Apple made over $10B from US App Store commissions & Figma's big AI update takes on Adobe and Canva.
Former Google DeepMind director joins Meta & Trump admin to roll back Biden’s AI chip restrictions.
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Today’s Picks: YC 2025 RFS, financial model, vibe code, AI CEO era, 6000+ Euro VCs, LLM marketing, legal docs, Jack Dorsey tips, valuation guide, smart freemium, 350+ Indian VCs, Wiz 222x, VC interview prep, Founders Fund returns, data room guide.
Bosch Ventures, launched a new $270M Fund VI to back deep-tech startups.
Apple made over $10B from US App Store commissions last year.
Microsoft bans DeepSeek app use internally over data and propaganda risks.
Meta taps former Google DeepMind director to lead its AI research lab.
Apple doesn’t believe the iPhone will last another decade.
Figma's big AI update takes on Adobe, WordPress, and Canva.
Meta's new AI glasses could have a super-sensing mode with facial recognition.
Trump admin to roll back Biden’s AI chip restrictions.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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6000+ European VC Firms Contact Database (LinkedIn Links).
Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.
Working with LLMs: A Few Lessons.
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350+ Indian Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).
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Investor data room guide & templates for founders.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Sett, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based provider of an Agentic AI platform for mobile gaming studios, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, alongside Saga VC, F2 Venture Capital, Vgames, and Akin Babayigit (Arcadia Gaming Advisors, Tripledot).
Glide, a NYC-based provider of an embedded fintech platform, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Acrew Capital, with participation from Pear VC, Pathlight Capital, and angels including Claire Hughes Johnson (former COO of Stripe), Paul Williamson (former CRO of Plaid), and Arash Ferdowsi (co-founder of Dropbox).
Foundation, a humanoid robotics startup founded by ex-Synapse CEO Sankaet Pathak, is reportedly raising $100M at a $1B valuation. The company, which debuted its robot Phantom earlier this year, previously raised $11M in pre-seed funding from Tribe Capital and others.
Una Software, a Toronto, Canada-based AI-powered financial planning and analysis (FP&A) company, raised $4.4M in Seed funding. The round, which brought total investment to $10M, was led by Staircase Ventures and Emerald Development Managers.
Amilia, a Montreal, Canada-based provider of management software and payment solutions for the community and recreation industries, raised $35M in growth funding. The round was led by Vertu Capital.
Kouper, a NYC-based provider of a healthcare technology platform, raised $10M in funding. The round was led by General Catalyst, 25Madison, and CVS Health Ventures.
Jozu, a NYC-based company building enterprise-grade orchestration tools for AI applications, raised $4M in Seed funding. The round was led by HalfCourt Capital, with participation from Mozilla Ventures, BrightSpark, AlleyCorp, Sentiero, and Union Bay Partners.
Loxa, a London, UK-based insurtech firm, raised £1.69m in Seed funding. Backers incuded Angel Investment Network (which made a £125k investment).
Valarian, a London, UK-based provider of a platform for enforced isolation and compartmentalized infrastructure, raised $7M in funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $20M, was co-led by Scout Ventures and Artis Ventures, with participation from angel investor Gokul Rajaram. Previous investors included Molten Ventures, IQ Capital, and MD One.
CodeAnt AI, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an application security platform, raised $2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Y Combinator, VitalStage Ventures, and Uncorrelated Ventures, with participation from DeVC, Transpose Platform, Entrepreneur First and angel investors.
Juice, a London, UK-based founder-focused lender platform for digital SMEs, secured £25m in funding. Backers included family offices Aern Capital and Falco Capital, supported by a credit line from Paragon Bank.
Kind Design, a Miami, Fl-based climate-tech and construction-tech startup, raised $5M in Seed 1 funding, at $30M valuation. The round was led by Overlay Capital with participation from strategic investors across construction, government, and infrastructure sectors.
Koala Health, a Boston, MA-based pet health company, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Valspring Capital.
CueZen, a Seattle, WA-based provider of an AI-based personalization engine for health, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Point72 Ventures, with participation from Pack VC, Fortson VC, and Nextinfinity.
Fastino, a Palo Alto, CA-based AI model architecture company building TLMs, raised $17.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Insight Partners as well as Valor Equity Partners, and angels including Scott Johnston, the previous CEO of Docker, and Lukas Biewald, the CEO of Weights & Biases.
Operand, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-enabled consulting company for consumer retail, raised $3.1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Felicis, with participation from Y Combinator, SV Angel, Soma Capital, and angels including Ali Rowghani, former CFO of Twitter.
