OpenAI’s ex-CTO, Mira Murati hires OpenAI Cofounder & Apple’s new iPhone SE might be announced next week.

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

Superlogic, a Miami, FL-based company which specializes in experiential rewards technology, raised $13.7M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $21M, was led by Powerledger, with participation from prominent investors, including Sangha Capital, 10SQ, Nima Capital, Actai Unicorn Fund, Hyla Liquid Venture Fund, Liquid 2 Ventures.

TrueFoundry, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI deployment and scaling platform, raised $19M in Series A Funding. The round was led by Intel Capital. Existing investors Eniac Ventures and Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) participated, alongside new investor Jump Capital and angel investors including Gokul Rajaram, Mohit Aron, and executives from Fortune 1000s.

Cognida.ai, a Chicago, IL-based company which specializes in practical AI solutions for enterprises, raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners.

Pendulum, a Washington, DC-based company which specializes in real-time planning for the global supply chain, raised $22M in total funding. The investment included $11M in non-dilutive R&D capital and $11M in venture capital from Lowercarbon Capital, Cross Border Impact Ventures, Decisive Point, Collab Fund, and Blaise Agüera y Arcas, VP/Fellow and CTO of Technology & Society at Google.

Mobile Pathways, a San Francisco, CA-based tech nonprofit company ensuring fair access to justice for immigrants, raised $1M in Funding. Backers included GitLab Foundation, Firedoll Foundation, AlleyCorp, and Fast Forward.

Cellid, a Tokyo, Japan-based developer of AR glasses displays and spatial recognition engines for new devices, raised $13M in Funding. The round was led by Development Bank of Japan Inc. and included a third-party allotment of new shares to funds managed or involved in the management of More Management Co., Ltd., CVC fund jointly established by Kyocera Corporation and Global Brain Corporation, 15th Rock, Inc., and FFG Venture Business Partners Co., Ltd.

Urban Sky, a Denver, CO-based stratospheric platform company, raised $30M in Series B funding. The round was led by Altos Ventures, with participation from New Legacy Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Catapult Ventures, Lavrock Ventures, New Stack Ventures, TenOneTen, DA Ventures, Union Labs VC, and Techstars.

Tyba, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an energy storage optimization platform, raised $13.9M in Series A funding. The round was led by Energize Capital, with participation from Pear VC, Mobilize Climate Capital, and Borusan Ventures and follow-on investment from Powerhouse, Wireframe, Virta, and Lorimer.

fileAI, a Singapore-based horizontal file processing agent and AI workflow automation company, raised USD 14M in Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $20M, was led by Illuminate Financial, Antler Elevate, Insignia, Heinemann Group and others.

ThreatMate, a Dover, DE-based provider of an AI-powered cybersecurity startup, raised $3.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Top Down Ventures’ Founders Fund I, with participation from Runtime Ventures and Blu Ventures.

Presto, an Oakland, CA-based provider of an EV charging platform, raised $15M in Seed funding. Backers included Union Square Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, and Jetstream.

REEV, a Boston, MA- and Toulouse, France-based medical technology startup, raised $9.2M in funding. The round was led by Newfund Heka, Polytechnique Ventures and Irdi Capital, with participation from Techstars and a group of business angels and health care operators.

Berry Street, a NYC-based provider of a nutrition counseling platform, raised $50M in funding. Backers included Northzone, Sofina, FJ Labs, and tech founders from Revolut, Spring Health, Grow Therapy, and Found, amongst others.

SimpliFed, a NYC-based company which specializes in virtual maternal healthcare, raised $4M in funding. The round was led by Morningside with participation from new investors The Artemis Fund, Cultivation Capital, and American Heart Association Social Impact Funds, along with existing investors The Venture Collective, Empire State Development, Waterline Ventures, and previous angels.

Pendulum, a Seattle-based supply chain AI startup, raised $22M to optimize supply and demand forecasting. The round includes $11M in venture capital from Lowercarbon Capital, Cross-Border Impact Ventures, and others, plus $11M in non-dilutive funding for R&D.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY WORTH EXPLORING

🤝 Solving a $200B Industrial Energy Problem: Why Investors Are Backing PowerBox

What got my attention: PowerBox Technology is tackling a massive, costly problem for industrial manufacturers—grid instability, high energy costs, and inefficient renewable integration. Instead of relying on expensive and unreliable backup systems, their modular hardware and AI-driven software work together to prevent disruptions, lower energy bills, and make renewable energy seamless for factories.

