Joyce Shen’s picks: musings and readings in AI/ML, February 2, 2026

📌 Musings and Readings

“NASA’s Perseverance Rover Completes First AI-Planned Drive on Mars” (Link)

“As AI-Generated Music Advances, Humans Still Lead in Creativity, CMU Research Finds” (Link)

“Tesla pledges $20 billion to transform from electric vehicle maker to AI company” (Link)

"Apple acquires Israeli audio AI startup Q.ai" (Link)

"Google brings more Gemini AI features to Chrome browser" (Link)

"U.S. Commerce Department reportedly plans a San Francisco AI hub" (Link)

👏 Deals

Cashmere, a Utah-based software developer that enables premium publishers to securely license, control, and monetize their content for AI use, has raised $5m in seed funding.

Inferact, a CA-based AI infrastructure company building high-performance systems to run large language models, has raised $150m in seed funding.

A47, a Dubai, UAE-based AI-native media startup that uses autonomous AI agents to source, verify, and deliver continuously updated news, has raised $2m in pre-seed funding.

CVector, a NYC-based industrial AI software company delivering a real-time intelligence platform unifying machine, operational, and market data to help industrial operators, has raised $5m in seed funding.

Tradespace, a CA-based company developing an IP platform that helps organizations manage the entire intellectual property lifecycle, raised $15m in series A funding.

Symbiotic Security, a Paris, France-based company building real-time, developer-first cybersecurity tools that embed security directly into AI-assisted coding workflows, has raised $10m in seed funding.

Brickanta, a Stockholm, Sweden-based developer that automates pre-construction tasks, has raised $8m in seed funding.

Midship, a CA-based company that automates Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance and internal audit workflows end to end, has raised $4.15m in seed funding.

Chamelio, a NYC-based company developing an AI-powered legal intelligence platform, has raised $10m in seed funding.

Risotto, a CA-based company that automates IT and internal support, resolving tickets and requests instantly within workplace tools, has raised $10m in seed funding.

Carbonaide, a Helsinki, Finland-based company developing carbon-negative concrete by permanently mineralizing CO₂, has raised €3.7M in funding.

Emobi, a CA-based EV charging company providing a single API that connects apps, fleets, and automakers to an interoperable EV charging network, has raised $3.4m in seed funding.

Arkero, a WA-based company that helps professional sports teams automate workflows, has raised $6m in pre-seed funding.

Datalinx AI, a NYC-based company that cleans, enriches, and activates enterprise data for analytics, marketing, and AI use, has raised $4.2m in seed funding.