☕ Uber founder Travis Kalanick raises $1.7bn for new start-up & OpenAI increases AI infrastructure spending to $750B .
Nvidia's Huang defends Chinese AI models & Monday.com cuts 20% of workforce to prioritize AI
Breaking News
OpenAI plans to spend $750 billion on AI infrastructure through 2030, raising its previous forecast by 25% as it accelerates data center expansion. The massive investment underscores the scale of the AI compute race and OpenAI’s long-term bet on owning enough infrastructure to power future models.
Alphabet reported an 82% year-over-year jump in Google Cloud revenue, driven by surging enterprise demand for AI services and infrastructure. With Gemini reaching 950 million monthly users and a $514 billion cloud backlog, the results show Google’s AI strategy is translating into significant business growth.
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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS
💰 Startup Funding Updates
PRE-SEED
ChatFeatured, a Toronto, Canada-based AI search optimization platform, raised US$2M in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Storytime Capital, with participation from Garage Capital and BY Venture Partners.
SEED
StrongestLayer, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-native email security company, raised $4.1M in Seed extension funding. The round was led by Inovia Capital, with participation from Sorenson Capital, LaunchPod, Alumni Ventures, and Chris Key.
Inner Logic, formerly Semaphor, a Baltimore, MD-based medical technology startup, raised $11.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by General Catalyst and Bison Ventures, with participation from J2VP, Defined, PTX, Valia Ventures, Page One, Alumni Ventures, and Flare.
Velocity, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based developer of monetization and contextual advertising infrastructure for AI applications, raised $27M in Seed funding. The round was led by NFX and Red Dot Capital Partners, with participation from Stardom Ventures, Corner Ventures, Transcend, Gilad Almog, and Lior Shiff.
Hey Seven, a Las Vegas, NV-based AI-native player development platform, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. The round was led by Bettor Capital.
Bioscan Research, an Ahmedabad, India-based medical device company, raised $1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Unicorn India Ventures.
SkyPilot, a San Francisco, CA-based AI compute management platform, raised $20M in Seed funding. The round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from Amplify Partners, Coatue Management, Foundation Capital, Race Capital, The House Fund, Ali Ghodsi, Jeff Dean, Guillermo Rauch, Amjad Masad, Clem Delangue, and Tristan Handy.
GROWTH
Neon Commerce, a San Francisco, CA-based fintech company specializing in direct-to-consumer commerce for games, raised $13M in Series A funding. Investors included KRAFTON, a16z, and Renegade Partners.
deltaVision, a Munich, Germany-based spacetech company, raised €10.2M in its first funding round. The round was led by KT Ventures and Valemount Capital, with participation from Futury Capital and additional private investors.
Circular Materials, a Padua, Italy-based industrial wastewater treatment and critical materials recovery company, secured $13.5M in SAFE financing. Backers included CDP Venture Capital, European Innovation Council Fund, EIT RawMaterials, 360 Capital, Corbites, and Lumar.
Passionfroot, a New York City-based B2B creator-led growth platform, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from Creandum, Supernode Global, and s16vc.
Tikva Allocell, a Singapore-based biotechnology company developing allogeneic cell therapies, raised $8M in Series A funding. The round was led by Kantharos Capital.
Glow, a Tel Aviv- and Palo Alto-based AI-powered workspace security company, raised $180M in funding. The round was led by Sequoia, Cyberstarts, Greenoaks, and Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Index Ventures, Swish Ventures, Lux Capital, Operator Collective, and Holly Ventures.
Arrakis Technologies, a London, UK-based AI deployment company for industrial operations, raised approximately $38M across Seed and Series A funding. The $30M Series A was led by Blossom Capital, with participation from Accel, GFC, MainObject, Rerail, Olivier Pomel, Olivier Godement, and Junaid Hussein, while the earlier $7.5M Seed round was led by Accel.
PathFinder, a Philadelphia, PA-based sports AI agent hardware company, raised an undisclosed amount in an angel round. The round was led by Jinqiu Capital.
N-Zyme Biomedical, a Milwaukee, WI-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies targeting pepsin, raised approximately $4.6M in Series A funding. Backers included healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, a venture capital group, and strategic investors whose names were not disclosed.
Crystalys Therapeutics, a San Diego, CA-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, raised $130M in Series B funding. The round was led by Frazier Life Sciences, with participation from Wellington Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Soleus Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Trails Edge Capital Partners, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, and KCap Biotechnology Fund.
Candid Health, a San Francisco, CA-based autonomous revenue cycle automation platform for healthcare providers, raised $120M in Series D funding. The round was led by Sixth Street Growth, with participation from Oak HC/FT, 8VC, and Y Combinator.
Karoo Health, an Albuquerque, NM-based cardiovascular technology company, raised $16.2M in Series A funding. The round was led by 7wire Ventures and Allumia Ventures, with participation from First Trust Capital Partners, SpringRock Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, and other investors.
Uniti, a New York City-based agentic AI platform for global real estate operators, raised $12M in Series A funding. The round was led by Pathlight, with participation from MetaProp, Prudence, Flex Capital, Alate, RE VC, Romain Huet, Lenny Rachitsky, and Gokul Rajaram.
Cashea, a Caracas, Venezuela-based buy now, pay later platform, raised $100M across Series A and Series B funding. The $40M Series A was led by Spice Expeditions and included $20M in debt from Architect Capital, while the $60M Series B was led by FinSight Ventures, with participation from Spice Expeditions, Endeavor Catalyst, and other investors.
