☕ SpaceX to fly bigger, fully reusable Starship in 2026, Google shuts down its Airtable rival & Vimeo to be acquired for $1.38 billion.
This crypto VC firm raised $250 million & More.
Australia has more camels than Egypt. You read that correctly. The land down under is home to the world’s largest population of wild camels, thanks to humans bringing a bunch over in the Victorian times.
Aussie camels are out here thriving, probably some eating vegemite.
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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.
Variant, a New York-based early-stage crypto VC firm raised $250 million.
California moves closer to passing AI chatbot safety law.
OpenAI secures Microsoft’s approval to become a public benefit corporation.
FTC launches probe into AI chatbots for minors.
Google shuts down Tables, its Airtable rival.
China's R1 robot challenges Tesla's Optimus.
Vimeo to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38 billion.
Oracle soars on AI cloud gains, Ellison nears Musk in wealth race.
Arm launches new generation of mobile chip designs geared for AI.
SpaceX to fly bigger, fully reusable Starship in 2026.
VC & Startup Jobs: VC & investors backed startup hiring for remote roles.
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🗞️ What else is brewing
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Microsoft’s AI Vision: An Open Internet Made for Agents.
Startup Legal Document Pack – Essential Legal Docs for Founders. Build with the help of startup lawyers and VCs.
All-In-One guide to pitch deck storytelling - free template & curated resources.
STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup funding updates
Diana Health, a NYC-based company helping hospitals to create category-defining women’s health programs rooted in collaboration and whole-person care, raised $55M in Series C funding. The round was led by HealthQuest Capital and joined by previous investors Norwest Venture Partners, .406 Ventures, LRVHealth and AlleyCorp.
Unmind, a London, UK-based provider of a workplace mental health platform, received $26M in growth capital. The round was led by Trinity Capital.
RushOwl, a Singapore-based provider of a ride-sharing platform that reduces carbon emissions with its proprietary AI-based technology, raised $10M in Series A funding. The round was led by Gobi Partners with participation from the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC).
Eloquent AI, a San Francisco, CA-based company improving customer support automation for financial services, raised $7.4M in Seed funding. The round was led by Foundation Capital, with participation from EJF Ventures, Duke Capital Partners, Zeno Ventures and Y Combinator.
Meela, a NYC-based company offering a personalized AI companion service for seniors, raised $3.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures.
Goodpath, a Boston, MA-based virtual provider of whole-person care for chronic conditions, raised $18M in Series A funding. The round was led by MassMutual Ventures with participation from Healthy Ventures and current investors.
Quack, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a proactive agentic AI platform for customer support, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Hanaco Ventures, and Storytime Capital, with participation from Fusion VC, Savyon Ventures, Seed IL, and private investors including WalkMe CEO Dan Adika.
Penguin Ai, a Palo Alto, CA-based healthcare artificial intelligence company that solves administrative burdens, raised $29.7M in venture funding. The round was led by Greycroft. Other investors included UPMC Enterprises, SemperVirens, Snowflake Ventures, Watershed Ventures and Horizon Mutual Holdings, Inc, ManchesterStory, Overwater Ventures, California Health Care Foundation, Matt Kozlov, Canvas Prime, Plug and Play.
Clyx, a NYC-based provider of a platform helping Gen Z foster real-life friendships through repeated, shared experiences, raised $14M in Series A funding. The round was led by Blitzscaling, with support from Simon Sinek, Filter Fund AI, and other investors including Nico Rosberg (Formula 1 World Champion turned sustainability-focused venture capitalist) and Iqram Magdon-Ismail.
AnthroTek, a Cambridge, UK-based synthetic anatomy company, raised £950K in Seed funding. The deal was part of £1.15M raised to date at a £10.5M pre-money valuation, with a further £550K tranche expected in the next 12 months.
Tipple, a Dublin, Ireland-based startup providing the digital infrastructure for the alcohol industry, raised €4M in Seed funding. The round was led by Quadri Ventures, with participation from Form Ventures and 7percent Ventures.
OpenHelath Technologies, a Berlin, Germany-based B2B healthtech company building the central infrastructure for lab data, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by GoHub Ventures, xdeck ventures, Edenbase, and Exceptional Ventures, with participation from existing backers YZR Capital, Octopus Ventures and Calm/Storm Ventures.
AegisAI, a NYC-based cybersecurity startup developing email security services, raised $13M in Seed funding. The round was led by Accel and Foundation Capital.
Kriya Therapeutics, a Research Triangle Park, NC-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene therapies for chronic diseases of high unmet need, raised $320M in Series D financing. The round was co-led by Patient Square Capital and Premji Invest, with participation from other life sciences and technology-focused investors including Peter Thiel, Narya Capital, The T1D Fund: A Breakthrough T1D Venture, LLC and other long-term investors.
Odyssey Therapeutics, a Boston, MA-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, raised $213M in Series D funding. Backers included Affinity Asset Advisors, Dimension Capital, Jeito Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, TPG Life Sciences Innovations, and Wedbush Healthcare Partners.
