Recapping this week in startups

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August 21, 2026

 

TechCrunch Top 3

SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition

SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition: AI coding startup Cursor is now officially a part of SpaceX. Read More

Rillet raises $100M Series C at $1B valuation — 2 years after emerging from stealth: AI-native account startup Rillet became a unicorn, led by Iconiq, after it doubled its ARR in the past three months, it said. Read More

Reach Capital raises $265M Fund V to back AI founders building to 'expand human potential': Reach Capital announced Tuesday an oversubscribed $265 million Fund V. Read More

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Must-Reads

Starcloud raises $250 million for orbital data centers as launch options dry up

Starcloud raises $250 million for orbital data centers as launch options dry up: There's about to be a big fight to secure access to space. Read More

Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+: OpenRouter's CEO recently described the startup as Stripe for AI. Read More

AI data startup Micro1 reaches $500M gross run rate amid AI training boom: Surging demand for AI training data is driving rapid growth for the startup and its rivals. Read More

Etched's valuation doubles to $21B in a month: Jane Street has installed Etched's first shipped AI cluster system, and was so impressed, it led another massive round, the startup says. Read More

Castelion hits $13B valuation to mass-produce hypersonic missiles: Founded in 2022, Castelion set out to manufacture hypersonic weapon systems at a lower cost and at faster speeds than traditional defense primes. Read More

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Last but Not Least

Runlayer, Rippling drop lawsuits — but the brouhaha is still a cautionary tale for founders

Runlayer, Rippling drop lawsuits — but the brouhaha is still a cautionary tale for founders: Runlayer and Rippling have dropped their lawsuits. No money was paid. Rippling celebrated by releasing a competing product. Read More

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