☕ ChatGPT set to reach 700 million weekly users, Tesla awards Musk $29 billion in stock & Cloudflare accuses Perplexity of scraping websites.
AI engineers reject Meta's $1.5 billion offers & More.
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: VC fund metrics cheat sheet, GP stakes vs consolidation, 6000+ EU VCs, startup financial model, validation frameworks, Amazon-style metrics, 100 top GenAI apps, valuation & legal guides.
Tesla awards Elon Musk $29 billion in stock.
AI engineers reject Meta's $1.5 billion offers.
Cloudflare accuses Perplexity of evading anti-scraping protections.
ChatGPT set to reach 700 million weekly users.
Amazon restructures Wondery, lays off 110 employees amid podcast pivot.
Tim Cook tells Apple employees: 'We must win in AI'.
OpenAI updates ChatGPT to better detect mental distress and limit harmful advice.
Character.AI adds social feed to boost AI content sharing.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
Venture Capital Fund Metrics Cheat Sheet.
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Excel Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising.
Validating without launching a framework for early-stage startups.
100 GenAI apps that matter today.
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Halving R&D with AI & the impact on valuation.
AI innovator's dilemma.
Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.
The rules of a good startup pitch - A must-follow framework for founders.
EvolutionIQ got acquired for $730M — Here's their playbook for building an enduring AI business.
The CRM template every founder needs before starting their fundraise.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Comp AI, a San Francisco, CA-based company which specializes in the compliance automation space, raised $2.6M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by OSS Capital and Grand Ventures, with participation from angel investors David Cramer, founder of Sentry, and Ben Tossell of Ben’s Bites.
Doughlicious, a London, UK-based frozen snack brand, raised $5m in funding. The round was led by Rich Products Ventures (RPV), the corporate venture capital fund of global, family-owned food company Rich Products (Rich’s), and private investor collective The Angel Group, along with participation from existing investors.
Blue J, a Toronto, Canada-based GenAI tax research platform provider, raised $122m in Series D funding. The round was led by Oak HC/FT and Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Intrepid Growth Partners, and previous investors Ten Coves Capital and CPA.com.
Conversion, a San Francisco, CA-based marketing automation startup, raised $28m in Series A funding. The round was led by Abstract Ventures, joined by True Ventures and HOF Capital.
Still Bright, a Newark, N.J.-based copper extraction tech developer, raised $18.7m in seed funding. The round was led by Material Impact and Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from Azolla Ventures, Fortescue, Impact Science Ventures, and SOSV.
GeoWealth, a Chicago, IL-based proprietary asset management platform (TAMP), raised $38m in Series C funding round. The round was led by Apollo (NYSE: APO).
Suplyd, a Cairo, Egypt-based digital procurement platform for restaurants, raised $2m in pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by 4DX Ventures, Camel Ventures, and Plus VC, with participation from Seedstars and existing investors.
Flyhomes, a Seattle, WA-based real estate wholesale lending startup, raised $15m in Series D funding. Backers included Andreessen Horowitz, Norwest Venture Partners, Canvas Ventures, Camber Creek, Al Goldstein, and Mark Vadon.
Taceo, a Graz, Austria-based startup building infrastructure for secure computation on encrypted data, raised $5.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Archetype VC with participation from a16z CSX, Cyber.Fund, A.Capital Ventures, and Polymorphic Capital.
Qbeast, a Barcelona, Spain-based data optimization platform provider, raised $7.6m in seed funding round. The round was led by Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia Capital India), with participation from HWK Tech Investment and Elaia Partners.
Approov Limited, an Edinburgh, Scotland, UK-based mobile app and API security company, closed a £5m (US$ 6.7m) Series A funding round. The round was led by the Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by Maven Capital Partners, with participation from Souter Investments, and existing investors Lanza techVentures and Scottish Enterprise.
Employee Navigator, a Bethesda, Md.-based benefits administration & HR software provider, closed a $100m funding round. Backers included existing investors JMI Equity and Spectrum Equity.
