This startup wants to edit embryos

PLUS: Amazon's AI assistant is crushing it

AuthorAuthor

Jennifer Mossalgue & Rowan Cheung
November 04, 2025

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. A new Silicon Valley startup wants to rewrite human inheritance — literally. Preventive, founded by CRISPR pioneer Lucas Harrington, just raised $30M to explore whether editing embryos to erase disease could finally be done safely.

It’s the biggest funding yet in a field most scientists won’t touch. Is this the dawn of disease-free babies, or the next line in biotech we shouldn’t cross?

In today’s tech rundown:

  • CRISPR startup wants to edit embryos

  • Rufus is Amazon’s $10B moneymaker

  • Crypto billionaire’s space station gets launch test

  • France turns highway into EV charger

  • Quick hits on other tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

BIOTECH

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: A new U.S. startup called Preventive just raised $30M to figure out if genetically editing human embryos can actually be done safely — the biggest bet yet on engineering disease-free babies in a territory most scientists won't touch.

The details:

  • Founded by CRISPR scientist Lucas Harrington, Preventive says it will focus on correcting disease-causing mutations in embryos, not chasing enhancement.

  • Backers emphasize “responsible research,” with SciFounders and co-founder Matt Krisiloff named, while most investor identities remain undisclosed.

  • The company estimates embryo editing could cost a few thousand dollars per procedure if proven safe, and pledges to publish any negative findings as well.

  • Heritable genome editing is illegal or banned in most countries, including the U.S., following global condemnation of He Jiankui's rogue 2018 experiment.

Why it matters: Preventive is part of a small wave of startups, including Manhattan Genomics and Bootstrap Bio, betting that embryo editing can shift from taboo to viable medicine as CRISPR tools mature. But UC Berkeley's Fyodor Urnov warns the approach is risky and distracts from somatic gene-editing therapies for existing patients.

AMAZON

Image source: Amazon

The Rundown: Amazon wants you to know its AI assistant Rufus is crushing it. The company revealed on its latest earnings call that 250M shoppers have used it this year, and those who do are 60% more likely to actually buy stuff, reports Fortune.

The details:

  • Rufus, introduced in beta in February 2024, is a generative AI shopping assistant integrated directly into Amazon’s mobile app and website.

  • CEO Andy Jassy said that Rufus is expected to generate over $10B in annual incremental sales.

  • New AI features like Help Me Decide use browsing history, search data, and preferences to narrow choices and accelerate purchase decisions.

  • Jassy said 250M shoppers have used Rufus this year, with monthly actives up 140% year over year and interactions up 210%.

Why it matters: Amazon is pouring billions into AI infrastructure, including a $11B investment in a data center to train and run models from Anthropic, plus a $38B partnership with OpenAI. Despite slashing 14K jobs last week, its shares surged more than 13% last week. Translation: Amazon looks to be an unstoppable force.

SPACE TECH

Image source: Vast

The Rundown: Backed by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, Vast just took its first major step toward building the world’s first commercial space station, launching a 515 kg test satellite called Haven Demo aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission.

The details:

  • Vast is competing for NASA's contract to replace the ISS, going up against rivals like Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Voyager Space.

  • Unlike competitors pitching complete station designs, Vast is flying hardware first, testing systems in orbit before committing to full-scale construction.

  • Haven Demo validates propulsion, flight computers, and navigation ahead of Haven-1, a single-module crewed station targeting a May 2026 launch.

  • If successful, Haven-1 would be followed by Haven-2, a larger multi-module facility designed to operate after the ISS retires in 2030.

Why it matters: Vast's demo-first strategy could let it beat better-funded rivals to orbit by proving it can safely operate a crewed station before NASA picks its ISS successor. CEO Max Haot calls it a survival strategy. If the company doesn't win NASA's contract, it likely can't exist, making Haven-1's 2026 launch a make-or-break moment.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Image source: VINCI Autoroutes / Caroline Gasch

The Rundown: France just switched on a world-first “charge as you drive” pilot on the A10 motorway southwest of Paris, embedding inductive coils under 1.5 km of pavement so EVs equipped with receivers can top up while cruising in real traffic.

The details:

  • The project is run by a consortium including VINCI Autoroutes and Electreon, progressing from lab trials to live highway testing with actual vehicles.

  • Four prototype vehicles — a heavy-duty truck, van, car, and bus — have been equipped with pickup coils to test the system under real-world conditions.

  • Independent measurements show the system delivers more than 200 kilowatts on average and peaks above 300 kilowatts under optimal conditions.

  • Backers argue that dynamic charging could slash battery sizes by up to 30% and eliminate charging downtime for freight operators as well as cars.

Why it matters: If France can solve the hard problems — standardizing hardware across automakers, proving the coils can survive years of heavy traffic, and figuring out who pays for millions in infrastructure upgrades — wireless charging roads could fundamentally reshape EV adoption by turning highways into continuous power grids.

QUICK HITS

Waymo announced it will expand its commercial robotaxi service in 2026 to San Diego, Detroit, and Las Vegas.

China’s Shein said it will fully cooperate with French prosecutors investigating childlike sex dolls sold on its platform and is prepared to provide buyers’ names.

TikTok is launching its first U.S. TikTok Awards show, featuring categories including Creator of the Year, Video of the Year, and Muse of the Year.

The White House says China will pause its October rare-earth restrictions and resume general export licenses under a Trump–Xi trade deal.

Palo Alto-based Hippocratic AI raised $126M at a $3.5B valuation to expand its safety‑first generative AI agents for non‑diagnostic, patient‑facing tasks.

Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based electric aviation company, priced its upsized IPO at $34 per share, raising a $1B valuation to more than $7B.

Chinese autonomous driving tech firm Pony.ai expects to raise $863M from its Hong Kong IPO in a secondary listing, with WeRide planning a parallel offer.

Tesla faces a new wrongful-death lawsuit alleging its electronically actuated Model S door handles failed after a 2024 Wisconsin crash that trapped five occupants in a fire.

China says it is on track to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, citing progress on the Long March 10 rocket, lunar suits, and a lunar vehicle.

SpaceX is reportedly set to win a $2B Pentagon contract to build up to 600 satellites that track missiles and aircraft as part of the “Golden Dome” missile-defense program.

Australian startup Snowtunnel is building giant, rotating “ski barrels” that create an endless, real-snow slope to “revolutionize” indoor, urban skiing.

Elon Musk told Joe Rogan that Tesla “hopefully” will demo the next‑gen Roadster this year, boasting it packs “crazy” tech, “crazier than all the James Bond cars” combined.

COMMUNITY

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team

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