Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,
While AI accounts for most of the current investment hype, it also supplies us with a reliable stream of drama. The OpenAI vs. Elon Musk soap opera continues with new accusations of dishonesty, and two Co-Founders of Ex-OpenAI CTO Miray Murati’s venture are breaking to leave back to their former employer. Anthropic is now the only AI lab left with all founders still standing. Sometimes it’s good to be boring. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.
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Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party
Aleph Alpha’s co‑founder exits amid leadership shake‑up
Aleph Alpha co‑founder Jonas Andrulis has abruptly resigned all leadership roles, telling shareholders he’s stepping down as co‑CEO and board member and may only help “if circumstances allow.” The exit contradicts earlier plans to stay on as chairman, sparking questions about alignment with new management. The firm is silent on the change and confirms cuts of around 15% of staff.
Parloa hits $3bn valuation with lightning-fast Series D
AI startup Parloa raised $350m just seven months after its $1bn Series C, tripling its valuation to $3bn. General Catalyst led the round, with backing from Altimeter, EQT, and Durable Capital. The blitz fundraising underscores surging demand for "agentic" customer experiences. Parloa is now one of Europe’s fastest-growing AI players.
Cloudflare buys UK’s Human Native to power AI data marketplace
Cloudflare has acquired Human Native, a UK startup connecting creators and AI developers, to build out a transparent data economy for AI. The deal lets Cloudflare offer tools to convert content into AI-ready, monetizable assets - pushing toward a new model where publishers can price, optimize, or block AI access. It’s a strategic bet on structuring the internet’s next economic layer.
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Food for thought
Growth syndrome, not imposter syndrome?
We all now it: the feeling to be in a situation where we feel too small, too inexperienced - intimidated by our own feeling of not being “enough”. We loved Steven Bartlett’s reframing of the imposter syndrome as growth, recounting a situation when he was at a BBC shark tank show at the age of 27 for the first time:
“You belong in every room you're brave enough to enter and the room that intimidates you most is the one that needs your perspective the most!”
