☕ Meta stops its metaverse for work & Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit.
OpenAI to roll out targeted ads inside ChatGPT & Musk and Ryanair CEO clash over Starlink pricing.
Breaking News
OpenAI is preparing to roll out targeted ads inside ChatGPT, marking its first major monetization push beyond subscriptions. Ads will initially appear for free and Go-tier users in the U.S., shown at the bottom of conversations and limited to topic-based targeting with personalization controls, while paid tiers remain ad-free—signaling OpenAI’s shift toward an ad-supported model as it scales toward profitability.
Meta is shutting down Horizon Workrooms, its metaverse collaboration app, and will stop selling Quest headsets and managed services to businesses in early 2026. The move marks a clear retreat from enterprise VR after billions in investment and limited adoption, as Meta refocuses its metaverse and AI strategy toward mobile experiences and smart glasses rather than fully immersive workplace VR.
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🗞️ What Else Is Brewing
40 real startup pitch decks that raised $350M+ (Including leading startups decks) (Link)
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
RouteSense, a Salt Lake City, UT-based provider of a data analytics company delivering predictive intelligence for the payments industry, raised ~$2M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Redbud VC with participation from FOVC, Cultivation Capital, Service Provider Capital, and the University of Missouri AACE Fund.
SEED
Slips, a Los Angeles, CA-based peer-to-peer betting company, raised $3.5M in Series Seed funding. The round was led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital, with participation from investors including Andrew Schwartzberg, Co-Owner of the Charlotte Hornets and Leeds United English Football Club, alongside a group of strategic investors.
Atomic Insights, a San Diego, CA-based provider of money-movement and workflow automation tools for RIAs and family offices, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Aquiline with participation from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and existing investors.
AINA, a Limassol, Cyprus-based provider of an empathetic AI hiring platform, raised $1M in Seed funding. A non-public angel investor made the investment.
Veera, a Singapore-based provider of a crypto-powered financial services platform, raised a total of $10M across its Pre-Seed and Seed funding. The amount consisted of a $4 million Seed round that included $2.8M from CMCC Titan Fund and Sigma Capital, alongside angel investors, following a $6M Pre-Seed round completed in May 2024, led by 6th Man Ventures and Ayon Capital, with participation from Folius Ventures, Reflexive Capital, Sfermion, Cypher Capital, Accomplice, and The Operating Group.
Transition Metal Solutions, a Berkeley, CA-based startup supporting copper production from existing mining operations and waste, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Transition Ventures with participation from SOSV, Dolby Family Ventures, Astor Management AG, Juniper VC, Climate Capital, Possible Ventures, Understorey Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Essential Capital, and Kayak Ventures.
GROWTH
Pinch AI, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered post-purchase intelligence platform, raised $5M in funding. The round was led by Dynamo Ventures and Infinity Ventures with additional participation from Defined Capital and PayPal Ventures.
Higgsfield, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-native generative video platform provider, raised $80M in Series A extension funding. Backers included Accel, AI Capital Partners (Alpha Intelligence Capital’s US-based fund), and Menlo Ventures and others, bringing total Series A funding to more than $130M and valuing the company at more than $1.3 Billion.
Unifyr, a Cary, NC-based provider of an AI-driven partner ecosystem platform, received a $20M investment. Investcorp, through Investcorp Technology Partners Fund V, made the investment.
Tulip, a Somerville, MA-based provider of a frontline operations platform, raised $120M in Series D funding. The round was led by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503).
DC BLOX, an Atlanta, Georgia-based provider of connected data center and fiber network solutions, received $240m in HoldCo financing. The facility was provided by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates
Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals
Sequoia Capital is reportedly investing in Anthropic, despite already backing OpenAI and xAI, breaking the long-held VC norm of avoiding direct competitors.
The round, led by GIC and Coatue, could value Anthropic at ~$350B, with Microsoft and Nvidia committing up to $15B and total fundraising potentially exceeding $25B.
The move is notable given prior “industry standard” restrictions around investor access to confidential information, and marks a sharp shift from Sequoia’s past stance on portfolio conflicts.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune
Elon Musk is seeking $79B–$134B in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission after he helped found it in 2015.
An expert witness claims Musk is entitled to a large share of OpenAI’s ~$500B valuation based on his $38M seed funding plus early technical and business contributions, estimating wrongful gains split between OpenAI and Microsoft.
Given Musk’s ~$700B personal fortune, the scale of the demand reinforces OpenAI’s view that the case is less about money and more about pressure, as the lawsuit heads toward trial this spring.
Google appeals US search monopoly ruling
Google filed an appeal on Friday against the federal court ruling from 2024 that found the company had built an illegal monopoly in internet search and related advertising markets.
The company argues that the ruling ignored how people choose Google freely and failed to consider competition from established players and well-funded start-ups in the search market.
Google is also asking to pause remedies that require sharing raw search interaction data and ending long-term default search deals like its agreement with Apple.
Musk and Ryanair CEO clash over Starlink pricing
Elon Musk and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary traded insults on social media after O’Leary said his airline would not add Starlink internet to flights because of fuel costs and low passenger demand.
O’Leary told Reuters that adding an antenna to planes creates a 2% fuel penalty from weight and drag, and most passengers won’t pay for WiFi on short one-hour flights.
Musk called O’Leary “misinformed” and later an “utter idiot,” while Starlink’s engineering VP claimed their antenna only adds 0.3% fuel use compared to older, bulkier options.
OpenAI rejected Apple deal to build own hardware
OpenAI turned down a chance to become Apple’s main AI provider last fall, choosing instead to focus on building its own hardware devices that would compete directly with big tech companies.
Apple has now expanded its partnership with Google, making Gemini the default AI for Siri while ChatGPT becomes just an optional backup for more complex requests on iPhone.
The original Apple deal was a disappointment for OpenAI, which had hoped it would bring billions in revenue and break Google’s hold on Apple devices, but it brought almost no extra traffic.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Anthropic taps former Microsoft India MD to lead Bengaluru expansion
Anthropic has appointed Irina Ghose to lead its India business as it prepares to open an office in Bengaluru, signaling a deeper push into one of the fastest-growing AI markets globally.
India is now Anthropic’s second-largest user base for Claude, with usage skewed toward technical and work-related tasks, though monetization remains challenging despite rapid growth in downloads and consumer spending.
The move intensifies competition with OpenAI and other AI players expanding in India, where enterprise adoption, telecom partnerships, pricing strategy, and local-language AI will shape long-term winners.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
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