☕ Google unveils an AI coding agent & OpenAI brings its GPT-4.1 models to ChatGPT.
AI chipmaker AMD unveils $6 billion buyback plan & Airbnb expands into services and experiences.
The word “nerd” started as a Dr. Seuss creature. It first showed up in If I Ran the Zoo (1950) as a made-up animal. Now it’s what we call billionaires in hoodies.
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Today’s Picks: 2700+ US VCs, AI at $10B fund, legal docs, AI chat issues, 6000+ Euro VCs, financial model, valuation guide, AI search, ship faster, VC–PE bridge, o3 model, web3VC shift, VC interview tips.
OpenAI brings its GPT-4.1 models to ChatGPT.
Google unveils an AI coding agent.
Google announces Material 3 Expressive.
Airbnb expands into services and experiences.
AI chipmaker AMD unveils $6 billion buyback plan.
Foxconn gets approval for $435M chip project in India to support Apple supply chain.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
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The only startup valuation guide you need as a founder.
How to ship 10x faster.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Layer, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of an AI application gateway built specifically for game developers, raised $6.5M in seed funding. The round was led by Arcadia, and an investment vehicle connected to Riccardo Zacconi (co-founder of King), with participation from existing investors e2.vc (formerly 500 Emerging Europe).
Reflect Orbital, a Hawthorne, CA-based spacetech startup, raised $20m in Series A funding. The round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures.
Nekuda, a NYC-based startup building infrastructure for agentic payments, raised $5M in funding. The round was led by Madrona Ventures with participation Amex Ventures and Visa Ventures, Paul Klein, CEO of Browserbase, Shyamal Hitesh Anadkat, Applied AI at OpenAI and Sahar Mor.
Persona AI, a Houston, TX-based embodied artificial intelligence company, raised $27M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Unity Growth and Tides Ventures, with participation from Mirae Asset Group, Invicta Growth, Fathom Fund, Embedded Ventures, Wave Function Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, dConstruct Technologies, Goose Capital, SGH, Sound Media Ventures, Kalea Ventures, K50 Ventures, Cofounder Ventures, Tola Capital, SGA Capital, and Olive Hill Ventures, and K2 Global.
Openlayer, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a platform for evaluation and governance of AI systems at the enterprise level, raised $14.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Race Capital with participation from NXTP, KPN Ventures, Mindset, Y Combinator, Quiet Capital, and Telefonica.
Nortian, a Kansas City, KS-based biotech company, raised $41M in funding, at $100M valuation. The round was led by AJ Hollander, Hubbard Ingredients, XPTO, and family offices from Texas and the Midwest.
Arkestro, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a predictive procurement platform, raised $36M in funding. The round was led by Altira Group and Aramco Ventures, with participation from existing investors NEA, KDT and Activant.
Tensor9, a Seattle, WA-based company providing a new enterprise any-prem platform that enables SaaS vendors to sell to enterprise customers, raised $4M in Seed funding. The round was led by Wing VC, with participation from Devang Sachdev and NVAngels, Level Up Ventures, and angel investors.
Flock Freight, an Encinitas, CA-based Shared Truckload (STL) freight brokerage, raised $60M in Series E funding. The round was led by O’Neil Strategic Capital with participation from Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLLP, SignalFire, GLP Capital Partners, Bracket Capital, and others.
Cohere Health, a Boston, MA-based provider of clinical intelligence solutions for health plans and risk-bearing providers, raised $90M in Series C funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $200M, was led by Temasek, with participation from Deerfield Management, Define Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Longitude Capital, and Polaris Partners.
TurbineOne, a San Francisco, CA-based defense software company, raised $36M in Series B funding. The round was led by The General Partnership with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, XYZ Ventures, Stepstone Group, and PROOF VC.
TensorWave, a Las Vegas, NV-based company developing AMD-powered AI infrastructure solutions, raised $100M in Series A funding. The round was led by Magnetar and AMD Ventures with participation from Maverick Silicon, Nexus Venture Partners, and new investor Prosperity7.
Zendo Energy, a London, UK-based startup building an ‘Energy OS’ to decarbonise computing power in data centers, raised £1.75m in pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Fly Ventures, joined by Octopus Ventures and Pact VC, as well as angel investors from the data center industry.
