Musk's X Developing Zoom Competitor & Apple Cuts 100 Jobs In Digital Service Group

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Top News

Elon Musk's X is developing a video conferencing tool to compete with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, with features like instant or scheduled meetings and unique access codes. Initial internal testing received positive feedback, but the tool's release date remains unclear. Privacy and security concerns are critical as X prepares to launch the feature.

Apple has cut about 100 jobs in its digital services group, primarily affecting teams behind the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore, amid ongoing organizational shifts. Some engineering roles and the Apple News team were also impacted. This follows Apple's broader restructuring efforts, including a focus on artificial intelligence and challenges in the Chinese market.

Other Major News

• Meta to shut augmented reality studio used by third-party creators. (Scroll To Tech Updates)

• Zuckerberg says Biden administration pressured Meta to censor COVID-19 content. (Scroll To People Updates)

• How Should Founders Think About 'Runway'? – Sequoia Capital. (Scroll To Featured Article)

• VC & Startups Job Opportunities (Scroll To Today’s Opportunities)

• Build your fundraising pitch deck with the help of Venture Daily Digest’s expert team. (Scheduled a call with us)

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🗞️ Startup Funding Updates

Tilt, a Fort Collins, CO-based provider of a platform for leave management solutions, raised $15M in Series B funding. The round was led by Bramalea Partners, with participation from HearstLab, Firework Ventures, Origin Ventures, and Techstars. More Here

Mercately, based in Latin America, builds B2B software for brands to sell directly on WhatsApp. The startup provides infrastructure for inventory management, payments, and AI-powered customer communication. Mercately raised $2.6 million in seed funding led by Inventus Capital Partners and SVQuad, with participation from Techstars, Salkantay Ventures, and BuenTrip Ventures. More Here

Fleet, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a commuter benefits management platform, raised $2.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Great Oaks Venture Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Rally Cap, and Virta Ventures. More Here

myco, a Dubai, UAE-based provider of a Web3 streaming platform, raised $10M in Series A funding. Backers included Daman Investments, Aptos Labs, B Digital, Mocha Ventures, Art3 Foundation, Ghaf Capital Partners, Mix Media Network, Factor6 Capital Partners, and Enjinstarter, along with angel investors. 88 investors also participated in the round through Republic. More Here

Agrion Agrisolutions, a Brazil-based agriculture innovator, received $50m investment from Global Fund for Coral Reefs, an investment fund managed by Pegasus Capital Advisors. More Here

Echelon, a San Francisco, CA-based developer of a decentralized lending protocol, raised $3.5M in seed funding. The round was led by Amber Group, with participation from strategic partners including Laser Digital, Saison Capital, Selini Capital, Interop Ventures, and Re7. More Here

eXeX, an Orlando, FL-based med tech company utilizing artificial intelligence and spatial computing to optimize surgical procedures, raised $5.8M in Seed funding. Backers were not disclosed. More Here

Katara, a Dover, DE-based provider of an AI-agent workflow automation platform, raised $2.2M in Seed funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $2.6M, was led by Diagram Ventures and Sparkle Ventures, with participation from StreamingFast and other strategic angels. More Here

Supio, a Seattle, WA-based provider of a purpose-built AI platform for personal injury and mass tort plaintiff law firms, raised $25M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $33M, was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from existing investors Bonfire Ventures and Foothill Ventures. More Here

ZBiotics, a San Francisco, CA-based company offering a new category of genetically engineered probiotics, raised $12M in Series A funding. The round was led by Spring Tide Capital with participation from Access Capital, Seamless Capital, Goat Rodeo Capital, and Seaside Ventures. More Here

Planera, a San Jose, CA-based provider of a construction CPM scheduling and planning solution, raised $13.5M in Series A funding. The round was led by Sierra Ventures, with participation from Sorenson Capital, Brick and Mortar Ventures, Prudence VC and Firebolt Ventures. More Here

pgEdge, an Alexandria, VA-based company dedicated to distributed PostgreSQL, raised $10M in funding. The round was led by Rally Ventures, with additional contributions from existing investors Sands Capital Ventures and Grotech Ventures. More Here

Linker Finance, a Pasadena, CA-based provider of a platform that empowers community banks to take back control of their digital banking experience, raised $3.7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Ten One Ten Ventures and Chingona Ventures. Additional participants included Audaz Capital, Techstars, Commerce Ventures, Bank of Brodhead, and Angeles Investors, and angel investors including Edrizio de la Cruz, Ahmed Mirza, Michael Olson, and Roberto Medrano. More Here

RepAI, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI sales concierge that helps e-commerce shops to improve conversion rates, raised $8.2m in funding. The round was led by Osage Venture Partners (OVP) with participation from Flashpoint Venture Capital. More Here

Verofax, an Abu Dhabi, UAE-based Web3 services company, raised $3M in Bridge funding. The round was led by Plug & Play Tech Center, Navig8 Group, King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, with participation from Trove Capital UK, Jawa Brothers Advisory, Alzamil Pedco CVC and Tracecore CVC. More Here

