☕ Salesforce cut 4,000 jobs, U.S. and Indian VCs just formed a $1B+ alliance & Apple launches new AI chatbot.
OpenAI plans 1 GW data center & More.
When Ernő Rubik built the Cube in 1974, even he didn’t know if it could be solved.
He spent a month twisting it before finally cracking the code. The world hasn’t stopped since.
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📬 What’s in store:
Today’s Picks: Founder marketing, VC Q2, vibe code, LLMs, EU VC db, UK update, Tunguz distribution, legal docs, AI apps, LLM lessons.
Salesforce cut 4,000 jobs because of AI agents.
Apple launches new AI chatbot for retail staff.
Meta’s $14B bet on Scale AI is already under strain.
OpenAI plans 1 GW data center in India.
Amazon stopped Russian hackers targeting Microsoft.
Meta adds teen safeguards to AI after safety concerns.
Chatbots can be manipulated through flattery and peer pressure.
U.S. and Indian VCs just formed a $1B+ alliance to fund India’s deep tech startups.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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DAILY PICKS
🗞️ What else is brewing
Marketing for founders - the only guide you need.
Global VC First Look - Q2 2025.
What is the vibe code for success? By CBInsights.
6000+ European VC Firms Contact Database (LinkedIn Links).
UK Innovation Update – Q2 2025
An explosive new distribution channel by Tomasz Tunguz.
Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.
A CEO of AI applications marks a new era of AI competition.
Working with LLMs: A Few Lessons.
Jack Dorsey’s advice to founders raising venture capital.
How to craft your moat.
350+ Indian Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).
US Venture Capital Outlook: Midyear Update.
All-In-One Guide To Venture Capital Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them)
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
LayerX, a Tokyo-based AI SaaS startup helping enterprises automate back-office operations, has raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Technology Cross Ventures (TCV). Other participants include MUFG Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners, JAFCO Group, Keyrock Capital, Coreline Venture, and JP Investment.
EnsiliTech, a Bristol, UK-based biotechnology startup, raised £4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Eos Advisory and Calculus Capital with participation from Empirical Ventures, Fink Family Office, QantX, Angel Investors Bristol (AIB), HERmesa, Penn Park Capital, chANGELS, and other individual angel investors.
Mantic, a London, UK-based provider of a platform that forecasts world events, raised $4m in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Episode 1 with participation from DRW and angels.
Credit Coop, a NYC-based provider of a protocol supporting credit markets by turning business cash flows into programmable collateral, raised $4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Maven 11 and Lightspeed Faction, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Signature Ventures, Veris Ventures, TRGC, and dlab.
aPriori, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of an intelligent order flow coordination layer for high-performance blockchains, raised $20m in funding. Backers included HashKey Capital, Pantera Capital, Primitive Ventures, IMC Trading, GEM, Gate Labs, Ambush Capital, and Big Brain Collective.
M0, a Zug, Switzerland-based universal stablecoin platform, raised $40m in Series B funding. Backers included Polychain Capital, Ribbit Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Road Capital, Pantera, and Bain Capital Crypto.
Wugen, a St. Louis, MO-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, raised $115M in funding. The round was led by Fidelity Management and Research Company, with participation from RiverVest Venture Partners, Lightchain Capital, Abingworth, ICG, LYZZ Capital, Tybourne Capital Management, Aisling Capital Management, and other life sciences investors.
ALIGNMT AI, a NYC-based provider of an AI compliance platform for healthcare, raised $6.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by AIX Ventures, with participation from Sancus Ventures, Alumni Ventures and Dent Capital.
Rain, a NYC-based enterprise-grade infrastructure for stablecoin-powered payments, raised $58m in Series B funding. The round, which brought Rain’s total funding to $88.5M, was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Dragonfly, Galaxy Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Samsung Next, Lightspeed, and Norwest. Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures, joined Rain’s Board Director.
Framer, an Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based provider of a professional website design platform for startups and global brands alike, raised $100M in Series D funding, at $2 billion valuation. The round was led by Meritech and Atomic.
Matey, an Austin, TX-based company developing precision AI to criminal defense, raised $7.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Timespan Ventures with participation from returning investors Neo and new investors Streamlined Ventures.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
India Deep Tech Investment Alliance, a coalition of eight U.S. and Indian venture and private equity firms, has pledged over $1 billion to fund India’s deep tech startups over the next decade. The alliance includes Accel, Blume Ventures, Celesta Capital, Premji Invest, Gaja Capital, Ideaspring Capital, Tenacity Ventures, and Venture Catalysts, and will focus on early-stage startups across AI, semiconductors, biotech, space, climate, and more.
