☕ Elon Musk unveils new company 'Macrohard', Apple is in talks to use Google’s Gemini for Siri revamp & More.
Nvidia reportedly halts production on its H20 AI chips & OpenAI's new Indian office.
The longest anyone’s stayed awake? 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes.
Robert McDonald set the record in 1986, and somehow didn’t explode. Anyone else craving McNuggets now?
Love or hate this intro? Hit reply and tell us why!
📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: Financial model template, SaaS metrics, exits slowing, AI vs non-AI split, EU VC db, homepage test, pre-seed evals, legal docs, seedstrapping, founder Qs, rethinking MVPs, India VC db.
Elon Musk unveils new company 'Macrohard'.
OpenAI warns against SPVs and other unauthorized investments.
Elon Musk’s xAI open sources Grok 2.5 model.
OpenAI announces New Delhi office as it expands footprint in India.
Y Combinator says Apple’s App Store has hindered startup growth.
Meta partners with Midjourney on AI image and video models.
Apple is in talks to use Google’s Gemini for Siri revamp.
Nvidia reportedly halts production on its H20 AI chips.
Amazon AGI Labs chief defends reverse acquihire strategy.
Apple sues ex-employee for stealing secrets for rival, Oppo.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
FROM OUR PARTNER - MECO
The best new app for newsletter reading
Reading newsletters in the inbox is frustrating - it is noisy and easy to lose control of subscriptions. Now with Meco you can enjoy your newsletters in an app built for reading, while giving your inbox space to breathe.
Meco connects to Gmail & Outlook, allowing you to instantly move your newsletters to the app (and clear your inbox)
The experience is packed with features to supercharge your reading including the ability to group newsletters, set smart filters, bookmark your favorites and read in a scrollable feed.
You can try the experience for free and available on iOS, Android and web (desktop)
Over 30k readers are enjoying their newsletters (and decluttering their inbox) with Meco - try the app today!
PARTNERSHIP WITH US
💪 Get your startup in front of over 95,000+ audience.
Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, founders, investors (VCs / Angel Investors) and managers around the world. Get in touch today.
DAILY PICKS
🗞️ What else is brewing
Excel Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising
The sales funnel metrics every SaaS founder should track.
Startups are taking longer to exit — what it means for investors.
The valuation split: AI’s rise vs everyone else’s fall.
6000+ European VC Firms Contact Database (LinkedIn Links).
The quick test: Is your homepage written for VCs or users?
What are investors actually evaluating at pre-seed and seed?
Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.
The rise of “seedstrapping”: A smarter fundraising strategy.
What founders should ask a potential investor?
Rethinking the startup MVP: Building a competitive product.
350+ Indian Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).
Getting Started with Usage-Based Pricing.
All-In-One Guide To Venture Capital Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them)
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Stark, a Berlin, Germany-based defense tech and space manufacturing startup, raised $62m in funding round at a $500m valuation. The round was led by Sequoia, with participaiton from 8VC, Thiel Capital, NATO Innovation Fund, In-Q-Tel, Project A, and Döpfner Capital.
restor3d, a Durham, NC-based leader in technology-driven personalized orthopedic solutions, received a $104m strategic investment. As part of this transaction, restor3d raised $65m of new minority equity from Partners Group and $39m from existing shareholders.
SugaROx, a Harpenden, UK-based agtech company improving the crop production raised £1M in Seed extension funding. Backers included The Mosaic Company, UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund and Regenerate Ventures, who contributed a further £600K.
Pylon, a San Francisco, CA-based B2B support platform for post-sales teams, raised $31m in Series B funding. The round, which brought total funding to $51m, was led by Bain Capital Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz with participation from General Catalyst, Y Combinator, and other existing investors.
Molecular You, a Vancouver, Canada-based company which specializes in molecular medicine and preventive health, raised USE$5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Voloridge Health, LLC, with participation from Dynamic Leap and others.
Wallround, a Berlin, Germany-based renovation software startup, raised €4.2m in seed funding. The round was led by Revent, with participation from GGF, Vonovia, KVL Group, Founders Factory, S&B Capital, Micro-VC Superangels, and Marc Müller.
