Skild AI Bags $1.4B to Build Brains for Robots

Today we will be exploring how Skild AI just raised $1.4B to build smarter robot brains that learn by watching humans. Its valuation has soared past $14B, tripling in just seven months. Also, Grok, the AI tool backed by Elon Musk, is under fire for generating sexualized deepfakes of real people. After legal threats and global criticism, X is scrambling to tighten control.

In today’s post:

• Elon Musk’s AI faces global backlash

• Skild AI triples valuation to $14B

• Oracle’s AI bet sparks $18B investor lawsuit

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What’s Trending Today

POLICY

Grok AI is being forced to grow up fast

Elon Musk’s AI tool, Grok, just hit a hard wall. After weeks of criticism and legal threats, X is scrambling to rein in its most controversial feature.

Here’s everything you need to know:

• Grok, Musk’s AI model, was quietly enabling users to create fake, sexualized images of real people.

• The feature sparked outrage after users shared edited photos of public figures including politicians in bikinis.

• California launched a formal investigation. So did the UK’s media regulator.

• Musk initially defended the tool under “free speech,” even reposting AI-generated images of UK officials.

• But backlash escalated: Malaysia and Indonesia outright banned Grok over explicit content concerns.

• Now, X says it’s geo-blocking the feature where such edits are illegal and limiting access to paid users.

• Critics say this is too little, too late. Enforcement remains vague, and Grok can still generate NSFW content with imaginary people.

If AI is going to reshape our online experience, its creators can’t treat it like a toy. This isn’t just about bad optics, it’s about real harm, often targeting women and kids. Policy needs to catch up, but so do the people building this tech.

STRATEGY

Robotic software just found its next unicorn

Skild AI is riding the humanoid hype wave and now it’s sitting on a $14B valuation.
The robotics software startup just closed one of the biggest rounds of the year.

Here’s everything you need to know:

• Skild AI raised $1.4B in a SoftBank-led Series C, with Nvidia and others joining.

• That puts its valuation at over $14B more than triple its $4.5B mark just months ago.

• The company builds general-purpose foundation models for robots that can adapt on the fly.

• The goal: robots that learn by watching humans, no retraining required for every new task.

• This approach could solve one of robotics’ biggest problems endless manual programming.

• It also aligns with the growing arms race around humanoids and embodied AI.

• Founded in 2023, Skild has already raised over $2B and drawn major institutional backing.

Skild isn’t just chasing a robotics future, it’s redefining the software layer that powers it. If robots are the hardware moment, foundation models could be the Android of this space. Whoever builds the best “robot brain” might win the whole market.

INVESTMENT

Bondholders say Oracle misled them and now they want payback

Oracle’s $300 billion AI contract with OpenAI was supposed to be a win. But now it’s at the center of a lawsuit from bondholders claiming they were left in the dark.

Here’s everything you need to know:

• Oracle is being sued by investors over bonds tied to its AI infrastructure push.

• Plaintiffs say the company failed to disclose it would need $38B in extra debt soon after their purchase.

• These bonds dropped in value as Oracle’s credit risk spiked, according to the lawsuit.

• The offering documents said Oracle “may” borrow more but investors argue it already planned to.

• The suit targets Oracle, Larry Ellison, Safra Catz, and 16 underwriting banks for misleading disclosures.

• Oracle’s total debt is now over $100B, and its stock fell 5% after news of the suit broke.

• At the core: how transparent tech giants must be when funding massive AI deals.

This isn’t just about Oracle. It’s a test case for how markets handle the breakneck pace of AI expansion. Investors aren’t just funding innovation, they’re inheriting risk, and they want clarity, not surprises.

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