☕ OpenAI launches AI model for life sciences research & Anthropic reveals Claude Opus 4.7.
Musk asks chipmakers to move at "light speed" & Netflix co founder Reed Hastings exits.
Breaking News
OpenAI just launched GPT Rosalind, an AI model focused on biology and drug discovery — and it’s already being used with companies like Moderna and Amgen. This signals a major shift: AI is moving beyond software into real-world scientific breakthroughs.
Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.7, improving performance on complex coding and long-running tasks. The model can now verify its own outputs, making it more reliable for real-world engineering workflows. It also acts as a testing ground for safety before Anthropic releases more powerful models like Mythos.
FROM OUR PARTNER - SEMRUSH
📈 If you had your competitors’ growth playbook, what would you do?
With Semrush, you basically do.
See where competitors get their traffic from
Identify their top-performing pages and keywords
Track their presence across search and AI
Find gaps you can capture immediately
It’s like having a live dashboard of your market. Use it to move faster, smarter, and with more confidence.
Good marketing is creative. Great marketing is informed.
Get full access free for 7 days →
PARTNERSHIP WITH US
🤝 Get your startup in front of 116,000+ audience.
Our newsletter is read by 116,000+ 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
Resolv, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-native back-office automation platform, raised $1M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was co-led by Redbud VC and EquipmentShare, with participation from Fireroad Ventures, Team Ignite Ventures, and Pre-Seed to Succeed.
Worki, a San Francisco, CA-based healthcare workforce platform, raised $2.75M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Redesign Health and Healthliant Ventures.
Ralio, a London, UK-based payments platform for AI agents, raised $2.5M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Sure Valley Ventures, with participation from Seed X, Love Ventures, Plug and Play, Antler, and others.
SEED
Balerion AI, a San Francisco, CA-based mortgage AI platform, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Formation and BoxGroup.
Objection, a US-based AI media verification platform, raised a multi-million-dollar Seed round backed by Peter Thiel, Social Impact Capital, and Off Piste Capital.
Lua, a London, UK-based workspace collaboration OS, raised $5.8M in funding. The round was led by Norrsken22, with participation from Flourish Ventures, 20VC, P1 Ventures, Phosphor Capital, Y Combinator, and angels.
GROWTH
Solidroad, a San Francisco, CA-based AI customer conversation platform, raised $25M in Series A funding. The round was led by Hedosophia, with participation from First Round Capital, Y Combinator, and Sony Innovation Fund.
Joyful Health, a NYC-based healthcare revenue AI platform, raised $17M in Series A funding. The round was led by CRV, with participation from XYZ Venture Capital, Designer Fund, Inflect Capital, and Go Global Ventures.
Caruso, an Auckland, New Zealand-based AI-native fund administration platform, raised $6.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Icehouse Ventures and GD1, with participation from Balmain.
spektr, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based compliance AI infrastructure company, raised $20M in Series A funding. The round was led by NEA, with participation from Northzone, Seedcamp, and PSV Tech.
Wealth.com, a Phoenix, AZ-based AI-powered estate planning platform, raised $65M in Series B funding. Backers included Titanium Ventures, Pruven Capital, The K Fund, Dynasty Financial Partners, with participation from Charles Schwab, GV (Google Ventures), Citi Ventures, Anthos Capital, and others.
Resolve AI, a San Francisco, CA-based AI infrastructure company, raised $40M in Series A Extension at a $1.5B valuation. The round was led by DST Global and Salesforce Ventures.
Alloy Therapeutics, a Boston, MA-based biotechnology company, raised $40M in Series E funding at a $1B valuation. Backers included 8VC, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Echo Capital, and existing investors including Mubadala Capital, Founders Fund, and others.
STORM Therapeutics, a Cambridge, UK-based biotech company, raised $56M in Series C funding. Backers included M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Taiho Ventures, IP Group plc, and others.
Beeline Medicines, a Stamford, CT-based biotechnology company, raised $300M in Series A funding. The round was led by Bain Capital.
K1x, a Morristown, NJ-based AI-native tax data platform, received a $175M growth investment. The round was led by Sumeru Equity Partners, with participation from Edison Partners.
