☕ Elon Musk revealed a new Tesla–xAI project called Macrohard & Adobe CEO to step down amid AI disruption concerns.
ByteDance secures access to Nvidia’s latest AI chips & Google Maps adds Gemini-powered ‘Ask Maps’.
Breaking News
ByteDance is reportedly building a 36,000-GPU AI supercluster using Nvidia’s Blackwell B200 chips in Malaysia to power global AI research. The project, which could cost over $2.5 billion, would help ByteDance expand its AI infrastructure outside China while navigating U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductors.
Elon Musk revealed a new Tesla–xAI project called Macrohard (Digital Optimus) designed to automate the work of entire software companies using AI agents. The system combines the Grok model as a high-level coordinator with agents that watch computer screens and execute actions via keyboard and mouse, potentially reshaping how software is built through autonomous “agentic” development.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Vivox AI, a London, UK-based technology company building regulator-ready, atomic AI agents for AML, KYB/KYC and financial crime, raised £1.3M in first funding. Backers included Axel Weber, Dan Cobley, Kos Stiskin, James Janis Berdigans, and other fintech and technology investors.
Zymtrace, a Wilmington, DE-based developer of a distributed AI infrastructure optimization platform, raised $3.7M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Fly Ventures and Mango Capital.
SEED
IperMoney, a Milan, Italy-based developer of a digital banking platform for businesses, closed a Seed funding round of undisclosed amount. The round included participation from 3M Stp.
TYTL Corp, a Newport, Rhode Island-based developer of a residential real estate equity tokenization platform, raised a Seed funding round of undisclosed amount. The round was led by Strobe Ventures with participation from Fifth Era.
Ark Labs, a Lugano, Switzerland-based company specializing in open programmable finance, raised $5.2M in Seed funding. Backers included Tether, Ego Death Capital, Epoch VC, Lion26, Sats Ventures, Contribution Capital, Anchorage Digital and others.
Mantis Space, an Albuquerque, NM-based space and advanced energy startup, raised $10M+ in Seed funding. The round was led by Rule 1 Ventures alongside Montauk Capital.
Ezra, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of institutional-grade AI infrastructure for private capital markets, raised $8M in Seed funding. The investment was led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Planeteer, Wireframe, KDX, Stepchange and others.
GROWTH
Gumloop, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of a platform for employees to build agents and AI-driven automations, raised $50M in Series B funding. The round was led by Benchmark with participation from Nexus Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Box Group, The Cannon Project and Shopify Ventures.
BackOps, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-native operating system for supply chain operations, raised $26M in Series A funding. The round was led by Theory Ventures with participation from Gradient, Construct Capital and 10VC.
Cryptio, a NYC-based company specializing in financial data transformation and ERP applications for regulated digital assets, raised $45M in Series B funding. The round was led by BlackFin Capital Partners and Sentinel Global with participation from 1kx, Alven, BlueYard Capital and Ledger Cathay Capital.
Waiv, a Paris, France-based company catalyzing AI precision testing, raised $33M in funding. The round was led by OTB Ventures and Alpha Intelligence Capital with participation from Serena Data Ventures, Karista and SistaFund.
XCath, a Houston, TX-based medical device company developing neuro-endovascular surgical robotics, raised $30M in Series C funding. The round was led by Crescent Enterprises and Dr. Fred Moll.
Monteris Medical, a Minnetonka, MN-based neurosurgery company, raised $28M in Series E funding. The round was led by InnovaHealth Partners and Birchview Capital with participation from OSF Ventures, OSF HealthCare and the Colorado University Healthcare Innovation Fund.
Kinewell, a Wallsend, North Tyneside, UK-based developer of offshore wind farm optimization software, raised £750K in funding. The investment was provided by the North East Accelerate Fund managed by Mercia Ventures.
ORO Labs, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a procurement orchestration platform for global enterprises, raised $100M in Series C funding. The round was led by Brighton Park Capital and Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives with participation from Norwest Venture Partners, B Capital, XYZ Capital and Felicis.
Qurrent, a San Francisco, CA-based autonomous digital workforces company, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Cervin Ventures with participation from Streamlined Ventures.
Carefam, a NYC-based developer of a conversational AI platform for healthcare HR, raised $14.5M in total funding. The round was led by Pitango HealthTech with a previous round led by Emerge.