TYBR Health, a Houston, TX-based medical technology company developing treatments to improve post-operative tendon mobility, raised $30M in Series A funding. The round was led by Vensana Capital and Mutual Capital Partners, with participation from Neovate Capital Partners and existing investors.
Genius AI, a New York City-based technology platform for in-person service businesses, raised $44M in Series D funding. The round was led by Lux Capital, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Imaginary Ventures, L Catterton Growth, 2048 Ventures, StepStone Private Ventures, and other existing investors.
DAILY PICKS
🗞️ Must read posts
What happens when a VC reference-checks a founder (And who they actually call): Most founders think diligence is about metrics, customers, and market size. But once a VC is serious, they often start calling former colleagues, cofounders, customers, past investors, and people you never listed as references. This piece shows founders how to understand the hidden reference-check process and prepare for it before it quietly decides the round.
How to get investors interested months before you raise (with the exact emails that get replies): Most founders wait until they need money before reaching out to investors. This piece shows how to build relationships earlier with monthly updates that show momentum, build trust, and make the eventual fundraise feel like the next step.
NEW VCs IN THE MARKET
🏦 Venture Capital Updates.
Dimension Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm founded by Zavian Dar, Adam Goulburn, and Nan Li, raised $800 million for its third fund. The firm invests in startups operating at the intersection of science and computing, with a focus on AI, biotech, drug discovery, and deep tech.
ReefHaven Ventures, a San Diego, CA-based early stage venture capital firm, launched. Led by Garrett Smith, PhD, Managing Partner, and Nicholas Mourlas, PhD, Investment Partner, ReefHaven Ventures invests in early-stage startups at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Medical Technology.
KEY STORIES IN TECH
📜 Latest In Tech
U.S. AI startup says Chinese open AI models aren’t inherently risky
Arcee CTO Lucas Atkins argued that Chinese open-weight AI models are not inherently more dangerous than other open-source software and cannot secretly access systems where they are deployed.
He said enterprises should evaluate and fine-tune any AI model before deployment, regardless of its origin, rather than treating Chinese models as a unique security threat.
Instead of banning Chinese AI models, Atkins believes the U.S. should focus on building stronger open AI alternatives that can compete on performance and cost.
Travis Kalanick’s robotics startup raises $1.7B
Travis Kalanick’s robotics company, Atoms, has raised $1.7 billion in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and Uber.
Atoms combines Kalanick’s CloudKitchens business with robotics ambitions following its acquisition of Pronto, aiming to build AI-powered automation for industries like manufacturing, transportation, and mining.
Kalanick said the funding will accelerate his vision of using AI and robotics to improve productivity across the physical economy, with significant investment expected in hiring and product development.
OpenAI increases AI infrastructure spending to $750B
OpenAI plans to spend $750 billion on AI infrastructure through 2030, increasing its earlier estimate by 25%, with a major new data center project planned in Georgia.
The $20 billion Project Camellia campus is expected to draw up to 3.2 gigawatts of electricity and includes agreements to reduce power usage during periods of peak grid demand.
The announcement highlights OpenAI’s continued push to expand AI computing capacity despite questions around the pace of its broader Stargate data center initiative.
Samsung unveils new foldables and watches
Samsung showed off its 2026 lineup at Unpacked in London, launching three phones and two smartwatches, headlined by the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is lighter, holds a bigger battery, and has a far less noticeable display crease.
The Z Fold 8 uses a passport-shaped design just 201 grams and 9.7mm thick when shut, with new “flex titanium” material that softens the crease, a wide 4:3 main screen, and a 4,800mAh battery up from last year’s 4,400mAh.
The pricier Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra adds an 8-inch inner screen, a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging that hits 67% in half an hour, a 200MP main camera, and 8K video recording, all set to rival Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone.
Nvidia's Huang defends Chinese AI models
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang defended Chinese open-source AI models, saying they are excellent and that American companies should absolutely be allowed to run them, pushing back against a wave of panic in Washington.
Huang made the case for money, arguing that cheaper and free AI models put the technology in more hands, which drives up demand for the chips, data centres, and power that Nvidia sells.
He also dismissed fears that a downloaded Chinese model is a “backdoor” to Beijing, saying firms can wall the models off in secure sandboxes, and he urged the US to let Anthropic’s Mythos model run freely too.
Pichai defends Google’s AI strategy amid rising competition
Google CEO Sundar Pichai rejected claims that the company is falling behind in AI, highlighting strong progress with Gemini Flash while acknowledging it still needs to improve in AI coding.
Pichai said Gemini 3.5 Pro remains in partner testing and revealed that Google plans to release Gemini 4 models at an almost monthly cadence to accelerate innovation.
Despite investor concerns over delayed flagship models, Google pointed to rapid cloud growth and continued investment in AI infrastructure as evidence of its long-term strategy.
Tesla’s AI ambitions put pressure on its core car business
Tesla reported weaker-than-expected profits despite record vehicle deliveries, as lower vehicle prices and rising AI infrastructure spending weighed on its automotive margins.
The company is investing more than $25 billion this year in AI, self-driving technology, robotaxis, and humanoid robots, resulting in negative free cash flow for the quarter.
Tesla is betting that growing adoption of its Full Self-Driving software and future AI-powered products will offset slowing profitability in its traditional vehicle business.
LAST COFFEE SIP
☕ Other News
Monday.com cuts 20% of workforce to prioritize AI
Monday.com is laying off around 630 employees, or 20% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring to focus more heavily on its AI strategy.
The company is investing in its AI Work Platform, which includes AI agents, workflow automation, a no-code app builder, and enterprise productivity tools.
The move reflects a broader industry trend, with tech companies increasingly reducing headcount to redirect resources toward AI development.
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