Impactpool, a Stockholm, Sweden-based AI-enabled career platform provided by Intalma – International Talent Management, raised €3.6m in Series A funding. The round was led by Mediahuis and Fort Knox. More Here

Jobilla, a Helsinki, Finland-based company which specializes in digital recruitment technology, raised €6M in additional funding. The round was led by Juuri Partners, Trind VC, Business Finland, business angels, and Matti Vikkula, who joins Jobilla as the Chair of Board. More Here

Diakonos Oncology Corp., a Houston, TX-based clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, raised $11.4M in Seed funding. The round was led by Restem Group Inc., with participation from existing investors. More Here

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📰 Venture Capital Updates

The Securities and Exchange Commission has raised the threshold for "qualifying venture funds" from $10 million to $12 million. This adjustment allows these funds to raise capital from up to 250 accredited investors while remaining exempt from SEC registration as an investment company, a privilege otherwise limited to funds with 100 or fewer investors. The change, part of a routine inflation adjustment reviewed every five years, comes at a crucial time for emerging funds, which have been particularly affected by the VC bear market since 2022. More Here

Redalpine, a Swiss VC firm, has announced a new $200 million seventh early-stage fund (RAC VII) to invest in European startups, with a focus on the intersection of software and science. The firm, which has consistently delivered top-quartile returns, attributes its success to its early focus on deep tech and strong connections with European universities and scientific communities.

📌 Featured Article

How Should Founders Think About 'Runway'? – Sequoia Capital

Founders often view runway as just a number or equation, but VCs expect them to think beyond that. Sequoia Capital shared a framework on how founders should approach the runway. In this write-up, we will discuss...

• Runway Reality

• What is your runway right now? How should you calculate it?

• How should you think about how much runway you need?

• How do you extend your runway if you need more?

Let’s deep dive into this….

The basics: What is a runway?

It’s your cash balance divided by your monthly burn.

If you have $10M in cash and $0.5M in burn, you have 20 months of runway

But it gets a little more nuanced than that. The cleanest way to look at your cash balance is net cash, which is the cash you have on your balance sheet minus any debt you’ve drawn.

If you have $10M in cash but you’ve drawn $5M in venture debt, you really have $5M of net cash and you should use that number to think about your runway.

But why? The reason is that debt is borrowed money. It’s not yours. You owe it to a creditor. Similar to how you make personal budget decisions based on your assets minus whatever debt you owe, you should think about your company’s cash position the same way.

The TLDR is that having a line….

We haves shared in detailed writeup in our Venture Curator newsletter, Check out here…

📑 Startup’s Latest Buzz

Acquisition & Going Public

Hibu, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based provider of technology-enabled digital marketing solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses across the United States, completed the acquisition of RevLocal, a Columbus, OH-based digital marketing partner to SMBs and multi-location brands across the United States.

Lightcast, a Moscow, ID-based provider of labor market data, analytics, and expert guidance, acquired Stratigens, a UK-based talent intelligence provider.

Principle Health Systems, a Houston, TX-based provider of mobile laboratory services to long-term care facilities, acquired BioStat Imaging, a Dallas, TX-based mobile imaging provider. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Layoffs & Bankruptcy

Startups & People

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the Biden administration pressured the company to "censor" COVID-19 content during the pandemic, referring to requests to remove misinformation. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg expressed regret for not opposing this pressure earlier and said the company would resist such demands in the future. The White House defended its actions as encouraging responsible measures to protect public health.

Apple announced that CFO Luca Maestri will step down from his role on January 1, transitioning to lead the corporate services team while reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Kevan Parekh, current VP of Financial Planning, will be promoted to CFO after 11 years with the company.

TikTok's head of content strategy and policy, Nicole Iacopetti, will leave the company on September 6, according to an internal staff note reported by The Information.

🤖 Latest In Tech

Apple has partnered with Airtel, a major Indian telecom provider, to offer exclusive deals on Apple Music and Apple TV+ to Airtel subscribers. As part of this agreement, Airtel will shut down its Wynk Music app and integrate Apple's services into its premium broadband and postpaid plans. This move allows Apple to expand its reach in India's Android-dominated market, while Airtel strengthens its content offerings to attract high-value customers in an increasingly competitive telecom landscape.

Meta will shut down its augmented reality studio, Meta Spark, on January 14, removing third-party AR effects from Instagram and Facebook as it shifts focus to AI and the metaverse. First-party AR effects will remain available across Meta's platforms. Third-party creators expressed disappointment, with some considering alternatives like Snapchat's Lens Studio.

Anthropic has published the system prompts for its latest AI models, including Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Claude 3.5 Haiku, to demonstrate transparency and ethical practices. The system prompts reveal specific behaviors and capabilities of the Claude models, such as the inability to open URLs or recognize faces, aiming to ensure ethical interactions. Anthropic plans to continue updating and disclosing these system prompts to promote transparency, potentially pressuring other AI vendors to follow suit.

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