☕ Perplexity raised $200 million, OpenAI, Oracle sign $300 billion computing deal & Amazon developing consumer AR glasses to rival Meta.
Microsoft now buys AI from OpenAI rival Anthropic & Musk's Neuralink says 12 people have received its implants.
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: Investor update template, VC interview Q&A guide, financial model template, how to get warm intros, 40 pitch decks, startup compensation, legal docs pack.
Replit, agentic AI software creation platform provider raised $250M in funding.
Perplexity reportedly raised $200 million at a $20 billion valuation.
Klarna’s IPO pops, raising $1.4B with Sequoia as biggest winner.
Thinking Machines Lab wants to make AI models more consistent.
OpenAI, Oracle sign $300 billion historical computing deal.
Amazon developing consumer AR glasses to rival Meta.
Microsoft mandates a return to office.
Microsoft now buys AI from OpenAI rival Anthropic.
Musk's Neuralink says 12 people have received its implants.
Arm launches new generation of mobile chip designs geared for AI.
Apple unveils new iPhone 17, iPhone Air, Airpods and more.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Replit, a San Francisco, CA-based agentic AI software creation platform provider, raised $250M in funding, at $3 Billion valuation. The round was led by Prysm Capital with participation from Amex Ventures, Google’s AI Futures Fund, YC, Craft, a16z, Coatue, and Paul Graham.
Perplexity, a San Francisco–based AI-powered search startup challenging Google, has reportedly raised $200 million at a $20 billion valuation, according to The Information. The round follows a July raise of $100M at an $18B valuation, and brings total funding to $1.5B in just three years, per PitchBook. Perplexity’s ARR is nearing $200M, as it continues positioning itself as a serious competitor in search, offering conversational, AI-driven results.
PixVerse, a Singapore-based provider of an AI video platform, raised $60M in Series B funding. The round was led by Alibaba, with participation from new investor Antler.
Nitricity, a Fremont, CA-based climate startup electrifying the production of nitrogen fertilizer worldwide, raised $50M in Series B funding. The round was led by World Fund, and returning investor Khosla Ventures, with participation from Chipotle’s Cultivate Next venture fund, Change Forces, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, EIP, and Fine Structure Ventures.
Procense, a San Francisco, CA-based industrial automation startup developing AI and remote sensing technologies for process manufacturers, raised $1.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Kevin Mahaffey.
Red Access, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based provider of an agentless platform supporting security across all browsers, SaaS and corporate apps, raised $17M in Series A funding. The round was led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures, SentinelOne’s S Ventures, Elron Ventures and Singtel Innov8 Ventures.
Standard Fleet, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a fleet management platform for the connected-vehicle sector, raised $13M in Series A funding. The round was led by Nova Threshold, with participation from WEX Venture Capital, SNR, Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, Salil Deshpande of Uncorrelated Ventures and Apoorv Bhargava, founder of WeaveGrid. Returning investors included Burst Capital, Canvas Ventures, Liquid2, Night Capital, Olive Capital, UP2398 and Danny Wen.
Pest Share, a Nampa, ID-based provider of an on-demand pest control platform for residential property managers, raised $28M in Series A funding. The round was led by Integrity Growth Partners with participation from existing investors, including MetaProp, Capital Eleven and RE Angels.
Optain Health, a Akron, OH-based healthcare technology company applying artificial intelligence (AI), robotic retinal imaging, and teleophthalmology to detect eye and systemic disease earlier, raised $26M in Series A funding. The round was led by Insight Partners with participation from Informed Ventures, Lumio Capital, Meridian Ventures, UniQuest Extension Fund, Memorial Hermann Health System, Northwell Health, Novant Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and UPMC.
Noxilizer, a Hanover, MD-based company which specializes in nitrogen dioxide-based terminal sterilization for biopharmaceutical and medical device products, raised $30M in funding. The round was led by NewVale Capital.
Podonos, a Los Gatos, CA-based startup building the infrastructure layer for evaluating voice AI, raised $2.4M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Serac Ventures, joined by Naver D2SF and KAIST Ventures.
Accordance, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-native platform built specifically for accounting and tax firms, raised $13m in funding. The funding included $10M in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures along with $3M in pre-seed funding led by General Catalyst. Other investors include Anthropic, NEA, Bain Capital Ventures, and Sequoia Capital.
Koi, a Washington, DC-based endpoint security startup, raised $48M in seed and Series A funding, including a $38M Series A. The rounds were led by Battery Ventures, Team8, Picture Capital, and NFX, with participation from Cerca Partners.
PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, CA-based company that builds and deploys quantum computers, raised $1 Billion in Series E funding. The round was led by BlackRock, along with Temasek and Baillie Gifford bringing the valuation of the company at $7 Billion.
Aurva, a Sunnyvale, CA-based provider of a unified platform for access monitoring and AI observability, raised $2.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from DeVC and industry leaders including former Meta executives Chris Bream, Rahul Sood, Karandeep Anand, Mala Ramakrishnan and Postman founders Ankit Sobti and Abhinav Asthana.
proteanTecs, a Haifa, Israel-based provider of deep data solutions for electronics health and performance monitoring, raised $51M in Series D funding funding. The round was led by IAG Capital Partners, with participation from new strategic investors Samsung Catalyst Fund, Arm, Siemens and existing investors, including Addition, Zeev Ventures, Avigdor Willenz Group, MediaTek Innovation Fund, Intel Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, and Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT).
