☕ Chinese AI startup Moonshot launches world’s largest open AI model & EU forces Google to open Android.
OpenAI starts selling ChatGPT-branded merchandise & More.
Breaking News
Chinese startup Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3, a 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight AI model with a 1 million-token context window. The release marks another major step in China's push to challenge U.S. AI leaders through powerful open-source models.
The European Commission has ordered Google to let rival AI assistants integrate deeply into Android, including using the "Hey Google" wake word and performing in-app actions. The landmark ruling could reshape the mobile AI ecosystem and weaken Google's control over Android.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Think, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based AI infrastructure company, raised over $8M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by RAED Ventures and Wa’ed Ventures, with participation from Dhahran Techno Valley Venture Capital and strategic angel investors.
SEED
microagi, a Munich, Germany-based industrial robotics automation company, raised $55M in Seed funding. The round was led by Hummingbird, with participation from Northzone, LocalGlobe, Village Global, and redalpine.
EverSettled, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered estate settlement platform, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Seedcamp, Bridge Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, and Transpose Platform.
Beacon Security, a New York City-based agentic cybersecurity platform, raised $13M in Seed funding. The round was led by Notable Capital, with participation from Holly Ventures, AlphaDrive Ventures, SVCI, Jefferies Family Office, and founders from Talon, Descope, Gem Security, Dig Security, and Cider Security.
Glacis Labs, a New York City-based crypto infrastructure company, raised $6.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Lightspeed Faction, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Coinbase Ventures, Again (formerly IDC Ventures), Protein Capital, and Techni Ventures.
Thira, a Bellevue, WA-based AI workflow solutions company, raised $21M in Seed funding. The round was led by Madrona, with participation from FUSE and a group of global advisors and CIOs.
Intrinsic Power, a Los Angeles, CA-based AI-enabled electrical infrastructure company, raised an undisclosed Seed funding round. Backers included Kyocera Ventures, Drive Catalyst, Boost VC, and RPV Global.
Fave, a Carlsbad, CA-based organic drink mix brand, raised $1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Supernatural Ventures, with participation from Angel Group, Great Circle Ventures, and others.
GROWTH
Syntetica, a Paris, France-based chemical textile recycling company, raised $30M in Series A funding. The round was led by Bpifrance’s Ecotechnologies 2 fund, with participation from SWEN Capital Partners, EQT Ventures, Maif Avenir / Peugeot Invest, Lululemon Athletica, and MAS Holdings.
Fireworks, a San Mateo, CA-based AI model platform, raised $1.5B in Series D funding. The round was led by Atreides Management, Index Ventures, and TCV, with participation from Evantic, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and NVIDIA.
Whale, a San Francisco, CA-based enterprise AI operating system company, raised $40M in Series C3 extension funding. The round was led by CMB International and SMBC Asia Rising Fund, with participation from Krungsri Finnovate, Singtel Innov8, Hyundai Motor Group, Charisma Partners, Bosch Ventures, MTR Lab, MDI Ventures, Gentree Fund, and Linear Capital.
Bunkerhill Health, a San Francisco, CA-based AI healthcare company, raised an undisclosed Series B funding round. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Felicis, Optum Ventures, and Y Combinator.
Sable, a San Francisco, CA-based AI employee platform, raised $45M in funding. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and 8VC, with participation from BoxGroup, SV Angel, Valor Atreides AI Fund, Sabrina Hahn, and Evan Hahn.
DeweyLearn, a New York City-based AI learning platform, raised $5M in Series A funding. The round was led by SJF Ventures, with participation from Catalysis Capital, Morningside, and Owl Ventures.
Wonder, a New York City-based food technology platform, raised $650M in Series D funding. Backers included Accel, GV, New Enterprise Associates, AllianceBernstein, ARK Invest, and Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management.
Fora, a New York City-based travel platform, raised $60M in Series D funding. The round was led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, with participation from Thrive Capital, Insight Partners, Heartcore Capital, PLUS Capital, Amy Schumer, BlackPines Capital Partners, and Tribeca Venture Partners.
Alpaca, a New York City-based brokerage infrastructure company, raised $135M in funding. The round was led by Peak XV, with participation from Elefund, Opera Tech Ventures, and Unbound.
Kind Designs, a Miami, FL-based climate resilience company, raised $10M in Pre-Series A funding. Backers included Kyle Kuzma, Mark Cuban, and Adrian Fenty.
Xenter, a Draper, UT-based healthcare technology company, raised $58.25M in Series B funding.
NxLite, a Canton, MI-based advanced coatings manufacturer, raised $13.1M in Series A funding. The round was led by Crabtree Lane Alt, with participation from VoLo Earth Ventures, Earth Foundry, MUUS, New Climate Ventures, and ACT Venture Partners.
InstaLILY, a New York City-based enterprise AI infrastructure company, raised $60M in Series B funding. The round was led by Energize Capital, with participation from Insight Partners, Home Depot Ventures, and United Rentals.
Hyperion Robotics, an Espoo, Finland-based physical AI infrastructure company, raised $7.4M in growth funding. The round was co-led by Course Corrected and the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund), with participation from RE Ventures.
Tyred, a London, UK-based mobility technology company, raised £2.5M in funding. Backers included Raw Ventures, Ada Ventures, and angel investors.