Why it matters:

• Grid instability causes millions in lost productivity for manufacturers.

• Smart energy management lowers costs while improving efficiency.

• Seamless renewable integration moves industries toward sustainability.

Why I’m watching:

• Three active pilots, including a packaging factory losing 1-2% of sales due to grid instability.

• Backed by the University of Illinois, NASA, NSF, and top industry advisors.

• Equity crowdfunding campaign nearing $55K, with additional investment commitments.

They’re raising $500K to scale their solution and bring PowerBlock to market in 2025.

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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

Emblem, a Paris-based VC firm, closed its first €80M ($85M) fund to back 25-30 seed-stage startups across France and the Nordics. Investors include tech founders from Unity, Pleo, Qonto, and Zendesk, alongside sovereign funds EIFO and Bpifrance

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

OpenAI’s ex-CTO, Mira Murati, has recruited OpenAI co-founder John Schulman:

• John Schulman, who co-founded OpenAI and briefly worked at Anthropic, has reportedly joined ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s secretive new AI startup.

• Murati, who left OpenAI in September, has been recruiting ex-OpenAI staff, including Christian Gibson from OpenAI’s supercomputing team, per Fortune.

• Schulman, a key architect of ChatGPT, left OpenAI last year to focus on AI alignment at Anthropic but departed after five months for what he calls a “compelling” new opportunity.

OpenAI Updates o3-mini to Show More of Its Reasoning Process:

• OpenAI is enhancing its o3-mini AI model by revealing more of its reasoning steps to improve transparency and user confidence, responding to competition from DeepSeek’s fully visible thought process.

• Free and paid ChatGPT users will now see expanded reasoning chains, while premium subscribers using o3-mini in “high reasoning” mode will get more detailed insights into how the model arrives at answers.

• OpenAI balances clarity and security by summarizing reasoning steps, removing unsafe content, and localizing explanations for non-English users, aiming to improve user experience without exposing proprietary methods.

Mistral releases its AI assistant on iOS and Android:

• Mistral launched iOS and Android apps for its AI assistant, Le Chat, along with a redesigned web interface, aiming to compete with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

• A new Pro tier at $14.99/month offers access to Mistral’s highest-performing model, higher usage limits, and an option to opt out of data sharing, following a pay-or-consent model.

• Le Chat boasts ultra-fast responses at 1,000 words per second and superior image generation via Flux Ultra, while its enterprise version allows on-premise deployment, differentiating it from rivals.

Apple’s new iPhone SE might be announced next week:

• Apple’s next iPhone SE could be revealed as early as next week, featuring an iPhone 14-like design with a larger screen, Face ID, and an A18 chip supporting Apple Intelligence.

• The device is expected to be Apple’s first with an in-house cellular modem and will feature a USB-C port, allowing sales in the EU.

• Bloomberg reports a “roughly $500” price point, making it more expensive than the previous SE model, with an online-only announcement likely instead of a dedicated launch event.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

Tesla boosts hiring for Optimus robot production:

• Tesla is actively increasing its recruitment to support the large-scale production of the Optimus humanoid robot at its Fremont, California facility, aiming to make it a commercially available product.

• The company has posted numerous job listings for roles like Manufacturing Engineering Technician and Production Supervisor to enhance its manufacturing capabilities for the Tesla Bot.

• Elon Musk is also focused on hiring skilled software engineers for his Everything app project, emphasizing coding skills over formal educational background or work history with prestigious firms.

HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES

💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities

• Associate - Omerse Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Artificial Intelligence Engineer Intern - Baz AI | USA - Apply Here

• Legal Operations Associate - 500 Global | UAE - Apply Here

• Intern, Primary Investments - Adam Street Partner | Singapore - Apply Here

• Ventures Analyst - Plug & Play Tech Center | USA - Apply Here

• Part-Time Student at Impact VC - Kopa Venture | Germany - Apply Here

• Investment Manager - Outlier Venture | UK - Apply Here

• Investment Manager, Techstars London - Apply Here

• Ventures Associate - Plug and Play tech center | USA - Apply Here

• Investment Research Intern - Malpani Venture | India - Apply Here

• 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

• Chief of Staff - Voyager Venture | USA - Apply Here

CURATED RESOURCES

🎁 Don’t miss - Curated Resources for Founders.

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

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