☕ Anthropic is building a custom AI chip design team & SpaceX is building its own phone network.
Top Google AI researchers leaving the company to cofound AI startup & Meta launches an AI coding agent for large codebases.
Breaking News
Google AI pioneer Jeff Dean has left the company to co-found Discovery Loop, a startup building AI systems that can automate scientific research by running thousands of experiments in parallel. The venture has already attracted backing from Alphabet, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed, and other major investors.
Meta has launched Muse Code, a terminal-based AI coding agent that helps developers plan, write, test, and validate code across large software repositories. Powered by its Muse Spark model, it uses parallel AI sub-agents to work on multiple coding tasks simultaneously, positioning Meta as a stronger competitor to OpenAI Codex and Anthropic Claude Code.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
ChatFeatured, a Toronto, Canada-based AI search optimization platform, raised US$2M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Storytime Capital, with participation from Garage Capital and BY Venture Partners.
SEED
Proxy Foods AI, a Washington, DC-based food and beverage R&D platform, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Ted Leonsis, with participation from Robert G. Hisaoka and SWaN & Legend Venture Partners.
Relu, a Leuven, Belgium- and Boston, MA-based AI platform for automating dental lab design and administrative workflows, raised $1.75M in Seed funding. The round was led by Dental Innovation Alliance (DIA).
Intelligence, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of the AI design benchmarking platform Design Arena, raised $7.9M in Seed funding. The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Conviction, A*, and Valkyrie.
Advocate Technologies, a New York City-based commercial insurance benchmarking platform, raised $18M in Seed funding. Backers included Vestigo Ventures, Brewer Lane, MetaProp, and select family offices.
LoopX, a Sudbury, Ontario-based physical AI platform for mining environments, raised $4.05M in Seed funding. The round was led by BDC Seed Venture Fund and Orion Industrial Ventures, with participation from Hatch.
Rivo, a San Francisco, CA-based autonomous cash management platform, raised $2.7M in Seed financing. Backers included South Park Commons, Wisdom Ventures, Script Capital, 645 Ventures, 20VC, and Jag Duggal.
GROWTH
Pinegap, a New York City-based AI-powered equity research platform, raised $8M in Series A financing. The round was led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with participation from Inventus, Silicon Valley Quad, and DeVC.
FuVeX, a Tudela, Spain-based developer of long-range dual-use drones, raised €3M in funding. Backers included SODENA, SEGO Venture, Izertis Ventures, and family offices.
ICEYE, an Espoo, Finland-based sovereign intelligence company, raised €1B in Series F financing, including a €450M primary investment at a valuation exceeding €10B. The round was co-led by Scaleup Europe Fund (EQT) with participation from other investors.
WindBorne Systems, a Palo Alto, CA-based weather intelligence platform, raised $37M in Series B funding. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and Galvanize, with participation from TransLink Capital, Lux Capital, and existing investors.
Wordsmith, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based AI platform for in-house legal teams, raised $14M in Series B extension funding. The round was led by Intact Private Capital, with participation from FT Ventures, Highland Europe, and Index Ventures.
Aurelius Systems, a San Francisco, CA-based autonomous directed-energy technology company, raised $40M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Draper Associates and KAS Venture Partners, with participation from General Catalyst, Hanwha Defense USA, Outlander, Alumni Ventures, Bravo Victor Venture Capital, Detroit Venture Partners, Decisive Point, and others.
Ordway, a Washington, DC-based monetization and billing platform, raised $20M in equity and debt funding. The round was led by Harbert Growth Partners, with debt participation from Western Alliance Bank’s Innovation Banking Group.
Faye, a Richmond, VA-based AI-powered travel protection platform, raised $50M in Series C funding. The round was led by Madrona, with participation from BRM, Portage, F2 Venture Capital, Viola Ventures, and Lumir Ventures.
Mitti Labs, a New York City- and Bengaluru-based GeoAI satellite platform, raised $9.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Aramco Ventures, with participation from Lightspeed India, Godrej Industries Group, Cisco Foundation, Francis Family Fund, and Volta Circle.
Expedition Therapeutics, a San Francisco, CA-based clinical-stage biotechnology platform, raised $115M in Series B financing. The round was led by General Atlantic, with participation from RA Capital, Vivo Capital, Sofinnova Investments, Novo Holdings, Forbion, Dawn Biopharma, Adage Capital Management, Balyasny Asset Management, Logos Capital, Sanofi Ventures, BVF Partners, and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners.
LemonEdge, a London, UK-based fund accounting platform for private markets, raised $21M in Series A funding. The round was led by Blackstone Innovations Investments, with participation from BNY and existing investor Sidekick Partners.
Moove, a Dubai, UAE-based autonomous mobility platform, raised $250M in Series C funding at a $2.1B valuation. The round was led by Mubadala Investment Company, Woven Capital, Toyota’s Growth Fund, and Ion Pacific, with participation from BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management, and The Raptor Group.
Wellinks, a New Haven, CT-based cardiopulmonary care platform, raised $10M in the first close of its Series B funding. Backers included UMass Memorial Health and other investors.
Convex, a San Francisco, CA-based reactive backend platform, raised $57M in Series B financing. The round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from Etna Labs, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Spark Capital.
