AI-developed drugs are coming & OpenAI and SoftBank are reportedly putting $19B each into Stargate.

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

CapeZero, a NYC-based provider of a software platform that streamlines financial workflow for clean energy developers, raised $2.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Powerhouse Ventures, with participation from Climactic, Avesta Fund, Virta Ventures, and Stepchange.

Baya Systems, a Santa Clara, CA-based company which specializes in system IP technology, raised $36M+ in Series B funding. The round was led by Maverick Silicon, with participation from Matrix Partners and Intel Capital.

Degree Analytics, an Austin, TX-based provider of data-informed campus solutions, raised $5M in funding. The round was led by LiveOak Ventures.

Palona AI, a Palo Alto, CA-based provider of AI solutions that accelerate the growth of D2C and other consumer facing businesses, raised $10M in Seed funding. Backers included UpHonest Capital, Fusion Fund, Maynard Webb, NEO Investment Partners, and other angel investors.

Lanai, a Palo Alto, CA-based enterprise AI navigation system provider, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Juxtapose, with participation from Lux Capital, F7 Ventures, and BAG.

Fundraise Up, a NYC-based provider of a fundraising platform for nonprofits globally, received a $70M growth investment. The round was led by Summit Partners with participation from existing investor Telescope Partners.

Mobly, a Lehi, UT-based event marketing technology company, raised $4.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Jump Capital and Eniac Ventures with participation from Peterson Ventures, Tenzing.VC, Peak Ventures, and angel investors, including Jeron Paul and Francis Santora.

Method Financial, an Austin, TX-based provider of consumer permissioned financial connectivity, raised $41.5M in Series B funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $60M, was led by Emergence Capital with participation from avra and Samsung Next, and existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Y-Combinator and Ardent Venture Partners.

PinkDx, a Daly City, CA-based early-stage company focused on positively impacting the health of women throughout their life journey, raised $5M in additional Series A funding. Backers included new investors Blue Venture Fund, Sandbox Clinical Ventures and BEVC.

Basetwo, a Toronto, Canada-based AI platform for manufacturing engineers, raised USD $11.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by AVP with participation from existing investor Glasswing Ventures, Deloitte Ventures, Global Brain Ventures, Shimadzu Corporation, Chiyoda Corporation, and UAE angel investors via Qora71.

Riley AI, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered product insights assistant, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Vertex Ventures US, with participation from NextView Ventures, Hyphen Capital, and angel investors.

StructuredWeb, NYC-based company which specializes in AI-powered channel sales and marketing SaaS solutions, raised $30M in funding. The round was led by Invictus Growth Partners. 

Ati Motors, a Bangalore, India-based AI and autonomous robotics company, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Walden Catalyst Ventures (WCV) and NGP Capital (NGP) with participation from current investors including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners and Blume Ventures.

StormHarvest, a Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK-based provider of automated water management software, raised £8.4M in Series A funding. The round was led by YFM Equity Partners, with participation from Emerald Technology Ventures.

Spaceium, an Ottawa-based in-space refueling startup, raised $6.3M in an oversubscribed seed round led by Initialized Capital.

Adclear, a London, UK-based RegTech startup empowering marketing compliance for fintech businesses, raised £510K in Pre-Seed funding. Backers included Haatch, Force Over Mass and Founders Capital.

Almanax, a NYC-based AI web3 security engineer company, raised $1M in funding. Backers included Blockchain Builders Fund, Exor Ventures, Vento Ventures, Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), Eden Ventures by IAG, Moonbase, and angels.

Cyclic Materials, a Toronto, Canada-based recycling company building a circular supply chain for Rare Earth Elements and other critical materials, received $2M from InMotion Ventures.

Coval, a San Francisco-based platform for testing and evaluating AI voice and chat agents, raised $3.3M in seed funding. The round was led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and General Catalyst.

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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

QDNL Participations, a Netherlands-based VC firm, announced a €25M first close on a planned €60M fund for early-stage quantum startups. The firm, previously focused on the Dutch quantum ecosystem, now aims for global investments, supported by advisors like quantum pioneer Chad Rigetti. Backed by the Quantum Delta NL initiative, the fund capitalizes on growing government quantum spending projected to reach $40B over the next decade.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

OpenAI and SoftBank are reportedly putting $19B each into Stargate:

• SoftBank and OpenAI are contributing $19 billion each to Stargate, a joint venture aiming to build $500 billion worth of data centers for AI workloads, with both companies holding 40% ownership.

• Stargate partners, including Middle East AI fund MGX, have pledged $100 billion initially, starting with a facility in Abilene, Texas.

• Elon Musk questioned Stargate’s financial backing, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed the claim as “wrong” on social media.

OpenAI’s Operator may retain deleted data for 90 days:

• OpenAI's new AI agent, Operator, retains deleted data, including screenshots, for up to 90 days — longer than the 30-day policy for ChatGPT.

• OpenAI states the extended retention period is to monitor fraud and abuse while maintaining user safety and control over data.

• Operator automates tasks like booking and shopping using a built-in browser, but its screenshot capture feature may raise privacy concerns among users.

UK probes Apple and Google over ‘mobile ecosystem’ market power:

• The U.K.’s CMA has launched investigations into Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems under the DMCC Act, focusing on browsers, app stores, and operating systems.

• The probe will examine whether Apple and Google use their dominance to limit competition, favor their services, or impose unfair terms on developers.

• Outcomes, expected by October 2025, could include remedies like allowing third-party access to key features or enabling alternative payment options for apps.

Perplexity launches assistant, A multimodal AI agent for android:

• Perplexity Assistant, available for Android, combines reasoning, search, and apps to automate tasks like booking rides, reserving tables, and managing calendars in 15 languages.

• The assistant integrates multimodal capabilities, using the phone's camera to answer contextual queries and maintain continuity between tasks for seamless user experience.

• Despite Perplexity’s rapid growth and success with over 100 million weekly queries, challenges remain, including lawsuits from publishers alleging content misuse and ongoing refinements for the Assistant’s functionality.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

AI-developed drugs are coming:

• Alphabet's subsidiary, Isomorphic Labs, is set to begin trials by the end of the year for drugs developed using artificial intelligence, as stated by a Google executive.

• Isomorphic Labs, established in 2021, collaborates with Eli Lilly and Novartis to use its AI technology, AlphaFold, for discovering new therapies, targeting diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration.

• Insilico Medicine, a startup, was the first to send an AI-designed drug to clinical trials in 2023, with positive results reported for its treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease.

Google Gemini now works across multiple apps in a single prompt:

• Google's Gemini assistant now performs tasks across multiple apps in a single interaction, announced with Samsung's Galaxy S25 launch, where Gemini becomes the default assistant, replacing Bixby.

• The update enhances Gemini to handle complex tasks like finding and sharing locations or scheduling events, with support extending to Samsung apps for S25 users and other platforms.

• Gemini Live conversational mode gains new features exclusive to certain devices, with plans for Project Astra's screen sharing and video streaming capabilities to arrive on Android soon.

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• Chief of Staff - Seed Startup | USA - Apply Here

• Remote Product Owner - Soar Financials | Remote - Apply Here

• UI/UX Designer - Files | USA - Apply Here

• Social Media Coordinator - B2B Cybersecurity - Pylon - Apply Here

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