☕ Google burns cash for first time since going public & Nvidia GPUs are heading to the moon.
AMD unveils Helios AI system to challenge Nvidia & Google adds selfie video sign-in.
Breaking News
Alphabet reported negative free cash flow for the first time since becoming a public company as AI infrastructure spending surged. The milestone highlights the enormous capital required to compete in the AI race and raises fresh questions about how long hyperscalers can sustain record-breaking investments.
AMD introduced Helios, a rack-scale AI platform built to train and serve frontier AI models, with major customers including Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Oracle. The launch marks AMD's strongest push yet to challenge Nvidia's dominance in AI infrastructure.
DAILY PICKS
🗞️ Must read posts
What happens when a VC reference-checks a founder (And who they actually call): Most founders think diligence is about metrics, customers, and market size. But once a VC is serious, they often start calling former colleagues, cofounders, customers, past investors, and people you never listed as references. This piece shows founders how to understand the hidden reference-check process and prepare for it before it quietly decides the round.
How to get a warm intro to VC without a network?: Most founders think a warm intro is just about knowing someone who knows an investor. This piece shows why the best intro often comes from the strongest, most recent relationship path into a fund - not the most obvious connection. It breaks down the messenger hierarchy, the one-ask rule, double opt-ins, and the exact messages founders can use to make introductions easier to send.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Coverwatch, a San Francisco, CA-based insurtech startup providing an AI-native platform for evaluating risk and identifying coverage gaps, raised $4.5M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by CoFound and Restive, with participation from KFund, Liquid 2 Ventures, and other investors.
Cast Insights, a San Francisco, CA-based real-time spoken intelligence platform, raised $4.5M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Abstract Ventures, with participation from HF0, Village Global, Max Ventures, Embassy Ventures, Stratus Ventures, and others.
Ossprey, a London, UK-based software supply chain security and malicious code detection company, raised $2.65M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Episode 1 Ventures, with participation from Osney Capital and Octopus Investments.
SEED
1872, a Cincinnati, OH-based AI-native manufacturing startup, raised $15M in Seed funding. The investment was made through private funds advised by The O.H.I.O. Fund.
Cheiron, a Los Altos, CA-based operating system for drug development programs, raised $8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Robert Langer, Freda Lewis-Hall, Josh Meier, Laxman Narasimhan, and John Giannandrea.
Petra Labs, a New York City-based answer engine optimization company, raised $5.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Work-Bench, with participation from Afore, Pathlight, and strategic angel investors.
GROWTH
Elio, a San Mateo, CA-based company developing AI-native sensors, raised $21M in funding. The round was led by Innovation Endeavors and Xora, with participation from Kevin Weil, Scribble VC, UpWest, and Resolute Ventures.
Paper, a San Francisco, CA-based design platform for agentic AI, raised $34M in Series A funding. The round was led by Accel and ICONIQ, with participation from Designer Fund, Michael Grinich, Anton Osika, and engineers and designers from Anthropic and OpenAI.
Ropedia, a Singapore-based physical AI data infrastructure startup, raised $30M across two Pre-Series A rounds. The rounds were backed by individual angel investors whose names were not disclosed.
Abstract, a San Francisco, CA-based composable security operations company, raised $25M in funding. The round was co-led by Cheyenne Ventures and AVP, with participation from Olive Hill Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and Rally Ventures.
Asuene, a Tokyo, Japan-based decarbonization and sustainability management company, raised $87M in Series D funding. The financing included $43.8M in new capital led by Decarbonization Partners and $19.3M in debt from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Moa Technology, an Oxford, UK-based agricultural biotechnology company, raised £22.2M in Series C funding. The round was led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Supernova Invest, with participation from Agri Investment Fund, GrainInnovate, Infinity Investment Partners, and Magdalen College Oxford.
Humanoid, a London, UK-based AI and robotics company developing industrial humanoid robots, raised $152M in Series A funding. The round was led by Prime Movers Lab, with participation from Schaeffler, Bosch, Fubon Financial Holding Venture Capital, and Aglaé Ventures.
Yope, a Kyiv, Ukraine-based AI-native private social platform for micro-communities, raised $12.3M in Pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Northzone, with participation from Inovo, Redseed, and Geek Ventures.
Atoms, a Los Angeles, CA-based industrial robotics and automation company, raised $1.7B in funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, Uber, Chemistry, A*, K5 Global, Abstract, SV Angel, and Alpha Square Group.
Transcripta Bio, a Palo Alto, CA-based AI-powered drug discovery company focused on neurological and neuromuscular diseases, raised $24M in funding. Backers included Mayo Clinic, Omnimed, JAZZ Venture Partners, BlueYard Capital, and a group of life sciences family offices.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Dimension Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm founded by Zavian Dar, Adam Goulburn, and Nan Li, raised $800 million for its third fund. The firm invests in startups operating at the intersection of science and computing, with a focus on AI, biotech, drug discovery, and deep tech.