Origin, a London, UK-based provider of a global benefits Intelligence platform, raised $21M in Series A funding, at a $106M valuation. The round was led by Felix Capital, with participation from Acadian Ventures and Notion Ventures. Other investors included Tudor Havriliuc, Paul Daugherty, Jacqui Canney and Laura Modiano, Startups Lead for OpenAI in EMEA.
Forethought, a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in agentic AI for customer experience, raised $25M in Series D funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $115M, was led by Blue Cloud Ventures with participation from May Habib (Writer), Scott Wu (Cognition), Karan Goel (Cartesia) and existing investors NEA, Industry Ventures, Neo, Village Global, Sound Ventures, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Plexus, a Melbourne, Australia-based provider of an AI-powered legal automation platform, raised $6M in funding. The round was led by Lighter Capital.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
NYC-based VC firm Work-Bench has closed a $160M Fund IV to invest in seed-stage enterprise software companies. The firm will write $2M–$4M checks in AI, cybersecurity, dev tools, and enterprise apps, aiming to back 23–25 startups.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
OpenAI brings its GPT-4.1 models to ChatGPT:
OpenAI has added GPT-4.1 to ChatGPT for Plus, Pro, and Team users, while GPT-4.1 mini is now available to all users, replacing GPT-4.0 mini.
The new models offer faster performance and better instruction-following and coding capabilities, though OpenAI says GPT-4.1 isn’t a “frontier” model in terms of intelligence.
In response to transparency concerns, OpenAI has launched a new Safety Evaluations Hub and will publish internal safety evaluations more frequently.
Google unveils an AI coding agent:
DeepMind’s new system, AlphaEvolve, tackles “machine-gradable” problems using Gemini models and an auto-evaluation method that reduces hallucinations by generating and scoring multiple answers.
It’s limited to fields like computer science and optimization, requiring users to provide problems with auto-assessable solutions; it outputs solutions as algorithms only.
In early testing, AlphaEvolve recovered 0.7% of Google’s global compute and reduced Gemini training time by 1%, with plans for early academic access underway.
Google announces Material 3 Expressive:
Google has introduced Material 3 Expressive, its most researched and maximalist design system, promising faster on-screen navigation through bolder colors and more playful animations.
This updated visual language shifts towards greater personalization and a more overt style, aiming to resonate emotionally with users in an era increasingly valuing self-expression.
Extensive research involving over 18,000 participants confirmed strong user preference for this vibrant approach, which also significantly enhances task completion speed across all age demographics.
Airbnb expands into services and experiences:
Airbnb now allows travelers to book services like massages and chef meals, plus various experiences such as guided tours, independently or with their accommodation.
These new offerings will be available across numerous global cities, with distinct categories for personal amenities and guided excursions for users to select.
The company's broader app refresh also incorporates upcoming social functionalities and an AI assistant designed to help individuals plan their future trips more effectively.
AI chipmaker AMD unveils $6 billion buyback plan:
AMD announced a $6 billion stock buyback, bringing its total repurchase authority to $10 billion amid slowing AI-fueled market gains and falling share prices.
The move follows AMD’s $10 billion AI partnership with Saudi-backed Humain and comes as the chipmaker struggles to keep pace with rivals like Nvidia and Broadcom.
Despite declining free cash flow in Q1, AMD says the buyback reflects confidence in its strategy and long-term growth potential.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Foxconn gets approval for $435M chip project in India to support Apple supply chain:
Foxconn and India’s HCL Group will build a $435M chip assembly and testing plant near Jewar airport, aiming to support Apple by producing display driver chips for phones, PCs, and cars by 2027.
The facility won’t fabricate chips initially but will offer OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) services, marking a step toward India’s ambitions to develop full chip fabrication capabilities.
The move strengthens Apple’s strategy to shift manufacturing away from China, with India playing a growing role in assembling iPhones and, potentially, more Apple devices in the future.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
Portfolio Growth - Point 72 Venture | USA - Apply Here
Investor - Founders Factory | UK - Apply Here
Internship - Octopus Venture | UK - Apply Here
Investment Fellow(s) - Pi Venture | India - Apply Here
Fundraising Manager - Entrepreneur First | USA - Apply Here
Investment team - Next Bharat Venture | India - Apply Here
Capital Formation Associate - B Capital Group | USA - Apply Here
Chief of Staff - First Round Capital | USA - Apply Here
Venture Capital Analyst - Cervin Family Office | India - Apply Here
Investment Manager - 3M Venture | USA - Apply Here
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)
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