Author: Naveed Ahmad

**From Open-Source to $800M Valuation: vLLM Transitions to Inferact, Secures $150M in Funding – Wow, What a Ride!** I’m still reeling from the news that the creators of open-source project vLLM have just turned it into a VC-backed startup called Inferact, and to make it even more mind-blowing, they’ve landed a whopping $150 million in seed funding at an $800 million valuation! I mean, that’s just crazy, right? The funding round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Enterprise Partners, which confirms TechCrunch’s earlier reporting that vLLM has indeed raised capital from a16z. I’m still trying to wrap my head…

Here’s a rewritten version of the article in a more natural and human-like tone: Breaking News: Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen Team Revolutionizes Text-to-Speech Technology with Qwen3-TTS In a major breakthrough, the Qwen team at Alibaba Cloud has just released Qwen3-TTS, an open-source multilingual text-to-speech (TTS) suite that’s set to change the game in AI-powered interactions. And the best part? It’s not just faster and more accurate – it’s also ridiculously customizable. So, what makes Qwen3-TTS so special? For starters, it’s got three core tasks under its belt: voice cloning, voice design, and high-quality speech generation. And with support for 10 languages,…

**The Schadenfreude in Silicon Valley: Brex’s $5.15 Billion Sale Raises Eyebrows, but Early Backers Are Smiling** When the news broke that Capital One is acquiring Brex for a whopping $5.15 billion, the tech world couldn’t help but stare. The purchase price is a far cry from Brex’s peak valuation of $12.3 billion, and it’s no secret that the fintech space has been a graveyard for once-hot startups. But before we all begin sharpening our knives, let’s take a step back and acknowledge the home runs that early investors like Micky Malka, Ribbit Capital, and Y Combinator have just hit. Malka,…

**Chevy Bolt EV’s Manufacturing Days Are Numbered – What’s Next for EVs?** As I was scrolling through my feed yesterday, I stumbled upon some disturbing news – Chevrolet is discontinuing the production of the Bolt EV. Yep, you read that right. The very same car that was once touted as the most affordable EV in the US market, with a price tag of $29,990, is being phased out. So, what does this mean? Well, for starters, the Trump administration’s tariff policy and the expiration of the federal EV tax credit have made it much more difficult and expensive for GM…

The Enterprise Push: OpenAI Taps A-List Hire to Regain Market Share in 2026 OpenAI is making a bold move into the enterprise space, and it’s bringing in a seasoned pro to lead the charge. Barret Zoph, who’s no stranger to the AI research lab having previously served as vice president of post-training inference from 2022 to 2024, is returning to the company as it faces off against rivals in the lucrative enterprise market. According to an internal memo obtained by The Information, Zoph will be responsible for guiding OpenAI’s push into the enterprise market, and it’s clear that 2026 is…

**From Sequoia to Startup: Kais Khimji’s AI-Powered Calendar Scheduling Platform, Blockit** You know how it is when you’re stuck in a never-ending email chain, trying to schedule a meeting with someone? Yeah, it’s frustrating. But what if I told you there’s a new kid on the block that’s about to make scheduling a whole lot easier? Enter Blockit, the brainchild of Kais Khimji, a former partner at Sequoia Capital who’s decided to join the startup world. Khimji spent six years at Sequoia, learning the ropes of the venture capital game. But it seems he’s had enough of the traditional VC…

The Thrill of Tech: Anduril Brings 5,500 Jobs to Long Beach, California I’m still reeling from the news that protection tech firm Anduril is expanding its Southern California presence with a massive campus in Long Beach, a city where founder Palmer Luckey grew up. And I’m not the only one – this move could bring a whopping 5,500 new jobs to the area! The campus, which will span six buildings and 1.18 million square feet, will be a hub for innovation, combining office space and industrial areas dedicated to R&D. The goal is to hire a diverse range of staff,…

**Vimeo’s Post-Acquisition Layoffs: What’s Really Going On?** I’ve been following the latest buzz around Vimeo’s acquisition by Bending Spoons, and I have to say, I’m a little stunned by the latest development: layoffs. Yes, you read that right – Vimeo is cutting loose some of its international employees just months after the deal went down. Now, I know what you’re thinking: what’s the big deal? Layoffs happen, right? Well, not usually this soon after an acquisition, that’s for sure. Bending Spoons did confirm the news, but refused to give us the lowdown on just how many employees are getting the…

Here’s a more natural, human tone version of the text: **LiveKit Hits $1 Billion Valuation with $100M Funding Round** Wow, just 10 months after their last funding round, LiveKit is back in the news with a whopping $100 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation! I’m not even kidding, folks. This Seattle-based company is on fire. So, who’s behind this hot streak? Index Ventures is leading the charge, along with some familiar faces from previous rounds, including Altimeter Capital, Hanabi Capital, and Redpoint Ventures. They must see something special in LiveKit’s tech, right? For those who may not be…

Big News in the World of Speech Recognition: Microsoft Unveils VibeVoice-ASR Hey, folks! If you’re anything like me, you’re probably constantly on the lookout for ways to make audio processing more efficient and effective. Well, Microsoft has just released a game-changing speech recognition model that’s sure to revolutionize the way we interact with audio content. Introducing VibeVoice-ASR, a cutting-edge, open-source speech-to-text model that can handle up to 60 minutes of continuous audio in a single pass! This is a huge deal, folks. No more tedious segmenting and reassembling audio files just to get decent speech recognition results. So, what makes…