Hermes agent maker Nous Research in talks for new funding at $1.5B valuation; plus, Pinwheel launches a retro-inspired landline phone for kids

This is TechCrunch The startup behind the open-source Hermes agent is finalizing a new round of funding led by Robot Ventures, with significant participation from USV and other prominent investors at a $1.5B valuation, and that's according to three sources with knowledge of the deal. The company is raising at least $75M and fielded a high level of interest from investors, according to those folks. News Research declined to comment. USV and Robot Ventures did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment either. The company was founded back in 2023, and before the round, it had raised a total of $70M in funding from investors, including Paradigm, Robot Ventures, North Island Ventures, OSS Capital, and Balaji Srinivasan. Weeks after OpenClaw's agent went viral, News Research released its own competitor called Hermes. OpenClaw is an agent that runs locally on a PC and can perform tasks on behalf of the user. One key difference is that Hermes shipped with built-in skills, such as web search coding and image understanding. Furthermore, it was designed to automatically learn from people's usage and build more skills without manual intervention. Additionally, the startup has released language models focused on coding and math. Just like OpenClaw, users can automate tasks with Hermes and chat with these agents or receive messages from them in apps like Telegram and Discord. These tools have become increasingly popular as they allow users to run their AI agents remotely and around the clock. Open Source and widely adopted, Hermes has amassed a massive following on GitHub, boasting roughly 214,000 stars and nearly 40,000 forks. Developers can run Hermes on a desktop or on a virtual private server. But News Research also offers a cloud-hosted version, which some users may find to be more user-friendly, avoiding any setting up on their own machines. The hosted version is available via various paid tiers, ranging from $20 upwards to $200 a month. Sources say the new funding will help to expand Hermes' products and business model further. Do you remember racing home after school to grab the family landline and call your best friend before dinner? A new device from Pinwheel is aiming to reboot that experience for a new generation. The kid-focused tech company announced Tuesday the launch of Pinwheel Home, a modern take on the classic household phone designed to let children stay connected without the distractions of a smartphone. Pinwheel is positioning the phone as an intro to phones for children ages 5 to 10 before they're ready for a smartphone. The company already sells kid-friendly smartphones and launched a smartwatch last year. Instead of texting or doomscrolling on social media, Pinwheel Home is built solely for voice calls. The company says the phone encourages more meaningful one-on-one conversations, while giving kids the independence to call friends and family and practice basic phone skills without borrowing a parent's device. The launch comes as more parents look for ways to cut back on their children's screen time amid growing concerns about technology's impact on their development. Studies have linked excessive screen time to emotional, behavioral, and social challenges. Plus, recent research from the University of Georgia found that children who spend more time on social media tend to show weaker vocabulary development over time, including greater difficulty recognizing and pronouncing words. Notably, while Pinwheel Home looks like a traditional landline, it operates over Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for a phone jack. It comes in two models. The Spark starts at $68 and comes in white, black, blue, and purple. The Classic costs $79 and includes a retro-style handset and customizable stickers with color options of pink, black, and white. For safety purposes, parents control the device through Pinwheel's caregiver portal, where they can approve contacts, block unknown callers, spam, and robocalls, and set calling schedules and time limits. Speed dial and voicemail are also available. The company notes that the future updates will introduce three-way calling and allow Pinwheel Home to integrate with its watches and smartphones, enabling children to use the same phone number across devices while still limiting screen time at home. Countries like Australia have restricted social media access for kids, and the UK has announced plans for similar measures. The device also joins other screen-free communication products for kids competing with TinCan, a $100 Wi-Fi-enabled landline that allows parents to manage approved contacts through a companion app. Calls between Pinwheel Home devices are free through the company's Pinwheel Circle service. Families who want to call standard phone numbers can choose plans starting at $7 a month for up to five approved contacts or $10 a month for unlimited calling. For comparison, calls between TinCan devices are also free, while its friends and family plan is $10 a month. Pinwheel Home is available now through the company's website and is expected to launch on Amazon this fall. That's all for now. For the latest in tech news, go to TechCrunch.com.