☕ Google to pay SpaceX $920M monthly for compute & Anthropic calls for coordinated AI development pause.
Trump administration explores AI equity ownership model & OpenAI rolls out Lockdown Mode against prompt injections.
Breaking News
OpenAI is reportedly turning ChatGPT into a unified “super app” that combines chat, coding, AI agents, and productivity tools into one experience. The move signals a major strategy shift as OpenAI looks to make ChatGPT the central operating system for work and daily life, while competing more directly with Anthropic and other AI platforms.
Anthropic warned that AI could soon reach a stage where systems begin improving themselves, and argued that leading AI labs may need a coordinated pause to avoid losing control of the technology. The statement is one of the strongest public warnings yet from a frontier AI company and highlights growing concerns about how quickly advanced AI capabilities are accelerating.
FROM OUR PARTNER - AQUIPOR
🏗️ Investors are backing AquiPor as cities face a $27B stormwater infrastructure shift…
Concrete covers modern cities - but it also creates one of the biggest environmental problems in urban infrastructure. Every time it rains, polluted stormwater floods streets, overwhelms drainage systems, and contaminates waterways.
AquiPor has developed a porous concrete technology that turns ordinary concrete into infrastructure-grade stormwater management systems, helping cities reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, and meet growing environmental regulations.
Why investors are paying attention:
Permeable pavement market projected to reach $27B by 2031
Third-party testing showed 97.2% filtration of stormwater particles
Paid pilot projects and demonstration installations already completed
Asset-light licensing model designed for scalable recurring revenue
As cities spend billions upgrading aging infrastructure and managing climate-driven flooding, technologies built directly into existing construction materials could become critical infrastructure layers.
AquiPor is positioning itself at the intersection of climate tech, construction, and water infrastructure - while the market is still early.
DAILY PICKS
🗞️ What else is brewing
The AI-Native Startup Playbook: How to Build, Launch and Scale Faster With AI. (Link)
An experienced VC’s framework for discussing valuation, reading investor signals, and negotiating without naming a price too early. (Link)
The end of cheap AI: Why AI startups may face their AWS moment sooner than expected. (Link)
40+ investor contact databases and 50+ fundraising resources every founder needs. (Link)
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
AethexAI, a Cambridge-based startup building localized voice AI models, raised $3M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by 4DX Ventures with participation from Enza Capital, Dorm Room Fund, and AI researchers from Anthropic.
New Dawn Bio, a Netherlands-based company developing cultured wood tissue from tree stem cells, raised €2.1M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by CapitalT with participation from Norrsken Evolve.
SEED
Willow, an Israel-based startup building an agentic access platform, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Hetz Ventures.
Red Metals, a Charleston-based copper manufacturing startup, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Gigascale Capital with participation from Future Ventures, MCJ, and JB Straubel.
GROWTH
Collate, a San Francisco-based AI document automation platform for life sciences, raised $95M in funding at a valuation approaching $1B. The round was led by Redpoint Ventures.
Highland Electric Fleets, a provider of Electrification-as-a-Service for fleet operators, raised $75M in funding. The round was led by Galvanize.
Generalist AI, a San Francisco-based company developing embodied robotics intelligence and foundation models, raised $400M in funding at a $2B valuation. The round was led by Radical Ventures.
Flourish, a NYC-based company building brain-inspired continuous learning AI systems, raised $500M in funding at a $2.5B valuation. Investors include Jeff Bezos, GV, Lux Capital, and Catalio Capital.
Tilt, a London-based live-video commerce platform, raised $26M in funding. The round was led by Vinted Ventures.
Supabase, the open-source Postgres development platform, raised $500M in Series F funding at a $10.5B valuation. The round was led by GIC with participation from Accel, Y Combinator, Craft Ventures, Felicis, Peak XV, and Coatue.
inCharge Energy, a provider of EV charging and energy solutions, raised $46M in funding. The round was led by S2G Investments with participation from QIC.
Opal Security, an AI-native access governance platform, raised $23M in new funding. The round was led by Greylock and Battery Ventures.
Innovorder, a Paris-based restaurant management and POS software company, raised €20M in funding. The round was led by UL Invest.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Gigascale Capital, a Palo Alto, CA-based venture capital firm focused on the physical economy, closed its first institutional fund, at $250m. Founded in 2023 by former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, Victoria Beasley, and Evaline Tsai, Gigascale is focused on such areas as clean energy and grid infrastructure, the supply chains that support them, and AI applied to the design, manufacturing, and deployment of physical systems.
