THE DEFOOR REPORT AS OF OCTOBER 16, 2026  ·  TODAY'S REPORT →  ·  ALL DAYS

When it came to Cal AI’s viral success, a small army of influencers paid offChatGPT can peek at your Chrome tabs nowSega pulls Total War: Shogun 2 remaster from sale following disastrous launch
Elon Musk wants to start an Amazon competitor after Grok bot users say the company blocked them from placing orders

Image: Yahoo Finance

Elon Musk wants to start an Amazon competitor after Grok bot users say the company blocked them from placing orders
DEFOOR REPORT

AI · ROBOTS · MONEY · JOBS · FOOD · SECURITY  |  UPDATED OCT 16, 2026 12:09 AM ET

A DeFoor Innovations publication  ·  Advertise

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

BIGGEST AI RAISES THIS WEEK

  1. SOAR AI $1B
  2. TypeSafe $870M
  3. SWI €800M
  4. Modal $750M · Series D
  5. Oxide Computer $445M · Series D
  6. Mujin $224M · Series D

TOP INVESTORS · 30 DAYS

  1. Abstract Ventures 2 deals · $110M in rounds
  2. Forgepoint Capital International 2 deals · $78.5M in rounds
  3. Motive Partners 2 deals · $43.6M in rounds
  4. Seedcamp 2 deals · $12.4M in rounds
All investments & investors →

CRYPTO

BITCOIN, ETHEREUM, STABLECOINS AND THE RULES

BTC $81,888 ▲1.2%ETH $2,434 ▲3.0%SOL $105 ▲2.2%XRP $1.33 ▲1.8%24 hr · CoinGecko

82 criminal charges follow armed crypto abduction in TorontoLedger wants customers to trust its new $849 device as criminals compromise existing walletsAustralia releases draft bill to adopt OECD crypto tax reporting frameworkQuantum fixes protect Bitcoin, but legit owners risk lockoutMSCI finalizes index rules that put Strategy, crypto treasury firms at risk of exclusionMore crypto news →Russia Will Soon Ban Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Trading, Central Bank ConfirmsBinance.US seeks $1B valuation in potential $100M funding round: ReportHere’s what happened in crypto todayBoom or Bust, Bitcoin Wins the AI Trade, Bitwise CIO SaysAt the White House, crypto policy vacancy looms large

AI AGENTS

DOTS · MUSE · GROK BOT · INSTINCT · GEMINI SPARK · OPENCLAW

MUSE We Got Hot and Heavy With Meta’s Muse—and Baffled by Apple’s HomeViewMUSE Muse Spark Open is Meta's answer to Qwen, GLM, and Kimi in the open-weight raceMUSE Meta and Apple team up to make Muse AI models run better on MacsMANUS OPPO Partners with Manus to Bring Agentic AI Experiences to SmartphonesDOTS Always-On AI Agents Are Here: OpenAI Dots, Meta Muse & Google Gemini Agents (2026)More AI agent news →DOTS I Let Dots, Muse, and Spark Take Over My Daily Chores. Only One AI Passed the TestDOTS OpenAI Dot vs. Meta Muse: How do these AI agents compare?Friends don’t let friends feed their data to AI agentsNvidia's Nemotron 3.5 Super VL is an open model built to run enterprise AI agents nonstopAI agents are coming to Rivian’s cars

WHO WILL FEED US?

