☕ Apple accidentally leaked camera AirPods & Cursor launches a GitHub rival for the AI coding era.
Nvidia’s H200 AI chips begin reaching China in limited shipments & Tesla’s Cybercab is finally launching
Breaking News
Cursor has launched Origin, a code-hosting platform for repositories, pull requests, code browsing, and collaboration, putting it in direct competition with GitHub. The platform will introduce “agent-native” features designed around AI coding workflows, as Cursor looks to expand from an AI code editor into a broader developer platform.
Small batches of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips have reportedly entered mainland China, with ByteDance and Tencent each receiving around 10,000 processors. The U.S. has reportedly cleared both companies to purchase up to 100,000 chips, potentially giving Chinese AI labs access to significantly more advanced computing power despite ongoing U.S.-China technology restrictions.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Space, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-native distributed filesystem, raised $2.4M in Pre-Seed financing. The round was led by a16z Speedrun, with participation from Golden Ventures, Northside Ventures, and angel investors.
SEED
Grounded, a Detroit, MI-based advanced manufacturing and mobility company known for its modular electric vehicles, raised $5M in Seed funding. Backers were not disclosed.
InfiniG, a Los Gatos, CA-based provider of a Mobile Coverage as a Service (MCaaS) platform optimizing enterprise cellular connectivity, raised $5.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by J2 Ventures and Stormbreaker Ventures.
Camo Hospitality, an Anaheim, CA-based provider of an infrastructure platform powering hotel-branded room service, raised $4M in Seed financing. Backers included Anthony Lacavera, Rajan Hansji, Azim Jamal, Parsa Rohani, Evan Weiss, and hotel owners currently using the platform.
Eco Gadgets Eservices, a New Delhi, India-based consumer-to-retailer electronics recommerce platform, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. The round was backed exclusively by Amity Technology Incubator.
Seitec, a Canberra, Australia-based provider of software-defined seismic sensing systems for military operators, raised A$4M in the first close of its Seed round, with an additional A$1M remaining in the round.
Peripheral, a Toronto, Canada-based developer of an AI spatial intelligence platform for live sports media, raised $8.7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Inovia Capital and Deloitte Ventures, with participation from Khosla Ventures and Entrepreneurs First.
GROWTH
Hopscotch Primary Care, a Chicago, IL-based provider of a technology-enabled primary care model serving patients in rural communities, raised $53M in Series D financing. The round was led by 8VC and Town Hall Ventures, with participation from aMoon Fund, Citi Impact Fund, Alumni Ventures, K2 HealthVentures, Autism Impact Fund, John Doerr, Dr. Richard Merkin, and Leon Levine Foundation.
Codio, a Cambridge, MA-based provider of a learning experience platform helping higher education institutions deliver applied, work-ready technical education, raised $5M in strategic growth financing. The round was led by Armada Investment.
Abcuro, a Newton, MA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for autoimmune diseases through modulation of cytotoxic T cells, raised $66M in Series D funding. The round was led by New Leaf Venture Partners, with participation from abrdn, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Samsara BioCapital, Redmile Group, Mass General Brigham Ventures, RA Capital Management, Pontifax, Sanofi Ventures, Foresite Capital, NEA, Eurofarma Ventures, Kaitai Capital, Soleus Capital, Nancy Chang, Shang Bay, and Rock Springs Capital.
DefendEye, a Hallandale Beach, FL-based provider of fully autonomous aerial intelligence systems and drones, raised an undisclosed amount in new funding. The round was led by NovaCapital, with participation from ff Venture Capital, Hard2beat, Sunfish Partners, and In-Q-Tel.
Craif, a Tokyo, Japan-based provider of a urine analysis bio-AI platform for early detection of cancer and other diseases, raised $33M in Series D financing, comprising $30.7M in equity and $3.3M in debt. The round was led by Granite-Integral and Tauns Co., with participation from Unreasonable, X&KSK, and others.
Smack Technologies, an Austin, TX-based provider of an AI platform for national security, raised $61M in Series B financing. The round was led by Costanoa Ventures and First In, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Nomi Capital, Felicis, Sapphire Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Fortitude Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Palumni VC.
Sonic Fire Tech, a Columbus, OH-based clean technology startup developing acoustic fire suppression systems, raised $15M in funding, bringing its total capital raised to $18.5M. The round was led by The O.H.I.O. Fund, with participation from Khosla Ventures.
Enginprime Medical, a Hangzhou, China-based developer of percutaneous ventricular assist device technology, raised $12M in Series A financing. The round was led by Qiming Venture Partners.
