☕ Databricks Closes in on a $100 Billion Valuation, Nvidia develops a more powerful AI chip for China & Canva launches $42B employee share sale.
Arm hires Amazon AI chip leader & More.
LEGO bricks withstand compression better than concrete.
A single brick can hold the weight of 375,000 others, enough for a theoretical 3.5 km tower but scaling them to house size would be far too costly.
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: VC math guide, legal docs, UGC loops, model template, Arc PMF Qs, traction signals, deck guide, 40 decks, update template.
Databricks eyes $100 billion valuation with new funding round.
Meta restructures AI org into Meta Superintelligence Labs.
UK drops demand for Apple encryption backdoor.
Tesla launches the Model Y L.
Nvidia develops a more powerful AI chip for China.
Canva launches $42B employee share sale.
Arm hires Amazon AI chip leader to push into own chipmaking.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
The math behind venture capital - guide for aspiring venture capitalists.
Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.
How to build user-generated distribution loops.
Financial modelling template to build your startup financial model that every investor wants to see.
The Arc PMF terrifying questions framework.
Non-obvious signs of early startup traction and how to spot them.
All-In-One guide to pitch deck storytelling - free template & curated resources.
40 real startup pitch decks that raised $350M+ (Including leading startups decks).
Write your monthly investor update (email template download).
6000+ European VC Firms Contact Database (LinkedIn Links).
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Midas, an Istanbul, Turkey-based provider of an investment platform, raised $80M in Series B funding. The round was led by QED Investors. New investors included the International Finance Corporation (IFC), HSG (formerly Sequoia China), QuantumLight (founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky), Spice Expeditions LP, and George Rzepecki.
Ohai.ai, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered household assistant service, raised a new round of funding. The round was co-led by Muse Capital’s founding partners Rachel Springate and Assia Grazioli-Venier, and brought together a group of backers and investors including Wisdom Ventures.
Keychain, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered manufacturing platform for the consumer packaged goods industry, raised $30M in Series B funding. The round was led by Wellington Management and existing investor BoxGroup, alongside other major returning investors.
Firecrawl, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of a platform that generate web data for developers and AI agents, raised $14.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Y Combinator, Shopify’s CEO Tobias Lütke and existing and new angel investors.
Zipline AI, a San Mateo, CA-based provider of a data platform improving how enterprises develop and deploy AI products, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Wing VC, with participation from Stripe, Box Group, and Exceptional Capital.
Functionize, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered platform used for the intelligent creation of software test cases, raised $41M in Series B funding. The round was led by Mumford Investments and LHH Investments, with participation from Canvas Ventures and Wipro Ventures.
Nullspace, a Huntsville, AL-based deep tech company developing electromagnetic simulation software, raised $2.5M in Seed funding The round was led by Fathom Fund, with participation from Golden Seeds LLC and other strategic angel investors.
TensorZero, a NYC-based technology startup building an open-source stack for industrial-grade LLM applications, raised $7.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by FirstMark, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Bedrock, DRW, Coalition, and angel investors.
Three Space Lab, a Boston, MA-based company which specializes in frictionless, realistic VR real estate visualization, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Arminius Verwaltung.
Casca, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-native loan origination platform, raised $29M in Series A funding. Backers included Live Oak Bank, Huntington National Bank, Bankwell, Y Combinator, and Peterson Ventures, and Alliance Funding Group.
Eight Sleep, a NYC-based sleep‑fitness company, raised $100M in new funding. The round was led by HSG, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, and sports figures, including Charles Leclerc (Ferrari F1 Driver) and Zak Brown (CEO of McLaren F1).
ShiftUp, a Phoenix, AZ-based company that helps enterprise sales teams operate through AI-powered sales intelligence, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by participants including Phil Reed, alongside a diverse group of former VCs, sales executives, CFOs, and CTOs from Fortune 500 companies.
BetterPic, a Tallinn, Estonia-based AI startup specializing in AI imaging, raised USD $2.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by MOC Capital and Shilling VC, with participation from Louis Jonckheere, founder of Showpad and CEO of Wintercircus Ghent; Matthias Geeroms of Lighthouse; Joris Van Der Gucht of Ravical; Severine Nijs from Jackie Lee.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Curql Collective, a Des Moines, Iowa-based collective of 160+ credit unions jointly investing in fintech, closed Curql Fund II, at $360m. This brings Curql’s AUM (assets under management) to over $600 million.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Databricks eyes $100 billion valuation with new funding round:
Databricks is finalizing a $1 billion+ Series K funding round led by Thrive Capital, Insight Partners, and Andreessen Horowitz, boosting its valuation 61% to over $100 billion.