AG TECH, FOOD AND THE MONEY BEHIND THEM

FUNDING AgriFood Signals: India’s Scimplify nets $25m, Deere funds food security, USDA funds seed researchROBOTS Light disc fertiliser as basis for fertiliser robotFUNDING Molagri raises $5.8m to build ‘updatable’ biopesticidesAI PerPlant lands Valtra deal to put its AI crop sensor on tractors straight from the factoryFUNDING Greece’s food export boom: A €10bn success storyMore farm & food news →FUNDING OlsAro raises $5.5m seed round as salt-tolerant wheat nears marketFUNDING SLM Partners secures $167m from Dutch pension investor to regenerate forestsFUNDING Will $5 corn and $12.50 beans fuel farmland sale growth?Beyond Meat Expands Immerse Range with Caffeinated Energy Drinks & New Flavours57% of Americans Think UPFs Can’t Be Healthy, As Wait for Federal Definition Continues

ESSAYS & BLOGS

THE WEEK'S AI WRITING, ONE POST PER WRITER

NOTABLE ESSAYS

  1. The Future Is for EveryoneMark Zuckerberg · Aug 2026
  2. Policy on the AI ExponentialDario Amodei
  3. The Adolescence of TechnologyDario Amodei · 2026
The Work Moves Outward: robotaxis, automated homebuilding and drone delivery, connected by AI

Graphic: DeFoor Report

The Work Moves OutwardYou Have No Idea How Close the AI Bubble Is to PoppingMore essays and blogs →The Pulse: OpenAI software engineer accused of spying🚨 Anthropic: The agony and the ecstasyAI #190: Scion of the TimesA Conversation With Ari Emanuel About Entertainment and AIAI vs. the railroadsGenerative AI in disarrayAI Safety Is Not A Corporate PlotThe states come for OpenAISteering AI Beyond Automation

AI LABS

Bringing GPT-Rosalind to academic research labs Meta’s Muse Spark Open now available in Amazon SageMaker JumpStart Accelerating the search for antimicrobial peptides with Google Antigravity Trust in Depth: Giving agents more autonomy without losing control Open From Data Center to Desktop: NVIDIA Expands Nemotron Family With Highest Efficiency Super VL and Bolt Models
Teaching students to think and learn through questions Introducing Timestral Sullivan & Cromwell brings legal expertise into agreement review More AI labs news →Build self-improving document processing using Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Putting Earth AI to work: Geospatial agents for our planet's biggest challenges

ON THE RISE

WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BUILDING

The next young builder featured here could be someone you know.

Know a young person building with AI? Tell us →

Analyzing technical documents with Deep Review Research@ 2026: 10 ways we're amplifying human ingenuity Amp puts AI agents to work beyond code with OpenAI models SentinelOne cuts malware analysis from weeks to hours How Third Moment Research runs 10,000 agents for 36+ hours
European Cities Deploy NVIDIA-Powered AI Agents to Run Smarter Urban Operations Gemini 4 Argon for Robotics OCP Global Summit: Amid Ecosystem Adoption, NVIDIA Opens Vera Rubin Architecture to Help Scale AI Factories Worldwide

THE LLM WARS

ANTHROPIC · OPENAI · GOOGLE · GROK · CHINA · OPEN MODELS

OPEN MeddeX: A Retrieval-Augmented LLaMA-3 System with Gemini Vision for Evidence-Backed Medical Report AnalysisOPEN Meta launches an open-weight AI model that runs on MacsANTHROPIC Anthropic is letting METR researchers look under the hood with employee-level accessOPEN Black Forest Labs' open-weights image model FLUX 3 Image Klein runs on consumer GPUs with just 8 GB of VRAMANTHROPIC Report: FTC probes Anthropic, OpenAI after Trump dismissed AI fears as “hoax”More LLM news →ANTHROPIC Bank of America puts 4,000 people on fixing vulnerabilities uncovered by Anthropic's Mythos and other AI modelsOPENAI GPT-6-Astra solves 49 of 50 physics research problems at $2.40 apieceCHINA Apple reportedly plans December China launch for Apple Intelligence using Alibaba modelsCHINA ByteDance nears deal to buy MediaTek’s custom AI chips for data centersOPENAI Recording device hidden in toilet paper found in top-secret OpenAI meeting roomGOOGLE Google DeepMind and Singapore Government collaborate to build fine-tuned AI model for scam detectionGOOGLE Developing Gemini 4 Argon responsibly and safelyGOOGLE Gemini 4 Argon: Built to solve your hardest problems

