Seattle startup funding dropped about 40% in the first half of 2026 while AI money flowed elsewhere, alongside a court loss for Kalshi, Impinj's 10-year Nasdaq milestone, and a local flip-phone detox trial. The developments highlight shifting venture dynamics, legal hurdles for prediction markets, corporate endurance, and growing interest in reducing smartphone reliance.
AI investment is flooding other markets while the regional total declined sharply.
https://x.com/geekwire/status/2081018490857853001
The company has survived in a market described as still just getting going.
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Bitmine Immersion Technologies purchased 28,086 ETH last week, reaching 97% of its goal to hold 5% of Ether's supply with 5.93 million ETH now in treasury. The move comes as the company reports $15.7 billion in assets and $330 million in annualized staking revenue but faces a $5.1 billion unrealized loss on its holdings.
MediaTek finalized pricing of a record US$3.9 billion overseas convertible bond on August 31, 2026, with Nvidia reportedly subscribing to US$3.5 billion or roughly 90 percent of the total. The issuance, which exceeds NT$120 billion, is described by the company as the largest overseas CB ever from a Taiwanese issuer.
Stripe has finalized an acquisition of AI gateway startup OpenRouter for more than $7 billion according to Bloomberg. The deal values the company far above its $1.3 billion valuation from a May funding round and brings a platform with 8 million users and access to over 400 models into Stripe's portfolio.
