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Welcome to the latest issue of RVL
A weekly digest uncovering how design, technology, and capital are shaping the next generation of companies.
This week: Elon Musk and Sam Altman faced off in a federal courtroom over who really owns the future of AI. Anthropic is racing toward a $900B valuation. And a former DeepMind researcher just raised $1.1B to build AI that teaches itself everything from scratch. We dig into where things are accelerating, what's at stake for founders, and what's working inside RNO1.
ON THE RADAR
What's making waves right now
The trial that could reshape the future of AI is happening right now.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman sat together in a federal courthouse in Oakland this past week as Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI went to trial. Musk spent the better part of three days on the stand, accusing OpenAI and its executives of deceiving him when they pivoted from a nonprofit to a for-profit company.
OpenAI's attorney argued the case plainly: "We are here because Mr. Musk didn't get his way at OpenAI. He quit, saying they would fail for sure. But my clients had the nerve to go on and succeed without him."
The outcome could set precedent for how AI labs structure themselves, who controls the technology, and what obligations come with building in the public interest. Whatever the verdict, the testimony alone has revealed the early power dynamics that shaped the most important technology company on earth.
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
Funding news that matters this week
Ineffable Intelligence. British AI lab founded by former DeepMind researcher David Silver, aiming to build a "superlearner" AI that discovers knowledge purely through reinforcement learning, without any human-generated data. Raised $1.1B at a $5.1B valuation in a round led by Sequoia and Lightspeed, with participation from Google, Nvidia, and the UK's sovereign AI fund.
Coultreon Biopharma. Belgian biotech developing oral therapies for autoimmune diseases including psoriasis and ulcerative colitis, built on assets licensed from Galapagos. Raised $125M Series A in an oversubscribed round led by Sofinnova, with Forbion, Novo Holdings, and Regeneron Ventures co-investing.
JuliaHub. Agentic AI platform for industrial engineering, compressing hardware design cycles from months to days across aerospace, automotive, and energy. Raised $65M Series B led by Dorilton Capital, with General Catalyst and former Snowflake CEO Bob Muglia participating.
Nervonik. Clinical-stage medical device company building smart implantable nerve stimulation systems that adapt to real-time patient physiology for chronic pain treatment. Raised $52.5M Series B led by Amzak Health in an oversubscribed round, with proceeds going toward commercialization and accelerated clinical programs.
CMBlu Energy. German deeptech company building SolidFlow, a non-lithium long-duration battery system designed to power AI data centers for 10 or more hours without grid reliance. Raised EUR 50M Series C initial close with Samsung Ventures leading, crossing a EUR 1B unicorn valuation.
🔗 More early-stage movers: Series ($5.1M pre-seed, AI social network operating entirely through iMessage, founded by two Yale seniors), Belo ($14M Series A, crypto payments for Latin America), and Chance ($3M seed, trading card game collector marketplace).
VC/PE WATCH
Where capital is flowing and what that means for founders
Anthropic is raising $50B at a near-trillion dollar valuation. Anthropic has asked investors to submit allocations within 48 hours for a round expected to raise roughly $50B, targeting a valuation of approximately $900B. The deal is expected to close within two weeks and could be the company's last private raise before an IPO. Its revenue run rate is reportedly closer to $40B, up from $9B just four months ago.
137 Ventures raised $700M betting everything on SpaceX's IPO. The growth-stage firm closed $700M across two new funds, bringing AUM above $15B. It owns more than 1% of SpaceX valued at over $10B, with some early investments reportedly generating 100x returns ahead of SpaceX's anticipated trillion-dollar IPO.
The IPO pipeline is filling up fast. Anthropic, SpaceX, and OpenAI are all eyeing public listings in 2026. If SpaceX proceeds, it could represent the largest IPO in technology history, with a valuation that some bankers and secondary-market indicators suggest could exceed $1 trillion. For founders, this signals a liquidity cycle that hasn't been seen since before 2022.
🔗 Trend for founders: The private market window is closing for the biggest AI names. Founders building toward an IPO in the next 18 months are operating in the most favorable conditions in years.
RNO1 CASE STUDY
Challenge: Shift Markets, a crypto-as-a-service platform helping companies commercialize digital assets without the technical complexity, needed a Web3-first digital identity and experience that could engage both retail users and enterprise buyers.
RNO1's Solution: RNO1 partnered with Shift's marketing, product, and leadership teams to develop a full content strategy, design language, design system, and interactive digital experience — built to guide users from crypto-curious to crypto-capable across every touchpoint.
Result: A clean, conversion-focused digital launch that positioned Shift Markets for enterprise growth in the Web3 market.
Which topic would you like to see more of next issue?