WHO GOT HACKED

Federal bankruptcy courts dealing with outages after contractor cyberattackAI Slop Isn't Just for Social Media; It's Ruining Cyberattacks, TooHackers exploit Collabora RCE flaw to backdoor Nextcloud serversZero-click spyware infecting devices through online ads, researchers sayHackers hijack D-Link, Ubiquiti devices to resell your stolen bandwidthMore hacks & breaches →Context Is King in the Fight Against Modern CyberattacksVibetech Database Exposes 13.7M Records Including Assortment of Old Breaches

NEW IN HAVE I BEEN PWNED

Crunchbase: 559,908 accountsSharecare: 318,185 accountsNeogen: 435,963 accountsCyrusOne: 373,460 accounts

Breach data: Have I Been Pwned (CC BY 4.0)

FAILED & FOLDED

AI COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS THAT SHUT DOWN OR WENT BANKRUPT

Too-Big-To-Fail 3.0: When AI Goes Bankrupt, Who Keeps Our Secrets?US states seek children's data protections in Character.AI bankruptcyOther AI Companies Should Be Very Afraid of What Just Happened to Character.AI, According to Its Own Bankruptcy Documents

AI POLICY

LAWS, RULES AND GUIDANCE FROM GOVERNMENTS

AI.gov is now SI.gov: the White House renames its AI site "Super Intelligence"AI slop responses to RFPs, RFIs are overwhelming federal agenciesFederal AI adoption metrics miss the human factorHouse Democrats push FAA to pause AI tool deployed in DC airspaceGoogle DeepMind and Singapore Government collaborate to build fine-tuned AI model for scam detectionMore AI policy →Trump posts AI-edited photo to brag about White House restoration workBuilding a Safer, More Secure Britain in the age of AIBritain steps up national defences against growing AI risks100 new UK jobs created as Kuwait buys British-made AI-enabled air defence systems

INTERNATIONAL

EUROPE Are open-weight AI models safe?EUROPE ‘I’m 30. I’ve got one more shot’: Reson8’s founder wants to build a European AI giantCHINA Hong Kong vies for role in robotics boom with launch of embodied AI hubCHINA OpenCode Makes DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Free to Use, With a 200K Context WindowKOREA HD Hyundai Electric, LG CNS team up on data center powerMore international news →CANADA Steve Walton’s 3C merges with UK’s Datalec to build full-service data centre platformINDIA Why CoreWeaves troubles are rattling the AI boomINDIA CoreWeave's slump puts spotlight on debt behind AI boom

AI NEWS

Elon Musk wants to start an Amazon competitor after Grok bot users say the company blocked them from placing orders

Image: The Verge

The tech backlash is now in theaters The Work Moves Outward Trump posts AI-edited photo to brag about White House restoration work AI Hacks Leave a Mess That AI Companies Aren’t Paying For Bluesky’s AI tool now lets you make games and apps to share on social
Amazon devices chief Panos Panay sees a future where AI devices replace the need to use apps Bluesky expands its AI-powered Attie app to let anyone build websites, games, and more More AI news →Last chance to save up to $200 on your TechCrunch Founder Summit pass: Early booking ends October 16 Google’s Universal Cart shopping tool launches in the US Epic says its new vibe-coded Epic Games Launcher is faster than Steam
AI Came for Math. Now It’s Chasing the Rest of Science Researchers use AI to design proteins that cut up other proteins Anthropic warns small AI models could self-replicate through IoT devices My Friend Has No Soul Men Can’t Stop Faking How Much They Know About AI
Open models have real benefits. Do they outweigh the risks? AI labs are buying data from dead startups to train their models

