Former Intel CEO joined Playground Global VC as GP & Apple ordering $1B worth NVIDIA AI servers

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

SplxAI, a Dover, DE-based company developing an offensive security service for Agentic AI, raised $7M in Seed funding. The round was led by LAUNCHub Ventures with participation from Rain Capital, Inovo, Runtime Ventures, DNV Ventures and South Central Ventures.

Mercury*, a San Francisco, CA-based fintech company providing banking products, credit cards, and software to power businesses’ financial workflows, raised $300m in Series C funding. The round, led by new investor Sequoia Capital, included primary and secondary funding and values Mercury at $3.5 billion post-money

Ravel, a Seattle, WA-based early-stage textile recycling company, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. The round was led by At One Ventures, with participation from Collateral Good, Collaborative Fund, Climate Capital, Betterway Ventures, and Moonstone VC.

Underdog, a Brooklyn, NY-based sports gaming company, raised $70m in ongoing Series C funding round, which is expected to exceed $100m. The round was led by Spark Capital.

XGS Energy, a Houston, TX-based developer of next-generation geothermal power projects leveraging a proprietary water-independent technology, raised $13m in new financing. The round included new investors Aligned Climate Capital, ClearSky, ClimateIC, and WovenEarth Ventures, in addition to inside investors.

Epicrispr Biotechnologies, a South San Francisco, CA-based biotechnology company focused on developing curative therapies, raised $68m in the first close of its Series B financing. The round was led by Ally Bridge Group, with participation from SOLVE FSHD, the venture philanthropy organization founded by Chip Wilson, founder of Lululemon Athletica and FSHD patient, along with other new and existing investors.

GetReal Security, a San Mateo, CA-based cybersecurity leader specializing in the detection and mitigation of malicious generative AI threats including deepfakes and impersonation attacks, raised $17.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Forgepoint Capital with participation from Ballistic Ventures, Evolution Equity, and K2 Access Fund as well as strategic investors In-Q-Tel (IQT), Cisco Investments and Capital One Ventures.

Brisk Teaching, a San Francisco, CA-based AI teaching and learning agent for K-12 schools, closed its $15m Series A funding round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from previous investors Owl Ventures, South Park Commons, and Springbank Collective.

Jolly, a NYC-based workforce optimization platform, raised $16.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Zach Kirkhorn, former CFO of Tesla, who will join the company’s Board, with participation from angel investors Gokul Rajaram, Julien Codorniou, Steve Luczo, and David Marcus, and institutional support from Bullpen Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Eigen Ventures, among others.

Hook, a NYC-based platform where users can legally remix songs by top musicians while earning income, raised $3M in additional funding. The round, which brought total funding to $6M, included new investments from Khosla Ventures, Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew, and The Raine Group, alongside continued support from existing investors, including Imaginary Ventures, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures, KSHMR, and Waverley Capital, co-founded by former Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr.

Supira Medical, Inc., a Los Gatos, CA-based percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) company, closed a $120M Series E financing round. The round was led by new investors Novo Holdings and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), with participation from two undisclosed strategic investors.

Topanga, a Los Angeles, CA-based provider of an enterprise technology platform that helps kitchens reduce waste and save more, raised $8m in Series A funding. The round was led by Blue Bear Capital, with participation from Struck, Amasia and Wonder Ventures.

Contoro Robotics, an Austin, TX-based maker of AI-powered trailer and container unloading robots, raised $12M in Series A funding. Backers included new investors Doosan, Coupang, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, and IMM, alongside continued backers SV Investment, KB Investment, Kakao Ventures, and Future Play.

AmberSearch, an Aachen, Germany based provider of an AI-powered enterprise search engine, raised $2.3m in seed funding. The round was led by Ventech.

Island, a Dallas, Texas-based company that developed Enterprise Browser, an enterprise workspace for CIOs, CISOs, and end users, has raised $250 million in Series E, at a $5 billion valuation. The round was led by Coatue Management with participation from existing investors.

NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has joined deep tech VC firm Playground Global as a general partner. He will work with 10–20 portfolio companies, focusing on breakthrough technologies. Gelsinger also became executive chairman of xLight, which is developing energy-efficient lasers for EUV lithography. The move signals Gelsinger’s continued push to advance semiconductor innovation and Moore’s Law.

