☕ Groq - Nvidia rival raised $750M, Meta unveils Hyperscape to turn real-world spaces into VR & China orders tech firms to stop buying Nvidia chips.
Apple plans a touchscreen MacBook Pro & The iPhone Air’s real breakthrough is its battery.
Did you know that Candy Crush brings in more than $633,000 in revenue every day?
It’s one of the most downloaded games today.
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: Investor Q&A kit, cap table template, 40 pitch decks, Jensen Huang’s fundraising advice, PG’s 18 mistakes, Reddit growth playbook, lean startup is dead, legal docs, social AI, valuation guide.
Groq, Nvidia AI chip rival raised $750M.
Meta unveils new smart glasses with a display and wristband controller.
China orders tech firms to stop buying Nvidia chips.
Meta unveils Hyperscape to turn real-world spaces into VR.
Apple plans a touchscreen MacBook Pro.
SpaceX partners with chipmakers for Starlink phone service.
Anthropic's AI use limits frustrate the White House.
Apple explores foldable iPhone test production in Taiwan.
The iPhone Air’s real breakthrough is its battery.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
What investors ask and how to answer : A practical Q&A prep kit for founders.
Building Cap Table as a founder: template to download.
40 real startup pitch decks that raised $350M+ (Including leading startups decks)
Jensen Huang’s advice for founders raising their first round: “VCs don’t invest in business plans.”
Paul Graham on 18 mistakes that kill startups.
How to use Reddit to grow your startup — a lesson from a $1M SaaS founder.
The lean startup is dead.
Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.
Why the future of AI is social by Every.
The only startup valuation guide you need as a founder.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Groq (Nvidia AI chip challenger), a Mountain View, CA-based company which specializes in AI inference, raised $750M in new funding. The round was led by Disruptive with participation from Blackrock, Neuberger Berman, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, Samsung, Cisco, D1, Altimeter, 1789 Capital and Infinitum.
Upscale AI, Inc., a Palo Alto, CA-based AI networking company, raised over $100M in Seed funding. The round was co-led by Mayfield and Maverick Silicon and included participation from StepStone Group, Celesta Capital, Xora, Qualcomm Ventures, Cota Capital, MVP Ventures, and Stanford University.
TeachMe.To, a San Diego, CA-based marketplace for finding and booking local in-person lessons, raised $3M in Seed+ funding. The round was led by Interplay and with participation from existing investors, including Bling Capital and 1984 Ventures.
Rec, a San Francisco, CA-based recreation technology company, raised $11m in Series A funding. The round was led by Crosslink Capital. Athlete investors Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. and Kelvin Beachum, Jr. joined the round alongside Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures (35V), Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures, and Marquee Ventures, a fund spun out of the ownership group of the Chicago Cubs.
Ultralytics, a London, UK-based company which specializes in vision AI at the edge, raised $30M Series A funding. The round was led by Elephant with participation from SquareOne.
Genomines, a Paris, France-based metal extraction company focused on plant-based metal farming, raised a $45m Series A funding. The round was led by Engine Ventures and Forbion BioEconomy, with participation from DeepTech & Climate Fonds, Wind, Hyundai Motor Group, Teampact Ventures, Prospect Innovation, Raise Phiture and AlphaTech Investment Group and existing investors Lowercarbon Capital, Entrepreneurs First, Elemental Impact and Salida B.V.
Mueon, a Portland, OR-based company developing semiconductor-based systems for AI and hyperscale computing, raised $15.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Intel Capital.
Omnea, a London, UK-based provider of an AI-native procurement intake and orchestration platform, raised $50M in Series B funding. The round was led by Insight Partners and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Accel, Point Nine, First Round Capital, and Prosus.
GridStrong, a NYC-based provider of a platform for automating electric grid compliance and operations, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Energize Capital, along with investments from Engie Renewables North America and others.
Envive AI, a Seattle, WA-based intelligence layer for digital commerce, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Fuse VC.
Imagine Pediatrics, a Nashville, TN-based pediatric medical groups delivering 24/7 virtual and in-home care for children with special health care needs, raised $67M in Series B funding. Backers included Oak HC/FT, Optum Ventures, and Rubicon Founders and new strategic investment from the Autism Impact Fund (AIF) and others.
Turnout, a San Diego, CA-based AI-powered consumer service provider, raised $21M in Seed funding. The round was co-led by Shine Capital and LGVP with participation from Swish Ventures, Jaz Capital Partners, Zeev Ventures, HoneyStone, Conversion, Four Aces, and other GPs and Angel investors.
PassiveLogic, a Salt Lake City, UT-based company which specializes in generative autonomy, raised $74M in Series C funding. The round was led by noa, with participation from Prologis Ventures, Johnson Controls, PSP Growth, Addition, NVentures, Keyframe, and Brookfield.
Invisible Technologies, a NYC-based AI software platform provider for the enterprise, raised $100M in growth funding The round was led by Vanara Capital, with participation from Princeville Capital, HOF Capital, Freestyle VC, Rocketeer Management, and Tallwoods Capital, as well as existing investors Acrew Capital, Greycroft, Backed VC, BY Ventures, and Deepwater Asset Management.
Stablecore, a Dallas, TX-based provider of a platform enabling community and regional banks and credit unions to offer stablecoins, tokenized deposits and digital asset products, raised $20M in funding. The round was led by Norwest and with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Curql, BankTech Ventures, Bank of Utah, EJF Ventures, Bankers Helping Bankers Fund and others.
Fabrix Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based provider of an AI-Native Identity Security solution, raised $8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Norwest, Merlin Ventures, and Jibe Ventures.