Wonderful, an Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based enterprise AI agent platform provider, raised $150M in Series B funding. The round was led by Insight Partners with participation from Index Ventures, IVP, Bessemer Venture Partners and Vine Ventures.
Bold Security, a New York City-based developer of an AI-powered endpoint security platform, raised $40M in funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Picture Capital and Red Dot Capital Partners.
Combat Medical, a London, UK-based medical device company, raised £2.6M in Series A funding. The round was led by T&J Meyer Family Foundation with participation from Varia Ventures and NW Angel Fund.
Freestyle, a Santa Monica, CA-based diaper and wipes brand, raised $10M in Series A funding. The round was led by Silas Capital with participation from ECP Growth, Mucker Capital, Adapt Ventures and Superangel.
Onyx Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based company developing AI control plane services, raised $40M in funding. The round was led by Conviction and Cyberstarts.
Mind Robotics, a Palo Alto, CA-based AI-enabled industrial robotics company, raised $500M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz.
Axiamatic, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an agentic platform to accelerate enterprise transformation programs, raised $54M in funding. The round was led by Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Entrepreneurs First, a global talent investor and company builder, raised $200m. The firm is backed by Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, Founders Fund, Greylock, John Collison and Patrick Collison, Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman. New to this round were Aidan Gomez, Barney Hussey-Yeo, Danny Rimer, Eric Schmidt, Jeffrey Dean & Heidi Hopper, Jeff Hammerbacher, Mati Staniszewski, Matt Cohler and Nick McKeown.
Scout Ventures, an Austin, TX-based venture capital firm focused on national security and dual-use technologies, closed its fifth fund, at $125M. Fund V will back emerging technology companies developing solutions across artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, space infrastructure, cyber, quantum, and advanced power technologies that are increasingly central to unwavering sovereignty and global deterrence.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Google Maps adds Gemini-powered ‘Ask Maps’ and immersive 3D navigation
Google Maps is launching a Gemini-powered “Ask Maps” feature that lets users ask complex, real-world questions using natural language, such as finding nearby places to charge a phone or planning stops on a road trip.
The feature can personalize suggestions based on a user’s preferences and past searches, helping with tasks like finding restaurants, trip planning, and discovering nearby activities.
Google is also introducing “Immersive Navigation,” which adds 3D views, clearer road details, smarter route guidance, and more natural voice instructions to make driving directions easier to follow.
Foldable iPhone to feature "iPad-like" interface
Apple’s upcoming foldable iPhone will run iOS with new iPad-like layouts, including sidebars and side-by-side apps, when its interior display is opened to roughly iPad mini size.
The inside display will use a wide aspect ratio unlike current foldable phones from Samsung and Google, and Apple worked to reduce the visible crease without fully eliminating it.
The device replaces Face ID with Touch ID in the side button because the front panel is too thin for the sensor array, and it will feature a hole-punch camera cutout.
Nvidia fills the open-source AI gap
Nvidia plans to spend $26 billion over five years building open-weight AI models, filling a gap left as Meta pulls back on Llama and Chinese providers like DeepSeek dominate the open-source space.
The company released Nemotron 3 Super, a 128-billion-parameter hybrid Transformer-Mamba model that roughly matches Claude 4.5 Haiku but still falls short of Chinese competitors like Qwen3.5.
Open models optimized for Nvidia hardware also serve a business goal: keeping developers inside the Nvidia ecosystem and providing a Western alternative as DeepSeek reportedly trains on Huawei chips.
Meta delays launch of AI model “Avocado” to May or later
Meta has postponed the release of its upcoming AI model, code-named Avocado, pushing the launch from March to at least May or June.
The delay comes because the model’s current performance reportedly falls between Google’s Gemini 2.5 and Gemini 3, and Meta wants to improve it before release.
Despite the delay, Meta continues to invest heavily in AI development, with plans to spend $115 billion to $135 billion this year as part of its push toward building superintelligence.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to step down amid AI disruption concerns
Adobe said longtime CEO Shantanu Narayen will step down after nearly 18 years in the role once a successor is appointed, though he will remain chair of the board.
The announcement sent Adobe shares down more than 7% after hours as investors worry about the company’s strategy during rapid AI-driven changes in the software industry.
Adobe continues to invest heavily in AI and reported strong quarterly results, but rising competition from AI-powered design tools is increasing pressure on its traditional software model.
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