AI News today - August 18th - Groq raises $350M, pivots from chips to neocloud...

Today's top AI news stories — 2026-08-18: 1. Groq raises $350M, pivots from chips to neocloud AI chipmaker Groq announced a $350 million funding round at a $3.5 billion valuation as it shifts its business model away from specialized AI chips toward a broader neocloud platform. The pivot signal 2. Nvidia invests $1.5B in OpenAI data center developer Nvidia announced a $1.5 billion investment in SoftBank's data center developer, guaranteeing that Nvidia chips will power a major OpenAI data center project. The move underscores the massive capital r 3. Anthropic's revenue surges to $65B annualized Anthropic revealed it added $18 billion in annualized revenue over just two months, reaching a $65 billion annual run rate. The explosive growth demonstrates the rapidly accelerating commercial demand 4. Whisker’s AI-powered litter robot thinks my cats swapped bodies The greatest invention in pet tech in recent years is the litter robot. A machine that scoops your kitties' poop so you don't have to - what else could a cat owner possibly want? How about insights in 5. Wispr raises $280M for AI meeting transcription expansion Voice AI startup Wispr secured $280 million at a $2 billion valuation to expand beyond dictation into meeting notes and transcription tools. The funding reflects growing enterprise demand for AI-power Full briefing: https://ainews.q-sci.org/blog/post_2026-08-18.html