By Charlie Fink,Contributor,Iconiq Capital

Copyright forbes

Anthropic raises $13 billion funding round at $183 billion valuation. Anthropic raised $13 billion in a Series F round, pushing its post-money valuation to roughly $183 billion, more than triple its March 2025 valuation of about $61.5 billion. The round was led by ICONIQ Capital, Fidelity Management & Research, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from others like Blackstone, Coatue, and the Qatar Investment Authority. Anthropic’s revenue run-rate jumped from ~$1 billion at the start of 2025 to over $5 billion by August. The company said it will use the funds to meet growing enterprise demand, expand globally, and deepen its AI safety work. They left out the part about how they pirated 500,000 books and agreed to pay $1.B in restitution, $3,000 for each of the 500,000 books. But. The judge in the case must approve it, and that is not a slam dunk.

PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 22: Co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, an artificial intelligence safety and research company attends the Viva Technology show at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on May 22, 2024 in Paris, France. Viva Technology, the biggest tech show in Europe but also in a unique digital format, for 4 days of reconnection and relaunch thanks to innovation. The event brings together startups, CEOs, investors, tech leaders and all of the digital transformation players who are shaping the future of the Internet. The annual technology conference, also known as VivaTech, was founded in 2016 by Publicis Groupe and Groupe Les Echos and is dedicated to promoting innovation and startups. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
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Replit, the cloud-based “agentic AI software creation platform,” raises $250 million. The round, which was led by Prysm Capital, values the company at $3 billion, nearly triple since its last raise in 2023. Replit helps people, individuals, teams, or enterprises, to build apps using natural language, rapidly prototyping software without heavy engineering overhead. Over the past year, Replit’s annualized revenue surged from $2.8 million to $150 million, driven by a global user base exceeding 40 million. Replit just launched Agent 3, their most autonomous agent yet, capable of testing and fixing code, building custom agents, and automating complex workflows across tasks.

VITURE is releasing three new models, followed by a supreme model they call ‘The Beast,’ due in September.

Viture, the #1 selling video display glasses in the US, has raised $100 million across two Series B rounds, bringing total funding to $121.5 million. The San Francisco-based company says the capital will accelerate global distribution, expand its enterprise XR offerings, and support new hardware and AI-powered software development. Viture’s newest products include the Luma Series and the Beast, lightweight XR glasses with birdbath optics designed for media consumption, gaming, and productivity. The Luma Ultra, now shipping, adds hand-tracking and a neckband accessory for enhanced performance. Viture first made headlines with its Pro XR glasses, offering a 135-inch virtual screen and electrochromic dimming.

Mojo Vision has closed a $75 million Series B Prime funding round. led by Vanedge Capital with contributions from returning investors—Edge Venture Capital, NEA, Fusion Fund, Knollwood Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, Khosla Ventures—and new backers like imec.xpand, Keymaker, Ohio Innovation Fund, and Hyperlink Ventures. This brings the company’s total funding to approximately $345 million. Having pivoted from developing smart contact lenses, Mojo Vision now focuses on commercializing a flexible wafers-in, wafers-out micro-LED platform—built on 300 mm silicon architecture with GaN-on-silicon emitters, quantum dots, and microlens arrays—for bright, efficient displays in XR glasses and broader AI hardware applications.

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Higgsfield Announces $50M Series A to Propel “Click-to-Video” AI for Social Media. Higgsfield.ai, which develops “click-to-video” AI tools for social media, raised $50 million in a Series A round led by GFT Ventures. The funding will be used to advance their video reasoning engine—enabling creators to generate video content automatically from text prompts or minimal input—targeting higher-quality, scalable video for smaller creators and brands. Higgsfield plans to expand its technical team and product deployment to better serve social media ecosystems where video is dominant.

TwinMind Co-founders Sunny Tang, Daniel George, and Mahi Karim (From Left to Right).

Trio of ex-Google Scientists Raise $5.7M to Transcribe Your Life. Three former Google X scientists, Daniel George, Sunny Tang, and Mahi Karim, have launched TwinMind, an AI app that aims to be your “second brain.” They raised $5.7 million in seed funding to build a tool that listens (with permission) in the background, turning your spoken words, from conversations, lectures or meetings, into structured memory: notes, to-dos, answers. TwinMind runs mostly offline, transcribing real-time on the device, capturing up to 16-17 hours of audio without killing the battery. The app also supports real-time translation in over 100 languages. The startup differentiates from meeting-note tools by passively capturing ambient speech throughout the day and building a personal knowledge graph. Backups are optional; audio is deleted after transcription; only text is stored locally.

