News linked to both this project and an event.
According to CNBC, Arda, an AI manufacturing startup founded by former OpenAI research chief and ex-Palantir head of product and engineering Bob McGrew, has announced the completion of a $230 million funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Altimeter Capital, Accel, and Khosla Ventures. Arda develops AI software and agents for manufacturing engineers, helping them build and adjust assembly lines faster. Its AI models have been deployed at defense technology company Anduril. McGrew noted that when product designs change, it takes just one day to retrain workers, whereas adjusting automated production lines typically requires three to six months. Arda runs its software using a combination of proprietary, open-source, and select frontier models, with robotics set to be included in its next product roadmap. Co-founders include Augustus Odena, Alex Mark, and Jakob Frick. Apoorv Agrawal of Altimeter stated that the global manufacturing industry amounts to $16 trillion, with approximately $3 trillion in the United States. McGrew joined OpenAI in 2017 and departed in 2024.
Odaily News According to reports, venture capitalist Josh Kushner has seen his wealth grow significantly this year, driven by early investments in star tech companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. The asset scale of his firm, Thrive Capital, has also nearly doubled as a result of betting on the wave of artificial intelligence.It is reported that Josh Kushner's wealth has grown nearly threefold this year, placing him among the billionaires' circle. As the founder of Thrive Capital, he previously earned substantial returns by investing in companies such as Instagram, Spotify, and OpenAI, and has become one of the most successful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley in recent years.On August 12, news broke that the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers were being sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Josh Kushner at a record valuation of $12.5 billion. However, Josh Kushner did not mention the Lakers deal on social media that day, instead celebrating another AI-related investment move. On the same day, Thrive Holdings, founded by Josh Kushner in 2025, completed a $2 billion funding round with investors including SoftBank, reaching a company valuation of $12.5 billion. The firm aims to acquire traditional service companies and leverage AI technology to drive business transformation.Josh Kushner said: "We are incredibly fortunate to be building during such a profound era of innovation."Over the past few months, Josh Kushner has frequently appeared at core events in the tech and capital circles. Not only has he continued to bet on the AI industry through Thrive Capital, but he has also maintained close ties with OpenAI executives. In July this year, he attended the wedding of Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce, and later participated in the annual Sun Valley billionaire conference in the U.S., where he was photographed alongside OpenAI President Greg Brockman.Market observers believe that as the AI investment boom continues, venture capital firms holding key AI assets like OpenAI are becoming some of the biggest beneficiaries. Josh Kushner, through his early bets on the AI ecosystem, has achieved massive wealth growth. (Forbes)