Intel hires semiconductor veteran Lip-Bu Tan as new CEO & Google unveils Gemma 3.

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🗞️ What else is brewing

• Y Combinator's guide to seed fundraising.

• Trying to break into tech VC? Worried about your background? - A must read guide.

• Excel template: early stage startup financial model for fundraising.

• The rules of a good startup pitch - A must follow framework for founders.

• Why GP stakes investors don't fear consolidation.

• How to measure your business the Amazon way.

• Excel Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising.

• Startup legal document pack – essential legal docs for founders.

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• Highly recommend AI resources: Must-have resources to stay updated on AI tools, trusted by leading founders and investors.

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

Vivace Therapeutics, a San Mateo, CA-based small molecule discovery and development company, raised $35M in Series D funding. The round was led by RA Capital Management, an existing investor, and included investment from other existing investors Canaan Partners and Cenova Capital. In conjunction with the financing, Jake Simson, Ph.D., partner at RA Capital Management, has joined the company’s board of directors.

Mimo, a London, UK-based provider of a platform empowering global payments, cash flow, and financial management for SMBs and accountants, $8.5M in funding. The round was led by Project A. Other investors included Northzone and Seedcamp. Malin Posern, Partner at Project A, joined Mimo’s board.

Blackwall, an Estonia-based cybersecurity startup focused on SMBs, raised a €45 million ($49.2M) Series B round led by Dawn Capital, with participation from MMC Ventures.

Onyx, a San Francisco-based open-source enterprise search startup, raised a $10 million seed round co-led by Khosla Ventures and First Round Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and angel investors.

eBrands, a Helsinki, Finland-based provider of an export platform enabling international growth for consumer brands, raised €7.5M in funding. The round, which brought the total amount to €50M, was led by Veikko Laine family office, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, and operative shareholders.

Hawcx, a Los Altos, CA-based passwordless authentication company, raised $3M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Engineering Capital, with participation from Boldcap.

Atlant 3D, a Copenahagen, Denmark- and London, UK-based atomic-scale manufacturing technology company, raised $15M Series A+ funding. The round was led by West Hill Capital.

Tomo Mortgage, a NYC-based digital mortgage lender, raised $20M in Series B funding. Backers included Progressive Insurance, Ribbit Capital, NFX, and DST Global Partners. The round brought total investment to date to $130M.

Vantis, a Munich, Germany-based digital care innovation company, raised €10M in funding. The round was led by Angelini Ventures, with participation from Bayern Kapital, Twip Impact Ventures, and existing investors, firstminute and b2venture.

Rakurai, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an infrastructure project for Solana staking, raised $3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Anagram Ventures. Other investors included Colosseum, Slow Ventures, Robot Ventures Crypto.com, P2P.org, GlobalStake and Cyber Fund.

Motivity, a Honolulu based provider of clinical SaaS solutions for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) providers who treat children with autism, raised $27m in funding. Five Elms Capital made the investment.

Thorizon, an Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based company which specializes in molten salt reactor technology, raised €20M in funding and Grant. The round consisted of: €16M as the first tranche of its Series A round, led by the Dutch National Promotional Institution, Invest-NL, backed by an InvestEU guarantee from the European Commission for the research part, with strong backing from Positron Ventures, PDENH, and Impuls Zeeland. €4M Grant from the Dutch Province of Noord-Brabant in consortium with VDL Groep and Demcon.

Carpool Logistics, an Atlanta, GA-based provider of a vehicle logistics platform, raised $12M in Series A funding. The round was led by Wavecrest Growth Partners, with participation from CarMax, Impel founders Devin Daly and Michael Quigley, as well as automotive industry veteran David Metter.

Augmenta, a Toronto, Canada-based provider of a design platform for the built environment, raised $10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with participation from Montage Ventures.

Surgicure Technologies, a Boston, MA-based company dedicated to advancing airway management and patient safety, raised $1.785M in Seed funding. The round was led by Launchpad Venture Group (LVG) with major contributions form Gurtin Ventures, with participation from BakerBridge Capital, TiE Angels, SBXi, Beacon Angels, SideCar Angels, Tidal River Fund and BBE Ventures.

Wolf Games, a Los Angeles, CA-based generative gaming startup, raised $4M in seed funding. Investors included television producer Dick Wolf, Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records and Beats by Dre, and Paul Wachter, Founder and CEO of Main Street Advisors and Chairman of UTA.