ReefHaven Ventures, a San Diego, CA-based early stage venture capital firm, launched. Led by Garrett Smith, PhD, Managing Partner, and Nicholas Mourlas, PhD, Investment Partner, ReefHaven Ventures invests in early-stage startups at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Medical Technology.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Ford partners with Apple for next-generation EV software
Ford will become the first automaker to integrate Apple’s new MapKit for Automotive, bringing native Apple Maps, EV routing, and real-time navigation to its next-generation electric vehicles starting in 2027.
The integration will support advanced features like battery preconditioning, enhanced navigation for BlueCruise hands-free driving, and potential smart home connectivity.
The partnership is part of Ford’s broader strategy to build affordable, software-driven EVs on its new universal electric vehicle platform, with future expansion across multiple vehicle models.
OpenAI expands ChatGPT Health across the U.S.
OpenAI has rolled out ChatGPT Health to all U.S. users aged 18+ across free and paid plans, allowing users to connect health data from services like Apple Health, Epic, Oracle Health, and MyFitnessPal.
The company said health-related questions on ChatGPT have grown to 300 million per week and users can now access personalized health insights directly in regular chats.
OpenAI emphasized that ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment and continues to advise users to verify health information with qualified healthcare professionals.
Nvidia GPUs are heading to the moon
Lunar Outpost will use Nvidia’s Jetson GPU platform in its next lunar rover, marking what is expected to be the first deployment of a GPU on the moon to power onboard AI and lidar processing.
The AI-powered rover is part of NASA-backed lunar missions focused on exploring the moon’s surface, mapping difficult terrain, and supporting future human missions.
The partnership highlights Nvidia’s expanding role beyond data centers, with compact AI chips increasingly being used in robotics and autonomous systems operating in extreme environments.
Google’s Gemini approaches 1 billion monthly users
Google said Gemini has surpassed 950 million monthly users, nearly tripling its user base over the past year as it closes in on ChatGPT’s scale.
The company credited new AI features like Daily Brief and Gemini Spark, along with strong adoption across Android and iOS, for driving rapid growth.
Google also said its AI-powered Search features continue to expand, with AI Mode now reaching over 1 billion users while increasing overall search activity.
OpenAI unveils Presence for voice agents
OpenAI launched Presence, a new platform that lets enterprises build and deploy real-time voice agents and chatbots for customer support, giving businesses tools to handle spoken and text conversations with their customers at scale.
The platform targets enterprise workflow automation, integrating with existing business systems and call-center operations so companies can route tasks, pull up records, and manage support requests through automated agents connected to their current software.
The move signals OpenAI’s push deeper into enterprise AI amid rising competition from Anthropic and Google, both of which are building agentic platforms aimed at businesses that want to automate customer service and internal work.
Google adds selfie video sign-in
Google now lets you sign into your account by recording a selfie video, adding another way to prove who you are with your face when you can’t reach your usual phone or computer or get locked out.
You set it up on the My Account page under Security & sign-in, using your computer’s camera or a QR code sent to your phone, and Google tells you to remove glasses or masks and avoid busy backgrounds.
During each login Google asks you to turn your head to block deepfakes and confirm you’re really there, and it encrypts and stores your video, though the feature isn’t offered for Workspace, child, or Advanced Protection accounts.
EU approves chip that restores vision
European regulators cleared PRIMA, a device made by startup Science Corporation that restores functional vision to people who lost it to age-related macular degeneration, a condition that destroys light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye.
Patients get a small chip planted behind the eye during an hour-long outpatient procedure, then wear camera-equipped glasses that send a view of the world to the implant, letting some read books and complete puzzles again.
Each PRIMA device is expected to cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, with Germany’s first procedure possibly happening in September, while the US FDA granted a designation that starts a faster review for two rare kinds of blindness.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Patreon lays off 20% of its workforce
Patreon is cutting 93 employees, or 20% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring aimed at simplifying operations and adapting to rapid changes across the tech industry.
CEO Jack Conte said the layoffs are not about replacing employees with AI, emphasizing that the company’s long-term strategy remains centered on human creativity and creator communities.
Alongside the workforce reduction, Patreon is flattening its organizational structure while continuing efforts to protect creators’ content from unauthorized AI scraping.
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)
Investment Analyst - Forum Venture | Canada - Apply Here
Portfolio & Ecosystem Analyst Intern - Motion Venture | Singapore - Apply Here
Investor - Superseed | UK - Apply Here
Fund Controller - Alleygroup | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Engine Venture | USA - Apply Here
AI Engineering Lead - Palermo Advisor | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Peal | Remote - Apply Here
Principal - SE Venture | France - Apply Here
Events Specialist - Capital Factory | USA - Apply Here
Senior Venture Associate - Hearst | USA - Apply Here
Operating Partner - Unusual Venture | USA - Apply Here
Platform & Marketing Associate - March Capital | USA - Apply Here
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