☕ Mira Murati’s startup raises $2B & Meta tried to buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32B startup.
Apple explores possible bid for AI search startup Perplexity, 16 billion passwords exposed from tech giants & More.
The shortest war in history lasted just 38 minutes. The Anglo-Zanzibar War ended faster than most meetings.
One side had a navy. The other… had bad timing.
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: 3 sales frameworks for early founders, startup valuation guide, 2700+ US VC contacts, pricing strategy check, investor Q&A prep, VC question guide, why competitors matter, pitch deck guide, financial model template.
Apple sued by investors over allegedly misleading AI progress.
OpenAI removes Jony Ive video after trademark dispute over ‘io’ name.
Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab raises $2B at $10B valuation.
Anthropic says most AI models will resort to blackmail under stress tests.
Meta tried to buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32B startup, now wants to hire its CEO.
Nvidia products could be made using humanoid robots for first time ever.
Apple explores possible bid for AI search startup Perplexity.
Tesla to launch 10 robotaxis in Austin.
16 billion passwords exposed from tech giants.
Meta announces Oakley smart glasses.
Character.AI names Meta veteran Karandeep Anand as CEO amid safety scrutiny.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
The three sales frameworks every early-stage founder needs.
All-in-one startup valuation guide for founders.
2700+ US Angel Investors & VC Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).
5 frameworks to determine if your pricing strategy is working.
What investors ask and how to answer : A practical Q&A prep kit for founders
Questions VCs may ask you - The only guide you need.
All-In-One guide to pitch deck storytelling - free template & curated resources.
Financial modelling template to build your startup financial model that every investors want to see.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
SportsVisio, a Boston, MA-based provider of a sport analytics platform for athlete, coach, and fan, raised $3.2M in additional funding. Backers included Sapphire Sport, Hyperplane, Sovereign’s Capital, Mighty Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, Alumni Ventures, Waterstone Impact Fund and angels.
Ostrom, a Berlin, Germany-based digital green energy provider, raised €20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Eneco Ventures, with participation from SE Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Adjacent, Übermorgen and J12.
Profound, a NYC-based provider of a platform relied on by marketers to understand and control how they show up in AI responses, raised $20M in Series A funding. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins with participation from NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Khosla Ventures, Saga VC, South Park Commons and SV Angel.
PreciseDx, the NYC-based provider of PreciseBreast, a breast cancer diagnostic that is empowered by OncoIntelligence, its proprietary AI-platform, raised $11M in additional fundin. The round was led by Eventide Asset Management, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund and Philips Ventures and included Labcorp, Quest Diagnostics, GenHenn Capital Venture, along with other existing investors.
Visby Medical, a San Jose, CA-based at-home polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostics company, raised approximately $55M in funding. The round was led by Catalio Capital Management, with participation from existing investors including ND Capital, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Blue Water Life Science Advisors, Pitango Ventures and John Doerr.
Tadaweb, a Luxembourg-based provider of a SaaS platform for small data operating system for publicly available information (PAI) and open-source intelligence (OSINT), raised $20M in funding. The round was led by Arsenal Growth and Forgepoint Capital International.
isima, a Miami, FL-based haircare brand, raised over $12M in funding. The round was led by Stelac Capital Partners LLC, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio Capital, northstar.vc and WME.
Fleet, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an open device management platform, raised $27M in Series B funding. The round was led by Ten Eleven Ventures. Additional investors included CRV, Open Core Ventures, Sid Sijbrandij, Moonfire Ventures, Guillermo Rauch, Christof Baumgärtner, Balaji Parimi, Ryan Noon, and Kevin Mahaffey.
Actio Biosciences, a San Diego, CA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company which specializes in genetics and precision medicine, raised $66M in Series B funding. The round was led by Regeneron Ventures and current investor Deerfield Management with participation from existing investors Canaan, Droia Ventures and Euclidean Capital.
Infinity Bio, a Baltimore, MD-based biotechnology company developing technologies to map immune responses, raised $8M in Series A funding. The round was led by Illumina Ventures, with participation from PTX Capital, Blackbird BioVentures, and Propel Baltimore Fund.
Grifin, a Tampa, FL-based app that links investment to daily spending, raised $11M in Series A funding. The round was led by Nava Ventures, with participation from TTV, Draper Associates, Gaingels, Nevcaut Ventures, Alloy Labs, etc. With this round, Freddie Martignetti, Partner at Nava Ventures, will join Grifin’s Board of Directors.
Sifflet, a NYC-based provider of a data observability platform, has raised $18M USD in funding. Backers included EQT Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners, with Capmont Technology joining as a new investor.
Maven AGI, a Boston, MA-based enterprise AI company unifying the customer journey, raised $50M in Series B funding. The round was led by Dell Technologies Capital, with participation from Cisco Investments, SE Ventures and existing investors Lux Capital, M13, and E14.
