☕ Former OpenAI leaders launches $100M fund & Apple facing engineering challenges with first foldable iPhone.
Sam Altman proposes AI tax and regulation blueprint & China forces Apple to remove Jack Dorsey's Bitchat.
Breaking News
Sam Altman proposed a radical AI policy blueprint including taxes on automated labor, a public wealth fund, and even four-day workweeks without pay cuts. The plan signals how seriously AI leaders are preparing for large-scale job disruption — and how governments might reshape the economy around it.
Apple is reportedly facing engineering challenges with its first foldable iPhone, which could delay production and push back its expected late 2026 launch. Early tests have revealed more issues than anticipated, forcing additional design iterations as Apple works to refine the new form factor — highlighting how difficult foldable hardware still is, even for top-tier manufacturers.
FROM OUR PARTNER - SEMRUSH
📈 If you had your competitors’ growth playbook, what would you do?
With Semrush, you basically do.
See where competitors get their traffic from
Identify their top-performing pages and keywords
Track their presence across search and AI
Find gaps you can capture immediately
It’s like having a live dashboard of your market. Use it to move faster, smarter, and with more confidence.
Good marketing is creative. Great marketing is informed.
Get full access free for 7 days →
PARTNERSHIP WITH US
🤝 Get your startup in front of 116,000+ audience.
Our newsletter is read by 116,000+ of tech professionals, founders, investors (VCs / Angel Investors) and managers around the world. Get in touch today.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Ridge AI, a Seattle, WA-based AI dashboard and data agents platform, raised $2.6M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Madrona, with participation from TheFounderVC and angels.
Pickmybrain, a Tallinn, Estonia-based “digital brain” platform, raised $2.1M in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included Garri Zmudze and other angels.
SEED
Soma Energy, a Vancouver, Canada-based AI energy company, raised $7M in Seed and Pre-Seed funding. The Seed round was led by Category Ventures, with participation from Haystack, RRE Ventures, TO VC, Uncork Capital, and others.
GoSwap, a Casablanca, Morocco-based electric mobility startup, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. The round was backed by Azur Innovation Fund.
Noon, a San Francisco, CA-based AI design startup, raised $44M in Seed funding. Backers included Chemistry, First Round Capital, SV Angel, Scribble Ventures, Elevation Capital, and Afore Capital.
Miravoice, a San Francisco, CA-based agentic AI startup, raised $6.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Unusual Ventures, with participation from Neo, 25madison, and others.
SatLeo Labs, an Ahmedabad, India-based spacetech startup, raised $2.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from Merak Ventures, Java Capital, IIMA-CIIE, and others.
Mezza, a Dubai, UAE-based hospitality platform, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. Backers included founders of PropertyFinder, Jellysmack, and the chairman of Deel.
GROWTH
Insight Health, a NYC-based clinical AI platform for healthcare, raised $11M in Series A funding. The round was led by Standard Capital, with participation from Pear VC, Kindred Ventures, Eudemian, ElevenLabs, and others.
Moonbounce, an Oakland, CA-based AI control engine company, raised $12M in funding. The round was led by Amplify Partners and StepStone Group, with participation from PrimeSet and Josh Leslie.
Covalo, a Zurich, Switzerland-based ingredients data platform, raised €3.5M in funding. The round was led by Hi inov, with participation from HTGF and seed+speed Ventures.
Stipple Bio, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, raised $100M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by RA Capital, a16z Bio+Health, and Nextech Invest, with participation from Emerson Collective, GV, LoLa Capital Partners, and others.
Wearable Robotics, a Pisa, Italy-based neuromotor rehabilitation company, raised €5M in Series A funding. The round was led by CDP Venture Capital, with participation from MITO Technology, LIFTT, SIMEST, RoboIT, and others.
Audicin, a Finland-based neurotech startup, raised $1.9M in funding. Backers included Virpi Tuomivaara and Petteri Lahtela.
Insight Health, a NYC-based clinical AI platform, raised $11M in Series A funding. The round was led by Standard Capital, with participation from Pear VC, Kindred Ventures, Eudemian, ElevenLabs, and others.
