Danyi, recognized by Forbes China, stated that the funding supports the launch and international expansion of this enterprise business. The platform positions itself as the underlying system for organizations undergoing AI-driven transformation, leveraging the company’s experience in building large-scale social spaces where millions communicate and coordinate in real time.

💡 Novum Studio’s pivot challenges the traditional SaaS subscription model by offering bespoke AI infrastructure instead of off-the-shelf software. This strategy tests whether consumer social dynamics can successfully scale to complex enterprise environments.