Former SpaceX propulsion CTO Thomas Mueller’s space startup reached unicorn status this year thanks to $525 million in funding since 2021. It’s just one of 141 other startups founded by SpaceX alumni.
Brian Lian founded publicly traded Viking Therapeutics to focus on metabolic diseases. With obesity drugs in development and the GLP-1 space booming, it’s now a prime M&A target for giants jostling for their share of a potential $100 billion market.
In this week’s edition of The Prototype we look at the biggest tech breakthroughs of 2025–and the year’s best music.
Investors lost their minds, robots lost their balance and roboticists rolled their eyes. Meanwhile, visions of a $5 trillion robot revolution continued to enthrall.
After raising $293 million in the IPO, Insilico Medicine aims to become “a massive source of innovative drugs for pharma companies,” says founder Alex Zhavoronkov.
Record activity in the AI sector this year has boosted dozens of founders and business executives into the billionaire ranks.
Robinhood cofounder Baiju Bhatt’s space startup Aetherflux plans to launch its first satellite with AI chips by 2027.
The startup behind popular Github project vLLM is out fundraising, as venture capitalists hunt for companies building tech that can make AI systems run more efficiently.
Concentrated wealth can blur the line between public purpose and private influence. OpenAI’s conversion reignites this Gilded Age question on an unprecedented scale.
This week’s Current Climate newsletter also looks at a new approach to underground hydrogen and why Tesla is facing a California sales suspension