Good morning, tech enthusiasts. The Vera Rubin Observatory has just released its first cosmic images—captured by a digital camera so powerful it can spot a golf ball from 15 miles away.

Over the next decade, this observatory will scan the night sky repeatedly, uncovering hidden asteroids and distant galaxies. The question is: What new cosmic secrets might unfold when we view the universe in Ultra-HD?

In today’s tech rundown:

• World’s largest camera reveals deep space

• Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab nabs $2B

• China on the verge of ‘100 Deepseeks’

• Tesla robotaxis hit regulatory speed bump

• Quick hits on other major tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

SPACE TECH

🔭 World’s largest camera reveals deep space

Image source: Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The Rundown: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, perched on Chile’s Cerro Pachón, just unveiled the first images from its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera — the world’s largest digital camera, with a staggering 3,200-megapixel sensor.

The details:

• These initial shots, generated from a mosaic of 678 exposures during a brief test run, showed millions of galaxies, stars, and unknown asteroids.

• The LSST camera, roughly the size of a small car, is a marvel of modern engineering, designed to capture more detail than any previous telescope.

• Its ultra-wide lens can capture an area 45 times the size of the full moon in a single exposure.

• The LSST will run for 10 years, repeatedly photographing the entire southern sky every three to four nights, creating a time-lapse view of the cosmos.

Why it matters: Researchers now will be able to track everything from near-Earth asteroids to supernovae and the movements of dark matter — without the usual bottleneck of telescope time applications. As the observatory ramps up, the sheer volume and quality of its data promise to transform our understanding of the universe.

THINKING MACHINES LAB

💰 Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab nabs $2B

Image source: Atomico/YouTube

The Rundown: Thinking Machines Lab — the secretive startup founded by OpenAI’s former CTO Mira Murati — just raised a staggering $2B at a $10B valuation, marking what may be the largest seed-stage funding ever recorded.

The details:

• The round was led by heavyweight VCs Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Conviction Partners and other top-tier firms.

• Murati, who led the development of ChatGPT and DALL-E, heads a team of about 30 engineers, nearly two-thirds of whom are former OpenAI employees.

• With no public product yet, Thinking Machines Lab is banking on the reputation and vision of its star team to attract capital and talent.

• The startup aims to solve “black box” AI issues, prioritizing transparency and user control, a departure from opaque models that dominate the field.

Why it matters: For now, the startup’s astronomical valuation is less about what it’s built than what it might build — a bet that this team, with its track record of delivering groundbreaking AI, can once again redefine the field. In a sector where talent is king, Thinking Machines Lab looks to be a major player in AI’s next evolution.

CHINA AI

🤯 China on the verge of ‘100 DeepSeeks’

Image source: DeepSeek

The Rundown: China is on the verge of a major AI boom, with a former top official predicting that the country will see more than 100 DeepSeek-like AI breakthroughs within the next 18 months, according to Bloomberg.

The details:

• Zhu Min, previously a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, made these remarks during the World Economic Forum in Tianjin.

• He emphasized that these new software innovations “will fundamentally change the nature and the tech nature of the whole Chinese economy.”

• The forecast is driven by China’s deep reservoir of engineering expertise, its enormous consumer market, and massive government investments in tech.

• DeepSeek has become a poster child for Chinese AI ingenuity, offering models that rival OpenAI’s best at a fraction of the price.

Why it matters: As Zhu’s prediction suggests, DeepSeek is just the beginning — if he’s right, we’re on the verge of a tidal wave of AI innovation from China. And this is all after semiconductor sanctions from the U.S., which are forcing them to operate at lower costs and under tight constraints.

TESLA

🚕 Tesla’s robotaxis hit regulatory speed bump

Image source: Tesla

The Rundown: Just days after Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reportedly investigating them over viral videos showing the vehicles behaving erratically on public roads.

The details:

• Tesla just launched a limited rollout with 10 to 20 Model Ys equipped with the company’s latest FSD Unsupervised software and hardware.

• Social media clips captured the robotaxis making erratic maneuvers, including entering oncoming traffic and stopping abruptly in the middle of roads.

• NHTSA confirmed it is “aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information.”

• The launch — which includes a human valet in the front passenger seat ready to intervene if needed — sparked an 8% spike in Tesla’s share price.

Why it matters: Tesla’s robotaxi launch arrives amid intense regulatory scrutiny, with the NHTSA already probing its Full Self-Driving tech after several serious crashes. For now, Waymo maintains a clear lead in the space, operating a large commercial fleet with over 250K weekly rides across multiple cities and a proven safety record.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in tech today

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans to build a zero-emission nuclear power plant in the state to meet the demands of AI and semiconductor production.

The UK government plans to allocate more than £500M to boost domestic quantum-computing research, according to the Financial Times.

Tesla said it has invested about $44B in U.S. manufacturing and infrastructure since its founding, with roughly $10B of that total deployed in the last fiscal year alone.

Andy Konwinski, co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity, is forming a new AI research institute backed by $100M of his personal funds through his company Laude.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is reportedly in discussions to set up a $1T industrial complex in Arizona that will build robots and AI.

Midjourney launched its first AI video model just a week after Disney and NBCUniversal filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against the startup.

Cluely, the startup that promises to help users “cheat on everything,” announced a $15M Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

An MIT study shows that overusing AI tools such as ChatGPT can erode memory and reduce critical thinking abilities.

AI design software company Canva is organizing a $400–500M secondary share sale at a $37B valuation, according to The Information.

Honda's research subsidiary successfully tested a reusable rocket in Japan, achieving its first landing after going up to 890 ft.

Legal AI company Harvey raised $300M at a $5B valuation, counting top law firms like Paul, Weiss, and major corporate legal departments among its clients.

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See you soon,

Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team