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New polling cited from Just Capital finds 78% of daily AI users believe development should slow so companies can address safety and ethics concerns. Separately, a PwC survey of CEOs found 56% report no revenue or cost benefit from their AI investments, while only 12% say they've captured both types of gains.
An Entrepreneur contributor writes that founders earn investment less through pitch polish than through operating discipline: a recurring weekly execution meeting with a fixed agenda, a one-page plan, and a named owner for every key metric. The writer also says monthly investor updates that candidly report wins, misses and asks build credibility over time.
A commentary argues that artificial general intelligence has effectively arrived, describing it as a threshold where machines can reason across domains and act with meaningful autonomy rather than a state of perfection or superintelligence. The author points to a recently released model, called Astra, as an example that has crossed this threshold, while noting that even more capable systems are already in development.
Oracle sent a force majeure notice to lender Blue Owl Capital over a $18 billion hyperscale data center in New Mexico that is part of Trump's Stargate AI initiative, according to Bloomberg. The move shields Oracle from liability tied to missing certain development permits, as the facility, meant to run on 2.45 gigawatts of power, faces delays after Oracle scrapped a planned natural gas plant and pivoted to unproven solid oxide fuel cell technology.
Lightspeed is raising $250 million for its fifth India fund, Lightspeed India Partners V, aimed at early-stage AI startups, according to a letter sent to investors. The fund has already secured 80% of its target and is half the size of the firm's 2022 predecessor, with investments expected to begin within two months.
An Entrepreneur opinion piece cites a 2025 retention study finding that AI-native software companies priced under $50 a month retain far fewer customers than established B2B SaaS firms, while those priced above $250 a month—offering more specialized functionality—retain customers at rates comparable to traditional software. The piece points to Jasper, which raised $125 million at a $1.5 billion valuation as an AI copywriting tool before facing cutbacks, as an example of a horizontal, easily replicated AI product losing pricing power.
Oracle sent a force majeure notice to the developer of Project Jupiter, a Stargate data center campus in New Mexico, according to Bloomberg. The notice would let Oracle delay payments if the facility fails to meet its 2028 launch target, though the company says it isn't trying to exit as the site's main tenant. Both Oracle and Blue Owl Capital, whose unit received the notice, say the project's financial commitments remain unchanged and construction is on schedule.
Bloomberg reported that Oracle sent a 'force majeure' notice tied to its Project Jupiter data center campus in New Mexico, citing people familiar with the matter. The notice reportedly aims to let Oracle delay payments if the facility, being developed with Blue Owl Capital, isn't operational by 2028 as planned. Oracle shares dropped about 4% following the report.
Bessemer Venture Partners announced it has closed $5.75 billion across two new funds aimed at investing across the AI stack, splitting the capital into $1.75 billion for seed and early-stage deals and $4 billion for growth-stage startups. The firm says it has already deployed $3 billion into more than 260 AI-native companies since 2022, spanning compute, infrastructure, foundation models, dev tools and agentic technology.
Enveda, a biotech startup using AI to identify drugs from plants and microbes, closed a $311 million Series E funding round at a $2 billion valuation. Catalio Capital Management led the round, with Iconiq and other investors participating. The valuation doubles what the company achieved a year earlier.
Andreessen Horowitz is funding a San Francisco academy, led by Udemy cofounder Gagan Biyani, that offers high school graduates a tuition-free, one-year program focused on building startups rather than academic coursework. The founding cohort of about 50 students will skip tests and homework, instead working on real projects with mentors from firms like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta, and receiving roughly $50,000 in computing credit plus a $5,000 travel and research budget. OpenAI's Sam Altman is named as a guest lecturer or instructor, and other tech figures, including Fidji Simo, are contributing funding.
TechCrunch has announced a StrictlyVC programming track at Disrupt 2026, running October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The October 14 session includes networking and a panel discussion, with speakers such as Ryan Flanagan of ICR addressing how companies prepare for IPOs amid a changing venture funding landscape. Attendees can register with an Investor Pass, with a discount available for sign-ups by September 25.