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Flourish on Pulse

Semiconductors

The full thread of our Flourish coverage — a running record of every development we've tracked, with the VC take on each.

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2
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Jun 4, 2026
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Coverage Timeline

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  1. FUNDINGBezos-Backed Flourish Raises $500M at $2.5B to Build Brain-Inspired AI Chips→
  2. FUNDINGBezos-Backed Flourish Raises $500M at $2.5B for Brain-Inspired AI That Runs on Laptop-Level Power→

All Coverage

FUNDING$500M

Bezos-Backed Flourish Raises $500M at $2.5B to Build Brain-Inspired AI Chips

Flourish, a New York startup co-founded by Internet Explorer creator and CTRL-labs founder Thomas Reardon, raised $500 million at a $2.5 billion valuation to build brain-inspired AI -- with Jeff Bezos nearly doubling his check to roughly $100 million. Its 'Cortex AI' aims to map real neurons and run models at laptop-level power, attacking AI's energy crisis at the architecture level.

Jun 6, 2026
FUNDING$500M

Bezos-Backed Flourish Raises $500M at $2.5B for Brain-Inspired AI That Runs on Laptop-Level Power

Flourish, co-founded by Internet Explorer creator Thomas Reardon, closed a $500M round at a $2.5B valuation on June 4 to build 'Cortex AI' — an architecture emulating real neuron connectomics and targeting 20-50 watt operation (a laptop, not a server rack). Jeff Bezos personally committed close to $100M; Lux Capital, GV and Catalio Capital joined.

Jun 4, 2026