EX-GOLDMAN, META FOUNDERS BUILD VOICE AI FOR EMERGING MARKETS
■ AI-SUMMARIZED FROM 1 SOURCE ▸ TIMELINE
Two former executives have launched a voice AI startup targeting Africa and the Middle East, regions overlooked by larger tech companies. The platform now processes over 17,000 calls daily.
■ MORE FROM THE STARTUPS DESK
Supabase, a backend infrastructure platform for AI applications, secured $500M in Series F funding led by GIC, doubling its valuation from $5B in October 2025.
Helion Energy, backed by Sam Altman, has secured $465 million in funding to build a fusion power plant for Microsoft by 2028, accelerating the startup's path to commercial energy production.
Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky is starting a dedicated artificial intelligence lab, marking his entry into the competitive AI sector. The move comes after the travel platform opted against partnering with existing large language models.
Lovable has signed a multiyear deal with Google Cloud that will increase its platform usage fivefold. The agreement also grants expanded access to Anthropic's Claude AI model.