☕ OpenAI brings back GPT-4o after use backlash, Nvidia and AMD to give US 15% of China chip sale revenues & More.
China opens the world's first humanoid robot mall & More.
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Today’s Picks: B2B SaaS PMF benchmarks, investor Q&A, LP shift, 40 pitch decks, Elad Gil AI markets, legal docs, a16z AI tools, data room, monetisation, US investors, 60-sec pitch.
Sam Altman addresses GPT-5 rollout issues, considers bringing back 4o.
NASA and Google develop AI medical assistant for Mars missions.
Meta buys AI voice startup WaveForms to boost audio capabilities.
Nvidia and AMD agree to give US 15% of China chip sale revenues.
AI firms face largest ever copyright class action.
China opens the world's first humanoid robot mall.
Patient produces own insulin after gene-edited cell transplant.
RIP Microsoft Lens, a simple little app that’s getting replaced by AI.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
B2B SaaS benchmarks VCs use to spot product-market fit.
What investors ask and how to answer : A practical Q&A prep kit for founders.
The quiet shift in VC: LPs moving money from giants to nimble funds.
40 real startup pitch decks that raised $350M+ (Including leading startups decks).
Elad Gil : Six AI markets are now locked — here’s your next move..
Startup Legal Document Pack – Essential Legal Docs for Founders.
AI tools used by a16z partner Olivia Moore.
Investor Data Room Guide & Templates for Founders.
The 9-step framework for successful monetisation.
2700+ US Angel Investors & VC Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).
The 60-second pitch formula that gets investors to say “Yes”.
Excel Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising
What founders can learn from Zuck’s “superintelligence” memo.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Edumentors, a London, UK-based provider of an online tutoring platform, raised $2m in seed funding. The round was was led by Magna Investment, an Abu Dhabi-based VC fund with participation from angels from the UK and other 10+ countries.
Translucent AI, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered financial platform designed exclusively for healthcare operators, raised $7M in Seed funding. Backers included NEA, Virtue, FPV and Redesign Health.
Alaan, a Dubai, UAE-based fintech company, raised $48m in Series A funding round. The round was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA), with participation from 885 Capital, Y Combinator, 468 Capital, and Pioneer Fund, founders of unicorn companies such as Tabby and Careem, as well as Khalid Al Ameri.
Lava Payments, a US-based digital wallet company, raised $5.8m in seed funding. The round was led by Lerer Hippeau, with participation from Harlem Capital, Streamlined Ventures, and Westbound.
OneSkin, a San Francisco, CA-based skin longevity brand, received a $20M investment. Prelude Growth Partners made the investment.
Perle, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI training data platform empowered by Web3, raised $9M in Seed funding. The round was led by Framework Ventures.
WiseBee, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered cybersecurity platform, raised $2.5M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Frontline Ventures and BrightCap Ventures.
August Health, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an EHR platform for care tracking and analytics, raised $29M in Series B funding. The round was led by Base10 Partners, with participation from existing investors General Catalyst and Matrix Partners, along with new strategic partners Equitage Ventures, the Senior Living Transformation Company, and Stanford University.
Flox Robotics, a Stockholm, Sweden-based wildlife intelligence company, raised $1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Unconventional Ventures, with participation from Norrsken Accelerate, Almi Invest, E14 Invest, Argand Partners, and a group of angel investors.
Bit2Me, a Madrid, Spain-based provider of a digital asset platform, raised $30M in funding. The round was led by Tether Ventures with participation from additional undisclosed investors.
Orbital Operations, Long Beach, CA-based Y Combinator startup developing high-thrust orbital vehicles for national security missions, raised $8.8M in Seed funding. The round was led by Initialized Capital along with major investments from Harpoon Ventures, DTX Ventures, Rebel Fund, TRAC VC, Karman Ventures, Immad Akhund, and other investors.
Kustomer, a NYC-based AI-powered customer service company, raised $30M in Series B funding. The round was led by Norwest, with participation from Battery Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and Boldstart Ventures.
Casap, a NYC-based company which specializes in intelligent automation for dispute and fraud operations, raised $25M in Series A funding. The round was led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Primary Venture Partners, SoFi and others.
FORT Robotics, a Philadelphia, PA-based provider of a safety and security solutions for intelligent machines, raised additional $18.9M in Series B funding. The round was led by Tiger Global, with participation from Prime Movers Lab, Mark Cuban, FundersClub, Creative Ventures, GRIDS Capital, Ahoy Capital, Neman Ventures, Mana Ventures, Gaingels, and Ryuu Co. of Japan.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Curql Collective, a Des Moines, Iowa-based collective of 160+ credit unions jointly investing in fintech, closed Curql Fund II, at $360m. This brings Curql’s AUM (assets under management) to over $600 million. With Fund II, fintech startups gain funding and a built-in network of credit unions as early adopters and advisors.