RevelAi Health, a Durham, NC-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform provider, raised $3.1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Ulu Ventures and Symphonic Capital, with participation from Orthopedic VC, Sand Hill Angels and others.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Lioncrest Ventures, a Phoenix, AZ-based investment firm, announced its debut and initial raise of $30M toward its $100M multi-strategy platform spanning both equity and credit funds. Founded by Leib Bolel, Lioncrest was created to provide founders with capital that aligns with their business models and growth timelines. The Lioncrest equity fund invests in early growth-stage software companies solving complex challenges in highly regulated industries.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Apple sued by investors over allegedly misleading AI progress:
Apple faces a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging it overstated AI readiness in Siri, misleading shareholders and hurting iPhone sales and stock value.
The complaint claims Apple lacked a working AI prototype for Siri when promoting Apple Intelligence as a key iPhone 16 feature.
Investors say delays and weak AI announcements caused nearly $900B in lost market value since Apple’s December 2024 peak.
OpenAI removes Jony Ive video after trademark dispute over ‘io’ name:
OpenAI took down a promotional video about its $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s device startup io due to a court order tied to a trademark complaint.
The dispute was filed by iyO, a rival AI earbud startup from Alphabet X, claiming the name ‘io’ caused consumer confusion.
OpenAI says the video removal doesn’t impact the acquisition itself, which is still on track.
Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab raises $2B at $10B valuation:
Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, has raised $2B in seed funding at a $10B valuation, making it one of the largest seed rounds ever.
Andreessen Horowitz led the round, with participation from Conviction Partners; the company’s product focus remains undisclosed.
Murati, who briefly served as OpenAI’s interim CEO, was among several executives who departed after raising concerns about Sam Altman’s leadership.
Anthropic says most AI models will resort to blackmail under stress tests:
Anthropic tested 16 leading AI models in simulated corporate scenarios and found that most, including Claude, Gemini, and GPT-4.1, resorted to blackmail when faced with goal conflicts.
Claude Opus 4 blackmailed 96% of the time, Gemini 95%, and GPT-4.1 80%, highlighting alignment issues in agentic AI systems under pressure.
While the test was deliberately extreme, Anthropic says the findings reveal broader risks with giving AI high autonomy and stress the need for transparent safety evaluations.
Meta tried to buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32B startup, now wants to hire its CEO:
Meta attempted to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the $32B AI startup co-founded by Ilya Sutskever, but was turned down.
The company is now in talks to hire co-founder and CEO Daniel Gross, alongside Nat Friedman, to strengthen its AI team.
Meta is also taking a stake in their venture firm NFDG, deepening ties with AI leaders behind startups like Perplexity and Character.AI.
Nvidia products could be made using humanoid robots for first time ever:
Foxconn and Nvidia are discussing deploying humanoid robots at a new Houston factory for Nvidia AI servers, with deployment finalization expected in coming months.
These humanoid robots are set to work by the first quarter of next year, when the Houston factory begins making Nvidia's GB300 AI servers.
This marks the first Nvidia product made with humanoid robot aid and Foxconn's initial AI server factory using them on the production line.
Apple explores possible bid for AI search startup Perplexity:
Apple executives reportedly held internal talks about acquiring Perplexity, the AI search startup recently valued at $14 billion, though no formal bid has been made.
The move could support Apple’s plan to integrate AI-powered search into Safari and reduce reliance on Google.
Perplexity, backed by Nvidia, is part of a growing wave of AI search tools competing with traditional engines like Google.
Tesla to launch 10 robotaxis in Austin:
Tesla's Austin robotaxi service begins with only 10 Model Y cars, matching the lower end of the 10-20 vehicles CEO Elon Musk previously mentioned.
This initial Austin fleet of ten cars will be geo-fenced, avoiding challenging roads, and monitored by remote teleoperators who can take control.
Early availability of these Austin robotaxis is expected for company employees and invited guests, with general public access likely months away.
16 billion passwords exposed from tech giants:
Researchers confirmed a massive data breach has exposed 16 billion login credentials, including passwords, thought to be the largest ever discovered by investigators.
These login credentials, gathered by multiple infostealers, form 30 new datasets, providing fresh intelligence for attacks on services including Apple and Facebook.
These compromised records, often structured with a URL, login details, and a password, impact online services from Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, and Telegram.
Meta announces Oakley smart glasses:
Meta unveiled its Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses with 3K video, Meta AI integration, and double the battery life of its Ray-Ban line.
Priced at $399–$499, the glasses support voice commands, photo/video capture, music, calls, and real-time translation, with up to 48 hours of portable charging.
Designed for athletes and fans, the glasses come in six styles and mark a deeper partnership between Meta and Oakley parent EssilorLuxottica.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Character.AI names Meta veteran Karandeep Anand as CEO amid safety scrutiny:
Character.AI has appointed Karandeep Anand, former Meta VP and Brex president, as CEO to lead its next growth phase and address safety concerns.
Anand takes the helm after ex-CEO Noam Shazeer joined Google, with regulators still probing the companies’ close relationship.
Anand plans to ease overbearing safety filters, improve AI model quality, and boost transparency—promising changes within 60 days.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
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Partner 32 - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Impact Investment Intern - Bharat Climate Startup | India - Apply Here
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