RWX, a Columbus, OH-based AI software engineering cloud platform, raised $12M in Series A financing. The round was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners, with participation from Quiet Capital, The O.H.I.O. Fund, R1 Capital, DV, Bryan Johnson, and Kohsuke Kawaguchi.
OLIGO Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based runtime security platform, raised $60M in funding. Backers included Ballistic Ventures, Canon Capital, Greenfield Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Red Dot Capital Partners, TLV Partners, and Eyal Waldman.
Multiplier, a San Francisco, CA-based technology platform for professional services firms, raised $35M in Series B funding. The round was led by The General Partnership, with participation from Ribbit Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Ore Energy, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based long-duration iron-air battery company, raised $43M in Series A funding. The round was led by Plural and HV, with participation from Positron Ventures.
DAILY PICKS
🗞️ Must read posts
What VCs are really asking AI founders during due diligence? (And what you’re expected to show): AI investors are no longer just testing the story. They want to see the actual artifacts behind the company: evals, margins, data rights, model routing, failure modes, and compliance exposure. This piece gives founders a clear view of the 21 questions that now shape AI startup diligence and the documents they should prepare before the first serious investor meeting.
What does a VC really write in their internal notes after they reject you? (Most founders never see it): Most founders only see the polite rejection email. But inside the fund, there is often a sharper internal note explaining why the deal was passed and what would make it worth revisiting later. This piece shows founders how to read between the lines, avoid overreacting to bad-fit rejections, and turn useful passes into future fundraising opportunities.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
U.S. Venture Partners, a Menlo Park, CA-based early stage venture capital firm, is raising up to $400m for its 14th fund. Founded in 1981, U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) is a venture capital firm that focuses on investments in an array of segments including enterprise software, cyber security, consumer, e-commerce, healthcare, and IT-enabled healthcare services.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Shopify says AI search is boosting traffic and sales, not replacing Google
Shopify said AI-driven traffic and orders to merchants on its platform tripled year over year in Q2, while traditional Google search traffic also continued to grow.
The company said AI search delivers better shopping results by understanding buyer intent and multiple constraints, helping users discover more relevant products instead of relying only on keywords.
Shopify also noted that AI-referred shoppers are more likely to land directly on product pages, improving conversions, particularly for smaller merchants and niche product categories.
Anthropic is building a custom AI chip design team
Anthropic has confirmed it is hiring engineers to build a custom silicon team that will co-design AI chips and models to improve performance and efficiency.
The move comes as demand for Claude grows and follows reports that Anthropic is exploring Samsung as a manufacturing partner for its custom chips.
Anthropic joins OpenAI, Google, and Meta in developing in-house AI chips to reduce reliance on third-party hardware and better support large-scale AI workloads.
DOJ to oversee OpenAI’s green-card hiring practices for three years
OpenAI and Statsig have agreed to a DOJ settlement that includes three years of oversight of their employment-based green card hiring process and a $3.2 million payment, without admitting wrongdoing.
The DOJ alleged the companies discouraged qualified U.S. applicants by using limited job advertising and paper-only applications while sponsoring certain foreign workers for permanent residency.
As part of the settlement, OpenAI must submit regular reports on its PERM hiring process, including the number of U.S. applicants interviewed and foreign worker sponsorships.
SpaceX is building its own phone network
SpaceX plans to build a ground-based mobile phone network to compete directly with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, aiming to win over customers in a US wireless market that president Gwynne Shotwell values at about $600 billion a year.
The network will run on 65 megahertz of spectrum bought from EchoStar, a fraction of what the Big 3 carriers hold, and will pair with next-generation Starlink Mobile (V2) satellites that Shotwell said start flying next year.
To cover the country cheaply, Elon Musk floated putting small cellular base stations, or femtocells, on the same rooftop gear that holds Starlink broadband dishes, giving phones direct connectivity without large, costly towers.
Meta AI model hacked another company during cybersecurity testing
Meta disclosed that one of its AI models gained unauthorized access to another company’s systems during a cybersecurity evaluation after a testing environment was mistakenly given internet access.
The company said the incident was caused by a configuration error from third-party evaluator Irregular, similar to the issue previously reported by Anthropic, and was not the result of a sandbox escape.
The incident adds to recent AI security breaches involving OpenAI and Anthropic, increasing scrutiny from U.S. regulators over the safety testing of advanced AI models.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Nikita Bier steps down as X’s head of product
Nikita Bier has stepped down as X’s head of product after just over a year, saying he will remain an adviser while returning to his “natural state” as a poster.
During his tenure, Bier said he helped launch 30 new products, though his time also coincided with several high-profile controversies involving Grok and content moderation.
Bier joined X as head of product in July 2025 and said leading the platform was a demanding 24/7 responsibility.
Etsy lays off 12% of workforce in restructuring
Etsy is laying off about 220 employees, or 12% of its workforce, primarily across its product and engineering teams, as part of a restructuring aimed at improving coordination and decision-making.
The company said the layoffs were not driven by AI, though it acknowledged AI is changing how products are built and how employees work.
Affected employees will receive at least 16 weeks of severance, healthcare support for up to 12 months, while Etsy also approved a new $2 billion share buyback program.
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