The company projects $3.7 billion in annualized revenue by July with 50% year-over-year growth, has been cash-flow positive since January, and is investing heavily in its Lakehouse data warehouse and AI agents.
With 15,000 customers including Block, Shell, and Rivian, Databricks has become one of the world’s most valuable AI startups, rivaling Snowflake’s $66 billion market cap.
Meta restructures AI org into Meta Superintelligence Labs:
Meta has reorganized its AI division into four new groups under Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL).
The centerpiece is TBD Labs, led by chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, focused on foundation models like Llama.
The other three groups will handle research, product integration, and infrastructure, as Meta tries to keep pace with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
UK drops demand for Apple encryption backdoor:
The US Director of National Intelligence confirmed the UK has abandoned its plan to mandate Apple create a backdoor into encrypted iCloud services, which would have accessed global customer backups.
This reversal follows pressure from the Trump administration, which was examining if the demand on Apple violated the CLOUD Act by targeting data from persons located inside the United States.
In response to the original "technical capability notice," Apple had started to remove its Advanced Data Protection option for new UK users rather than compromise security for its customers globally.
Tesla launches the Model Y L:
Tesla has launched the larger Model Y L in China, a six-seater electric SUV with its wheelbase extended by nearly 8 inches to create more space for passengers.
The vehicle introduces features like retracting second-row armrests, ventilated front seats, and an air-cooled 50W wireless phone charging system designed to prevent the device from overheating.
This model is powered by an 82kWh battery and a dual-motor All Wheel Drive system, delivering a company-claimed CLTC range of nearly 751 kilometers from a single charge.
Nvidia develops a more powerful AI chip for China:
Nvidia is reportedly creating an AI chip for China, codenamed B30A, designed to be half as powerful as its flagship B300 Blackwell GPU but stronger than current exports.
The new GPU will have a single-die design, unlike the dual-die B300, and includes support for fast data transmission, NVLink, and high-bandwidth memory like existing H20 GPUs.
The company aims to compete with rivals like Huawei in this valuable market, but government approval for the B30A is not certain despite a recent relaxing of export rules.
Canva launches $42B employee share sale:
Australian design platform Canva has opened an employee stock sale valuing the company at $42 billion, according to Bloomberg. The sale allows staff to sell shares to both new and existing investors, including Fidelity and JPMorgan’s asset management arm.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Sydney, Canva lets users design posters, social media graphics, and presentations using templates and generative AI tools. It reached a peak valuation of $40 billion in 2021.
Today, Canva has more than 200 million monthly active users across 190 countries and reported $2.5 billion in annualized revenue last year, reflecting its continued global scale and growth.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Arm hires Amazon AI chip leader to push into own chipmaking:
Arm has hired Rami Sinno, Amazon’s AI chip director who helped build Trainium and Inferentia, to strengthen its push into developing complete chips.
The SoftBank-owned company has traditionally licensed processor designs to firms like Apple and Nvidia but now plans to invest profits into building chiplets and full systems.
Recent hires from HPE, Intel, and Qualcomm show Arm’s broader strategy to move beyond IP licensing and compete more directly in AI hardware.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
All-In-One VC Interview Preparation Guide: With a leading investors group, we have created an all-in-one VC interview preparation guide for aspiring VCs. Don’t miss this. (Access Here)
Finance & Accounting Analyst - Hash Emergent | India - Apply Here
Venture Analyst - AC Venture | India - Apply Here
Business Operations Associate - South Park Commons | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Miras Investment | Dubai - Apply Here
Associate - Healthcare VC - KP Rx | Australia - Apply Here
Venture Capital Summer Associate - Stepstone Group | USA - Apply Here
Ventures Associate - Point 72 Venture | USA - Apply Here
Ventures Associate - Plug and Play Tech Centre | USA - Apply Here
Marketing & Communications Lead - Endiya Partners | India - Apply Here
Associate - Mighty Capital | USA - Apply Here
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