Emil Michael, a former Uber executive, says he will “never forget nor forgive” Benchmark Capital after his 2017 exit alongside founder Travis Kalanick. He credits the investor revolt that followed as reshaping Uber amid ongoing scandals. Michael has since moved to a role with the Pentagon, while Kalanick has returned with a stealth robotics startup.
Humyn Labs, a physical AI startup, plans to deploy $20 million to scale its human data layer, aimed at making robots learn beyond controlled environments. The funding will expand data collection operations across India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East—addressing a major bottleneck for robotics companies: limited availability of high-quality, real-world human data.
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Manav Robotics, founded by former senior Ola executives Suvonil Chatterjee and Slokarth Dash, is in talks with early-stage investor Blume Ventures and US-based Qualcomm Ventures to raise its maiden round of about $15–20 million. The deal could also bring in additional participation from other Indian founders, signaling growing investor interest in the robotics space.
Tesla has raised its spending plan for 2026 by about a quarter, pushing it to more than $25 billion. CEO Elon Musk is channeling the increase into AI, robotics, and chips, arguing the bets are “well justified” for future revenue. The move underscores how much of Tesla’s value now hinges on self-driving cabs and humanoid robots—at a cost investors are starting to scrutinize.
Tesla is pressing investors to back its next leap: self-driving robotaxis and humanoid robots powered by AI. The company plans to more than double capital spending to over $25 billion by 2026, even as it expects negative free cash flow for the rest of the year. The market question: will faith in these still-unproven bets hold?
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