TrueMeter, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI-powered platform to automate energy savings for multi-location businesses, raised $4M in Seed funding. The round was led by Ulu Ventures with participation from Pear VC, e2.vc, RiverPark Ventures, Flex Capital, Sarah Smith Fund, Cyan Ventures, Costanoa, Sand Hill Angels, and other investors.
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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital updates
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
California moves closer to passing AI chatbot safety law:
California’s SB 243, regulating AI companion chatbots, passed both houses and awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision by October 12. If signed, it takes effect January 1, 2026.
The bill requires safeguards against chatbots engaging in suicidal, sexual, or harmful content, recurring reminders for minors, transparency reports, and allows lawsuits against violators.
The push follows the suicide of a teenager after chats with ChatGPT and reports of Meta’s bots engaging in inappropriate conversations with children, fueling urgency for stronger oversight.
OpenAI secures Microsoft’s approval to become a public benefit corporation:
OpenAI reached a nonbinding agreement with Microsoft to transition its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation, potentially opening the door for raising more capital and an eventual IPO.
The nonprofit board will retain control and take a stake in the new PBC reportedly worth over $100 billion, though regulators in California and Delaware still need to approve the deal.
The shift follows months of tense negotiations with Microsoft, growing cloud diversification via Oracle and SoftBank deals, and ongoing scrutiny from Elon Musk’s lawsuit and other nonprofit critics.
FTC launches probe into AI chatbots for minors:
The FTC opened an inquiry into Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, xAI, Instagram, and Character.AI over the safety and monetization of AI companion chatbots targeting children and teens.
The move follows lawsuits alleging chatbot involvement in teen suicides, and revelations that Meta once allowed “romantic” interactions between chatbots and minors.
Regulators aim to uncover how safeguards work, whether parents are informed of risks, and how companies prevent harmful long-term interactions that can bypass safety training.
Google shuts down Tables, its Airtable rival:
Google will discontinue its work-tracking app Tables on December 16, 2025, urging users to migrate data to Google Sheets or AppSheet.
Launched in 2020 from Area 120, Tables became a Google Cloud product in 2021, targeting project management, CRM, IT ops, and more.
Despite surviving Google’s Area 120 re-org and layoffs, the tool now joins the “Google graveyard,” with AppSheet positioned as its replacement for automation and workflows.
China's R1 robot challenges Tesla's Optimus:
Chinese tech company Ant Group is showing its new R1 humanoid robot, which was recently demonstrated cooking shrimp for audiences at the IFA 2025 tech show in Berlin.
The company is testing the R1 in community centers and restaurants, suggesting future uses for the bot as a caregiver in healthcare or as a robotic tour guide for travelers.
However, a video from the event shows the robot placing a box on a counter at a glacial pace, and the company has not provided a price or launch date yet.
Vimeo to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38 billion:
Italian mobile application developer Bending Spoons announced its plan to acquire video platform Vimeo for $1.38 billion in an all-cash deal, expecting the transaction to close by Q4 this year.
The acquiring company’s chief executive said he is planning ambitious investments across Vimeo’s business, from its creator-focused tools and enterprise offerings to its responsible AI-enabled features.
The Milan-based firm has a pattern of purchasing struggling companies like Evernote and WeTransfer, then laying off numerous employees and scaling back services available to free users.
Oracle soars on AI cloud gains, Ellison nears Musk in wealth race:
Oracle shares jumped 43% to a record high after unveiling multi-billion-dollar AI cloud contracts, including a $300B deal with OpenAI over five years.
The surge added $100B to Larry Ellison’s fortune, bringing it to $392.6B, narrowing the gap with Elon Musk ($439.9B).
Oracle’s valuation is now close to $1T, with analysts citing its Stargate project role and rapid growth in partnerships with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google as major growth drivers.
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
SpaceX to fly bigger, fully reusable Starship in 2026:
SpaceX plans to demonstrate Starship's full reusability during 2026, a milestone that includes delivering over 100 tons of payload to what Elon Musk calls a useful orbit.
This goal relies on the Block 3 design, which adds next-generation Raptor engines, an upgraded transfer tube, and a new aft dome fitted with metallic heat shield tiles.
The schedule includes one more Block 2 test in 2025 before a sub-orbital flight of the redesigned Block 3 vehicle, which is planned for the early part of 2026.
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)
PR Manager - Web3 Gaikka Capital | India - Apply Here
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Program Manager - generator | USA - Apply Here
Investor - First Round Capital | USA - Apply Here
Venture Partner - XDC Venture | USA - Apply Here
Manager - Finance - Yournest Venture | India - Apply Here
Executive Assistant - Transition VC | India - Apply Here
Investor Relations Manager - Beco Capital | UK - Apply Here
Investment Associate - Beco Capital | UAE - Apply Here
Head of Platform - Pledge Venture | UK - Apply Here
Partner 22 - a16z | USA - Apply Here
ESG Intern - ESG Enterprise | UK - Apply Here
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