Deciens Capital, an Albuquerque, NM-based venture capital firm focused on financial services innovation, closed Fund III, at $93.33m. Led by Dan Kimerling, Founder and Managing Partner, Ishan Sachdev, General Partner, Deciens backs founders reimagining how financial services are created, distributed, and consumed.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Sam Altman addresses GPT-5 rollout issues, considers bringing back 4o:
In a Reddit AMA, Sam Altman admitted GPT-5’s router malfunction made the model seem “dumber” than GPT-4o and promised fixes, including better transparency on which model is responding.
Altman said OpenAI is considering allowing Plus users to continue using GPT-4o and will double rate limits for them during the rollout.
He also acknowledged the “chart crime” from the launch presentation but assured users the team is working to stabilize GPT-5 and address feedback.
NASA and Google develop AI medical assistant for Mars missions:
NASA and Google are building the Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant, an AI tool to help astronauts diagnose and treat medical issues when no doctor or real-time communication with Earth is available.
Running on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, the multimodal assistant showed high diagnostic accuracy in simulated scenarios, scoring up to 88% correctness.
Future plans include integrating medical device data and training the model for space-specific conditions like microgravity, with potential applications for healthcare on Earth.
Meta buys AI voice startup WaveForms to boost audio capabilities:
Meta has acquired AI audio startup WaveForms, its second major AI audio deal in a month after buying PlayAI, to strengthen its Superintelligence Labs unit.
Founded eight months ago, WaveForms raised $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz at a $160 million pre-money valuation and was working on solving the “Speech Turing Test” and developing “Emotional General Intelligence.”
Co-founders Alexis Conneau (ex-Meta, OpenAI) and Coralie Lemaitre (ex-Google) have joined Meta, while the status of other team members remains unclear.
Nvidia and AMD agree to give US 15% of China chip sale revenues:
Nvidia and AMD will pay the US government 15% of revenue from sales of advanced AI chips, such as Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308, to China as a condition for export licenses.
The deal follows a partial lifting of a sales ban, with officials saying the arrangement does not compromise national security; Nvidia earned $17B from China in FY2024, while AMD made $6.2B.
Critics argue the move either undermines security concerns or imposes unnecessary penalties, with some viewing it as a trade-off between revenue and national security protections.
AI firms face largest ever copyright class action:
AI industry groups are trying to stop the largest copyright class action ever certified, which could involve seven million claimants suing generative AI company Anthropic over its training data.
Anthropic petitioned to appeal the decision, claiming the judge rushed the judgment without a "rigorous analysis," creating a risk of hundreds of billions of dollars in potential damages.
Tech associations warn that this immense financial risk might force a settlement, setting a precedent that could harm other generative AI companies facing similar copyright lawsuits.
China opens the world's first humanoid robot mall:
China has opened its first full-scale Robot Mall in Beijing, a four-story shopping center showcasing over 100 different models from more than 40 brands, including Ubtech and Unitree Robotics.
The store operates on a "4S" model similar to a car dealership, which combines sales, service, spare parts, and customer feedback surveys all together in one single location.
Beyond shopping, visitors can eat at a restaurant with robot chefs, watch robots play soccer, or meet animatronic versions of historical figures like Isaac Newton and Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Patient produces own insulin after gene-edited cell transplant:
A man with type 1 diabetes received transplanted islet cells genetically modified with CRISPR, allowing his body to produce some insulin without needing the usual immunosuppressant anti-rejection drugs after the procedure.
Scientists used CRISPR to remove HLA-I and HLA-II antigens from the donated beta cells and also engineered them to produce more CD47 protein, which helps prevent an immune system attack.
Although the patient still needs external insulin because he only received 7% of a full dose, the fully edited cells survived and were manufacturing insulin three months after the transplant.
RIP Microsoft Lens, a simple little app that’s getting replaced by AI:
Microsoft will discontinue its popular mobile document scanner, Microsoft Lens, directing people instead to the company's Copilot AI chat application for any future scanning after September 2025.
The replacement Copilot app lacks crucial Lens features like saving scans to OneNote, Word, or PowerPoint, and it also removes important accessibility tools such as Immersive Reader integration.
Unlike many modern apps, Lens was a simple, free tool that performed its job well without pushing subscriptions, remaining popular with over 92 million downloads recorded since January 2017.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
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Associate - Mighty Capital | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Temasek | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Beas Capital | India - Apply Here
Investor Relations Analyst - Techstars | USA - Apply Here
Head of Platform - Pledge Venture | UK - Apply Here
Chief of Staff - Penny Jar Capital | USA - Apply Here
Analyst / Senior Analyst - Updaya Social Venture | India - Apply Here
Analyst - Adams Street Partners | USA - Apply Here
Associate - Iconique Capital | USA - Apply Here
Program Manager - generator | USA - Apply Here
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