Meta is partially acquiring Scale AI, granting it 49% ownership in an unusual deal that values the company at over $29 billion. Scale AI will distribute proceeds to shareholders and vested equity holders, providing them with substantial liquidity while allowing them to remain as shareholders. Meta is also hiring Scale's founder CEO Alexandr Wang. Investors, such as Accel, are set to receive significant dividends, with Accel expected to receive a $2.5 billion payout. Scale AI, which was last valued at $14 billion, has dozens of backers, including Amazon and Meta. The payout resembles a near-acquisition, pending regulatory approval.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is streamlining the exemption process for self-driving vehicles without human controls. This aims to expedite the deployment of autonomous vehicles by manufacturers.

JetZero plans to build a zero-emissions jet aircraft factory in North Carolina with a $4.7 billion investment, contingent on creating 14,000 jobs. Additionally, Mitra Chem, a battery material startup, raised $15.6 million in funding.

Waymo's self-driving car rides are more expensive than Uber and Lyft, yet people are still using them. Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, while Wayve and Uber are planning a robotaxi service in London, taking advantage of the UK's accelerated framework for self-driving commercial pilots.

Infinite Machine unveiled a new seated electric scooter called Olto, priced at $3,495. Apple announced the addition of widgets and message tapbacks to CarPlay with iOS 26.

Amazon is procuring 1.92 gigawatts of electricity from Talen Energy’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant for its AWS cloud and AI servers, aligning with a growing trend among big tech firms to source power directly from nuclear plants.

This move follows similar initiatives by Microsoft and Meta. Amazon's revised agreement with Talen involves purchasing power from the grid, ensuring transmission fees support grid maintenance, unlike the previously proposed behind-the-meter arrangement that regulators rejected.

The companies also plan to explore building small modular reactors within Talen’s Pennsylvania footprint and expanding generation at existing nuclear power plants, aiming to add net-new energy to the PJM grid. Amazon has also invested in SMR startup X-energy.

This week's startup highlights include neobank Chime's IPO after overcoming near failure in 2016. Nucleus Genomics faced criticism for its embryo selection product. Automattic, the owner of WordPress.com, acquired relationship manager Clay.

Several startups secured significant funding rounds: Multiverse Computing raised €189 million for reducing LLM size, Glean secured $150 million at a $7.2 billion valuation, and Fervo Energy landed $206 million for geothermal energy. Proxima Fusion obtained €130 million for nuclear fusion research, Coco Robotics disclosed $80 million in funding, and Canary locked in $80 million for its hotel management platform. Tebi raised €30 million for its hospitality platform, Definely secured $30 million to streamline contract reviews, and Landbase closed a $30 million Series A. Collab Capital closed a $75 million Fund II focused on healthcare, infrastructure and the future of work.

The U.S. Navy is also exploring partnerships with startups to foster innovation.

Nvidia anticipates continued U.S. restrictions on chip exports to China, leading the company to exclude the Chinese market from its revenue and profit forecasts. CEO Jensen Huang conveyed this expectation to CNN, stating that a reversal of these controls by the Trump administration would be considered a "bonus."

The U.S. government's licensing requirements for Nvidia's H20 chips, the most advanced AI chips available for sale in China, were introduced in April. Nvidia has projected an $8 billion revenue loss in the second quarter due to these export limitations.

Nvidia has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the situation.

Felicis, a seed and Series A firm, has announced its largest fund to date, Fund X, with $900 million. This follows their $825 million Fund IX in 2023 and $600 million Fund XIII in 2021. Known for backing successful companies like Ayden, Bonobos, Ring, Shopify, and Twitch, Felicis has supported over 50 unicorns and had 125+ exits since 2006. The firm is now heavily invested in AI, with 70% of its active portfolio comprising AI-native startups, including Browser Use, Poolside, Runway, and Supabase. Felicis anticipates the emergence of numerous $100B+ AI companies this decade.

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against a former engineer, Zhongjie “Jay” Li, alleging that he stole trade secrets related to its Optimus humanoid robotics program. The lawsuit claims Li used this information to launch Proception, a robotics startup focused on developing advanced humanoid hands.

According to the complaint, Li downloaded confidential information about Optimus onto personal smartphones and researched humanoid robotic hands and startup funding sources during his time at Tesla. Proception's website claims to be working on revolutionizing human-robot interaction with advanced humanoid hands.

Tesla's Optimus program has faced delays, with the initial unveiling in 2021 and subsequent announcements about production timelines. Elon Musk stated that Tesla would begin selling the robot in 2026.