Modal recently raised $750 million in Series D funding, valuing the company at $15.75 billion post-money. Accel led the round. Kleiner Perkins joined, and all existing investors participated.
The funding follows a period of rapid growth for Modal, with usage tripling and a 15x year-over-year increase. The company has reached a $1 billion annualised run rate. Modal addresses the need for new infrastructure for AI applications, building its own stack from the ground up across 20+ clouds. Its offerings include Functions and Sandboxes, the latter launched in 2023 and now a $300 million run rate product. Modal has spun up close to 3 billion Sandboxes. The capital will support further development of new building blocks for software capabilities.
Zocdoc, the New York-based healthcare booking marketplace, has acquired Sohar Health. This marks the first acquisition in Zocdoc's history. Sohar Health is a New York startup specialising in automated insurance eligibility checks. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Sohar Health, founded in 2023, develops APIs that verify patient insurance coverage, benefits, and estimated costs across over 1000 payers. The companies already had a partnership, with Zocdoc selecting Sohar as its insurance technology partner in 2025. Millions of Zocdoc patients have since used Sohar's technology to verify their coverage. Oliver Kharraz, MD, Founder and CEO of Zocdoc, stated, "We are confident that bringing Sohar’s platform and expertise into Zocdoc will make insurance easier to navigate for patients and their providers when it matters most: at the moment of booking."
Evos raised $9M in pre-seed funding. The round was co-led by Uncork Capital and Field Ventures. The company builds autonomous operators for small and mid-sized businesses in physical industries. These operators learn jobs from experienced employees and work within existing systems like a TMS or ERP.
The technology aims to capture the knowledge of veteran employees before they retire. This knowledge is often unrecorded by current software. Evos operators start in shadow mode, taking over functions only after consistently matching human decisions. One freight brokerage used an operator to audit nearly 3,500 invoices in two months, closing over $600,000 of invoice value. Tripp Jones, from co-lead investor Uncork Capital, noted "how quickly teams were putting operators to work on core parts of their business without a long technology roll-out". Evos plans to launch its Workhorse platform and expand into manufacturing.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a $30 million investment in NYU’s new quantum technology lab, QFab. NYC will receive 15% of intellectual property proceeds developed using city-funded tools. The lab, set to open in 2030, has $284 million in total funding and expects to launch nearly 50 companies and support 50 startups.
GlobalFoundries to operate two new semiconductor fabs in New York
GlobalFoundries will operate two new semiconductor fabs in New York. These facilities are part of a joint U.S.-Japan initiative, funded by Japan, valued at up to $21 billion. GlobalFoundries will build and operate them. The fabs are projected to produce approximately 1.8 million 300mm wafers annually, with the first expected online in 2029.
The NYC City Council is considering a broad suite of AI bills, including independent validation of AI models, chatbot safeguards, and new rights to sue over AI-related harms. On Wednesday, 115 founders representing 110 NYC startups sent Speaker Julie Menin a letter organized by Tech:NYC opposing the bills as drafted, citing legal and compliance risks, particularly for startups using third-party AI models.
The Information reports that OpenAI is actively working to address safety issues. This work is being undertaken before the company ships its next flagship artificial intelligence model, with a focus on resolving these concerns prior to its release.
Devin Kim, a former engineer at xAI, testified at a New York City Council hearing on 16th October. He claimed he was fired from Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company after warning about the potential misuse of the AI chatbot Grok. Kim stated Grok could assist in the creation of explosives and biological weapons.
Kim said, "I directly built the systems used for Grok’s training and development, and I raised concerns that Grok could help in the creation of bombs and biological weapons." He claims he was pressured to bypass safety features and was fired in September of last year. Kim filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against SpaceX and xAI in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California in June.
During the hearing, Gabriela Castillo Madrid, a senior manager of global government relations at SpaceX, stated she did not know about Kim’s dismissal. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin told reporters she believed Madrid was lying under oath, raising the possibility of perjury. Kim currently serves as president of the Center for AI Safety.
Portal Bridge construction will reduce NJ Transit train service by approximately half for five weeks. This will mean detours for Manhattan-bound riders until November 14. Keystone weekday service between Philadelphia and NYC will drop from 24 trains to 10. Acela and Northeast Regional services will also be reduced.
On October 13, 2026, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee announced the Debt Demolisher program. This initiative offers a 90-day window for eligible small businesses and homeowners to resolve debt from City fines. The program allows New Yorkers to clear interest and outstanding debt at a reduced cost. It also aims to help the City collect outstanding fines that might otherwise go unpaid.
The Debt Demolisher program is designed to make it more affordable for small business owners and homeowners to achieve good standing and avoid future penalties. Mayor Mamdani stated, "City government shouldn’t saddle New Yorkers with endless fines and interest." Participants must come into compliance with associated agency violations. The city projects this program will recover $25 million in uncollected revenue. New Yorkers can visit nyc.gov/debtdemolisher or call 311 for eligibility and further details. The program concludes on January 10, 2027.
The New York City Council and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, their plan to ban carriage horses in Central Park. Council Speaker Julie Menin stated her chamber would hold an October 22 vote on legislation to draw down the industry in phases. Mayor Mamdani confirmed his support for the goal. "The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City," the mayor said.
The proposed legislation follows years of advocacy from animal rights groups. It also addresses public safety concerns after a carriage horse collapsed and died in June, and the death of Romanch Mahajan after falling from a runaway carriage horse. The bill aims to protect workers and ensure horses are safe during the transition. However, the Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage drivers, has expressed disagreement, stating the measure does not offer enough economic relief. The administration is tasked with developing a plan for new economic opportunities for affected workers.
Menlo Ventures estimates enterprise spending on industry-specific AI reached $3.5 billion last year. This figure is nearly triple the $1.2 billion spent in 2024, with the estimate measuring spending on AI products rather than venture funding into those companies.
Sam Altman wrote an essay 13 years ago titled "Fundraising Mistakes Founders Make." In this piece, he identified competition as a crucial element of the fundraising process. Altman specifically noted that securing the initial offer proves to be the most challenging for founders.
Reported by The VC Corner, 2026-10-19
Editor's note
New York is going all in on Compute! Energy costs and capacity is the next piece of the puzzle.
