Hi everyone,

In tech, rumours are rarely just gossip... they are signals of where capital and strategic attention are moving. This week, reports that Anthropic is considering a $6 billion acquisition of Israeli AI infrastructure startup Decart, alongside talk that Wonderful is seeking $500 million at a $5 billion valuation, put Israeli AI firmly in the spotlight. Against that backdrop, the government unveiled an ambitious sovereign AI action plan, Google is reportedly building a new AI chip in Israel, and fresh ecosystem data reinforced Israel’s outsized performance in exits per capita. Globally, the concentration is even more striking: AI companies captured 86% of US venture dollars in the first half of 2026, while mega-rounds absorbed 87.5% of all capital deployed.

This week’s dispatch looks beyond the headlines and the rumours to examine what the money is telling us. Tune in to this week’s edition, but first…

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Recent articles

Weekly #FIRGUN Newsletter - August 14 The latest edition is live with news on Israel's sovereign AI action plan, Google's new AI chip being developed with ex Hailo employees and Anthropic's rumoured largest acquisition to date in talks with Decart AI... Read article

Why Anthropic may want to acquire Israel's Decart The acquisition could establish Anthropic’s first major Israeli R&D operation, giving it immediate access to approximately 100 employees and one of the world’s densest AI ecosystems. Read article

The $9 billion bet on forward deployed engineers AI is widening the gap between what enterprise customers expect and what traditional software can deliver. Forward deployed engineers are becoming one of the industry’s preferred ways to bridge that divide, but the model brings important questions about scalability, margins and whether services are quietly becoming part of the product. Read article

Chart of the week

Capital is flowing back into venture, but overwhelmingly to the top of the market. According to the Q2 2026 PitchBook–NVCA Venture Monitor, US startups raised $412.7 billion during the first half of 2026, already surpassing every previous full-year total. AI companies captured 86% of those dollars, while mega-rounds of $100 million or more accounted for 87.5% of all deployed capital