The Better Meat Co., a Sacramento, Calif.-based maker of plant-based meats, raised $31m in Series A funding. The round, which brought total funding raised to date to $43M, was led by Future Ventures and Resilience Reserve with participation from Epic Ventures and Sigmas Group.
Qunova Computing, a Daejeon, South Korea-based developer of software applications for the chemical, pharmaceutical and industrial engineering sectors, raised $10M in Series A funding. Backers included S Ventures, Korea Development Bank, GU Equity Partners, Company K, Quantum Ventures Korea, JB Investment, CKD Venture Capital and Daesung Private Equity.
Kasa, a NYC-based tech-enabled hospitality brand and manager for boutique hotel and apartment-style lodging properties, raised $40M in growth funding. The round was led by SLW.
Grid Aero, a San Leandro, California-based maker of cargo drones, raised $6m in seed funding. Backers included Calibrate Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures.
Twin Health, a Mountain View, CA-based metabolic health company, raised $53m in Series E funding round at a $950+ million valuation. The round was led by Maj Invest, with participation from previous investors Iconiq and Temasek.
Agenda Hero, a San Francisco, CA-based AI platform built to improve calendar work, raised $6.5M in funding. The round was led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Precursor Ventures and pre-seed investor K9 Ventures.
General Fusion, a Richmond, BC, Canada-based fusion energy company, closed US$22m (C$30m) in new financing. Investors included Segra Capital, PenderFund (via Pender Growth Fund Inc. (TSX-V:PTF) and Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund), Chrysalix Venture Capital, MILFAM LLC, JIMCO, the global investment arm of the Jameel family, Gaingels, Thistledown Capital, Presight Capital, and Hatch Ltd.
TOOL FOR FOUNDERS
📑 Startup Valuation Guide For Founders.
Most valuation guides online are fluff. This one was built with real VCs and founders to give you the frameworks investors actually use.
Inside you’ll get:
7 valuation methods (Berkus, Scorecard, VC Method, DCF & more)
A 5-step framework to calculate your number
Excel templates + real benchmarks
How to present valuation in your deck without losing credibility
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Curate Capital, a Houston, TX-based venture capital firm focused on female-founded CPG brands, is raising $50m for its second vehicle. According to a regulatory form filed with the S.E.C., Curate Capital Fund II LP, has already raised almost $1m. The document lists Carrie Colbert as the person related to the raise.
Clean Growth Fund, a London, UK–based specialist climate tech venture capital firm, held the first close of its second fund, at £49m. Investors include Strathclyde Pension Fund, Islington Pension Fund and East Riding Pension Fund. The vehicle has a final target of £150m.
Cybernetix Ventures, a Boston, MA-based vc firm focused on robotics, automation, and industrial AI startups, is raising up to $100m for its second fund. According to a regulatory form filed with the S.E.C., Cybernetix Ventures Fund II, L.P., has not raised funds, yet.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Elon Musk unveils new company 'Macrohard':
Elon Musk announced a new company called 'Macrohard', an AI software venture tied to xAI that will generate hundreds of specialized coding agents to simulate products from rivals like Microsoft.
The project will be powered by the Colossus 2 supercomputer, a cluster being expanded with millions of Nvidia GPUs in a high-stakes race for computing power.
The Grok model will spawn specialized coding and image generation agents that work together, emulating humans interacting with software in virtual machines until the result is excellent.
OpenAI warns against SPVs and other unauthorized investments:
OpenAI published a blog post cautioning investors about firms offering exposure to OpenAI equity through SPVs or other indirect means, calling these “unauthorized opportunities.”
The company said such sales may violate transfer restrictions and would not be recognized, meaning investors could end up holding worthless paper.
The warning follows growing use of SPVs to access top AI startups, with reports that Anthropic has also restricted investors like Menlo Ventures from using them in its funding rounds.
Elon Musk’s xAI open sources Grok 2.5 model:
xAI has released the weights of Grok 2.5, last year’s flagship model, on Hugging Face, with Musk saying Grok 3 will also be open sourced in about six months.
The release comes with a “custom license” that AI engineers noted includes some anti-competitive restrictions, limiting full openness.
