Fusion power startups find new partners in the defense world; plus, Mecka AI nears $500M valuation amid rush for robot training data

This is Tech Crunch. This episode is brought to you by Framer. Listen, your wardrobe is not the only thing that should be changing with the season. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about updating and refreshing your website with new content. And Framer makes that easy to do. Even easier than trying to plan out your next outfit. Framer has everything you need to build and run a website, a canvas tool for design, hosting, a built-in CMS, and AI agents that work alongside you to help bring your vision to the screen. And it's all in one place, so you can stop skipping around to a hundred different apps. You can update your site and have it go live in a few minutes, or build a new one from scratch. Now, I love Framer's powerful SEO tools that have really helped me zero in on my target audience. I can track my traffic through their analytics, and I can optimize my site so that it works across any device. Plus, there's enterprise-grade security to protect all my info. Learn how you can get more out of your site from a Framer specialist, or get started building for free today at framer.com slash tcstartups for 30% off a Framer Pro annual plan. That's framer.com slash tcstartups for 30% off. framer.com slash tcstartups. Rules and restrictions may apply. Fusion Power is getting back to its roots. As fusion startups keep chasing their ultimate goal, putting electrons on the grid, many are also now embracing or returning to the defense applications that laid the foundation for the industry. The sector emerged decades ago when physicists looked for more constructive uses of the science behind the thermonuclear bombs that proliferated during the Cold War. The national security angle never really went away. A groundbreaking fusion power experiment back in 2022 happened at the National Ignition Facility, which has supported national security applications for more than 25 years. That shift has accelerated as venture dollars committed to climate tech, the funds that typically have supported fusion startups, have stalled. Fusion startups have captured a large portion of recent climate tech funding, but fusion is an expensive business, and venture capitalists are always happy when their portfolio companies find other sources of money. And that's where the defense industry comes in. The defense industry has explored laser weapons for years, but interest has spiked as drones have reshaped modern warfare. Traditional air defense systems were designed to target human piloted aircraft. which tend to be larger and fewer in number. That has led to some comical mismatches between aggressor and defender. For example, about a decade ago, a U.S. ally used a $3 million Patriot missile to shoot down a $200 consumer drone. Effective, but not very efficient. Laser weapons promise to alter the math. Instead of firing a single, expensive, one-use missile per shot, they fire quickly and relatively cheaply using electricity drawn from a generator or a ship's reactor or engine. Fusion startups working on laser-based reactor designs are ideal partners in developing such weapons. Last week, laser-based fusion startup Examer announced a partnership with and investment from