Benchmark Capital, the Silicon Valley venture firm behind early bets in eBay, Uber, Snap, and Twitter, has raised $2 billion across two new funds, including its first-ever $1.25 billion growth fund for later-stage investments. The firm is expanding beyond its traditional early-stage strategy to back larger AI and growth-stage companies, while its new $750 million early-stage fund gives it more firepower to compete in today’s increasingly expensive startup market.
PARTNERSHIP WITH US
🤝 Get your startup in front of 120,000+ audience.
Our newsletter is read by 120,000+ of tech professionals, founders, investors (VCs / Angel Investors) and managers around the world. Get in touch today.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Trump administration explores AI equity ownership model
The Trump administration is discussing potential equity stakes in major AI companies, with OpenAI reportedly among the firms involved in conversations.
One proposal would direct part of those shares into a public wealth fund, allowing Americans to benefit financially from AI-driven growth and future IPO gains.
The idea has support and criticism across political lines, with supporters citing shared prosperity while critics warn of growing ties between government and big AI companies.
Google will pay SpaceX $920M per month for compute deal
Google will pay SpaceX $920 million per month through June 2029 for access to roughly 110,000 Nvidia GPUs and related AI infrastructure.
The agreement highlights soaring demand for AI services, with Google saying customer demand for Gemini Enterprise and agent products exceeded expectations.
The deal adds to SpaceX’s growing AI infrastructure business ahead of its IPO, following Anthropic’s earlier $1.25 billion-per-month compute agreement.
OpenAI rolls out Lockdown Mode against prompt injections
OpenAI is rolling out Lockdown Mode, an optional security setting in ChatGPT that gives users stricter protection against prompt injection attacks, where bad actors hide malicious instructions on webpages to trick AI systems into leaking data.
Turning it on disables Deep Research and Agent Mode entirely, blocks ChatGPT from pulling or displaying images from the internet, and stops the chatbot from downloading files, though manual uploads and image generation still work.
The feature is available to all personal accounts, including the free tier, and works by limiting network requests an attacker could exploit to exfiltrate sensitive data, rather than stopping injections from appearing in processed content.
Anthropic is helping the NSA
Anthropic has embedded around six engineers at the National Security Agency to deploy Mythos, its most capable AI model, for offensive cyber operations, according to a Financial Times report published Thursday.
Mythos is the same model Anthropic has refused to release publicly over misuse risk, restricting it to vetted partners through Project Glasswing, a coalition that includes Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon.
The NSA kept using Mythos even as Anthropic sues the Pentagon over a supply-chain risk label from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which followed a collapsed $200 million contract over autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance limits.
Reid Hoffman leaves Microsoft board to focus on Manus
Reid Hoffman is stepping down from Microsoft’s board after nearly a decade, saying he wants to spend more time helping build AI startup Manus.
Hoffman played key roles in Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership and the Inflection AI deal that brought Mustafa Suleyman and his team to Microsoft.
Manus focuses on AI-driven drug discovery, particularly cancer research, and Hoffman says the company is making significant progress in applying AI to chemistry.
Sriram Krishnan exits White House AI role
Former a16z partner Sriram Krishnan will leave his position as White House AI advisor at the end of June after helping shape U.S. AI policy.
During his tenure, he worked on the AI Action Plan, data center expansion efforts, and executive orders aimed at strengthening America’s AI competitiveness.
Krishnan says he will next focus on building institutions around AI, energy, and infrastructure, while remaining involved in policy discussions outside government.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
What to expect from Apple’s WWDC 2026
Apple is expected to unveil a major Siri overhaul, making it more conversational, context-aware, and capable of handling complex multi-step tasks using AI.
New Apple Intelligence features may include AI-powered photo editing, upgraded Image Playground tools, AI agents, and deeper integrations across Apple’s apps and devices.
Other expected updates include bill-splitting and pass creation in Wallet, Visual Intelligence upgrades in Camera, and AI enhancements across iOS, macOS, iPadOS, visionOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
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)
Investor (Senior Associate/Principal) - Square Peg | USA - Apply Here
Founding Investor - Discipulus Ventures | USA - Apply Here
Senior Analyst - ICONIQUE Capital | USA - Apply Here
Venture AI & Operations Specialist - Blum Venture | Austria - Apply Here
Senior Associate - New York Life Venture | USA - Apply Here
Program Manager - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Manhattan Venture | USA - Apply Here
VP — Finance & Compliance - Transition VC | India - Apply Here
Senior Associate - ICONIQUE CAPITAL | USA - Apply Here
Venture Capital Analyst - MicroVentures | USA - Apply Here
WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP:
💁 You might need our help!
Reach 120,000+ 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.