Robinhood CEO's AI math startup valued at nearly $900 million
The Series B funding round was led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and Paradigm. The deal values the AI startup at $875 million, said Tenev, who serves as the company's executive chairman, a non-operating role. Harmonic's CEO is Tudor Achim, who previously led autonomous driving startup Helm.ai.
Founded in 2023 by Tenev and Achim, the Palo Alto, California-based startup aims to build AI systems that can solve complex math problems, creating what the company refers to as mathematical superintelligence. Harmonic plans to make its flagship AI model, Aristotle, available to researchers and the general public later this year.
'The near-term goal is to build an AI that solves math problems at a level that is superior to any human,' Tenev told Bloomberg News. 'The ultimate goal would be to solve major unsolved mathematical problems and expand that to problems in physics and computer science.'
Tenev said Harmonic's math-first approach should give it an advantage over large language models, which underpin AI chatbots and are generally not as adept at solving complicated math problems. Harmonic also seeks to eliminate the issue of hallucinations, or when a chatbot makes up information, by relying on formal verification, a mathematical method used to guarantee an AI system functions correctly.
'We can ensure that every piece of output and every step in our model's reasoning is verifiably correct,' Tenev said. 'That is just a very different approach to building AI models that I think is going to be the approach that dominates in the future.'
Harmonic previously raised $75 million from Sequoia and Index. Its new funding round gives the company a valuation just under the $1 billion threshold that would make it a 'unicorn.' Tenev said that was an intentional choice.
'You never want to take the highest offer,' said Tenev, who raised billions in funding for Robinhood before the stock-trading service's 2021 initial public offering. 'Optimizing for valuation is never the right choice.'
Clark writes for Bloomberg.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tesla plans to expand chartered transport service, California regulator says
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Tesla has told California it would expand operations of a chartered transportation service in the Bay Area, a state regulator said on Friday. The permit does not allow the company to run vehicles autonomously, the California Public Utilities Commission said. The update follows a report that Tesla was preparing to roll out robotaxis in the Bay Area with a safety driver as soon as this weekend. "Tesla is not allowed to test or transport the public (paid or unpaid) in an AV with or without a driver," the CPUC said in an email to Reuters. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
11 minutes ago
- Business Wire
KBRA Comments on Colony Bankcorp, Inc.'s Proposed Acquisition of TC Bancshares, Inc.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On July 23, 2025, Fitzgerald, GA-based Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (NYSE: CBAN) ("Colony"), parent company of Colony Bank, and Thomasville, GA-based TC Bancshares (OTCQX: TCBC) ('TC Bancshares'), parent company of TC Federal Bank, jointly announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which TC Bancshares, Inc. would merge with and into Colony Bankcorp, Inc., and TC Federal Bank would merge with and into Colony Bank. The transaction, valued at $86.1 million (P/TBV: 1.1x), is 80% stock and 20% cash consideration and is expected to close in 4Q25 pending regulatory approval. Under the agreement, Greg Eiford, TC Bancshares' President and CEO, would be joining CBAN as an Executive VP and Chief Community Banking Officer. In our view, the proposed acquisition is in line with Colony's overall growth strategy of expansion into contiguous markets through both acquisitive and organic means. The transaction allows CBAN to expand its footprint in Georgia, notably, in Thomasville and the Savannah MSA, in addition to Tallahasse and Jacksonville, Florida, while providing solid opportunities for commercial growth and expansion of its fee-based business lines and continuing focus on its commitment to community banking. The acquisition is expected to add approximately $571 million in assets to CBAN's balance sheet at close, with proforma $3.8 billion in total assets, $2.4 billion in loans, and $3.1 billion in deposits, as well as adding 4 branch locations. The combined company's pro forma financial projections include strong profitability metrics following the close of the transaction, in part, due to expected cost savings of approximately 33% of TCBC's operating base. In addition to the cost savings, earnings should receive a temporary boost from accretion income, with CBAN reporting an estimated $13.3 million in interest rate marks on the loan portfolio. Regarding credit quality, both institutions have reflected solid asset quality performance over time, including nominal credit loss history, which is underpinned by disciplined underwriting and conservative management teams that have extensive knowledge of operating markets. The proforma loan portfolio is not expected to change materially as both institutions have complementary loan mixes, with investor CRE remaining the largest component at ~32% of total loans (including multifamily), followed by C&I (including owner-occupied CRE) at ~25%, and residential mortgage at 22%. CBAN conducted a review of the loan portfolio (67% of loans) and expects to record a total gross pre-tax credit mark of $4 million (1%) along with a Day 2 CECL adjustment of $2 million in relation to the transaction. With respect to deposit mix, TCBC maintains a deposit base concentrated in interest-bearing deposits resulting in somewhat elevated deposit costs of 2.45%. That said, NIB deposits are solid at 15% of total deposits as of 2Q25. Furthermore, Colony has managed solid capital metrics with a CET1 ratio of 12.3% at 2Q25, and management anticipates this ratio to improve to 12.5% at closing. Overall, we believe that the proposed acquisition complements CBAN's growth strategy, and while there is an inherent level of integration risk involved with any bank M&A transaction, such risk is somewhat mitigated by management's previous M&A integration experience. About KBRA KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions. Doc ID: 1010527
CNET
11 minutes ago
- CNET
Apple Adds 13, 16 and 18 Plus Age Ratings to Apps and Games: What to Know
In an effort to help parents decide which apps they should download or avoid for their kids on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple Watches, Apple TVs and the Apple Vision Pro, Apple has added three new age ratings: 13 plus, 16 plus and 18 plus. To make things a little clearer, Apple removed the 12- and 17-plus ratings (but kept the 4- and 9-plus ratings). Apple said the new age ratings will be present on any Apple device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26 and watchOS 26. By increasing the granularity of its age ratings system, Apple is adding to its Helping Protect Kids Online initiative that it announced in late February to give parents more control over how much data is being shared with developers, part of a nationwide effort to increase platform safety for kids. Fareedah Shaheed, founder of child online safety company Sekuva and a 2021 member of Forbes' "30 Under 30" for Enterprise Technology, told CNET that Apple's enhanced age ratings are "a great step in the right direction. The previous age ratings were vague and often unhelpful, Shaheed said. "Most parents in my community didn't trust it, but I believe with this change, it will instill more confidence in the ratings." Shaheed says parents need to develop a strong line of communication with their children. "The best way to protect your kids who are using various apps is to build an open and honest relationship with them so that you can discuss anything and everything (the good and bad) they may see or experience," Shaheed told CNET. In the memo this week, Apple said that app developers must answer more questions to help the company determine what age rating their app should have. Developers will need to provide information about in-app controls, violent themes, medical or wellness topics and capabilities. Developers will be able to set a higher minimum age than Apple has assigned and can also answer the new questions after seeing what age ratings have been given to their apps under the new system. Apple said that developers "must consider how all app features, including AI assistants and chatbot functionality, impact the frequency of sensitive content appearing within your app to make sure it receives the appropriate rating." Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, said the increasing use of AI chatbots makes it "increasingly difficult" to determine whether apps are age appropriate. "These chatbots are unpredictable and have been trained on adult content from across the internet, which makes them susceptible to producing harmful content and dangerous advice," Torney told CNET. "We've seen this in our testing of these products even when they're supposed to be 'safe' for teens."
