Foundations by Axented
Anthropic sues US government, Wonderful raises $150M Series B at $2B valuation, UK approves £10B AI data centre campus in North Lincolnshire
Table of Contents:
AI | Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic sues US government after being labelled “supply chain risk”
AI to help researchers see the bigger picture in cell biology
VC | Startup & Funding
Wonderful raises $150M Series B at $2B valuation
Sales automation startup Rox AI hits $1.2B valuation
HI | Hardware & Infrastructure
BlackRock invests $100M in AI infrastructure workforce
UK approves £10B AI data centre campus in North Lincolnshire
Anthropic sues US government after being labelled “supply chain risk”
Anthropic has filed a lawsuit against the US government after the Pentagon labelled it a “supply chain risk” following a dispute over military use of its AI systems.
The conflict escalated after CEO Dario Amodei refused to remove safeguards in defence contracts that restrict uses such as autonomous lethal weapons and mass surveillance, prompting the Trump administration to direct agencies to stop using the firm’s tools.
Anthropic argues the designation is unlawful retaliation that harms its reputation and violates constitutional free-speech protections, while the White House says the company is attempting to dictate military policy.
The lawsuit seeks a court ruling overturning the designation rather than financial damages, and could ultimately reach the US Supreme Court.
Source: BBC News
AI to help researchers see the bigger picture in cell biology
Researchers at MIT and collaborating institutions have developed a machine-learning framework that integrates multiple types of cellular measurements to better understand how cells function.
The system distinguishes which biological information is shared across different measurement methods and which is unique to each technique, enabling a more complete picture of a cell’s state.
By mapping these relationships, the approach could help scientists study diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes more effectively and guide decisions about which experiments to run.
The research appears in Nature Computational Science and aims to improve how complex cellular data is analyzed.
Source: MIT News
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Wonderful raises $150M Series B at $2B valuation
Israeli startup Wonderful has raised $150 million in a Series B funding round led by Insight Partners, valuing the company at $2 billion just four months after its Series A.
The company develops AI agents designed to handle enterprise customer service tasks, with a focus on tailoring systems for non-English-speaking markets and integrating them directly into client operations.
Wonderful says it operates in 30 countries across Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific and plans to expand further using the new capital.
The funding will also support a rapid hiring push as the company scales its deployment teams and technology platform.
Source: Tech Crunch
Sales automation startup Rox AI hits $1.2B valuation
Rox, a startup building autonomous AI agents to improve sales productivity, has reached a $1.2 billion valuation following a new funding round led by returning investor General Catalyst, according to sources.
Founded in 2024 by former New Relic executive Ishan Mukherjee, the company develops an AI-driven revenue operating system that integrates with existing tools like Salesforce and Zendesk.
The platform deploys agents that monitor accounts, identify opportunities, and automatically update CRM systems to streamline sales workflows.
Rox was expected to finish 2025 with about $8 million in annual recurring revenue and counts companies including Ramp and MongoDB among its customers
Source: Tech Crunch
BlackRock invests $100m in AI infrastructure workforce
BlackRock has committed $100 million to workforce development programs aimed at training skilled tradespeople needed to build infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence.
The funding will support initiatives that train electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and other workers critical to constructing data centers and related systems.
The investment reflects growing concern across the technology sector that shortages of skilled labor could slow the expansion of AI infrastructure.
BlackRock said the program will partner with nonprofits and training organizations to strengthen the pipeline of workers required for large-scale digital and energy projects.
Source: Data Center News
UK approves £10bn AI data centre campus in North Lincolnshire
Plans for one of the UK’s largest artificial intelligence data centre campuses have been approved in North Lincolnshire, with the Elsham Tech Park development set to be built near Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate.
The project could attract up to £10bn in investment and deliver around 900 long-term skilled jobs, alongside thousands of construction roles during a decade-long build.
The 435-acre site is planned to include up to 15 data centre buildings and provide as much as 1GW of computing capacity, placing it among the country’s largest proposed AI infrastructure projects.
Developers also plan to use waste heat from the facilities to power a greenhouse complex that would grow agricultural produce.
Source: BBC News
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