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- Replit said to seek $400M at $9B valuation, with Toronto’s Georgian likely to lead
Replit said to seek $400M at $9B valuation, with Toronto’s Georgian likely to lead
Bay Area Times
January 16, 2026
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Top stories today:
- Replit said to seek $400M at $9B valuation, with Georgian likely to lead
- Merge Labs, Sam Altman’s brain-computer startup, raises $252M
- Taiwan to invest $250B in U.S. chipmaking under new trade deal
- OpenAI, Microsoft lose bid to avoid Elon trial
- Trump moves to make Big Tech pay for surging power costs
- Google releases TranslateGemma open models in 4B, 12B, 27B sizes
0. Calendar
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Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing today’s newsletter (beware of hallucinations):
1. Replit said to seek $400M at $9B valuation, with Toronto’s Georgian likely to lead
Replit has emerged as a vibecoding leader, with an AI agent that can build and deploy apps.
Thu.: Replit Agent added support for building mobile apps on Android and iOS.
2. Merge Labs, Sam Altman’s brain-computer startup, raises $252M from OpenAI, others
OpenAI was the largest investor in the Bain Capital-led round.
Gabe Newell also participated, who also runs brain tech firm Starfish Neuroscience.
Merge aims to “maximize human ability, agency, and experience” by connecting people and AI, per its website.
Its first products will target medical use before broader consumer rollout.
Only Neuralink has raised more in a single round in the brain-tech space, per PitchBook.
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4. Taiwan to invest $250B in U.S. chipmaking under new trade deal
TSMC shares +3% following the news:
