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Vals raises $40M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz to overhaul AI benchmarking

Vals, a startup founded in 2024 by former Palantir intern and Stanford student Rayan Krishnan, has raised a $40 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, following an earlier seed round from 8VC and Bloomberg Beta. The company aims to replace outdated academic AI benchmarks, which it says fail to keep pace with rapidly improving models, with more rigorous evaluation methods.

techcrunch.com · 2026-09-19

OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra sets Minecraft AI record, then stalls after Creeper blast

In a 141-hour Minecraft benchmark run by Vals AI, OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra model progressed further than any AI system tested before, building a blaze farm and gathering enderman pearls. But after a Creeper destroyed its stored gear and bed, wiping its spawn point, the model spent hours doing little more than farming potatoes, appearing demotivated to viewers watching the live test.

tomshardware.com · 2026-09-16