QUICK HITS
🔋 Founder Fuel
Useful Data: 350+ Indian angel investors & venture capital firms contact database (email + linkedIn link) (Link)
Trends with Benefits: Is faster activation actually hurting saas retention in the AI era? (Link)
Founder Resource: SaaS Startup Financial Model: All-in-One Excel Template (Link)
From Social: Annoying questions from VC & how to answer them. (Link)
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Sequoia Capital, a Silicon Valley–based VC firm, has raised $7B for a new fund focused on late-stage AI investments across the U.S. and Europe. Led under new leadership from Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, the fund will back both foundational AI players like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as emerging startups building applied AI products.
Accel, a global venture firm, has raised $5B in fresh capital to back late-stage startups, with $4B allocated to its Leaders Fund and $650M to a sidecar vehicle. The fund will focus on AI-driven companies across software, hardware, robotics, defense tech, and data infrastructure, with plans to write ~20 large checks.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Meta raises Quest headset prices amid RAM shortage
Meta increased prices of Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets by $50 to $100 due to rising memory chip costs.
The price hike reflects a broader industry trend, with companies like Samsung and Sony also impacted by RAM shortages.
Meta said higher component costs are affecting VR hardware production, forcing pricing adjustments to maintain product quality.
OpenAI upgrades Codex with powerful desktop control features
OpenAI revamped Codex to run in the background, allowing agents to control desktop apps, click, type, and complete tasks while users continue working.
The update adds memory, browser control, image generation, and 100+ integrations, making Codex a more advanced, multi-tasking enterprise tool.
The move intensifies competition with Anthropic, whose Claude Code currently leads in enterprise AI coding adoption.
Musk asks chipmakers to move at "light speed"
Musk’s team asked chipmaking equipment suppliers like Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and Lam Research to move at “light speed,” seeking fast price quotes and delivery timelines for gear needed to build the Terafab project.
The Terafab joint venture between Tesla and SpaceX plans to start with a pilot line processing 3,000 wafers per month, with a goal to begin silicon manufacturing by 2029, though no fixed orders have been placed yet.
Samsung proposed giving Tesla more capacity at its planned Texas factory instead of directly supporting Terafab, while Intel said it would join the initiative after Musk visited its Santa Clara office.
Apple sends Siri engineers to AI coding bootcamp
Apple is sending a group of fewer than 200 Siri engineers to a multi-week bootcamp where they will learn to code using AI tools, according to a report from The Information.
AI coding tools like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex have already taken off in other parts of Apple, with some teams allocating large budgets specifically for Claude Code.
The bootcamp comes ahead of WWDC26 on June 8, where Apple is expected to announce a revamped Siri powered by Google’s Gemini models after multiple delays and leadership changes.
Google and Pentagon discuss classified AI deal
Google is in talks with the Pentagon to strike a classified AI deal that would let the Department of Defense run its Gemini models in classified settings for all lawful uses.
During negotiations, Google has proposed contract language that would block its AI from being used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons without appropriate human control.
The deal would help Alphabet grow its government ties as the US pushes to embed artificial intelligence into its processes to cut costs and speed up administrative work.
Netflix co founder Reed Hastings exits as company seeks new growth
Reed Hastings will step down as chairman of Netflix, with the company navigating slowing growth and rising competition.
Netflix stock fell around 9% after the announcement and a weaker earnings outlook, despite revenue rising 16% to $12.25 billion.
The company is focusing on ads, live events, and new content formats to drive future growth beyond its 325 million subscriber base.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Anthropic executive exits Figma board amid product competition concerns
Mike Krieger, chief product officer at Anthropic, stepped down from Figma’s board as Anthropic plans design tools that could compete with Figma.
Anthropic’s upcoming Opus 4.7 model is expected to include interface design capabilities, raising concerns about AI labs encroaching on SaaS products.
The move reflects growing fears of “SaaSpocalypse,” where major AI companies could disrupt established software businesses with integrated AI tools.
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)
Investment Analyst - Lunicorn Venture | UK - Apply Here
Program Manager - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Chief of Staff - Greycroft | USA - Apply Here
Associate or Senior Associate - AI - BVP | USA - Apply Here
Venture Fellow - age1 | USA - Apply Here
Investment Associate - 500 Global | USA - Apply Here
Associate, Flagship Europe - Energy Impact Partner | USA - Apply Here
Venture Capital Associate - Sky9 Capital | USA - Apply Here
Investment Summer Associate - AI Tooling - M13 | USA - Apply Here
Event Marketing Manager - AI Fund | USA - 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 Monday.