OpenAI Raises $3B from Retail Investors in $122B Funding Round
According to TechCrunch, OpenAI has closed a landmark $122 billion funding round, with $3 billion of that total coming from retail investors — a notable move for a company that has not yet gone public. The round was led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, and values the AI lab at $852 billion. TechCrunch reports the raise comes as OpenAI continues to approach a potential IPO. The participation of retail investors in a pre-IPO round of this scale is an unusual development in the AI funding landscape.
Salesforce Announces AI-Heavy Makeover for Slack with 30 New Features
Salesforce has announced a significant update to Slack, introducing 30 new AI-powered features as part of what the company is describing as a major product overhaul. According to TechCrunch, the update is designed to make the workplace communication platform more capable and automated. While specific details about each of the 30 features were not fully enumerated in the report, the announcement signals Salesforce's continued push to deeply integrate AI tooling across its product portfolio. Slack has been part of the Salesforce ecosystem since its acquisition in 2021.
Cyberattack on Mercor Tied to Compromise of Open-Source LiteLLM Project
AI recruiting startup Mercor confirmed it was the target of a cyberattack after a hacking crew claimed responsibility for stealing data from its systems, according to TechCrunch. The incident has been linked to a compromise of LiteLLM, an open-source project used to interface with large language model APIs. The attack highlights a growing security concern within the AI developer ecosystem: the supply chain risks associated with widely adopted open-source tooling. TechCrunch reports that an extortion group took credit for the breach. The LiteLLM connection is notable given how broadly the project is used across AI application development.
Crowdsourced AI Feedback Startup Yupp Shuts Down
Yupp, a startup focused on crowdsourced AI model feedback, has announced it is shutting down less than a year after launching, TechCrunch reports. The company had raised $33 million, including backing from prominent Silicon Valley investors. Despite the early capital and high-profile support, Yupp was unable to build a sustainable business around its model of gathering human feedback on AI outputs at scale. The closure adds to a broader pattern of consolidation and attrition among early-stage AI startups attempting to carve out specialized niches within the rapidly evolving AI tooling market.
Today's stories reflect the continued intensity of activity across the AI industry — from record-setting fundraising and major product updates to emerging security vulnerabilities and startup closures. The pace of change across funding, tooling, and infrastructure remains high heading into Q2 2026.