☕ Google Cloud launches new AI chips to compete with Nvidia & Tencent and Alibaba to invest in DeepSeek at $20 billion valuation.
Tesla plans tripling its spending to $25B in 2026 & SoftBank seeks $10 billion loan backed by OpenAI shares.
Breaking News
Tesla is tripling its spending to $25B as it pivots hard into AI and robotics, funding everything from custom chips to robotaxis and humanoid robots. The move signals Tesla is no longer just an EV company — but a full-scale AI infrastructure player, even if it means short-term financial pressure.
Google Cloud has launched new AI chips — TPU 8t (training) and TPU 8i (inference) — offering up to 3× faster performance and better cost efficiency. The company is scaling massive clusters with over 1 million TPUs, showing how serious the AI infrastructure race has become. Despite competing, Google still partners with Nvidia, combining both chips in its cloud strategy.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Zynt, a Warsaw, Poland-based B2B signal intelligence platform, raised €424K ($500K) in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included 24Ventures and angel investors.
Nox Mobility, a Berlin, Germany-based night train company, raised €2M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by IBB Ventures, with participation from angels.
Calibre, a London, UK-based healthtech startup, raised $3.3M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Amino Collective, with participation from Daybreak Ventures, Cocoa Ventures, and angels.
SEED
10x Science, a San Francisco, CA-based AI protein research startup, raised $4.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Initialized Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Civilization Ventures, Founder Factor, and angels.
BuildForever, a San Francisco & NYC-based AI email platform, raised $9.5M in Seed funding. Backers included Felicis, Abstract VC, Elad Gil, SV Angel, and angels.
Crewline AI, a San Francisco-based construction automation startup, raised $7.1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Initialized Capital and Nebular, with participation from Ford Street Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, and others.
Octen, a San Francisco & Singapore-based AI search infrastructure company, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Square Peg, with participation from Argor and others.
Realm, a Helsinki-based workplace knowledge platform, raised $4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Frontline Ventures, with participation from HubSpot Ventures and angels.
NeoCognition, a Palo Alto-based AI research lab, raised $40M in Seed funding. The round was led by Cambium Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures, with participation from Vista Equity Partners and others.
GROWTH
VAST Data, a NYC-based AI operating system company, raised ~$1B in Series F funding at a $30B valuation. The round was led by Drive Capital and Access Industries, with participation from Fidelity, NEA, NVIDIA, and others.
SCATR Corp., a Cleveland-based cybersecurity company, raised $12.6M in Series A funding. The round was led by First In.
Afresh, a San Francisco-based AI grocery platform, raised $34M in funding. The round was led by Just Climate and High Sage Ventures, with participation from other investors.
OrangeQS, a Netherlands-based quantum systems company, extended its Seed round to €15M with investment from the EIC Fund.
Cresora Commerce, a Nashville-based AI commerce platform, raised $4M+ in funding. Backers included Nashville Capital Network and private investors.
Omeza Holdings, a Florida-based wound care company, raised $8.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Astanor and BluKap Ventures, with participation from others.
Courier Health, a NYC-based patient experience platform, raised $50M in Series B funding. The round was led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from Norwest and Work-Bench.
Schematic, a Boulder-based SaaS monetization platform, raised $6.5M in funding. Backers included S3 Ventures, MHS Capital, NextView Ventures, and angels.
Amperos Health, a NYC-based healthcare AI platform, raised $16M in Series A funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Uncork Capital and Neo.
BetHog, a NYC-based crypto betting platform, raised $10M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Will Ventures and RockawayX, with participation from others.
Mosaic, a NYC-based AI deal modeling platform, raised $18M in Series A funding. The round was led by Radical Ventures.
C-Infinity, a Mountain View-based AI design automation platform, raised $16M in funding. The round was led by Canaan Partners, with participation from Inventus Capital, Bee Partners, and others.
Monk, a NYC-based AI accounts receivable platform, raised $25M in Series A funding. The round was led by Footwork and Acrew Capital, with participation from BTV.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Treehub & AI Health Fund, U.S.-based healthcare-focused initiatives launched by Mary Minno, are building an accelerator + venture model to back early-stage AI healthcare startups. The AI Health Fund is targeting $10M (with $1.5M first close) and writes $50K–$150K checks, backed by investors like Tim Draper, with support from Esther Wojcicki and Anne Wojcicki to help founders commercialize academic healthcare innovations.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
New York sues Coinbase and Gemini over prediction markets
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed separate lawsuits against Coinbase and Gemini on Tuesday, accusing both crypto companies of running illegal gambling operations through their prediction markets without state gaming licenses.
James says the platforms let users as young as 18 bet on sports and elections, violating New York law that requires mobile sports bettors to be at least 21, and she wants profits returned and civil fines tripled.
The cases land in the middle of a three-way fight between states, the federal CFTC, and the industry, with the CFTC suing multiple states and arguing it alone has authority over prediction markets nationwide.
SpaceX plans in house GPU production amid chip supply concerns
SpaceX warns investors about chip shortages and rising costs ahead of its IPO, highlighting risks in securing enough compute power.
Company is exploring manufacturing its own GPUs through the Terafab project to reduce reliance on suppliers like Nvidia and TSMC.
Plan involves massive capital expenditure and complex chip production challenges, with timelines and execution still uncertain.
Google Maps adds generative AI features for enterprise use
Google introduces AI tools like Maps Imagery Grounding to generate realistic Street View scenes from text prompts.
New features enable faster analysis of satellite data and geospatial insights using AI models integrated with Google Cloud.
Updates target enterprise users in fields like urban planning, construction, and environmental monitoring, reducing manual analysis work.
SoftBank seeks $10 billion loan backed by OpenAI shares
SoftBank Group is reportedly pursuing a $10 billion margin loan using its stake in OpenAI as collateral to fund its AI expansion.
The two year loan includes an option to extend, following a recent $40 billion bridge loan to support further AI investments and operations.
Move highlights SoftBank’s aggressive push into AI, after committing $30 billion to OpenAI through its Vision Fund.
Tencent and Alibaba eye investment in DeepSeek at $20 billion plus valuation
Tencent and Alibaba are in talks to invest in DeepSeek, valuing the company at over $20 billion.
DeepSeek is attracting strong investor interest after earlier plans to raise $300 million at a $10 billion valuation.
The funding push highlights rising capital needs in AI, as competition intensifies around advanced models and agentic systems.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Google builds elite team to rival Anthropic coding
Google DeepMind has formed a specialized team led by engineer Sebastian Borgeaud to improve Gemini’s programming skills, partly because Google researchers believe Anthropic’s coding tools are currently better.
Co-founder Sergey Brin wrote in an internal memo that Google must “urgently bridge the gap in agentic execution,” and he required every Gemini engineer to use internal agents for complex tasks.
Google is training models on its internal codebase, which differs significantly from public code, meaning those models can’t be released but could help speed up development and improve future products.
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