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
Boost VC, a San Mateo-based venture firm co-founded by Adam Draper, has closed its Deep Tech Fund 4 at $84.5 million, surpassing its $75 million target. The firm focuses on deep tech sectors like aerospace, AI, robotics, biotech, crypto, and more, and now manages around $225 million in assets. This follows previous funds including Accelerator 3 ($48.56M) and Crypto 1 ($30M), both closed in 2022. Limited partners include the Passport Foundation, a nonprofit based in Delaware.
Variant, a New York-based early-stage crypto VC firm founded by ex-a16z partner Jesse Walden, is targeting $250 million for its fourth flagship fund, according to a regulatory filing. The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed rounds in crypto, Web3, and blockchain startups, and has invested in 66 companies so far. Past portfolio companies include Turnkey, Project Eleven, and Farworld Labs. Variant previously raised $450 million for its third flagship fund in 2022.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Klarna’s IPO pops, raising $1.4B with Sequoia as biggest winner:
Klarna debuted on the NYSE at $40/share, above range, valuing the fintech at $15B; stock opened at $52 before settling near $46.
Of the 34.3M shares sold, only 5M came from Klarna itself — the rest were from investors like Sequoia (23% stake), Silver Lake, BlackRock, and Anders Holch Povlsen.
Co-founder CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski kept his 7.5% stake (worth $1.02B), while Sequoia, led by early backer Michael Moritz, emerged as the biggest beneficiary.
Thinking Machines Lab wants to make AI models more consistent:
Mira Murati’s $12B lab published its first “Connectionism” blog, arguing nondeterminism in LLMs stems from how GPU kernels are orchestrated during inference.
Researcher Horace He suggests that controlling this layer could yield reproducible responses, benefiting enterprises, scientists, and reinforcement learning training.
The lab promises frequent open research posts; its first product, expected soon, will target researchers and startups building custom models.
OpenAI, Oracle sign $300 billion historical computing deal:
WSJ reports OpenAI will buy $300B in compute power from Oracle over five years starting in 2027, making it one of the largest cloud contracts ever signed.
The deal expands OpenAI’s multi-cloud strategy; it already uses Oracle (since 2024), signed with Google earlier this year, and is moving away from relying solely on Microsoft Azure.
The partnership ties into the $500B Stargate Project with SoftBank and Oracle to build domestic data centers, reflecting OpenAI’s insatiable demand for compute.
Amazon developing consumer AR glasses to rival Meta:
Amazon is reportedly developing two smart glasses projects, a consumer device codenamed ‘Jayhawk’ and an enterprise model named ‘Amelia’ for its logistics network, directly challenging Meta's market dominance.
The consumer-focused ‘Jayhawk’ glasses will feature a full-color display for one eye and deep Alexa integration for shopping, with a planned launch window between late 2026 and early 2027.
Meanwhile, the ‘Amelia’ model is designed for Amazon's delivery drivers, providing on-screen instructions to boost efficiency with an aggressive target launch of Q2 2026 for its own internal use.
Microsoft mandates a return to office:
Microsoft has ended its pandemic-era remote work flexibility, establishing a new policy that requires employees to return to the office for a minimum of three days every single week.
The company cites internal data showing face-to-face collaboration is essential for innovation in artificial intelligence, helping teams become more energized and deliver stronger results when working together.
This new mandate begins with a phased rollout for staff in the Puget Sound region living within a 50-mile radius, who are expected to work onsite by February 2026.
Microsoft now buys AI from OpenAI rival Anthropic:
Microsoft will now pay for Anthropic's AI to help power features in Office 365 apps like Word and PowerPoint, ending its sole reliance on OpenAI for its productivity suite.
Company leaders reportedly believe Anthropic's latest model, Claude Sonnet 4, performs better than OpenAI’s for certain functions like creating aesthetically pleasing PowerPoint presentations.
The decision to diversify happens as OpenAI also pursues independence by developing its own AI chips and a jobs platform that could compete with Microsoft's LinkedIn.
Musk's Neuralink says 12 people have received its implants:
Neuralink announced that 12 patients worldwide now have its brain implants, up from 7 in June, with a combined 15,000+ hours of use across 2,000 days.
The company is expanding globally, planning a clinical study in the UK with University College London Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals.
Neuralink, which raised $650M in June, began human trials in 2024 after addressing FDA safety concerns, aiming to help people with severe paralysis control digital and physical tools via thought.
Arm launches new generation of mobile chip designs geared for AI:
Arm unveiled Lumex, its next-generation chip designs optimized for running large AI models directly on devices like smartphones and wearables without relying on cloud computing.
The Lumex lineup spans four variants, from energy-efficient designs for smartwatches to high-performance versions for flagship smartphones, targeting use cases like real-time AI translation.
Built for TSMC’s 3-nanometer process, Lumex is part of Arm’s Compute Subsystems strategy and reflects its broader push to expand revenue in smartphones, data centers, and potentially its own chipmaking efforts.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other news
Apple unveils new iPhone 17, iPhone Air, Airpods and more:
Apple introduced the very thin iPhone Air with 27 hours of battery life, while the iPhone 17 Pro gets an A19 Pro chip and a camera "plateau" with three 48-megapixel Fusion cameras.
The base model 17 features a 6.3-inch display with ProMotion and an 18MP Center Stage camera that uses auto-reframing software to help keep subjects centered during dynamic shots.
The new AirPods Pro 3 have four times better active noise cancellation, support for Live Translate, an "optimized" shape for a snugger fit, and up to 8 hours of battery.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
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