What to Expect at Meta Connect 2025: The Next Chapter in Smart Glasses. Next Weds and Thurs (September 17 – 18) is Meta’s annual developer conference. Meta is expected to make numerous announcements about its smart glasses, AI, and mixed reality. Their first display-enabled eyewear (codenamed Hypernova or Celeste) is expected, offering heads-up displays for notifications, translations, and AI helper tasks, possibly paired with an EMG wristband to sense subtle neural signals. Upgrades to Ray-Ban Meta glasses are likely: longer battery, higher-res cameras (up to 3K video), and improved voice control. The Quest 3/3S headsets & Horizon OS will get enhanced passthrough, multi-user and collaboration features. Meta’s enterprise focus will deepen: new SDKs for smart glasses, AR workflows, and use in sectors like healthcare, logistics and hybrid workplaces are front and center.

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 9: A staffer swaps out a visual aide as Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) questions former Meta researchers Jason Sattizahn and Cayce Savage during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing titled “Hidden Harms: Examining Whistleblower Allegations that Meta Buried Child Safety Research” on Capitol Hill on September 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. The whistleblowers allege that Meta deleted or manipulated internal research showing children as young as 10 were exposed to sexual harassment, grooming and violence on its platforms in disclosures to Congress and federal regulators. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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Former Meta employees say they saw child abuse in VR before company blocked research. The former employees testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.Two former Meta researchers, Jason Sattizahn and Cayce Savage, told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that Meta ignored and deleted evidence of children being exposed to sexual harassment, adult content, and predators in its VR spaces. They said Meta blocked further research and prioritized engagement over safety because “children drive profits.” Savage testified that kids frequently encounter bullying, pornography, and solicitations for nude photos in VR. Sattizahn said he was fired after raising concerns. Meta denied censorship, citing dozens of youth studies since 2022, but lawmakers from both parties said Meta has failed to protect minors and signaled support for new legislation to hold tech companies accountable.

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 09: Apple CEO Tim Cook holds up a new iPhone 17 Pro during an Apple special event at Apple headquarters on September 09, 2025 in Cupertino, California. Apple unveiled a new generation of iPhones and updated Apple Watches and AirPods during a special event at Apple headquarters. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Apple’s “Awe Dropping” iPhone 17 launch was its smallest event in years. Cupertino delivered a slightly bigger 6.3-inch display, a bit more battery life, a faster A19 chip, improved cameras, and very little about AI. The iPhone 17 Air, its thinnest phone ever at 5.6 mm, starts at $999 but sheds features to stay slim. All models finally get 120Hz ProMotion displays and a minor camera bump, with 48MP sensors and better low-light performance. Apple says the Pro Max breaks the 5,000 mAh barrier, touting “all-day battery life.” The most notable AI news came from AirPods Pro 3, with Live Translation and heart-rate sensing. The Watch Series 11 adds blood-pressure alerts and satellite connectivity. If you own an iPhone 16, skip this upgrade; if your phone is older, the battery is reason enough to move on. Preorders start Friday, phones ship September 19. Most notable AI news came from AirPods Pro 3, which will feature Live Translation.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 models are displayed during Apple’s “Awe-Dropping” event at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Nic Coury / AFP) (Photo by NIC COURY/AFP via Getty Images)
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Apple introduces the AirPods Pro 3, available September 19 for $249. The earbuds feature Apple’s strongest Active Noise Cancellation, a new heart-rate sensor, IP57 sweat/water resistance, and five ear-tip sizes. A standout addition is Live Translation, activated by double-tapping both stems. Apple Intelligence processes speech, translating in real time: users hear the translation privately while their iPhone displays and can speak it aloud. If both parties wear compatible AirPods, each hears translations directly, though it also works with just one set paired to an iPhone. Initial languages include English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, with Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese coming later this year. Apple positions the device as both a health tracker and communication tool. Following the announcement, Engadget observed “Apple is slowly morphing AirPods into an always-on wearable.”