Proaction, a Des Moines, IA-based AI-native fleet management company, raised $4.2M in funding. Backers included GTMfund, Breakers, Aviso Ventures, Iowa InnoVenture, Holman Growth Ventures, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
DAILY PICKS
🗞️ Must read posts
What really happens in the 48 hours after you pitch a VC?: Most founders think the pitch meeting decides the round. In reality, the decision often happens later, when the fund debates an internal memo written about the company. This piece shows founders how to understand the hidden 48-hour process after a pitch and how to make their company easier for an investor to champion internally.
The Ultimate Guide to VC Scout Programs and Fellowships (With Full Database): Most VC applicants get rejected for not having prior investing experience. Scout programs and fellowships can solve that by letting you source deals, write memos, build founder access, and prove you can do the work before getting hired. This piece breaks down the best programs, how to apply, and how to turn a scout or fellowship role into a full-time VC opportunity.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Founders Fund, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, hired former OpenAI VP of Product Policy Ryan Beiermeister as a partner. She will focus on investing in startups building AI infrastructure, agentic systems, defense, energy, climate, biotech, and other frontier technologies.
Greylock Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture firm, raised $1.5 billion for its 18th flagship fund. The firm will continue investing primarily in seed and Series A startups, while reserving a portion of the fund for select later-stage investments, including AI and high-growth technology companies.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
OpenAI starts selling ChatGPT-branded merchandise
OpenAI has expanded into merchandise with products including a $70 ChatGPT-branded basketball, alongside apparel and accessories, following the launch of its first hardware device, the Codex Micro keyboard.
The basketball is part of OpenAI’s “Pause. Play. Prompt.” campaign, encouraging creativity beyond screens, though the company has shared few details about the initiative.
The launch reflects OpenAI’s broader effort to build a consumer brand beyond software, combining AI products with lifestyle merchandise.
Apple seeks chip startups for AI
Apple is reportedly talking with bankers and semiconductor startups about buying one to strengthen the server chips it builds for running AI, according to a report from The Information.
The move follows problems with Apple’s own AI servers, which run on its M2 Ultra chips, while its next server chip, code-named Baltra, has slipped past a planned 2026 launch.
A large purchase would break from Apple’s habit of buying smaller startups, though it recently spent close to $2 billion on Israeli AI firm Q.ai and held talks with PrismML.
Thinking Machines launches Inkling, its first open AI model
Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has released Inkling, its first open-weight AI model, allowing enterprises to download, fine-tune, and customize it instead of relying on closed AI APIs.
Inkling uses a 975B-parameter mixture-of-experts architecture (41B active parameters), supports multimodal reasoning, and is optimized for efficiency rather than benchmark leadership, with revenue expected to come from its customization platform, Tinker.
The launch reinforces the growing enterprise shift toward open and customizable AI, as companies seek greater control over costs, data, and model ownership instead of relying solely on proprietary models.
TSMC to invest another $100B in US
TSMC, the main maker of AI chips and a key Nvidia supplier, pledged on Thursday to spend another $100 billion in Arizona, on top of the $165 billion it has already committed to build chip factories there.
The extra money would probably fund four more plants in Arizona, including one for advanced packaging, adding to eight already being built or planned, though the timing depends on the market, CEO C.C. Wei said.
The pledge came as TSMC posted a record quarterly profit of $22 billion, up 77%, and raised its 2026 spending forecast to as much as $64 billion, citing strong AI demand it expects to last through 2030.
PayPal board considers Stripe-led $53B takeover bid too low
PayPal’s board believes the $53 billion acquisition offer from Stripe and Advent International undervalues the company and is also assessing potential regulatory and financing risks before responding.
The proposed deal would combine two of the world’s largest online payments platforms, with Stripe and Advent planning to jointly own PayPal if the acquisition succeeds.
The consortium has secured around $50 billion in financing and remains interested in a deal, but negotiations are expected to continue as PayPal evaluates its long-term turnaround strategy.
Nvidia partners with Japanese robotics firms to advance physical AI
Nvidia has partnered with Japanese companies including Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, Fujitsu, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries to accelerate the development of AI-powered robotics and physical AI.
CEO Jensen Huang said AI will make robots smarter, more adaptable, and easier to deploy, while highlighting physical AI as Japan’s next major technology opportunity.
Separately, government-backed startup Noetra announced plans to purchase 27,500 Nvidia Rubin AI chips to build infrastructure supporting next-generation physical AI systems.
Google delays Gemini 3.5 Pro launch
Google has reportedly delayed the release of its flagship AI model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, after internal testing showed its coding performance fell short of company expectations.
The model was originally expected to launch in June, but engineers are continuing to improve its capabilities as competition from OpenAI and Anthropic intensifies.
Google said it is testing Gemini 3.5 Pro and other upgraded models with partners while focusing on delivering high-performance AI at competitive costs.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Meta adds suicide risk alerts for parents using Meta AI
Meta will now notify parents if its AI chatbot detects that a teenager may be discussing suicide or self-harm, with all flagged conversations manually reviewed before alerts are sent.
The feature is rolling out through Instagram Parental Supervision in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada, with a global expansion planned by the end of the year.
Meta is also developing a system to contact emergency services when conversations indicate an imminent suicide risk and is expanding stricter AI safety settings for teen users.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
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