BATTERY RECYCLER ASCEND ELEMENTS FILES FOR
■ AI-SUMMARIZED FROM 1 SOURCE ▸ TIMELINE
Ascend Elements, a major battery recycling company, has filed for bankruptcy amid challenges in the electric vehicle supply chain.
■ MORE FROM THE STARTUPS DESK
Lyzr, an enterprise AI agent startup, deployed its own artificial intelligence agent to manage a $100 million fundraising round, demonstrating functional capability of its core product.
AI infrastructure company Mercor is in discussions to reach a $20 billion valuation, doubling its worth from just four months ago.
U.S. venture capital deal value reached $412.7 billion in the first half of 2026, according to PitchBook data, nearly matching the entire $318 billion invested throughout 2025. AI startups dominated funding activity, capturing 86% of capital at $355.9 billion.
Gradium, a Paris-based AI voice startup competing with ElevenLabs, has announced a $100M seed extension round backed by Nvidia. The funding positions the company to accelerate development in the growing voice AI market.