Ditto, a San Francisco, CA-based database with built-in edge device connectivity and resiliency, raised $82M in Series B funding, at $462M valuation. The round was led by Top Tier Capital Partners and Acrew Capital, with participation from existing and new investors, including Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), True Ventures, Amity Ventures, Fundrise, Friends & Family Capital, Advance Venture Partners, and Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ).

Pentera, a Boston, MA-based automated security validation company, raised $60M in Series D Funding. The round was led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from Farallon Capital Management, bringing the the total funding to $250M.

QuamCore, a Herzliya, Israel-based tech startup which specializes in quantum computing scalability, raised $9M in Seed funding. The round was led by Viola Ventures and Earth & Beyond Ventures.

elea, a Hamburg, Germany-based company providing an immersive AI platform for healthcare professionals that provide life-saving diagnoses and care, raised €4M in funding. Backers included Fly Ventures and Giant Ventures, MVZ hospital groups.

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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

Vento, an Italy-based early-stage VC firm, has launched its second fund, hard-capped at €75 million, to back Italian founders globally. Originating from the organizers of Italian Tech Week, the firm plans to make 375 investments over five years, with a standardized €150,000 ticket size. The fund aims to strengthen Italy’s startup ecosystem by supporting founders at home and abroad while leveraging its network of global investors.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

Google DeepMind unveils new AI models for controlling robots:

• DeepMind introduced Gemini Robotics, new AI models that help robots interact with objects, navigate spaces, and respond to voice commands.

• Demo videos show robots folding paper and placing glasses in a case, with DeepMind claiming the models generalize well across different robot hardware.

• DeepMind released Gemini Robotics-ER, a slimmed-down version for researchers, and Asimov, a benchmark for assessing AI-powered robot risks.

Meta faces publisher copyright AI lawsuit in France:

• French publishers and authors’ unions sued Meta, accusing it of using protected content to train its AI models without permission.

• The lawsuit, filed in a Paris court by SNE, SNAC, and SGDL, marks the first major AI-related copyright case against Meta in France.

• Plaintiffs describe Meta’s actions as "monumental looting", likening the case to a "David vs. Goliath" battle.

Google unveils Gemma 3:

• Google has introduced Gemma 3, an updated AI model designed for developers to create applications that can run on various devices and support over 35 languages, along with text, image, and video analysis.

• The new model is claimed to be the world's best single-accelerator AI, surpassing competitors like Facebook's Llama and OpenAI in performance with a single GPU, and it features enhanced support for Nvidia GPUs.

• Google remains committed to its usage restrictions for Gemma, while promoting it with Google Cloud credits and offering a Gemma 3 Academic program for researchers to receive $10,000 in credits for their projects.

Pokemon Go is getting a new owner:

• Pokemon Go, originally developed by Niantic, is being sold to Scopely for $3.5 billion, while the current development team is expected to remain unchanged.

• Scopely, known for games like Marvel Strike Force, will likely introduce more monetization strategies to Pokemon Go, potentially increasing ads and microtransactions to enhance profitability.

• Niantic will transition into Niantic Spatial, a geospatial AI company, continuing its work on augmented reality games like Ingress Prime and Peridot.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

Intel hires semiconductor veteran Lip-Bu Tan as new CEO:

• Lip-Bu Tan takes over as Intel’s CEO after Pat Gelsinger’s retirement, inheriting a company that has struggled to capitalize on the AI boom and faced 50% stock decline and 15,000 layoffs in 2024.

• Intel’s IDM modernization plan faced setbacks, including the failed $5.4B Tower Semiconductor acquisition and repeated delays in its Ohio chip factory, while rivals surged ahead in AI and foundry services.

• Despite past struggles, Intel recently secured a $7.86B U.S. government grant for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and saw strong demand for its Arc B580 graphics card.

HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES

💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities

• Associate - Omerse Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Student Venture Scout - Boomerang Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Program & Events Manager - Plug and Play Tech Center | USA - Apply Here

• Content Manager Bessemer Venture Partners | USA - Apply Here

• Investor Relations Analyst - Truebridge Capital Partner | USA - Apply Here

• Ventures Associate - Plug and Play Tech Center | USA - Apply Here

• Platform Manager - Equal Venture | USA - Apply Here

• VC Fund Operations - ITI growth opportunities fund | India - Apply Here

• Analyst - Vine Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Portfolio Manager - SeaX Venture | Thailand - Apply Here

CURATED RESOURCES

🎁 Don’t miss - Curated Resources for Founders.

• 350+ Indian Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

• Write Your Monthly Investor Update (Email Template Download).

• Building Cap Table As A Founder: Template to Download.

• 1000+ Euro Tech Angel Investors & VC Firms Database.

• 400+ French Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

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