☕ Neuralink chip might give humans infrared sight & Meta’s $14.3B deal with Scale AI looks like a buyout—but isn’t.
When ChatGPT becomes a mirror for delusion & Nvidia to exclude China from future revenue forecasts.
You’ve got the genes for venom. Humans, like other mammals, share the same genetic blueprint for oral venom as snakes.
So technically, you could have been poisonous.
Evolution just said, “nah, let’s do taxes instead.”
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: Jack Dorsey’s VC advice, Freemium reframed, how Wiz hit 222x, 50+ fund IRRs, startup idea tips, valuation guide, pitch deck & legal templates, and more top founder tools.
Meta’s $14.3B investment in Scale AI structured as dividend payout, not takeover.
Apple’s Liquid Glass hints at design direction for upcoming AR glasses.
When ChatGPT becomes a mirror for delusion.
Nvidia to exclude China from future revenue forecasts.
Google reportedly plans to cut ties with Scale AI.
Neuralink chip might give humans infrared sight.
Chinese AI firms smuggle hard drives to evade chip restrictions.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
⏱️ Read Time: 3 minutes
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
OneBalance, a London, UK-based framework for credible accounts combining chain abstraction, gas abstraction, and permission management, raised $20m in Series A funding. The round was co-led by cyber Fund and Blockchain Capital with participation from Mirana Ventures and L2IV.
Definely, a London-based legal tech startup, raised $30 million in Series B funding to expand its AI-powered contract review tools. The round was led by Revaia with participation from Alumni Ventures, Beacon Capital, and others.
Volantis, a San Mateo, CA-based semiconductor startup building photonically integrated computers, raised $9M in Seed funding. Backers included Alex Wang and Trevor Blackwell.
Gecko Robotics, a Pittsburgh, PA-based AI and robotics company developing the platform for building, raised an undisclosed amount in Series D funding, at $1.25 Billion valuation. The round was led by new investors Cox Enterprises, and continuing investors USIT, XN, Founders Fund, and YCombinator.
Autonomize AI, an Austin, TX-based company which speicializes in AI-driven healthcare solutions, raised $28M in Series A funding. The round was led by Valtruis, The Cigna Group Ventures, Tau Ventures, and other strategic investors. Asset Management Ventures, ATX Venture Partners and Capital Factory also participated.
Tombot, a Los Angeles, CA-based robotic tech company, raised $6.1M in Series A funding. The round was led by Caduceus Capital Partners, with participation from new and existing investors.
Knowunity, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of an AI learning platform for students, raised €27M in a Series B funding. The round was led by European investor XAnge, with participation from Portfolion, Isomer Capital, Project A, Redalpine and Educapital, alongside business angels, entrepreneur and Startup Association chair Verena Pausder, and Booking.com founder Arthur Kosten.
Conveyor, a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in AI Agents for B2B customer workflows, including security reviews and RFPs, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by SignalFire with participation from Oregon Venture Fund and Cervin Ventures.
Canary Technologies, a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in hotel guest management technology, raised $80M in Series D funding. The round was led by Brighton Park Capital with participation from existing investors Insight Partners, F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator and Commerce Ventures.
Ryght AI, a Laguna Beach, CA based provider of real-time generative AI solutions for the clinical research industry, raised $3m in seed funding. The round was led by Foothill Ventures with participation from existing investors AIX Ventures, Virtue Ventures, IASO Ventures, Top Harvest Capital, and Page One Ventures.
Antimetal, a NYC-based provider of an infrastructure management automation platform, raised $20M in Series A funding. The round was led by Sound Ventures with participation from Buckley Ventures, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, Naval Srinivasan, Ben Uretsky, the founder of Digital Ocean, Aaron Levie, founder of Box, and Arash Ferdowsi, founder of Dropbox, and others.