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DAILY PICKS
🗞️ Must read post
The term sheet terms founders should actually fight: Most founders negotiate valuation hardest, but the terms that quietly matter more often sit elsewhere in the document. This piece shows founders how to understand what investors can and can’t move, where the real leverage is, and why option pools, protective provisions, board structure, and pro rata rights can shape the company long after the round closes.
Before VCs invest, they’ll call your customers. But what do they really ask?: Before writing a check, serious investors often call your customers to understand usage, renewal intent, defensibility, buying process, and whether your revenue is truly repeatable. This piece shows founders how to manage that process without burning customer trust - from gating intros to choosing the right references and framing the raise as a decision they are making.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Third Mind, a Menlo Park, CA-based newly formed venture capital firm, is raising its first fund. According to a SEC form, Third Mind I, LP, has a target of $25m with $5.7m already raised. The document lists Antoine Nivard (formerly at Blank Ventures) as the person related to the raise.
Reach Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, raised $265 million for its fifth fund. The firm will invest in pre-seed through Series A startups building AI applications across learning, healthcare, and the future of work, with plans to back roughly 50 companies.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
OpenAI adds new safeguards after Hugging Face security breach
OpenAI is introducing stronger security measures for testing advanced AI models, including tighter network isolation, expanded monitoring, and greater emphasis on alignment during post-training.
The company paused reinforcement learning for two weeks after the Hugging Face breach. Its largest planned frontier RL run remains on hold while smaller-scale tests assess model behavior and validate safeguards.
A new monitoring system will track tool actions, reasoning traces, and activity logs for unauthorized behavior, targeting alerts within 30 minutes. OpenAI estimates the monitoring will add roughly 20% to compute usage.
Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods could turn Siri into an AI that sees what you see
Apple is reportedly developing AirPods with low-resolution cameras designed for Visual Intelligence, allowing Siri to understand what users are looking at and answer questions about objects, books, ingredients, or surroundings.
Unlike smart glasses, the cameras reportedly won’t take photos or record video. Apple appears to be positioning them as “eyes” for Siri, potentially enabling navigation and everyday AI assistance without constantly pulling out an iPhone.
Privacy perception could still be Apple’s biggest challenge. An LED would indicate when visual data is sent to the cloud, but consumers may still associate camera-equipped AirPods with surveillance-focused AI wearables.
TikTok explores sending money through direct messages
TikTok is developing a peer-to-peer payment feature that could let users send and receive money directly through DMs, using its existing TikTok Pay infrastructure.
Hidden code in TikTok’s U.S. iPhone app suggests recipients could “tap to accept” payments and users could attach messages, creating an experience similar to Venmo.
TikTok says the feature isn’t being tested yet, so a launch isn’t guaranteed. But it fits the company’s broader push beyond social media into shopping, travel, local discovery, and financial services.
OpenAI launches ChatGPT for teens
OpenAI has launched ChatGPT for Teens, a version of its chatbot built for users aged 13 to 17 that becomes the default experience for anyone who identifies as a teen or is estimated to be one.
The product adds safeguards like frequent break prompts, warnings against uploading sensitive images, and parental alerts when teens discuss violence, while avoiding romantic language or any suggestion the AI has feelings or consciousness.
New learning tools include quizzes drawn from chats or notes, homework reminders meant to discourage shortcuts, and a “Study Hours” setting that parents and teens can use to limit ChatGPT to Study Mode each day.
Tesla’s Cybercab is finally launching
Tesla is set to put its Cybercab, a two-seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, onto public roads in Austin as soon as this month, though the first riders will be its own employees.
Staff rides will come first, with the cars folded into Tesla’s existing Austin robotaxi service days later, aiming for the end of August, though those familiar with the plan warn the timeline could still slip.
Tesla has built Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas since February, with over 100 spotted in lots by July, yet it cannot legally sell or let customers drive a vehicle that lacks both controls and, in most places, permission.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Apple simplifies EU App Store fees and opens the door wider to alternative stores
Apple is replacing its complex Core Technology Fee with a flat 5% commission on digital transactions for apps distributed outside the App Store, including alternative marketplaces and the web.
Developers using Apple’s in-app purchases will pay 26%, while alternative payment processing carries a 20% commission. Eligible developers in special programs can still access lower rates of 10%–15%.
Apple is also easing requirements for launching alternative app stores in the EU, allowing developers to qualify through options such as audited finances, public-company status, or sufficient VC funding.
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