☕ OpenAI hardware chief resigns after Pentagon AI deal & Nvidia sets $4M target bonus for CEO Jensen Huang.
Google awards Sundar Pichai $692M performance-based pay package.
Breaking News
OpenAI’s hardware chief Caitlin Kalinowski resigned after the company signed its Pentagon AI agreement. Kalinowski said her decision was driven by governance concerns around how the deal was handled, particularly issues involving domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. The departure adds to growing internal and public backlash after OpenAI moved forward with the defense partnership following failed negotiations between the Pentagon and Anthropic.
Microsoft and Google said they will continue supporting Anthropic’s AI tools on their platforms despite the Pentagon labeling Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” The dispute began after CEO Dario Amodei refused to grant the U.S. military unrestricted AI access for uses such as mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. Hundreds of employees across Google and OpenAI have also signed letters backing Anthropic’s stance, turning the conflict into a broader industry flashpoint.
FROM OUR PARTNER - DYNAMO SOFTWARE
🤝 2026 Fund Accounting: AI, Automation & Insights Unveiled
Unlock the insights shaping the future of fund accounting with Dynamo Software’s newly-released 2026 Fund Accounting Report. This must-read research highlights:
78% of fund accountants expect AI & automation to revolutionize their work.
Manual data entry remains a top operational pain point despite tech advances.
65% prioritize system integration for streamlined workflows.
Data security ranks as a critical factor for 82% of respondents.
Download now to explore these trends & more →
PARTNERSHIP WITH US
🤝 Get your startup in front of over 115,000+ audience.
Our newsletter is read by 115,000+ of tech professionals, founders, investors (VCs / Angel Investors) and managers around the world. Get in touch today.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
Cheer Games, a Barcelona, Spain-based mobile gaming studio, raised $4.5M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Makers Fund with participation from Play Ventures and a group of angel investors.
Vivox AI, a London, UK-based technology company building regulator-ready, atomic AI agents for AML, KYB/KYC and financial crime, raised £1.3M in first funding. Backers included Axel Weber, Dan Cobley, Kos Stiskin, James Janis Berdigans, and other fintech and technology investors.
Vor Systems, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-enabled transaction platform, raised $3M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Gigascale Capital, with participation from Virta Ventures, Christopher Payne, Hank Couture, Badrul Farooqi, Joe Song, Paul Grana, and Titiaan Palazzi.
SEED
Navigara, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of an engineering performance measurement layer, raised $2.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Inovo VC, with participation from Rockaway Ventures and QQ Capital.
NextWork, an Austin, TX-based platform helping people learn practical AI skills by building real projects, raised $4.45M in Seed funding. The round was led by Shakti VC with participation from Cake Ventures, GD1 VC, Blackbird Ventures, Icehouse Ventures, Phase One Ventures and angel investors.
Levitate, a Raleigh, NC-based provider of an AI-powered relationship marketing platform, raised $16M in funding. The round was led by Harbert Growth Partners, with participation from Bull City Venture Partners and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures.
GROWTH
Nominal, an Austin, Texas-based developer of a data infrastructure and AI platform for mission-critical engineering, raised $80m in Series B extension funding at a $1 billion valuation. The round was led by Founders Fund, with participation from Sequoia, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Red Glass, and Lightspeed.
PartsPulse, a Las Vegas, NV-based provider of an AI-powered platform for managing parts businesses, raised $3M in funding. The round was led by UP.Partners.
Spellbook, a Toronto, Canada-based provider of legal AI for transactional law, raised $40M in Debt funding from RBCx at a $350M valuation. This strategic capital comes shortly after its $50M Series B funding.
Minnesota Medical Technologies Corporation, a Stewartville, Minnesota-based developer of continence care solutions, raised $20.6M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by HM Venture Partners and Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners.
NexCure, a Boston, MA-based provider of a platform that standardizes protocols, automates care coordination, and reduces operational variability, raised $19M in Series A funding. The round was led by RA Capital Management, with participation from Cencora Ventures and Oncology Ventures.
Greater Good Health, an El Segundo, CA-based company supporting risk-bearing organizations in managing total cost of care, raised $33M in Series B and Debt financing. The $20.5M in Series B funding round was led by Allumia Ventures, with participation from new investors DaVita Venture Group and Granite Financial Holdings.
Sierra Space Corporation, a Louisville, Colorado-based defense-tech space company, raised $550m in Series C equity funding at a $8 billion post-money valuation. The round was led by LuminArx Capital Management, with participation from existing investors General Atlantic, Coatue, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Andalusian Private Capital, among others.
