Issue #43 • October 14, 2025
Hi Seedradar Squad! This week marked a tectonic shift in the AI infrastructure landscape. OpenAI announced a landmark partnership. This aggressive push for self-sufficiency was paralleled by QumulusAI securing a massive, half-billion-dollar facility. This new paradigm for scaling compute confirms that the era of simply buying off-the-shelf AI infrastructure is over.
📈 Important News of the Week!
• QumulusAI secured a $500 million non-recourse financing facility arranged by Permian Labs to fund its GPU hardware deployments. The deal treats GPUs as a financeable asset, creating a new model for scaling AI compute infrastructure outside of traditional hyperscalers. - Read More
• OpenAI revealed a major partnership with Broadcom to deploy 10 gigawatts of custom, OpenAI-designed AI accelerators starting in late 2026. The move signals OpenAI's strategy to reduce its reliance on Nvidia and vertically integrate its hardware and software stack to maintain a competitive edge. - Read More
• Navan raised $300 million in a Series G round led by Coatue. The funding, which maintains its $9.2 billion valuation, will accelerate the global expansion of its AI-driven tools for managing corporate spending. - Read More
💰 Hot Funding Rounds You Missed!
• Expedition Therapeutics ($165M) -A biotech company developing novel therapies for serious inflammatory and respiratory diseases, with plans to advance its lead candidate for COPD. - Read More • Green Cabbage ($40M) -A platform using AI and human computation to accelerate the procurement lifecycle, optimize pricing, and reduce costs for technology, workforce, and marketing spend. - Read More • FurtherAI ($25M) -An AI platform for the insurance industry that automates complex workflows like submissions, underwriting, and claims handling. - Read More
🌱 The Next Big Thing: Our Startup Pick!
🎯 This Week's Emerging Star: Photonium Optics 1
Photonium Optics, a Y-Combinator-backed startup, is automating the design of advanced optical systems with its AI-powered platform, effectively creating an "Electronic Design Automation (EDA) for optics." The company tackles the slow, manual, and costly design processes that bottleneck innovation in deep tech sectors like quantum computing, biomedical imaging, and LiDAR.
By using AI to handle the entire workflow—from system layout and component selection to simulation and sourcing—Photonium transforms a process that once took months and teams of PhDs into one that takes just days. This allows engineering teams to focus on system-level innovation rather than repetitive design tasks, making Photonium a critical hardware enabler worth watching very closely.
🔥 Igniting the Future: Seedradar Ventures Syndicate!
At Seedradar Ventures, we back relentless founders at the earliest stage, investing in teams solving big problems with solutions that deliver a 10–20x greater impact.
Our syndicate offers investors access to a curated pipeline of early-stage startups, sourced through our network.
🚀 Startup Radar: Movers, Shakers & Future Makers
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🛠️ Trending AI Tools to Supercharge Your Workflow!
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💼 Join the Revolution: Hot Startup Jobs!
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💼 Resource of the Week: Build Your Own AI!
🛠️ A Product Manager's Guide to Building AI
A comprehensive guide on the unique responsibilities of an AI Product Manager, covering how to frame problems for AI, work with probabilistic systems, define and run evaluations, and manage ethical risks like bias and hallucination.
🔎 Powered by Seedradar Ventures
Disclosure: Seedradar Ventures and/or its general partner may hold investments in some of the companies mentioned in this newsletter. This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.
1 The general partner of Seedradar Ventures is an investor in Photonium Optics.