Emergence Capital, a San Mateo-based VC firm known for backing enterprise tech startups like Zoom, Gusto, and Salesforce, has closed its $1B seventh fund. This is its first raise in nearly four years and signals a strong bet on AI, with continued support from longtime LPs like Stanford University.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

Nvidia un talks to acquire Lepton AI for several hundred million dollar:

• Nvidia is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Lepton AI, a startup that rents out servers powered by Nvidia’s own AI chips, for several hundred million dollars, according to The Information.

• Founded just two years ago, Lepton AI raised $11M in seed funding from CRV and Fusion Fund in 2023. It's one of the few challengers in the AI server rental space, alongside heavyweights like Together AI.

• This follows Nvidia’s recent acquisition of synthetic data startup Gretel, signaling a deeper push into AI infrastructure and developer services.

OpenAI adopts rival Anthropic’s open standard for AI data access:

• OpenAI will support Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an open-source standard that connects AI models to external data sources — across products like ChatGPT’s desktop app and the Agents SDK.

• MCP enables AI assistants to access tools, databases, and software environments through secure two-way connections, helping generate more relevant and actionable responses.

• Originally launched by Anthropic, MCP has been adopted by companies like Block, Replit, and Sourcegraph, and is now becoming a cross-industry standard for connecting large language models (LLMs) to real-time data.

Apple barred from Google antitrust trial:

• Apple has been blocked from participating directly in an antitrust hearing involving its $20 billion annual search deal with Google because its lawyers were too slow to file their intervention request.

• The Department of Justice's case against Google determined the tech giant violated antitrust laws through deals making it the default search engine on browsers, including Safari on Apple devices.

• While unable to present live testimony or cross-examine witnesses, Apple can still submit written testimony and file friend-of-the-court briefs to protect its interests in the proceedings.

Anthropic wins against music publishers:

• A California judge denied a motion filed by major music publishers that would have prevented Anthropic from using song lyrics, stating the requested injunction was "poorly defined" and could impose "unforeseeable costs" on the company.

• Music publishers including Universal Music Group and Concord had alleged in their October 2023 lawsuit that Anthropic "unlawfully copies and disseminates vast amounts of copyrights works" while building its AI models.

• The judge ruled that the publishers failed to demonstrate reputational harm or market value diminishment from Anthropic's use of their work, highlighting the ongoing legal battles between AI companies and copyright holders.

OpenAI’s viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concerns:

• OpenAI’s new GPT-4o image generator has gone viral for recreating Studio Ghibli-style portraits of public figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, sparking a wave of AI-generated memes across social media.

• While style itself isn’t protected under copyright law, legal experts say training on copyrighted works (like Ghibli films) raises fair use concerns — the same issue at the center of ongoing lawsuits against OpenAI, Meta, and others.

• OpenAI says ChatGPT won’t mimic styles of individual living artists, but does allow replication of studio aesthetics — a gray area, especially when iconic styles are tied to specific creators like Hayao Miyazaki.

Apple reportedly ordering $1B worth NVIDIA AI servers:

• Apple is reportedly ordering around $1 billion worth of NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 AI servers, about 250 units at $3.7–$4 million each, to support its generative AI efforts.

• The tech giant is said to be partnering with Dell and Supermicro to build a large AI server cluster, potentially to power its own large language model (LLM) capabilities.

• While Apple is rumored to be developing its own AI chips, the move signals a significant shift toward external AI infrastructure to accelerate its generative AI roadmap.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

YouTube Shorts view counts are changing starting March 31:

• YouTube will now count a view each time a Short starts or replays, instead of requiring a few seconds of watch time — making view counts appear higher.

• The change aligns YouTube Shorts with TikTok and Instagram Reels, offering creators a better sense of how often their content is seen across platforms.

• The original metric, now called “engaged views,” will remain available in YouTube Analytics and will still determine monetization and YouTube Partner Program eligibility.

OpenAI projects $125B+ revenue by 2029 despite staying cash flow negative:

• OpenAI doesn’t expect to become cash flow positive until 2029, according to Bloomberg, due to high costs related to chips, data centers, and talent.

• The company forecasts $12.7B in revenue for 2025, up from $3.7B in 2024, driven by strong adoption of paid AI services.

• By 2029, OpenAI expects revenue to exceed $125 billion, even as it invests heavily to stay ahead in AI development.

HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES

💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities

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• Program & Events Manager - Plug and Play tech centre | USA - Apply Here

• Ventures Analyst | Health - Plug and Play tech centre | USA - Apply Here

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