☕ China starts making its own chip machines & Largest U.S. power grid temporarily cut electricity to data centers.
Sam Altman signals support for slowing frontier AI development & Apple launches iPhone leasing
Breaking News
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the AI industry may need to deliberately slow the development of frontier AI models so society has time to adapt. His comments follow OpenAI's recent testing incident, where an experimental AI model escaped a controlled environment, adding fresh urgency to debates around AI safety and governance.
China has begun mass production of its own deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines, marking a major step toward reducing its reliance on foreign semiconductor equipment. The development could reshape the global chip industry as China builds a more self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain despite ongoing U.S. export restrictions.
FROM OUR PARTNER - SEMRUSH
Search has changed. Has your SEO strategy?
Ranking on Google is still important.
But today’s buyers also discover companies through ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, and other AI-powered search experiences.
Semrush One helps you track both worlds from a single platform. Monitor your SEO performance, measure AI visibility, identify competitive gaps, and discover new growth opportunities before your competitors do.
If your goal is to stay visible wherever customers are searching, this is worth exploring.
Try Semrush One free for 7 days →
PARTNERSHIP WITH US
🤝 Get your brand in front of 125,000+ decision makers.
Our newsletter is read by 125,000+ of founders, CEOs, investors (VCs / Angel Investors) and senior operators. Get in touch today.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Liquid Interactive, a Toronto, Canada-based interactive visual AI platform, raised CAD $700K in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by AXL.
SEED
Credible Data, a Boulder, CO-based provider of a business context engine for enterprise AI, raised $10M in Seed funding. Backers included Gradient, SignalFire, K5 Global, Godard Abel, Wes McKinney, Alex Dean, and SV Angel.
Aurenar, a St. Louis, MO-based developer of a non-invasive neuromodulation platform, raised $5.7M in Seed funding. The round was co-led by Go Red for Women Venture Fund and Solas BioVentures, with participation from BJC Health and Kaleida Capital.
Antares Labs, a San Francisco, CA-based AI platform for real estate operations, raised $7.25M in Seed funding. Backers included Fifth Wall, Base10 Partners, Bloomberg Beta, and Sandwith Ventures.
Frenos, a Charlotte, NC-based AI-native operational technology security platform, raised $1.52M in Seed extension funding. The round was led by Momenta and Exposition Ventures, with participation from Riptide Ventures.
ZuriQ, a Zürich, Switzerland-based quantum computing company, raised $25.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Quantonation, with participation from Forward.one, Extantia, Firgun Ventures, and other investors.
telli, a Berlin, Germany-based AI-native customer operations platform, raised $15M in Seed funding. The round was led by redalpine, with participation from Mutschler, Marc Bitzer, Alexa von Bismarck, Martin Koehler, Cherry Ventures, and Y Combinator.
Fincart, a Cairo, Egypt-based AI-powered e-commerce operating platform, raised $2.8M in Seed funding. The round was co-led by Launch Africa and Antler MENAP, with participation from Yango Ventures, Five35 Ventures, Bluestream Capital, Hi2 Global, Kalahari Venture Labs, and other regional investors.
GROWTH
Array Labs, a Redwood City, CA-based developer of coordinated radar satellite fleets, raised $21M in funding. The round was anchored by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, with participation from Catapult Ventures, Kompas VC, and Y Combinator.
Greyparrot, a London, UK-based AI waste intelligence company, raised $27M in Series B funding. The round was led by Omar Mir.
ProphetX, a New York City-based sports prediction market platform, raised $35M in funding. The round was led by Parlay Capital and Data Point Capital, with participation from FDJ Ventures, Greenwave Ventures, Connexa Capital, Impellent Ventures, The Operating Group, Sharp Alpha Advisors, Chicago Trading Company Ventures, Belvedere Trading, principals at White Swan Data, principals at Consolidated Trading, and Ematiq.
Alpen High Performance Products, a Louisville, CO-based window solutions company, raised $6M in Series B financing. The round was led by Inherent Capital and Arborview Capital.
CORE Biomedicine, a Cambridge, MA-based precision oncology therapeutics company, raised $21M in Series A financing. The round was co-led by UTokyo Innovation Platform and Elikon Venture, with participation from InnoPinnacle Fund, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Suzhou Capital Group, CD Capital, YuanBio Venture Capital, Vision Incubate, and Root Venture Partners.
Dwelly, a London, UK-based vertical AI platform for residential lettings, raised $170M in Series B financing. The round was co-led by EQT Growth and General Catalyst, with equity participation from s16vc, Begin Capital, DVC, Philipp Freise, and the CEOs of Legora, Synthesia, and ElevenLabs.
Act Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cloud security platform, raised $60M across Seed and Series A funding. The $20M Seed round was led by Team8 and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Hetz Ventures and Claltech, while the $40M Series A was led by Notable Capital, with participation from Startpoint Capital and SVCI.
Epitel, a Salt Lake City, UT-based AI-driven wireless brain health technology company, raised $26M in Series B financing. The round was co-led by Catalyst Health Ventures and Genoa Ventures, with participation from new and existing investors.
Flourish Health, a Richmond, VA-based in-home pediatric mental health care platform, raised $26M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by B Capital, F-Prime Capital, and Cherryrock Capital.
K25.ai, a Singapore-based AI-native livestreaming prediction market platform, raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding. Backers included Amber Group and NewGenIVF Group.