Amazon is developing two versions of AR smart glasses: one for consumers codenamed Jayhawk, the other for its delivery drivers dubbed Amelia. Both will include features such as a full-color display in one lens, microphones, speakers, and a camera. The Amelia version is expected possibly by Q2 2026, aiming at volume around 100,000 units for driver usage. The consumer model is planned for late 2026 or early 2027, with a sleeker design. These moves put Amazon in direct competition in the AR smart glasses market with Meta, Google and others.

Chad Nelson, writer and director of ‘Critterz,” syncing Blue, one of the stars of his short AI film.
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OpenAI is backing Critterz, the first AI-powered animated feature developed from Chad Nelson’s short film made with DALL·E. The project will be produced in just nine months with a budget under $30 million, a fraction of the time and cost of typical studio animation. Human writers and voice actors anchor the story while AI handles much of the animation pipeline, combining sketches and prompts into moving images. The goal is a Cannes 2026 premiere, though distribution partners are still unannounced. Critterz will test whether AI can deliver commercial-quality animation while reshaping Hollywood’s assumptions about speed, cost, and creativity.

The Army’s going to buy 120,000 HoloLens IVAS systems to plug soldiers into the IoT battlefield of tomorrow.

The U.S. Army has enlisted defense startups Anduril (in partnership with Meta) and Rivet to compete in its revamped Soldier-Borne Mission Command (SBMC) program, the successor to the troubled IVAS project. Rivet, backed in part by Palantir and led by former Microsoft IVAS lead David Marra, secured a $195 million, 18-month contract to prototype and deliver 470 “production representative” devices. The company’s current XR offering, Rivet Hard Spec, targets defense and industrial markets, though its exact role in the SBMC bid remains unclear. Both competitors will iterate with soldier feedback to deliver adaptable, rugged AR systems for frontline use

VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 06: Singing Chen receives the Venice Immersive Grand Prize for “The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up” (R) from Venice Immersive Jury President Eliza McNitt at the closing ceremony during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 06, 2025 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
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The 82nd Venice Film Festival’s Venice Immersive section awarded its Grand Prize to Singing Chen’s The Clouds Are 2000 Meters Up, a free-roaming VR story about grief and memory based on a short story by Wu Ming-Yi. The Achievement Prize went to A Long Goodbye, a hand-drawn, interactive VR piece about a pianist with dementia by Kate Voet and Victor Maes. The Special Jury Prize went to Less Than 5 Gr of Saffron, a dialogue-free short about an Iranian migrant processing trauma through cooking. Blur did not win, but it dominated conversation on Lazzaretto Island. Only 300 people saw it, fueling its mystique. It combined live performance and VR in a surreal meditation on grief and cloning.

At the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, the Reply AI Film Festival named Love at First Sight by Jacopo Reale, its Grand Prize winner, The AI Film Festival announced winners during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, selecting from over 2,500 submissions from 67 countries. The Grand Prize (€8,000) went to Love at First Sight by Jacopo Reale, a short exploring observation and emotional illusion. Second place (€5,000) was awarded to The Cinema That Never Was by Mark Wachholz, which imagines films that were never made, and third (€2,000) went to Un Rêve Liquide by Andrea Lommatzsch. Special awards recognized Instinct by Marcello Junior Costa for its fully AI-generated imagery and Clown by Shanshan Jiang for its story of identity loss and artistic struggle.

Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset arrives October 7, 2025 for Meta Quest 3 and 3S. The game follows pilot Volo Bolus, mentored by podracing veteran Sebulba. Three modes are offered: Adventure Mode for narrative gameplay, Arcade Mode for top-down podracing, and Playset Mode for sandbox-style building with unlockable characters and vehicles. ILM Immersive developed the title specifically for Quest headsets, focusing on replayable racing and creative play. Vader Immortal and the game Galaxy’s Edge continue to rank among the top purchases in their app store. I think Meta is going to buy Disney, but that’s another story. I am tantalized by the idea of a Disney-branded kids instagram. That would be great for Google too. Disney’s valuation is less than 5% of their market cap.

This column has a companion, The AI/XR Podcast, hosted by its author, Charlie Fink, and Ted Schilowitz, former studio executive and futurist recently at Paramount and Fox, and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap. This week’s guest is Caitlin Krause, author of Digital Wellbeing. We can be found on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.

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