Conduct

Guardrails for LLM and MCP tool calls

devtoolsintermediateFree tier

Overview

Conduct is an open-source guardrails layer for **LLM** and **MCP** tool calls that appeared on Show HN in late August 2026. It lets developers define policies, constraints, and permission schemas for how models may invoke tools, making it easier to enforce safety, compliance, and resource usage rules. The stack is likely centered on TypeScript/Node with JSON schemas, and it matters because it gives AI app builders a reusable policy engine instead of hand-rolled checks inside every agent or orchestration framework.

Best For

+ml-engineers
+backend-developers
+platform-engineers

News & Updates

Mueon Raises $65M Series A to Scale Cubelets AI Chip Platform

Mueon Corporation, a Portland, Oregon-based semiconductor systems company, announced on October 15, 2026 that it has raised $65 million in a Series A round led by Maverick Silicon. The funding is earmarked to move its Cubelets modular compute and memory platform toward production readiness, targeting AI and hyperscale infrastructure deployments. Cubelets is designed as a modular architecture, letting operators scale compute and memory independently rather than buying fixed monolithic systems. The round gives Mueon capital to build out manufacturing and supply partnerships ahead of volume shipments. It also signals continued investor appetite for AI hardware startups challenging incumbent chip designs.

new_tools10/15/2026

Scimplify Raises $25 Mn Led by Hitachi to Scale Semiconductor Chemicals

Speciality chemical manufacturing startup Scimplify has raised $25 Mn (around 238 Cr) in a fresh funding round led by Hitachi. The Bengaluru-based company supplies high-purity chemicals used in semiconductor fabrication and other advanced manufacturing processes. The capital will be used to scale production capacity and expand its customer base in India and overseas. This comes as India pushes to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem with incentives for chip fabrication and packaging plants.

deals10/15/2026

Volantis Raises $88M Series A to Replace HBM with Photonic Memory

Volantis, a semiconductor startup, has raised an $88 million Series A round to commercialize photonic memory technology aimed at breaking the 'memory wall' that bottlenecks AI compute. The company claims its optical interconnect approach can deliver dramatically higher bandwidth and lower power consumption than traditional HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) used in GPUs like Nvidia's H100. The funding will accelerate product development and partnerships with AI chipmakers. This matters because AI models are increasingly memory-bound, and current HBM supply is constrained and power-hungry.

deals10/14/2026

NVIDIA Launches cuPotential CUDA-X Library for Atomic-Scale AI Agents

NVIDIA unveiled cuPotential on October 14, 2026, a new CUDA-X library that lets developers build AI agents simulating how atoms and molecules interact. The company also detailed CUDA-X adoption across chip design, manufacturing, and testing by semiconductor leaders including Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Lam Research, KLA, and Applied Materials. This pushes GPU-accelerated simulation deeper into the semiconductor supply chain, from EDA tools to fab equipment. The library targets materials discovery and process modeling, areas where atomic-level accuracy directly affects chip yields and performance.

hardware10/14/2026

Scimplify Raises $25M to Use AI for Critical Materials, Hits $200M Revenue

Scimplify, a startup using AI to source and process critical materials, raised $25 million in a new funding round. The company's annualized revenue run rate has tripled to $200 million, and it is now eyeing U.S. expansion. Scimplify aims to challenge China's dominance in the supply of materials essential for batteries, semiconductors, and defense. The funding will likely accelerate its AI-driven platform that connects buyers with alternative suppliers and optimizes processing.

deals10/14/2026

Tessolve Semiconductor Raises $75 Mn Led by Vector Line Capital

Tessolve Semiconductor, owned by Hero Electronix, has raised $75 million (718 crore) in a funding round led by Vector Line Capital, with additional investors participating. The company provides semiconductor design and testing services, and the fresh capital will be used to expand its capabilities in chip design, testing, and product engineering. This investment comes as global demand for semiconductors surges, particularly for AI chips, and India seeks to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem. Tessolve, which has over 3,000 employees and operates in multiple countries, aims to scale its operations and take on larger, more complex projects for global clients.

deals10/13/2026

India's 1 Lakh Cr RDI Fund Picks 19 Managers, Deploys 7,131 Cr to Deeptech

India's government-backed 1 Lakh Cr Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund has approved its first cohort of 19 second-level fund managers (SLFMs). These managers will deploy 7,131 Cr into deeptech startups, focusing on sectors like AI, robotics, and semiconductors. The fund aims to bridge the gap in early-stage deep tech funding, where India has historically lagged. This move could catalyze innovation and reduce reliance on foreign technology.

new_tools10/13/2026

NE556 Atari Punk Console Built as Paper Circuit in 'Paper Mosquito'

A maker has built an Atari Punk Console using an NE556 dual timer chip and paper circuitry, calling the project 'Paper Mosquito.' The Atari Punk Console is a classic DIY noisemaker circuit originally designed by Forrest Mims, typically built with a 555 timer. This version replaces traditional PCB or breadboard construction with conductive ink traces on paper, demonstrating that functional audio circuits can be fabricated on flexible, low-cost substrates. The project was shared on messopedals.com, a site focused on DIY pedal and circuit builds.

breakthroughs10/13/2026

Flexcompute Raises Strategic Investment from Samsung and Applied Materials for Physics Simulation Engine

Boston-based Flexcompute announced on October 12, 2026, that it has raised a strategic investment from Samsung Ventures and Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials. The company is building a physics world model, a simulation engine designed to predict real-world physical behavior for engineering and AI training. The exact investment amount was not disclosed, but the involvement of a chip giant and a semiconductor equipment leader signals deep interest in simulation-driven design. Flexcompute's technology could reduce reliance on costly physical prototypes and speed up hardware development cycles.

new_tools10/12/2026

Technical Guide at db.zizka.ai Urges Active Audits of AI Agents as Production Deployments Rise

A new technical guide published at db.zizka.ai argues that teams building AI agents should move beyond passive observation and conduct active audits of agent behavior. The piece draws a distinction between watching an agent's outputs in real time and systematically probing its decision-making for failure modes, edge cases, and hidden biases. It arrives as autonomous agents move from demos into production workflows, where silent failures can compound across multi-step tasks. The core argument: observability tools show you what an agent did, but only auditing reveals why it did it and where it will break next.

other10/12/2026