Xeltis, an Eindhoven, Netherlands-based vascular implant solutions company, raised €20.5M in funding. The round was led by Horizon 3 Healthcare, with participation from European Innovation Council, Invest-NL, VI Partners, EQT Life Sciences, DaVita, and other investors.
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 founders should never automate: AI can save founders time, but automating the wrong work can quietly destroy the customer signals they need most. This piece shows founders how to separate low-signal busywork from high-signal customer interactions, so they automate internal repetition first and protect the conversations that reveal product-market fit.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Framework Ventures, a San Francisco, CA-based venture capital firm focused on the Web3 space, closed its fourth fund (FVIV), at $400m. Founded in 2019 by Michael Anderson and Vance Spencer, Framework is pioneer in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain gaming investments.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Largest U.S. power grid may temporarily cut electricity to data centers
PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the U.S., plans to temporarily cut electricity to large data centers during power shortages starting in 2027, after new power generation failed to keep pace with rising demand.
The policy will apply to facilities consuming 50 megawatts or more, with affected operators receiving compensation through demand response programs.
The move reflects mounting pressure from AI-driven data center growth, which is expected to quadruple electricity demand by 2035 and is already contributing to higher power prices across the region.
X launches X Money app in the U.S.
X has begun rolling out X Money to paid subscribers in the U.S., offering a Visa debit card, instant peer-to-peer payments, Apple Pay support, and fee-free international transactions.
Premium subscribers can earn up to 6% APY under certain conditions and receive up to 3% cashback on eligible purchases, with early access to direct deposits.
The launch marks a major step toward Elon Musk’s long-term vision of turning X into an “everything app,” expanding the platform beyond social media into financial services.
Apple launches iPhone leasing
Apple has rolled out Apple Upgrade in the U.S., a leasing program for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch run with Klarna that replaces both the old iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments.
Leases start at $17.99 a month for iPhones, $11.99 for iPads and Apple Watch, and $24.99 for Macs, with 12 or 24-month terms for phones and watches and 24 or 36-month terms for iPads and Macs.
At the end of a lease, customers can return the device, keep it by paying the difference up to full retail with no Klarna fee, or trade up, though ending a lease early brings “substantial fees” equal to the remaining payments.
Apple readies 3 new smart home devices
Apple is preparing three new smart home products, according to a Bloomberg report, with a refreshed Apple TV box and an updated HomePod mini expected as soon as this fall, followed by a long-awaited smart home hub.
The new Apple TV and HomePod mini will look like today’s models but pack faster chips to run Siri AI, while the hub is slated to arrive between October and early 2027 in two versions, one wall-mounted and one on a base.
The hub features a 7-inch display, a new operating system blending tvOS and watchOS, and facial recognition that identifies who’s looking, gauges their distance, and adjusts the interface to show that person’s calendar and notes.
Tech employees call for global framework to pace advanced AI
More than 1,100 employees from companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google have urged the U.S. government to support an international effort to manage the pace of advanced AI development.
The initiative, called Pacing the Frontier, argues that AI capabilities are advancing faster than existing safety, governance, and oversight mechanisms can keep up.
The proposal has backing from senior AI leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki, as concerns over powerful autonomous AI systems continue to grow.
Mark Zuckerberg opposes banning Chinese AI models
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the U.S. should not ban advanced Chinese AI models, arguing that stronger competition—not restrictions—is the better way to maintain America’s leadership in AI.
Instead of blocking Chinese models, Zuckerberg urged U.S. companies to identify and remove the obstacles slowing domestic AI innovation and deployment.
His comments come as Washington considers tougher measures against Chinese AI firms over alleged intellectual property theft and national security concerns, following growing attention around Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 model.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Taiwan detains Nvidia employee
Taiwan’s prosecutors have detained an Nvidia employee over the alleged illegal export of Super Micro AI servers to China, servers that held Nvidia chips restricted under US export controls, according to Bloomberg and Reuters.
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office said the suspect, surnamed Chang, was questioned on July 24 after raids on his home and office, then jailed over worries he might flee, destroy evidence, or sway witnesses.
The charges include forgery and breach of trust, and investigators also searched Nvidia’s Taipei office in this third round of raids, following May and June operations that detained three people and two Super Micro workers.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & Startup Job Opportunities
Most aspiring VCs struggle with interviews, unclear expectations, no structured prep, and generic advice that doesn’t actually help. So we partnered with a leading investor group to build an all-in-one VC Interview Preparation Guide that gives you real clarity and frameworks. (Access Here)
Associate or Senior Associate - Bessemer Partner | USA - Apply Here
VC Fellow - V11 | Remote - Apply Here
Associate - Mount Judi Venture | USA - Apply Here
VC Research Lead - Murph Capital | Remote - Apply Here
Trade Operations Analyst - RA Capital | USA - Apply Here
Partner 36, Corporate Controller - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Investment Associate - Cerity Partner | USA - Apply Here
Senior Associate, Talent Sourcing - Redesign Health | India - Apply Here
Program Manager - Community - Plug and Play | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Forum Venture | Canada - Apply Here
Investor Relations Associate - Capital Factory | USA - Apply Here
Decile Capital Analyst - Decile | USA - Apply Here
Partner - Weekend Fund | USA - Apply Here
WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP:
💁 You might need our help!
Reach 125,000+ Founders & Investors: Partner with our newsletter to reach a highly engaged audience.
Build Your Pitch Deck: We write, design and model your pitch deck into a storyteller book within 4-5 days.
Do you have any news to share about your Startup or VC fund? Please email us.
We’ll be back in your inbox on Tomorrow.