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AI AND JOBS

WHO'S HIRING, WHO'S CUTTING, AND THE WORK ITSELF

Nine out of 10 CEOs plan on hiring more despite AI boomAI Is Replacing Workers. Leaders Are Making It Worse | OpinionWall Street's latest AI spook, Netflix layoffs, good debt and more in Morning SquawkChina's ByteDance sets up AI safety team, launches global hiring driveAndreessen Horowitz guts its own recruiting team, a tell on AI and jobsAI job losses set to rein in office demand in developed Asia-Pacific economies: reportRobots can handle a third of physical jobs — but not yet cost-effectively, Anthropic saysAI job interviews are here, and people are already trying to break themMore AI and jobs news →HR leaders may be able to use AI to improve employee wellnessThe way work gets done is changing across every industry: Kroger cites AI efficiency push as it cuts 3,000 corporate jobsNetflix Cuts 1,000 Jobs After Earlier Layoff Warnings‘So perfect, they are literally identical’ – Your AI-polished resumes are recruiters’ new top stressorIMF Chief Warns AI Could Shrink Entry-Level Job Opportunities, Disrupt Career Paths for Young Workers: ‘Slow-Moving Tsunami’To Get This Job at McKinsey, You’ll Need to Survive a Debate With AI FirstWill AI take my job? Ask an economist!Kroger plans to cut 3,000 corporate jobs as grocery giant expands AI use

NOW HIRING

1,217 open AI roles · 281 new this week · most wanted: Solutions & customer · top pay $675K

CAPITAL ONE AI Engineer 5 4 LocationsDATABRICKS Lead Solutions Architect - Generative AI (EMEA Emerging DNB) Remote - FranceMICROSOFT Senior Applied Scientist - Outlook Science Team United States, Washington, RedmondXAI AND X Site Reliability Engineer Southaven, MS; Memphis, TNPNC Data Scientist Senior--People Analytics & Quantitative Insights PA - Pittsburgh (15222)All active AI listings →Hiring for AI? List your jobs →

DAVID AND GOLIATH

SMALL TEAMS TAKING ON THE GIANTS

ADOBE About That AI-Powered Clone of Adobe Creative Suite …MICROSOFT I tried the free Microsoft Word clone on Linux – and it’s my new default (on Mac too)THE BIG APPS Strafe: A new open-source, E2E Encrypted, and federated alternative to DiscordMICROSOFT After a month of using this open-source Microsoft 365 alternative, I only missed one thingADOBE Can Vibe Coded Apps Replace Adobe and Microsoft? These AI Apps Hope SoMore David and Goliath stories →MICROSOFT AI Developer Behind Free Photoshop Clones Now Takes On Microsoft OfficeMICROSOFT Developer creates alternatives to Microsoft 365 apps using AIADOBE I tried those free AI-coded Adobe Creative Cloud clones, and they have some big problemsTHE BIG APPS Opus 5.5 made a fully featured Figma clone in 3 hours / 8 promptsGOOGLE Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?

TOP TECH, AI & BUSINESS PODCASTS THIS WEEK

RISING FAST All-In up 141,038% on last week · now #1

  1. 1All-In: Elizabeth Holmes' Husband Billy Evans: The Trial, Prison & Nathan Fielder’s Documentary926K views this week · 3 episodes NEW
  2. 2BG2 Pod: Jensen Huang | Does AI Revenue Justify Capex, '27 AI Bottlenecks, Singularity, Open vs Closed & more138K views this week · 1 episode NEW
  3. 3Prof G Pod: Elon Musk Controls Space. That’s a Problem. — Josh Tyrangiel129K views this week · 3 episodes ▼1
  4. 4a16z Podcast: What Happens When AI Agents Can Spend Your Money?85K views this week · 4 episodes NEW
  5. 5Moonshots: OpenAI Bulk-Solves 722 Math Problems, Anthropic’s Cruelty Policy, & Elon’s Quadrillion-Dollar SpaceX70K views this week · 1 episode ▼4
Complete list: all 18 shows by weekly rank →

THE ROBOTS ARE COMING!