Envoy Equity Partners, a San Francisco, CA-based newly formed early stage venture capital firm, is raising its maiden fund. The firm was founded by former Threshold Ventures partner Chirag Chotalia, who has deep expertise in vertical software, real estate, healthcare, and marketplace companies.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest in tech
Salesforce cut 4,000 jobs because of AI agents:
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff confirmed slashing 4,000 customer support roles, reducing the team from 9,000 to 5,000 people because AI agents now handle exactly 50 percent of all conversations.
An "agentic sales" system is now calling back over 100 million leads that the company had not contacted over the last 26 years because it did not have enough people.
Although humans still take over when an AI agent needs help, Benioff claimed customer satisfaction scores have stayed about the same, a result he called a "stunning" development.
Apple launches new AI chatbot for retail staff:
Apple has reportedly added a new AI chatbot named "Asa" to its internal SEED iPhone app, a tool designed for the company's sales enablement and education staff.
This functionality is not yet widely available, as many SEED members have stated they do not have access, suggesting a slow rollout or an initial trial phase.
By keeping the assistant private, Apple avoids the public risk of hallucinations and can provide a resource focused strictly on its own product details and sales tips.
Meta’s $14B bet on Scale AI is already under strain:
Just two months after Meta’s $14.3B investment, Scale AI exec Ruben Mayer has left, and Meta’s AI lab is reportedly favoring competitors Surge and Mercor for higher-quality data labeling.
Researchers inside Meta Superintelligence Labs see Scale’s crowdsourced data as low quality, while Scale faces layoffs and the loss of OpenAI and Google as customers.
Internal chaos and high-profile departures raise questions about whether Meta’s largest AI investment can stabilize its AI push and deliver results.
OpenAI plans 1 GW data center in India:
OpenAI is reportedly seeking local partners to build a data center in India with one gigawatt capacity as part of the $500 billion Trump-backed Stargate AI initiative.
If developed, this facility would be eight times larger than North India's biggest existing AI-ready site and represent 22 percent of the country’s total forecast capacity for 2030.
The plan follows a fourfold increase in India's ChatGPT user base over the past year and the launch of a low-cost ChatGPT Go subscription specifically designed for that market.
Amazon stopped Russian hackers targeting Microsoft:
The Russian state-sponsored group APT29 launched a "watering hole" campaign by compromising legitimate websites to redirect visitors and steal credentials for their Microsoft accounts.
Attackers used the compromised sites to mimic the official device code authentication flow, aiming to harvest login information for the purpose of ongoing intelligence collection against selected targets.
Amazon stopped the threat by isolating affected EC2 instances on its platform, then collaborated with Cloudflare to disrupt the malicious domains and immediately alerted the targeted company.
Meta adds teen safeguards to AI after safety concerns:
Meta will restrict AI chatbots from engaging in flirty or self-harm-related conversations with minors and temporarily limit access to certain AI characters.
The move follows a Reuters report showing Meta bots engaged in romantic or sensual chats with teens, sparking bipartisan scrutiny in Congress.
Meta says the safeguards are already rolling out and will evolve as it develops longer-term measures for age-appropriate AI experiences.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕Other news
Chatbots can be manipulated through flattery and peer pressure:
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used classic psychology methods, like commitment and flattery, to bypass guardrails in OpenAI’s GPT-4o Mini.
By first asking harmless chemistry questions, they got the model to later give lidocaine synthesis instructions with 100% success, compared to just 1% normally.
The study highlights how chatbots can be manipulated with simple tactics such as peer pressure or light insults, raising fresh concerns about AI safety.
HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES
💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities
All-In-One VC Interview Preparation Guide: With a leading investors group, we have created an all-in-one VC interview preparation guide for aspiring VCs. Don’t miss this. (Access Here)
Events intern - Plug and Play Tech Centre | UK - Apply Here
Partner 16 - a16z | USA - Apply Here
Portfolio Associate - W Health Venture | India - Apply Here
Investor Relations Analyst - Techstar | USA - Apply Here
Associate Telescope Partner | USA - Apply Here
Operations & Finance Analyst - Faraday Venture Partner | Spain - Apply Here
Healthcare Analyst - General Investment Management | UK - Apply Here
Investor (AI) - Samsung next | USA - Apply Here
Partner 20 - a16z | USA - Apply Here
VP - Marketing & Communications - Transition VC | India - Apply Here
Investment Analyst - Miras Investment | Dubai - Apply Here
Program Manager - Tenity | UK - Apply Here
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