Gravis Raises $200M to Retrofit Excavators, Not Replace Fleets
AI & Automation
QUASA MEDIA: Daily Insights on Web3, AI, Crypto & Freelance
Etched Doubles to $21B—Its Lead Investor Is Also Its First Customer
On August 18, Etched disclosed a $700 million raise at a $21 billion valuation and its first customer rack, delivered to Jane Street—the round’s lead investor and an existing backer.
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- Acorns Review: Micro-Investing Made Simple with Round-Ups
- PocketSmith Review: Powerful Cash Flow Forecasting & Budgeting
- Empower Review: Driver-First Rideshare with Zero Commission
- Cryptohopper Review: Automated Crypto Trading Bots & Marketplace
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A2A Joins the Agentic AI Foundation—MCP Still Solves a Different Problem
The Agentic AI Foundation added A2A as a hosted project on August 17, aligning its governance with MCP without combining agent delegation and tool connectivity.
AI & Automation|
Rillet Becomes a Unicorn in 48 Hours—Revenue Is Still Private
On August 17, Rillet announced a $100 million Series C at a $1 billion valuation. The financing formed within 48 hours, but revenue and deal economics remain private.
Finance & Markets|
GEN-1.5 Learns From 12 Seconds—but Succeeds Only 59% on Average
Generalist says GEN-1.5 can attempt a robot task after one 3–12-second demonstration, but its company-run evaluation averaged 59% success across ten short tasks.
AI & Automation|
Prevalent AI Raises Its First Primary Capital After Nine Profitable Years
Prevalent AI announced a $22 million investment from Integrity Growth Partners on August 19, its first primary capital after nine years it says were profitable.
Finance & Markets|
Cribl Bought Radiant’s AI SOC Assets—not the Whole Company
On August 19, 2026, Cribl bought technology assets and IP from Radiant Security’s AI SOC product—not the company. Contracts, support and the standalone platform’s future remain unclear.
Startups & Business|
Earning Money Through Website Surfing: A Simple Way to Make Cryptocurrency
Many believe that earning cryptocurrency online requires special skills or expensive equipment. However, this is far from the truth. Website surfing, or browsing websites for rewards, is an accessible way to earn money or cryptocurrency with just a computer or smartphone and an internet connection.One of the easiest methods to generate income in the digital space is through website surfing. The tasks involved are so simple that virtually anyone can participate, regardless of experience or technical expertise.In this article, we’ll introduce you to a platform where you can start earning money and cryptocurrency through website surfing: Quasa Rewards.
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The State of Hybrid Freelance 2026: AI, Web3 and the Death of Traditional Work (Update June 2026)
New industry data from QUASA: How AI and Web3 are destroying traditional work in 2026. Download the full report.
Quasa Projects: The PPC Advertising Platform Powering the New Crypto Economy
The global PPC advertising market is more than 1,000 times larger than the old surfing niche — operating in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Quasa Rewards: The World’s First and Only Crypto Platform for Earning by Surfing Websites
If you’re looking for the easiest and smartest way to start earning crypto online, Quasa Rewards is the clear choice.
Stay updated on finance, technology trends, and creator tools — with sources and real value
Velaura Raises $110M After Pivoting From Crypto Chips to AI
Velaura AI raised a $110 million Series A at a valuation above $1 billion on August 18, 2026, backing its recent pivot from bitcoin-mining chips to AI compute.
|Finance & Markets| 22
Groq Raises $350M—but Its New Cloud Valuation Is Half the Old Peak
Groq’s $350 million Series A values its reorganized cloud business at $3.5 billion—roughly half its 2025 peak—as the company pivots to Nvidia-powered infrastructure.
|Startups & Business| 24
Terra Closes a $52M Seed—London Is Its Route to Global Buyers
On August 17, Terra Industries added $18 million to close a $52 million seed round, pairing African manufacturing expansion with a planned London office.
|Finance & Markets| 15
Castelion Raises $1B—but Only $800M Is New Equity
Castelion’s August 19 financing combines $800 million in new equity with $250 million of committed revolving-credit capacity—not $1 billion of equity.
|Startups & Business| 27
Apple Replaces Its EU Install Fee With a 5% Transaction Commission
Apple’s August 18 EU terms replace the per-install technology fee with a 5% commission on covered transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store from October 1, 2026.
|Practical Guides| 18
Astromech Raises $20M at $3.8B—Its Biology Forecasts Still Need Proof
Astromech raised $20 million at a reported $3.8 billion valuation on August 20. Its platform targets biological forecasting, but public prospective validation remains undisclosed.
|Startups & Business| 11
HEIR Can Run Code on Encrypted Inputs—but the Quickstart Is Not One Click
HEIR’s shortest application path uses Python, BGV and OpenFHE to encrypt, evaluate and decrypt a small function. It still requires a native backend and production review.
|Practical Guides| 24
Tech & Innovation 
NASA’s AI Spots Sunspot Regions 12 Hours Early—but It Is Not Operational
NASA highlighted an AI model that can flag emerging solar active regions up to 12 hours before they appear. The capability remains experimental and is not part of operational forecasts.
Startups & Business 
Cribl Bought Radiant’s AI SOC Assets—not the Whole Company
On August 19, 2026, Cribl bought technology assets and IP from Radiant Security’s AI SOC product—not the company. Contracts, support and the standalone platform’s future remain unclear.
Future of Work 
Remote Work Tripled in U.S. Job Ads—Employer Choice Still Decides
A new five-country study finds remote offers in U.S. job ads have more than tripled since 2019, but employers recruiting comparable talent still set sharply different terms.
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