Grok has been controversial due to extremist responses and political bias, though Musk insists newer versions like Grok 4 are designed to be “maximally truth-seeking.”
OpenAI announces New Delhi office as it expands footprint in India
OpenAI will open its first office in New Delhi and hire a local team to strengthen ties with partners, government, businesses, and universities, while also tailoring features for Indian users.
The move comes right after launching ChatGPT Go at ₹399/month, making it the most affordable plan globally, as India is now OpenAI’s second-largest market by users.
Despite the opportunity, OpenAI faces hurdles such as lawsuits from publishers over copyright use and the challenge of converting a massive free user base into paying customers.
Y Combinator says Apple’s App Store has hindered startup growth:
YC filed an amicus brief in the Apple vs. Epic Games case, arguing that Apple’s 30% App Store fee created a “barrier to entry” that deterred investors from backing app-based startups.
The filing supports a ruling that Apple must allow developers to offer alternative payment options without excessive fees, saying this finally makes app startups more investable.
YC urged the court to deny Apple’s appeal, calling the Apple Tax a long-standing obstacle that stifled competition and innovation for nearly two decades.
Meta partners with Midjourney on AI image and video models:
Meta will license Midjourney’s AI image and video generation technology, integrating it into future products and models as part of its push to lead in AI.
The deal follows Meta’s earlier AI investments, including $14 billion into Scale AI and the acquisition of Play AI, while also competing with tools like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo.
Midjourney, known for its unique style and subscription-based business, remains independent with no outside investors, and recently launched its first AI video model, V1.
Apple is in talks to use Google’s Gemini for Siri revamp:
Apple is exploring a partnership with Google to power Siri with Gemini, as it struggles to match rival AI assistants in capability.
The company has also held talks with OpenAI and Anthropic, signaling it may outsource rather than fully rely on in-house development.
A decision isn’t expected for several weeks, but Google has reportedly started training a model designed to run on Apple’s servers.
Nvidia reportedly halts production on its H20 AI chips:
Nvidia has told suppliers to stop producing its H20 AI chips after Beijing warned Chinese companies against using them, citing security concerns and fears of U.S. backdoors.
The halt comes just a month after Nvidia was allowed to resume selling AI chips designed for China, highlighting the volatility of U.S.–China tech relations.
Nvidia denied the existence of any backdoors in its chips, saying cybersecurity is critical and urging the market to use the H20 “with confidence.”
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Amazon AGI Labs chief defends reverse acquihire strategy:
David Luan, Adept’s co-founder and now head of Amazon’s AGI Lab, defended Amazon’s decision to hire his team and license Adept’s tech instead of acquiring the startup, calling it a rational way to build scale in AI talent and compute.
Luan said he joined Amazon because Adept would have been limited to selling smaller enterprise models, while solving the “four crucial problems left to AGI” demands multi-billion-dollar compute clusters.
He emphasized that his goal is to be remembered for AI research, not deal structures, framing the move as necessary to pursue true AGI rather than incremental enterprise applications.
Apple sues ex-employee for stealing secrets for rival, Oppo:
Apple is suing former engineer Chen Shi for allegedly copying 63 confidential files containing Apple Watch health secrets like ECG and temperature sensing methods before joining the rival company Oppo.
The complaint claims Shi told an Oppo executive he was collecting information to share, and also downloaded proprietary files with chip engineering documents and product roadmaps to a USB drive.
While downloading the data, Shi allegedly searched online how to wipe a MacBook and lied to coworkers about his plans, saying he was leaving to care for his elderly parents.
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)
Capital Formation Analyst - March Capital | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Episode 1 Venture | UK - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Zeta Capital | India - Apply Here
Investor Relations Associate - Alumni Venture | USA - Apply Here
Associate - OMERSE Venture | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Caanan | USA - Apply Here
Operations Intern - Plug and Play Tech Centre | UK - Apply Here
Partner 16 - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Associate Telescope Partner | USA - Apply Here
Finance Analyst - Faraday Venture Partner | Spain - Apply Here
Healthcare Analyst - General Investment Management | UK - Apply Here
WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP:
💁 You might need our help!
Reach 95,000+ 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.