☕ SpaceX preparing for a ~$1.75 trillion IPO & Meta cuts several hundreds of jobs.
Apple is testing a standalone app for the new Siri & Trump appoints tech CEOs to White House council.
Breaking News
SpaceX is reportedly preparing for a ~$1.75 trillion IPO, but many investors who bought shares via secondary markets may not actually own verified equity due to complex SPV structures. The situation raises serious concerns about ownership transparency, potential fraud, and whether investors will realize too late that their stake isn’t real.
Apple is testing a standalone Siri app with memory, chat history, and deep system integration, signaling a major AI overhaul. The new interface could replace Spotlight search entirely and turn Siri into a full conversational assistant with access to personal data, files, and system-wide actions.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
BrainGrid, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI product planner service, raised $1M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Next Tier Ventures and Brainstorm Ventures.
Eunice, a London, UK-based company building due diligence infrastructure, raised $8M in Pre-Seed and Seed funding. The round was led by Moonfire Ventures and Speedinvest, with participation from Openspace Ventures.
SEED
Krane, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-native platform for construction supply chain management, raised $9M in Seed funding. The round was co-led by Glasswing Ventures and Link Ventures, with participation from Tunitas Ventures, RoseCliff, New-Normal Ventures, and angel investors.
Zalos, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of computer agents for finance operations, raised $3.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by 14 Peaks, with participation from Cohen Circle, 20VC, and angel investors.
Vanguard Defense, a San Francisco, CA-based data observability company, raised $5M in Seed funding. The round was led by First In.
Littlebird, a San Francisco, CA-based AI assistant platform, raised $11M in Seed funding. The round was led by Lotus Studio, with participation from angel investors including Lenny Rachitsky and Scott Belsky.
GROWTH
Worth, an Orlando, FL-based fintech platform, raised $30M in Series A funding. The round was led by Fulcrum Equity Partners, with participation from Amex Ventures and TTV Capital.
Azos, a São Paulo, Brazil-based insurtech, raised $24M in Series C funding. The round was led by Kaszek and Kevin Efrusy.
Keynes, an Austin, TX-based advertising platform for CTV, received a $40M investment from Volition Capital.
Trayd, a NYC-based construction payroll platform, raised $10M in Series A funding. The round was led by White Star Capital, with participation from Suffolk Technologies, Y Combinator, and a strategic investment from RXR.
Mojo Vision, a Cupertino, CA-based micro-LED platform provider, received $17.5M in strategic investment from Future Ventures.
Epic Microsystems, a San Jose, CA-based semiconductor company, raised $21M in Series A funding. The round was led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from Intel Capital, AICONIC Ventures, Cambium Capital, and others.
Sift, an El Segundo, CA-based intelligence platform for machines, raised $42M in Series B funding. The round was led by StepStone, with participation from GV, Riot Ventures, Fika Ventures, and CIV.
Notch, a NYC-based AI platform for regulated industries, raised $30M in Series A funding. The round was led by Headline, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jibe Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and Phoenix Insurance.
Endogenex, a Minneapolis, MN-based medical technology company, raised $50M in Series C extension funding. The round was led by Arboretum Ventures, with participation from existing investors.
Thesis Care, a NYC-based AI-powered care platform, raised $45M in Series A funding. The round was led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from CRV, Black Opal Ventures, and angel investors.
PDW Holdings, a Huntsville, AL-based drone company, raised over $110M in Series B funding. The round was led by Ondas, with participation from Hood River, Cedar Pine, Hanwha Asset Management, Booz Allen Hamilton, and others.
Normal Computing, a NYC-based AI company, raised $50M in funding. The round was led by Samsung Catalyst Fund, with participation from Galvanize, Brevan Howard Macro Venture Fund, ArcTern Ventures, and others.
Harvey, a San Francisco, CA-based legal AI company, raised $200M in funding at a $11B valuation. The round was led by GIC and Sequoia, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Conviction Partners, Elad Gil, Evantic, and Kleiner Perkins.
Lucid Bots, a Charlotte, NC-based autonomous cleaning platform, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Cubit Capital and Idea Fund Partners, with participation from Taylor Rhodes, WaterStone Impact Fund, Front Porch Ventures, and others.