ROBOT ROLL CALL: where each one stands →Nine humanoid robots side by side, drawn to scaleUS Military drones tap 150,000 radios in push to beat battlefield jamming threatsHow ADI is helping robotics startups scaleTesla remote operators keep crashing its ‘Robotaxis,’ data showsGoogle wants Gemini 4 Argon to be the only AI model robots needHow Warehouse Robots Cross Borders: What Global Automation Teams Get Wrong About International ShippingMore robot news →Agility chooses Nyobolt for ultra-fast charging for Digit 5 humanoidTesollo Expects Robotic Hand and Gripper Sales to Surpass 1,000 Units in 2026Cerence AI and Geely Expand Partnership to Advance Robotics AIElon Musk breaks his silence on the Starlink impact to Ukraine dronesTesla Bros Posting Videos Showing Them Hog Out on Decadent Meals While Careening Down the Road in Self-Driving Mode

AI FOR ENTERTAINMENT

HOLLYWOOD, MUSIC, TV AND GAMES

Singer or clanker? YouTube Music will tell you with new gen AI labeling.Epic Games delays Disney game and tells developers to go "AI first"Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii releases game he says he made with AI in about 30 minutesThe happiest man in gaming hates generative AI

AI AND RETAIL

ONLINE AND BRICK-AND-MORTAR

The produce industry could be heavy into AI soonBelgian retailer expands Toshiba self-checkout to 150 storesProduce industry weighs food safety fallout, packaging and AINear majority of consumers tapping AI for deal huntingAmazon eyes drone delivery in South CarolinaMore AI retail news →Brands Briefing: As AI reshapes retail, brands are investing even more in stores

AI IN HEALTH

MEDICINE, WELLNESS, HOSPITALS AND THE FDA

AI Biotech Iambic Gets $150M in IPO Cash for ‘Molecular Superintelligence’ Drug R&DAMA releases governance framework for agentic AI in healthcareSTAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about former FDA head calling DOGE a ‘disaster,’ an AstraZeneca AI deal, and moreSTAT+: ‘AI sandboxes’ are all the rage. Advocates scramble to control their futureAs White House shifts focus toward AI and tech, U.S. science leaders defend role of the American universityMore AI in health →Researchers use AI to design proteins that cut up other proteinsHealthleap Raises $38M to Expand AI Screening for Overlooked Conditions in Hospitalized PatientsWhy Agentic AI Works in Hospitals When You Strip It DownSTAT+: Lobbyists and trade groups fight to shape how states regulate medical AI

AI & TECH IN EDUCATION

SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES

Teachers Pay Teachers to ban AI-generated classroom resources as changes to platform spark backlashVibe coding: 3 easy steps to classroom magicUniversities Are on an AI Philosopher Hiring SpreeA university-branded boot camp promised tech jobs. It delivered only debtTech Addiction Was a Problem for My Student — and MyselfMore AI education news →Who Is Building the AI Foundation for K-12 Classrooms?How K–12 Districts Sustain Lasting Device ProgramsWhat could help formerly incarcerated students return to school? Join Chalkbeat’s virtual event.Opinion: AI-Powered Instruction Needs Precision. Right Now, It’s Not Even CloseStandardize to sustain: Building a resilient K-12 technology strategy

BUILDERS & RESEARCH

DeepUnfolding_Agent: A Classical_Quantum Adaptive Control API PRISM: PRIvileged Sibling-guided Multi-Agent Topology Design A Large-Scale Dataset for Multi-Class Financial News Classification in Brazilian Portuguese Real-time Chatbot Romance Scam Detection in Stage Classification Chirp Pong
Anthropic tells investors quarterly revenue up nearly 50% to $16.8bn ahead of IPO Tree Appreciator AI is mass decompiling games. That's both awesome and scary. More builders & research →Redesigning source control at Anthropic llm-gemini 0.35