Musk’s xAI raising $20B at $120B valuation & Google exec tells judge only Google can run Chrome.

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

WineFi, a London, UK-based wine investment platform, raised £1.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Coterie Holdings with participation from SFC Capital and Founders Capital.

Manus AI, a China-based startup building tools for AI agents, raised $75M in funding at a ~$500M valuation. The round was led by Benchmark, with participation from existing investors including Tencent and HSG (formerly Sequoia China). The funds will support Manus’ expansion into the U.S., Japan, and the Middle East.

OKAPI:Orbits, a Braunschweig, Germany-based space traffic management solutions provider, raised €13M in Seed funding. The round was led by Ventech, with support from Matterwave Ventures, Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, and individual investors such as Christian Miele.

Inco, a NYC-based startup building the missing confidentiality layer for the blockchain stack, raised $5M in funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz Crypto Startup Accelerator, with participation from new and existing investors including Coinbase Ventures, 1kx Capital, OrangeDAO, South Park Commons, and Script Capital.

MagicBlock, a Singapore, CA-based real-time engine provider for decentralised games and applications on Solana, raised $7.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Lightspeed Faction, with participation from Maven11, Delphi Digital, Robot Ventures, Mechanism Capital, Equilibrium, Pivot Global, and angels including Anatoly Yakovenko, Mert Mumtaz, and Tristan Yver.

TadHealth, a Newport Beach, CA-based provider of mental health technology solutions for schools, raised $5.5M in Series A funding. Backers included Robin Richards, Sabrina Horn, and Jim Hudziak.

Overture Life, a Palo Alto, CA-based company which specializes in embryology lab procedures, raised $20.6M. Bakers included Overwater Ventures, GV, and Khosla Ventures.

Dataminr, a New York-based provider of a real-time AI platform for detecting events, risks and critical information from public data signals, received a $100M investment from Fortress Investment Group.

Symbiotic, a Berlin, Germany based universal staking startup, raised $29m in Series A funding. The round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and over 100 angel investors from leading teams including Aave, Polygon, and StarkWare.

Jericho Security, a New York based provider of a platform that allows businesses to detect and prevent deepfake-based scams targeting employees, raised $15m in Series A funding. Backers included Era Fund, Lux Capital, Dash Fund, Gaingels, Distique Ventures, and Plug & Play Ventures.

Augur (fka SecLytics), a San Diego, CA based AI-powered threat prevention company, raised $7m in seed funding. The round was led by General Advance with participation from industry executives Ely Kahn, VP Product for Cloud Security and AI/ML, SentinelOne; Spencer Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO, Prelude; Travis McPeak, Co-Founder and CEO, Resourcely; Josh Lospinoso, Co-Founder and CEO, Shift5; and other senior executives from Amazon, Google, and CloudFlare.

Theo, a NYC-based provider of a network connecting onchain capital to global markets via trading infrastructure, raised $20M in funding. The round was led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital, with participation from Manifold Trading, Mirana Ventures, Metalayer Ventures, Flowdesk, SCB, MEXC, Amber Group, Selini Capital, and Angel investors.

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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

Intel Capital, the venture arm of Intel, will remain internal after all, reversing earlier plans to spin it out as an independent firm. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced during the company’s Q1 earnings call that Intel Capital will instead focus on monetizing its existing portfolio and make selective new investments aligned with Intel’s strategic goals. The decision halts a previously announced spinout that was slated for Q3 2025.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

Musk’s xAI reportedly raising $20B at $120B valuation:

• Elon Musk’s xAI is reportedly in early talks to raise $20 billion, valuing the company at over $120 billion — second only to OpenAI’s $40 billion raise.

• The massive round could help alleviate debt from Musk’s social platform X, which faces over $1.3 billion in annual interest expenses.

• Key Musk allies like Antonio Gracias and Luke Nosek are expected to participate, as xAI’s momentum reflects both AI investor enthusiasm and Musk’s rising political influence.

Google’s AI Overviews now reach 1.5B users monthly across 100+ countries:

• Google’s AI Overviews feature, which provides AI-generated summaries in search results, is now used by over 1.5 billion people each month in more than 100 countries.

• Despite concerns about traffic loss for publishers, Google is expanding monetization, with ads in Overviews and new features like AI Mode for follow-up queries.

• Visual search tools like Circle to Search and Google Lens also saw strong growth, even as the company faces mounting antitrust pressure in the U.S. over search and ad dominance.

Microsoft launches Recall and AI-powered Windows search:

• After addressing privacy criticisms with enhanced security like manual opt-in and protected data storage, Microsoft has started deploying its controversial Recall screen-capture feature for Copilot+ AI PCs.

• Alongside this tool, the technology company introduces an improved Windows Search using natural language locally and Click to Do for quick AI operations like summarization within existing apps.

• The Recall function lets users search their past computer activity using screenshots stored locally, while the upgraded system exploration feature also leverages local AI processing to locate files.

Perplexity’s CEO on fighting Google and the coming AI browser war:

• Perplexity's CEO stated the company is creating a browser because it is potentially the most effective method for developing sophisticated artificial intelligence agents for users.

• Current mobile operating systems like iOS and Android prevent applications from having deep system control, limiting their ability to access information from other installed programs.

• This restriction makes it impossible for an agent to compare real-time data, such as ride prices between Uber and Lyft or food delivery wait times across different platforms.

Google DeepMind UK employees seek to unionize over AI ethics concerns:

• About 300 DeepMind employees in London are reportedly trying to unionize with the Communication Workers Union, driven by concerns over Google's AI ethics and military contracts.

• Workers cite Google’s removal of its pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance, and its $1.2B cloud deal with the Israeli military, as major reasons behind the move.

• At least five staff members have reportedly quit over the issues; Google says it supports “constructive and open dialogue” with employees.

Top OpenAI researcher denied U.S. green card, must leave country:

• Kai Chen, a Canadian AI researcher key to GPT-4.5, was denied a U.S. green card and will work remotely from Vancouver, per OpenAI scientist Noam Brown.

• OpenAI says the denial stemmed from issues with paperwork filed before Chen joined the company; the case reflects broader immigration challenges under the Trump administration.

• U.S. visa crackdowns and green card rejections risk undermining America’s AI leadership, as AI labs rely heavily on immigrant talent and foreign researchers.

Google executive tells judge only Google can run Chrome:

• Chrome's General Manager argued in court that the browser's deep integration with Google's systems means only the tech giant can sustain its complex features and current functionality effectively.

• Following a monopoly ruling, the Justice Department is pushing for Google to divest the popular web navigator and also share collected user information with competitors in the market.

• While a divestiture might be technically possible, recreating the internet application's connection to Google's resources is complex, yet potential buyers like OpenAI have shown acquisition interest.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

Deel files countersuit against Rippling as rivalry escalates:

• Deel has filed a countersuit against Rippling in Delaware, alleging defamation and improper business conduct, including payroll misreporting and employee fund misuse.

• The move follows Rippling’s earlier lawsuit accusing Deel and CEO Alex Bouaziz of corporate espionage, including recruiting a spy to steal trade secrets — a claim Deel denies.

• Deel is seeking dismissal of Rippling’s suit on jurisdictional and legal grounds and accuses Rippling of infiltrating Deel’s operations and soliciting confidential info from employees.

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