CodeRabbit, a San Francisco, CA-based AI code reviews company, raised $60M in Series B funding. The round was led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from NVentures: NVIDIA Venture Capital, and existing investors CRV, Harmony Partners, Flex Capital, Engineering Capital and Pelion Venture Partners.
Hiverge, a Cambridge, UK-based company enabling businesses access to algorithms that continually adapt to changing environments, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Flying Fish Ventures with Ahren Innovation Capital and Jeff Dean among the other investors.
Overmind, a London, UK-based company which specializes in predictive change intelligence, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Renegade Partners with participation from Four Rivers, Operator Collective, Dan Scheinman & Walter Kortschak.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Aspire11, a Prague-based venture capital firm, launched its debut fund with €500 million in committed capital. The fund is backed entirely by The Partners Group and its pension company Rentea. Aspire11 will invest in early-stage VC funds and later-stage startups, with co-investment plans alongside top-performing companies.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Meta unveils new smart glasses with a display and wristband controller:
Meta launched the Ray-Ban Display smart glasses at Connect 2025, featuring a built-in right-lens display for apps, directions, translations, and alerts, priced at $799 and shipping September 30.
The glasses are paired with the Meta Neural Band, a wristband using electromyography (EMG) to interpret subtle hand gestures, offering 18 hours of battery life and water resistance.
Unlike Meta’s experimental Orion AR glasses, Ray-Ban Display is a simpler consumer product with on-board AI, cameras, speakers, and integration with Meta apps — as the company races Google and Apple to establish dominance in smart glasses.
China orders tech firms to stop buying Nvidia chips:
China’s Cyberspace Administration has barred companies like ByteDance and Alibaba from buying or testing Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D server chips.
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang said he was “disappointed” but patient, noting the decision reflects broader U.S.–China tensions.
The move boosts local chipmakers such as Huawei, while Nvidia, which already excluded China from forecasts, faces reinforced market lockout.
Meta unveils Hyperscape to turn real-world spaces into VR:
Meta launched Hyperscape Capture in Early Access, letting Quest 3 and 3S users scan real rooms in minutes and transform them into photorealistic VR environments, though rendering takes hours.
Early demos include Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen, Chance the Rapper’s sneaker house, UFC’s Octagon, and influencer Happy Kelli’s Crocs room.
While users can’t yet invite others into their recreated spaces, Meta plans to enable private links soon, alongside new VR games, Horizon TV updates, and immersive movie experiences.
Apple plans a touchscreen MacBook Pro:
Apple is reportedly planning its first-ever touchscreen for the Mac lineup, starting with a new OLED MacBook Pro model set to enter mass production sometime in late 2026.
This potential launch signals a major shift in Mac design philosophy, directly contrasting Steve Jobs' famous 2010 claim that vertical touch surfaces have terrible ergonomics and cause user fatigue.
The report suggests this new direction reflects long-term observation of iPad user behavior, indicating that touch controls can enhance productivity and the overall experience in certain specific scenarios.
SpaceX partners with chipmakers for Starlink phone service:
SpaceX is working with chip manufacturers to integrate satellite-connectivity hardware directly into smartphones, a key move for its plan to create a Starlink direct-to-device service for unmodified phones.
After acquiring wireless spectrum from EchoStar, SpaceX can now negotiate with global telecom carriers more independently, aiming to wholesale its satellite network capacity directly to their existing mobile customers.
The company plans to launch satellites needed for this direct-to-device business within the next two years and expects to begin early mobile phone testing with the system by late 2026.
Anthropic's AI use limits frustrate the White House:
Hostility inside the Trump administration has deepened toward Anthropic after it refused to let federal contractors use its AI models for the surveillance of US citizens.
Anthropic's usage policy prohibits surveillance, preventing the FBI, Secret Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using its AI models for some of their official functions.
Officials believe the company uses vague terminology to make a moral judgment, unlike OpenAI whose policy has specific carveouts for legal monitoring by law enforcement.
Apple explores foldable iPhone test production in Taiwan:
Apple is in talks with suppliers to set up a pilot line in northern Taiwan for foldable iPhones, with mass production planned in India for a 2026 launch, according to Nikkei.
The company aims to ship about 95 million phones in its 2026 lineup — a 10%+ increase — with the foldable model seen as key to hitting that target.
Taiwan’s ecosystem will be used for testing and fine-tuning manufacturing steps before replicating the process in India for large-scale output.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other news
The iPhone Air’s real breakthrough is its battery
Apple’s new iPhone Air debuts a metal can battery that can be shaped into arbitrary two-dimensional forms, unlike conventional pouch cells, giving engineers more flexibility in design.
This approach allows Apple to maximize energy storage by pushing the battery closer to device edges while eliminating swelling pinch points seen in L-shaped cells.
Experts say the design could pave the way for silicon anodes — capable of 50% more energy density — and will be especially valuable for compact devices like AR and VR glasses.
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)
General Partner Gaikka Capital | Singapore - Apply Here
Partner 22 - a16z | USA - Apply Here
ESG Intern - ESG Enterprise | UK - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Capital Oven | India - Apply Here
Capital Formation Associate - B Capital Group | USA - Apply Here
VP of Fundraising - Scale Asia Venture | Japan - Apply Here
Research Analyst - Positive Sum | USA - Apply Here
2026 Venture Capital Summer Analyst - Stepstone Group | USA - Apply Here
AI Venture Analyst Intern - Untaped Venture | USA - Apply Here
Investor Relations Manager - Beco Capital | UK - Apply Here
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