Moonbounce, an Oakland, CA-based AI control engine company, raised $12M in funding. The round was led by Amplify Partners and StepStone Group, with participation from PrimeSet and Josh Leslie.
QUICK HITS
🔋 Founder Fuel
Useful Data: 2700+ US angel investors & VC firms contact database (email + linkedIn link). (Link)
Trends with Benefits: Where did all the LPs go, and why is fundraising suddenly so hard for new VCs? (Link)
Founder Resource: What investors ask and how to answer : A practical Q&A prep kit for founders. (Link)
From Social: Such an Incredibly Freaking Awesome Breakdown of Different Paths to Product-Market Fit. (Link)
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Zero Shot, a U.S.-based VC fund founded by former OpenAI leaders, has raised $20M in its first close toward a $100M target to invest in early-stage AI startups. Led by partners Evan Morikawa, Andrew Mayne, Shawn Jain, Kelly Kovacs, and Brett Rounsaville, the fund is backing companies like Worktrace AI and Foundry Robotics, focusing on practical AI applications while avoiding crowded trends like “vibe coding” and digital twins.
Gateway Capital Partners, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based venture capital firm, held the first close of its $25m targeted second fund. Led by Dana Guthrie, Gateway Capital Partners plans to invest $500K–$600K per startup, targeting at least 20 companies across sectors like supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing AI.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Google launches offline AI dictation app with real-time text cleanup
Google has released “AI Edge Eloquent,” an iOS dictation app that works offline using on-device speech models.
The app transcribes speech in real time, removes filler words, and offers formatting options like summaries, tone changes, and length adjustments.
With optional cloud integration via Gemini and planned Android expansion, Google is pushing toward privacy-first, always-available AI productivity tools.
OpenAI CFO questions readiness for 2026 IPO
OpenAI’s CFO Sarah Friar has told colleagues the company is not ready for an initial public offering by late 2026, putting her in direct conflict with CEO Sam Altman’s goal to list by Q4.
Internal projections show OpenAI burning through more than $200 billion before reaching positive cash flow, with losses for 2026 alone projected at roughly $14 billion against $2 billion in monthly revenue.
Friar no longer reports to Altman directly, has been excluded from key financial meetings, and the company has quietly retained Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to manage a possible offering.
China forces Apple to remove Jack Dorsey's Bitchat
Apple pulled Jack Dorsey’s decentralized messaging app Bitchat from its China App Store after Beijing’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, said it violated rules on services capable of social mobilization.
Bitchat works entirely over Bluetooth and mesh networks without internet connectivity, letting messages hop between devices — a design that has made it popular during government-imposed connectivity blackouts in multiple countries.
The app has passed three million total downloads across platforms, and this is the second time China has targeted a Dorsey-backed decentralized app, after banning the Nostr-based Damus in 2023.
OpenAI pushes regulators to probe Musk over alleged anti-competitive moves
OpenAI has asked California and Delaware authorities to investigate Elon Musk over alleged anti-competitive behavior ahead of an upcoming trial.
The dispute stems from Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of straying from its original mission, with damages claims exceeding $100B.
The escalating conflict highlights growing tensions between major AI players, as competition intensifies across both technology and legal fronts.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Vibe coding boosted App Store submissions in 2025
App Store submissions surged 84 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, and the growth of vibe coding tools like Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex is believed to be driving the increase.
For the full year of 2025, submissions grew 30 percent versus 2024, nearly hitting 600,000 total, with momentum building each quarter and accelerating sharply into early 2026.
Apple says its review team processes 90 percent of submissions within 48 hours, but developers and consumers have complained about lower-quality apps flooding the App Store as a result.
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 - Lightbank | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Climate Venture Fund | USA - Apply Here
Senior Investment Analyst - Earth Foundry | USA - Apply Here
Ventures Analyst/Associate - Plug and Play Tech Centre | USA - Apply Here
Research Innovation Program Director - Generator | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst Intern - NAV Capital | Dubai - Apply Here
Finance Associate - RA Capital | USA - Apply Here
PE & VC Partner Manager - Dealhub | UK - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Lunicorn Venture | UK - Apply Here
WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP:
💁 You might need our help!
Reach 115,000+ 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.