Fu2re, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based startup specializing in Artificial Intelligence solutions for data and image processing, raised BRL 12.5m in funding. The round was led by Copel Ventures, managed by Vox Capital, with BRL 7.5 million, and Indicator Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on deep tech, contributing up to BRL 5m.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
CRV, a 55-year-old venture firm based in the U.S., has raised $750 million for its twentieth flagship fund, downsizing from its previous $1 billion early-stage fund. The new fund will focus on seed and Series A investments in consumer and developer tools companies, including recent bets like CodeRabbit and Outtake.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Tesla awards Elon Musk $29 billion in stock:
Tesla's board has granted Elon Musk a new $29 billion stock award as a stopgap measure while the company appeals a court decision that previously voided his larger $56 billion package.
The grant shares vest over two years if Musk stays as CEO or a senior executive, but the entire plan is forfeited if the original 2018 pay deal is legally reinstated.
This award gradually gives Musk additional voting power to cement his control over the company, a concern he previously raised about his 13% stake and the risk of being ousted by investors.
AI engineers reject Meta's $1.5 billion offers:
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly offered engineer Andrew Tulloch a $1.5 billion compensation package to join his new Superintelligence Labs, but the influential researcher ultimately turned down the proposal.
Following their co-founder, the entire staff at Thinking Machines Lab, including CEO Mira Murati, also rebuffed Meta's hiring attempts and dismissed discussions about a potential company acquisition.
This situation reflects a broader trend where elite AI talent now prioritizes a company's mission, leadership, and creative freedom over receiving exceptionally large financial offers from major tech corporations.
Cloudflare accuses Perplexity of evading anti-scraping protections:
Cloudflare claims AI startup Perplexity is scraping websites that explicitly block AI crawlers, using deceptive methods like spoofed user agents and hidden IPs.
Despite Perplexity's denial, Cloudflare says it detected the activity across millions of requests and thousands of domains, using machine learning and network signals.
This follows earlier plagiarism accusations against Perplexity, intensifying concerns around AI companies disregarding content owners’ rights in pursuit of training data.
ChatGPT set to reach 700 million weekly users:
OpenAI says ChatGPT is on track to hit 700 million weekly users, up from 500 million in March and 4x growth since last year.
The surge is attributed to GPT-4-powered image features and strong user engagement, with people spending 16 minutes/day on average.
ChatGPT now has 5 million business subscribers, up from 3 million in June, reflecting growing adoption in professional settings.
Amazon restructures Wondery, lays off 110 employees amid podcast pivot:
Amazon is shifting Wondery's narrative podcasts like "Business Wars" to Audible and forming a new Creator Services division for creator-led shows.
Around 110 employees will be laid off, and Wondery CEO Jen Sargent will depart after a transition period.
The move reflects Amazon’s pivot toward video-integrated, creator-driven content, as podcast platforms struggle to keep up with video-focused competitors like YouTube and Spotify.
Tim Cook tells Apple employees: 'We must win in AI':
Tim Cook held an internal meeting emphasizing that Apple must win in AI, reinforcing similar sentiments he shared during the company’s recent earnings call.
He acknowledged delays in rolling out key AI features, especially Siri improvements, and admitted Apple has fallen behind competitors in this space.
Cook pointed out Apple’s history of entering markets late but redefining them, stating, “There was a PC before the Mac… but we invented the modern version.”
OpenAI updates ChatGPT to better detect mental distress and limit harmful advice:
OpenAI is improving ChatGPT’s ability to detect signs of mental or emotional distress, working with experts to provide evidence-based support and safety measures.
The company is introducing “take a break” reminders during long sessions and plans to make ChatGPT less decisive in high-stakes personal queries.
The updates follow criticism that previous versions of ChatGPT amplified user delusions and emotional dependency, particularly among vulnerable individuals.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Character.AI adds social feed to boost AI content sharing:
Character.AI has added a social feed to its mobile app, enabling users to share AI-generated images, videos, and chat snippets with others.
Users can create video clips using the company’s AvatarFX model and even host character debates via livestreams.
The move follows a broader trend of AI-native apps integrating social features, blurring the line between creator and consumer.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
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)
Associate - Mighty Capital | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Beas Capital | India - Apply Here
Value Creation - Cadeumen Capital | Spain - Apply Here
Head of Platform - Pledge Venture | UK - Apply Here
Chief of Staff - Penny Jar Capital | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Iconique Capital | USA - Apply Here
Associate - OMERSE Venture | USA - Apply Here
Associate Telescope Partner | USA - Apply Here
Healthcare Analyst - General Investment Management | UK - Apply Here
Investor (AI) - Samsung next | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Miras Investment | Dubai - Apply Here
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