Hitachi vs Humans Not Robots

Scimplify Raises $25M to Expand AI-Driven Specialty Chemicals

Indian startup Scimplify raised $25 million in an all-equity strategic round led by Hitachi Ventures, with customers Henkel and Teknor Apex joining as new investors. Existing backers Accel India, Bertelsmann India Investments, Omnivore, and 3one4 Capital also participated. The round values the Bengaluru-based company at $250 million post-money, up from $150 million after its Series B in March 2025. Total equity funding now stands at $80 million. Scimplify uses its proprietary AI platform, Scinode, with specialized AI agents to accelerate the development and production of specialty chemicals and critical materials, reducing lead times from 12-18 months to as little as two months. The company plans to expand its manufacturing network to the U.S. and Japan over the next year. Its annualized revenue run rate has tripled to $200 million, with the U.S. contributing about 30% of revenue. Scimplify is EBITDA-positive and expects to be profitable after tax this month.

• Scimplify raised $25 million in an all-equity strategic round led by Hitachi Ventures.
• Henkel and Teknor Apex joined as new investors; existing backers Accel India, Bertelsmann India Investments, Omnivore, and 3one4 Capital participated.
• The round values Scimplify at $250 million post-money, up from $150 million after its Series B in March 2025.

Hitachi and FANUC Enter Strategic Partnership toward Joint Commercialization of Physical AI Implementation

Hitachi and FANUC have entered a strategic partnership to jointly commercialize Physical AI implementation. Additionally, Hitachi has entered a strategic co-creation partnership with Agile Robots to develop intelligence for AI robotics.

US Approves First Small Modular Reactor at Clinch River

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) a construction permit for the first small modular reactor (SMR) in the United States, the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300, at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The permit was issued 14 months after application, four months ahead of schedule. The 300 MW reactor will power about 300,000 homes, with commercial operation planned for the early 2030s. The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting the project with $400 million. The reactor aims to meet electricity demand from AI data centers, projected to consume 12% of U.S. power by 2030. Critics argue SMRs remain too expensive and slow, citing the cancellation of a NuScale project and higher-than-expected costs for Canada's first BWRX-300.

• NRC granted TVA a construction permit for the BWRX-300 SMR at Clinch River, Tennessee—the first for this reactor type in the U.S.
• The permit was issued 14 months after application, four months ahead of schedule.
• The reactor will have a 300 MW capacity, enough for about 300,000 homes.