AI Startups to Watch (Sep 10): Cylake, Listen Labs & Video AI
AI startups raised big: Cylake 245M for sovereign cybersecurity, Salesforce hunts Listen Labs for 2B, Katzenberg launches AI video. Today's top moves.
Cybersecurity raised 245 million dollars, Salesforce hunted for a 2 billion dollar AI acquisition, and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg teamed with OpenAI's ex-Sora chief to build AI video models for filmmakers. Today's funding and deal activity shows AI capital flowing into sovereign security, customer research, and creative production. See also our recent AI Startups coverage.
Cylake Raises 245 Million Dollars for Sovereign Cybersecurity
Cylake, a Sunnyvale-based startup building an "AI-native, fully sovereign" cybersecurity platform for regulated enterprises, closed a $245 million convertible-note round on September 8. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Picture Capital, and Redpoint Ventures participated. The round brings Cylake's total raised to approximately $290 million after a $45 million Greylock-led seed in March 2026.
Cylake is targeting the operational sovereignty market: the idea that organizations need to protect not just networks and identities but their ability to keep operating when software, agents, or infrastructure are compromised. See our AI News coverage for related infrastructure and policy stories. Beta is expected by year-end 2026, with general availability in 2027.
The convertible structure is notable: $245 million ahead of broad product disclosure gives investors exposure while postponing valuation mechanics. This is unusually large optionality capital for a cybersecurity company at this stage, suggesting Lightspeed and Redpoint see a platform opportunity large enough to justify funding ahead of clear commercial benchmarks. Source: GlobeNewsWire
Salesforce in Talks to Acquire Listen Labs for 2 Billion Dollars
Salesforce has held talks to acquire Listen Labs, an AI startup that provides marketing research to brands, for approximately $2 billion, according to Business Insider. Listen Labs uses AI to automate customer research processes that traditionally required weeks of manual work.
The deal would be Salesforce's latest move to deepen its AI capabilities following its acquisition of multiple AI startups over the past two years. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has publicly championed "agentic AI" as the next frontier for enterprise software. The company also reportedly considered acquiring Hugging Face before it was sold to Nvidia. Source: Business Insider
Katzenberg and Ex-Sora Head Launch AI Video Startup
DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg is teaming with Bill Peebles, who led OpenAI's Sora video model until leaving earlier this year, and former Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa to launch a new startup training AI video models purpose-built for filmmakers.
Katzenberg and Jaswa are co-founders of WndrCo, a venture firm that has previously backed enterprise AI. Terms, funding size, and lead investors were not disclosed in the initial report from The Information. The startup enters a competitive market where Runway, Pika, and Stable Video are all racing to build production-quality AI video tools, but Katzenberg's entertainment industry connections and Peebles' technical leadership from Sora could differentiate the offering.
The move signals that Hollywood's AI video ambitions are shifting from consumer demos to professional production workflows. Source: The Information
Meta Superintelligence Hire Andrew Tulloch Exits
Andrew Tulloch, a researcher Meta hired to work on its superintelligence efforts, has departed the company with his destination unknown, according to Semafor. Tulloch's exit comes during a period of significant AI talent movement across frontier labs, with researchers frequently moving between OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and Meta.
Meta's superintelligence team has experienced multiple high-profile departures this year as competition for top AI researchers intensifies. The company has been investing heavily in its AI research division, including the launch of Muse Spark models and its open-source Llama family. Source: Semafor
Algomatic Dynamics Raises 33 Million Dollars for Robotic Hand
Tokyo-based Algomatic Dynamics closed a 5 billion yen (~$33 million) first institutional round on September 9 with DMM.com as sole backer. The startup builds motion-data collection, AI multi-finger hands, bipedal control, and video-analysis intellectual property, positioning its stack as body-agnostic.
The funding formalizes Algomatic's June restructuring that split the group into robotics (Dynamics), B2B (Algomatic), and B2C (KOWRO). A Japan release of the multi-finger hand platform is targeted before year-end 2026. The round reflects growing investor interest in physical-AI robotics beyond the warehouse and factory setting. Source: TechStartups
Startup Snapshot
| Startup | What They Do | Latest Round | Valuation | Key Differentiator |
|---------|-------------|-------------|-----------|-------------------|
| Cylake | AI-native sovereign cybersecurity | $245M convertible notes | Undisclosed | Operational sovereignty for regulated enterprises |
| Listen Labs | AI marketing research platform | $2B acquisition (talks) | ~$2B | Automated customer research for brands |
| Katzenberg-Peebles (undisclosed) | AI video models for filmmakers | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | DreamWorks founder + ex-Sora technical lead |
| Andrew Tulloch (Meta) | AI superintelligence research | N/A (departure) | N/A | Left Meta, destination unknown |
| Algomatic Dynamics | Physical-AI robotic hand | $33M seed | Undisclosed | Body-agnostic motion control stack |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top AI startups to watch today?
Cylake raised 245 million dollars for sovereign cybersecurity targeting regulated enterprises. Salesforce is in talks to acquire AI research startup Listen Labs for approximately 2 billion dollars. DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg teamed with OpenAI's ex-Sora head Bill Peebles to launch an AI video startup for filmmakers. Tokyo-based Algomatic Dynamics raised 33 million dollars for its multi-finger robotic hand platform.
How big is Cylake's cybersecurity funding round?
Cylake's $245 million convertible-note round is the largest pre-product cybersecurity financing this year. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Picture Capital, and Redpoint Ventures participated, bringing total raised to approximately $290 million after a $45 million seed in March. Beta is expected by year-end 2026 with general availability in 2027.
Who is Bill Peebles and why does his new startup matter?
Bill Peebles led OpenAI's Sora video generation model until leaving the company earlier this year. He is now co-founding an AI video startup with DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and former Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa. The combination of Hollywood industry connections and frontier video-AI technical leadership positions the startup to target professional filmmaking workflows.
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Related reading
Deeper context from the archive on the companies and technologies in this story:
- AI Startups to Watch (Sep 17): Factory, D-Robotics & Anew Labs
- Nvidia hikes AI server prices over 15%, a 27B model beats frontier labs at science, and OpenAI flips on California's safety bill: General AI News for August 23, 2026
- AI Startups to Watch - August 13, 2026
- AI Startups to Watch August 12, 2026