Rocketlane, a San Francisco, CA-based PSA platform, raised $60M in Series C funding. The round was led by Insight Partners.
Adonis, a NYC-based AI orchestration platform for RCM, raised $40M in Series C funding. The round was led by Quadrille Capital, with participation from General Catalyst and Bling Capital.
Nopalera, a San Antonio, TX-based beauty brand, raised $4M in funding. The round was led by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund and L’ATTITUDE Ventures, with participation from multiple investors.
Halter, an Auckland, New Zealand-based agtech company, raised $220M in Series E funding at a $2B valuation. The round was led by Founders Fund, with participation from Blackbird, DCVC, Bond, Bessemer, NewView, Ubiquity, Promus, and Icehouse Ventures.
Pro Padel League (PPL), a NYC-based professional sports league, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Rick Schnall.
Talino Fintech Foundry, a Los Angeles, CA-based fintech infrastructure platform, raised $7.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Chemonics International, with participation from Mt Sinai Capital and Gulf Blvd.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Sonder Capital, a San Carlos, CA-based healthcare venture capital firm investing in companies enhancing the standard of care, closed its second fund, Futures II. The fund, backed by Mayo Clinic and Sutter Health, is anchored by an investment thesis focused on AI-enabled medical robotics and minimally invasive therapies, fueling companies creating entirely new care pathways and business models.
Overmatch Ventures, an Austin, TX-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in deeptech, defensetech, and spacetech, closed its second fund, at $250m. Fund II is backed by a broad base of investors including institutional allocators, family offices, and strategic partners, whom Overmatch works with as co-investors.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
Google launches Lyria 3 Pro with longer, customizable AI music generation
Google introduced Lyria 3 Pro, enabling users to generate music tracks up to three minutes long with improved control over song structure, including intros, verses, and choruses.
The model is rolling out across Gemini, Vertex AI, and other tools, with access limited to paid users and enterprise platforms.
Google emphasized responsible AI use, stating the model avoids mimicking specific artists and marks all generated tracks with SynthID for transparency.
Meta cuts hundreds of jobs as it ramps up AI spending
Meta is laying off several hundred employees across teams like sales, recruiting, and Reality Labs, with total cuts expected to remain under 1,000 roles globally.
Some affected employees may be reassigned or relocated internally, as the company continues restructuring efforts.
The layoffs come amid massive AI investments, with Meta planning record capital expenditure of $115–135 billion this year, signaling a shift in priorities.
Amazon acquires 'approachable' humanoid maker Fauna Robotics
Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, a startup that makes “approachable” humanoid robots designed for consumers and businesses, though the companies did not share the financial terms of the deal.
Fauna Robotics was founded in 2024 by former Meta and Google engineers and earlier this year launched Sprout, a $50,000 bipedal robot standing 3.5 feet tall and weighing 50 lbs.
Fauna’s roughly 50 employees will join Amazon in New York City, and the company will continue to operate as Fauna Robotics under Amazon, according to CEO Rob Cochran.
Trump appoints tech CEOs to White House council
President Trump has appointed CEOs from Meta, NVIDIA, Dell, Oracle, and AMD, along with Google co-founder Sergey Brin and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, to a White House science and technology advisory council.
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology currently has 13 members, co-chaired by White House AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks and Trump’s science advisor Michael Kratsios, with room to grow to 24.
Several of these tech leaders have direct financial ties to Trump, including donations to his inauguration, funding construction of his White House ballroom, and business deals like Oracle’s backing of the TikTok takeover.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
China pushes back after Manus sells to Meta in high-stakes AI deal
AI startup Manus, once a rising Chinese player, relocated to Singapore and was acquired by Meta for $2B, triggering scrutiny from Chinese regulators over potential rule violations.
Authorities have reportedly restricted the movement of its founders as part of an inquiry, reflecting concerns about talent and technology leaving China during the global AI race.
The situation highlights growing geopolitical tension in AI, where cross-border deals involving advanced technology are increasingly seen as strategic risks.
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