Multiverse Computing, a Donostia, Spain,-based quantum-inspired Ai Model compression company, raised $215M in funding. The round was led by Bullhound Capital with participation from HP Tech Ventures, SETT, Forgepoint Capital International, CDP Venture Capital, Santander Climate VC, Quantonation, Toshiba and Capital Riesgo de Euskadi – Grupo SPRI.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Felicis, a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture firm, announced the close of a $900 million Fund X, its largest to date. The fund will continue backing seed and Series A startups across sectors, with a growing focus on AI. Founded in 2006 by Aydin Senkut, Felicis has backed over 50 unicorns including Shopify, Twitch, and Ring. Its recent portfolio includes AI-native startups like Poolside, Supabase, and Runway. This fund follows its $825M Fund IX (2023) and $600M Fund XIII (2021), reflecting continued momentum in early-stage investing.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Meta’s $14.3B investment in Scale AI structured as dividend payout, not takeover:
Meta is acquiring a 49% stake in AI startup Scale, valuing the company at over $29 billion and providing “substantial liquidity” to shareholders and employees via dividends—not a share buyback.
Early investor Accel is reportedly receiving a $2.5 billion payout, with proceeds distributed rather than shares being sold directly to Meta.
As part of the deal, Scale CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta, raising questions about whether the structure could face regulatory scrutiny despite not being a full acquisition.
Apple’s Liquid Glass hints at design direction for upcoming AR glasses:
Apple unveiled its new Liquid Glass design at WWDC 2025, its biggest UI overhaul in a decade, inspired by the Vision Pro’s mixed reality interface.
The translucent, glass-like design is likely a preview of what’s coming in Apple’s rumored AR glasses, expected to debut next year.
Reports suggest the AR glasses will feature built-in Siri, cameras, mics, and lightweight notification overlays, making subtle design mastery critical for real-world use.
When ChatGPT becomes a mirror for delusion:
A New York Times feature highlights how ChatGPT may have reinforced delusional thinking in users like Eugene Torres, who claimed the chatbot validated simulation theory and advised drastic life changes.
OpenAI responded by saying it’s working to understand and reduce unintended reinforcement of harmful behavior through ChatGPT interactions.
Critics argue the issue stems from users’ pre-existing conditions rather than AI-induced harm, calling the report an exaggeration.
Nvidia to exclude China from future revenue forecasts:
Nvidia will no longer include China in its revenue and profit forecasts due to ongoing U.S. chip export restrictions.
CEO Jensen Huang said he’s not expecting the Trump administration to reverse the current licensing rules, calling any reversal a “bonus.”
The export controls have already impacted Nvidia’s revenue, with the company expecting an $8 billion hit in Q2.
Google reportedly plans to cut ties with Scale AI:
Google is reportedly ending its $200 million deal with Scale AI, following Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in the startup.
Other major clients like Microsoft and OpenAI are also said to be scaling back, raising concerns about vendor neutrality.
Scale claims it will remain independent and continue protecting customer data despite its deepening ties with Meta.
Neuralink chip might give humans infrared sight:
Neuralink's Blindsight brain implant, currently tested in monkeys, intends to restore vision and might one day enable new capabilities like infrared sight.
At a recent conference, Neuralink engineers reported the Blindsight device successfully stimulated vision-linked brain areas in a monkey during experimental tests with the animal.
The monkey involved in Blindsight tests responded by moving its eyes toward what researchers wanted it to visualize over sixty-six percent of the time.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Chinese AI firms smuggle hard drives to evade chip restrictions:
Chinese tech workers reportedly flew to Malaysia, each carrying fifteen hard drives holding 80 terabytes of data apiece for training AI models.
Once in Malaysia, this data was processed using 300 rented Nvidia AI servers within a local data center to build the AI model.
This data export strategy to Malaysian facilities emerged as U.S. bans made importing advanced Nvidia chips into China increasingly difficult for AI development.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
Venture Capital Junior Analyst - Stepstone Group | USA - Apply Here
VC Investor - Founders Factory | Itly - Apply Here
Investor Relations Intern - Qualgro Venture | Singapore - Apply Here
Program Manager - Generator | USA - Apply Here
Venture Capital General Partner - ELM Street Partner | USA - Apply Here
Corporate Development & Strategy - Figma Venture | USA - Apply Here
Investment Trainee - Hashkey Capital | USA - Apply Here
Staff Accountant - Energy Impact Partner | USA - Apply Here
Writer - First Round Capital | USA - Apply Here
Partner 32 - a16z | 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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