Ravio, a London, UK-based company providing data and tools for compensation confidence, raised a $12m Series A funding. The round was led by Spark Capital (US) with participation from Blackbird (Australia) and Cherry Ventures (Europe).
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Bosch Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Bosch, has launched a new $270M Fund VI to back deep-tech startups, with a renewed focus on North America. The firm plans to make 20–25 investments targeting sectors like automotive, climate tech, semiconductors, energy efficiency, and applied GenAI for manufacturing. Investment sizes will typically range from $5M to $10M.
Josh Raffaelli, ex-partner at Brookfield and longtime Musk backer, is suing the firm after allegedly being fired for filing a whistleblower complaint with the SEC. The lawsuit includes claims of fraud, bribery, and mishandling pandemic-era real estate losses. Raffaelli says Brookfield didn’t follow through on stock deals in Musk-led companies like SpaceX, xAI, and The Boring Company. Brookfield, which quietly shut down Raffaelli’s VC unit in February, denies all wrongdoing.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Apple made over $10B from US App Store commissions last year:
Apple earned $10.1 billion from U.S. App Store commissions in 2024, up from $4.76 billion in 2020, with U.S. developers generating $33.68 billion in gross revenue.
Globally, App Store revenue reached $91.3 billion last year, netting Apple $27.39 billion, though Apple’s own broader estimates differ due to how it calculates indirect contributions.
Following a court ruling, Apple must now allow developers to link to external payment systems without charging commissions, a shift that may significantly impact future App Store revenue.
Microsoft bans DeepSeek app use internally over data and propaganda risks:
Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate that employees are banned from using the DeepSeek app due to concerns about Chinese data laws and government-influenced responses.
Although DeepSeek's open-source models like R1 are available on Azure, Smith said Microsoft modified them to remove “harmful side effects.”
DeepSeek stores user data on servers in China and censors sensitive topics; Microsoft excluded its app from the Windows Store while still allowing some competitors like Perplexity.
Meta taps former Google DeepMind director to lead its AI research lab:
Meta has appointed Robert Fergus, former research director at Google DeepMind, to lead its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab.
Fergus previously worked at Meta as a research scientist and replaces Joelle Pineau, who left the company in April.
FAIR, once central to Meta’s AI development, has recently seen talent departures and been eclipsed by Meta’s GenAI group, which developed Llama 4.
Apple doesn’t believe the iPhone will last another decade:
Apple's Senior Vice President Eddy Cue stated that AI might make the iPhone obsolete within the next ten years, similar to how the iPod was phased out.
Cue made these comments during the Google Search antitrust remedies trial, explaining that AI could significantly alter the technology sector and create opportunities for new market participants.
He emphasized that such substantial technological advancements can challenge even dominant firms, recalling Apple's strategic decision to discontinue the successful iPod due to evolving technology.
Figma's big AI update takes on Adobe, WordPress, and Canva:
Figma is expanding its platform with new tools, including Figma Sites for website building, aiming to reduce reliance on services like WordPress for project completion.
The company introduced an AI coding assistant, Figma Make, and a marketing design application, Figma Buzz, to streamline content creation, directly competing with platforms like Canva.
Finally, Figma Draw provides vector illustration features, similar to Adobe Illustrator, enabling creatives to design custom graphics without leaving the Figma ecosystem, increasing direct competition.
Meta's new AI glasses could have a super-sensing mode with facial recognition:
Meta is developing "super-sensing" vision software for its smart eyewear, which reportedly includes the capability to recognize individuals by name using facial identification technology.
This advanced AI system, activated by voice, could eventually provide helpful reminders by constantly monitoring your environment and actions through always-active cameras and sensors.
While current trials of the live AI drastically reduce battery duration to only 30 minutes, Meta intends for its forthcoming glasses to operate the software for hours.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Trump admin to roll back Biden’s AI chip restrictions:
The Trump administration has revealed intentions to rescind and replace a Biden-era rule that regulated the worldwide export of high-end artificial intelligence accelerator chips.
Officials from the Commerce Department found the prior framework overly complex, asserting it would stymie US innovation, and pledged a simpler replacement to ensure American AI dominance.
The original Biden administration regulation, issued in January, focused on restricting China's access to technology for military enhancement, and news of this policy shift promptly affected markets.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
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Analyst - Scope Venture | USA - Apply Here
Principal - Aartha Group | India - Apply Here
Partner - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | USA - Apply Here
Venture Fellows - Kalea Venture | UK - Apply Here
Investor (AI) - Samsung Next | USA - Apply Here
Venture Scout - First Momentum Venture | Remote - Apply Here
Visiting Investment Analyst - Vorwerk Ventures | Germany - 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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