Science, an Alameda, CA-based full-stack neural engineering company focused on restoring and extending life, closed a $230m Series C financing round. Backers included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, IQT, and Quiet Capital, among others.
TODAY’S RESOURCE PICK
📬 Investor outreach email sequence pack - 20+ proven templates used & approved by VCs
Reaching out to investors is hard when you don’t know what to write.
This pack gives you battle-tested email templates for every stage of fundraising outreach — built from real examples used by founders and recommended by VCs.
Inside:
Cold outreach emails that actually get replies
Warm intro scripts that increase chances of introductions
Follow-ups that keep conversations moving
Post-meeting emails to maintain momentum
Real outreach examples that led to investments
Bonus:
Monthly investor update template
Fundraising CRM guide + Excel tracker
It’s a simple system to run investor outreach with clarity and confidence — especially for pre-seed and seed founders.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Axiom Partners, a San Francisco, CA-based early-stage venture capital firm, closed its $52M inaugural fund. The fund has secured commitments from eight major institutional investors, as well as AI executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Nvidia and AMD.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Google awards Sundar Pichai $692M performance-based pay package
Sundar Pichai received a new three-year compensation package from Alphabet that could be worth up to $692 million, largely tied to stock incentives and performance targets.
Part of the compensation is linked to the progress of emerging businesses like Waymo and Wing.
Despite becoming a billionaire as Google’s market value surged since 2015, Pichai remains far less publicly visible than company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who have recently made headlines for major real estate purchases in Florida.
Grammarly accused of using identities without permission
Grammarly’s “expert review” feature generates AI writing advice labeled as “inspired by” named experts, including deceased scholars and working journalists, without asking any of those people for permission.
The Verge found its own editors — Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Sean Hollister, and Tom Warren — listed alongside dozens of tech journalists, with some profiles containing outdated job titles and other inaccuracies.
The feature’s linked sources often led to spammy website copies or completely unrelated pages, suggesting the AI’s advice attributed to one person may actually be based on someone else’s work.
Big Tech signs White House pledge to cover AI energy costs
Seven major tech companies — Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, xAI, and OpenAI — signed a voluntary White House pledge to cover the energy costs their data centers impose on regular electricity customers.
The pledge carries no penalties and the White House has no jurisdiction over state utility commissions that actually set power rates, meaning enforcement falls to the same local regulators already struggling with rising bills.
Anthropic, which was excluded from the ceremony after being designated a “supply chain risk,” had already made the most concrete commitment of any company, pledging to cover 100% of consumer price increases caused by its data centers.
Nvidia sets $4M target bonus for CEO Jensen Huang
Nvidia approved a new compensation plan for fiscal 2027 that sets a target cash bonus of $4 million for CEO Jensen Huang.
The bonus will be tied to Nvidia meeting specific revenue targets for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2027.
Huang earned $49.9 million in total compensation in 2025, largely driven by $38.8 million in stock awards, as Nvidia continues benefiting from surging global demand for AI chips.
China expects brain-computer tech to reach public use within 3–5 years
China could see widespread public use of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology within three to five years, according to expert Yao Dezhong, as the government prioritizes BCIs as a strategic technology alongside quantum computing, 6G, and fusion.
China already has more than 10 active human trials and plans to enroll 50+ patients this year, with experiments helping paralyzed patients control robotic limbs, wheelchairs, and other assistive devices.
The push also aims to compete with companies like Neuralink founded by Elon Musk, as China targets major breakthroughs by 2027 and hopes to build multiple globally competitive BCI firms by 2030.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
OpenAI delays ChatGPT ‘adult mode’ rollout again
OpenAI has postponed the launch of ChatGPT’s “adult mode,” a feature that would allow verified adults to access erotica and other mature content.
The feature was originally planned for December but had already been delayed once after CEO Sam Altman reportedly asked teams to focus on improving the core ChatGPT experience.
OpenAI says the rollout is being pushed back again to prioritize improvements in intelligence, personality, and proactive capabilities, though the company still supports the principle of “treating adults like adults.”
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)
Analyst / Associate - Saints Capital | USA - Apply Here
Investment Analyst Intern - NAV Capital | Dubai - Apply Here
PE & VC Partner Manager - Dealhub | UK - Apply Here
VC Platform & Events Manager - 1001 VC | USA - Apply Here
MBA Venture Capital Intern - Cerity Partners | USA - Apply Here
MBA Venture Capital Intern - Cerity Partners | USA - Apply Here
Senior Analyst - Iconique Capital | USA - Apply Here
Partner - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Program Manager - gener8tor | USA - Apply Here
Visiting Associate - First Momentum Venture | Germany - Apply Here
WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP:
💁 You might need our help!
Reach 115,000+ 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.