Did OpenAI’s Sora Learn from Twitch Streams?

Top News

• Anybotics raises $60M to scale U.S. operations: Swiss robotics startup Anybotics has secured another $60 million, bringing its Series B round to $110 million. Its quadruped robot, ANYmal, handles dangerous industrial inspections, like tracking thermal anomalies and detecting gas leaks. The startup has sold nearly 200 robots to clients like Novelis and Stanford, with growing fleet orders. This latest funding will fuel its U.S. expansion, including a new San Francisco office, as it gears up for a Series C in 2026.

• Sora raises legal questions: OpenAI’s new video AI, Sora, is here, but the training data behind it is raising eyebrows. Early users report it can generate clips inspired by Minecraft, Call of Duty, and even Super Mario Bros.—suggesting its training set may include Twitch streams and game footage. Some outputs even resemble popular streamers like Auronplay and Pokimane. Legal experts warn this could lead to copyright battles, with layers of IP at stake. OpenAI says Sora uses “publicly available” and licensed data, but its silence on specifics is keeping the controversy alive.

• Vapi raises $20M to scale AI voice agents: San Francisco-based Vapi, a startup building AI-powered voice agents, raised $20 million in a round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Y Combinator, valuing it at $130 million. Founded in 2023, Vapi’s platform helps developers quickly deploy voice AI agents, addressing growing demand for faster, cheaper customer query resolutions. With the AI agent market projected to hit $110 billion by 2028, Vapi plans to use the funds to expand its engineering team and scale operations, aiming to close the year with $8 million in revenue.

TWiST500

Today, I’m excited to add Ayar Labs to the TWiST500. They’re tackling a huge problem in computing: how to transfer massive amounts of data faster and with less energy.

The company just closed a $155 million Series D, led by Advent International and Light Street Capital, pushing its valuation past $1 billion. Major backers like AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, and Nvidia also took part, reflecting a significant endorsement of Ayar Labs' approach.

AI infrastructure is projected to see more than $1 trillion in investments over the next decade, the race is on to solve critical bottlenecks in data transfer. Ayar Labs is solving the problem by using light instead of electricity to transfer data faster and more efficiently.

“The AI workload is breaking the back of existing hardware infrastructure,” said CEO Mark Wade. “We’ve found a way to replace those electrical interconnects with light.”

The company has two products in development: the TeraPHY Optical I/O chiplet and the SuperNova multi-port, multi-wavelength light source. The TeraPHY is tiny, delivering insane bandwidth (4 Tbps) with just 5 nanoseconds of latency while consuming only 10W of power. Paired with the SuperNova, a multi-port, multi-wavelength light source driving their optical data transfer, this approach could transform how we move and process data

Faster AI, greener data centers, and fewer limits? Welcome to the list, Ayar Labs! — Maddie

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This Week in Startups

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E2057:Jason and Lon Harris discuss the latest in drone technology, including privacy concerns and the future of drone delivery services. They dive into OpenAI's new video generation tool, Sora, and the rise of AI-driven creative mediums. The episode features Quby Technologies, which is pioneering mobile micro-factories to revolutionize home construction. Founder Alex Gumbel explains how Quby’s approach to deskilling labor, streamlining production, and addressing housing demand positions them as a transformative force in the construction industry.

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LAUNCH Cloud Kitchens Incubator

Applications are open for Cohort 2 of the LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator (LiCK). We're looking for food entrepreneurs who wish to expand into the ghost kitchen space or tech founders with a team and a great idea. The application and more information can be found at https://ck.launch.co/.

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