OpenAI strikes $11.9b cloud deal with Coreweave & Saudi Arabia's futuristic city turns into a financial disaster.

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INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY WORTH EXPLORING

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3. Enhanced Power Density: GaN-based systems can handle higher power in smaller form factors, making them ideal for data centres, automotive electronics, and consumer devices.

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

Just Move In, a London, UK-based provider of home setup services, raised £6M in Series A funding. The round was led by Eos Ventures, with participation from Wayra, Second Century Ventures, as well as The FSE Group and existing angels including Simon Rogerson and Chris Hulatt.

Flowdesk, a NYC-based digital asset trading and technology firm, raised $102m in equity funding. Backers included HV Capital and existing investors Eurazeo, Cathay Innovation and ISAI as well as a debt facility from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.

Infinite Uptime, India-based predictive maintenance startup for factories, raised a $35M Series C. The round was led by Avataar Ventures, with participation from StepStone Group, LGVP, Tiger Global, and GSR Ventures.

MSInsight, a Paris, France-based startup specializing in precision medicine in oncology, raised €1.6M in Seed funding. Backers included Calyseed, with participation from Plateau de Saclay Business Angels, Yes Invest, Capital Cell, and banking partners such as bpifrance.

Lila Sciences, a Boston, MA-based company building a scientific platform and autonomous labs for life, chemical, and materials sciences, raised $200m in seed funding. Backers included Flagship Pioneering, along with General Catalyst, March Capital, ARK Venture Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Blue Horizon Advisors, State of Michigan Retirement System, Modi Ventures and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Uthana, a Los Angeles, CA-based generative AI company, raised $4.3M in funding. The round was led by IA Ventures, with participation from A16Z Speedrun, Acequia Capital, Cursor Capital, HustleFund, MetaVision, and JonesTrauber.

Nirvana Insurance, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-driven commercial trucking insurer, raised $80M in Series C funding, at $850M valuation. The round was led by General Catalyst with participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Valor Equity Partners.

The Data City, a Leeds, UK-based company providing data and insight to the public and private sectors, raised £2M in Series A funding. The round was led by Oxford Economics.

Lagom Chain, a London, UK-based company providing an EVM-compatible Layer 1 solution, raised $200K in funding from Singh Coin. The investment valued Lagom Chain at $4m.

ReSource Chemical, an Oakland, CA-based advanced manufacturing startup, raised $15M in funding. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and Fathom Fund, with participation from Chevron Technology Ventures, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company and angel investors Adam Winkel and Matt Berger.

Alfa, a London, UK-based AI recruitment startup, raised £495K in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Fuel Ventures, led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Davie Rowe (Sixty-Six & Black Green), Pierre Decote (Revolut & Golden Square), Chris Adelsbach (Outrun Ventures), and multiple other Angel Investors.

Ocean Ledger, a London, UK-based geospatial analytics startup, raised $900K in funding. The round was led by Ananda Impact Ventures and Silverstrand Capital.

InsureVision, a London, UK-based company which specializes in AI-powered contextual driving risk assessment, raised $2.7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Rethink Ventures, Twin Path Ventures and State Farm Ventures.

Reflection, a NYC-based AI company building superintelligent, autonomous systems, raised $130M in funding. The amount included: $25M in seed led by Sequoia, and CRV and a $105M Series A led by Lightspeed and CRV with participation from NVentures (NVIDIA’s VC arm), Databricks VC, Reid Hoffman, Alexandr Wang, SV Angel, Conviction, and Lachy Groom.

Platter, a NYC-based ecommerce technology startup, raised $1.6M in a pre-seed funding. The round was led by Animal Capital, with participation from Visionary Ventures, Ben Jabbawy, Kyle Hency, Aaron Spivak, Pierson Krass and others.

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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

Garnett Station Partners, a New York-based principal investment firm, closed GSP 5.0 Fund, L.P., with total committed capital of $1.2 Billion. With Fund 5, GSP will continue to execute its focused investment strategy, partnering with founders and management teams to scale businesses across its core sectors of consumer and business services, health & wellness, automotive and food & beverage.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

Saudi Arabia's futuristic city turns into a financial disaster:

• The Neom project, a futuristic city in Saudi Arabia, is facing significant financial challenges, with an internal audit revealing a potential total cost of $8.8 trillion over 55 years.

• Saudi Arabia has already invested $50 billion into the development, but the project is plagued by delays, cost overruns, and logistical issues such as insufficient labor and inadequate infrastructure.

• Despite the setbacks, consulting firm McKinsey & Company is reportedly benefiting financially, earning over $130 million annually for its involvement in planning and financial validation.

Whistleblower claims Facebook once built a censorship tool for Chinese government:

• Whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams filed a complaint with the SEC alleging Facebook developed a censorship tool to enter China, despite being blocked there since 2009.

• Wynn-Williams, a former global policy director at Facebook, claimed the company created "Project Aldrin" in 2014 to comply with Chinese laws and discussed content moderation with local firms.

• Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed past interest in China, but stated efforts were abandoned in 2019, while Mark Zuckerberg now emphasizes "free expression" on Meta platforms.

Microsoft explores 3D gaming for Copilot AI chatbot:

• Microsoft is hiring a senior software engineer in Beijing to develop 3D gaming experiences for Copilot, focusing on web-based game engines like Babylon.js, three.js, and Unity.

• The company recently showcased Muse, an AI model trained on Bleeding Edge, capable of rendering AI-generated interactive gameplay for Copilot users.

• Microsoft has also integrated Copilot into games like Minecraft and is testing animated, character-based interactions to enhance engagement.

OpenAI strikes $11.9b cloud deal with Coreweave:

• OpenAI signed a five-year, $11.9 billion cloud deal with CoreWeave, securing critical GPU resources while receiving $350 million in equity as part of the agreement.

• The deal strengthens CoreWeave’s market position ahead of its IPO while reducing reliance on Microsoft, which previously accounted for 62% of CoreWeave’s revenue.

• This move escalates OpenAI’s growing independence from Microsoft, as both companies continue developing competing AI models and cloud infrastructure.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

Trump says 4 groups in talks to buy TikTok:

• TikTok faces ongoing uncertainty in the U.S. as President Trump extended the ban deadline by 75 days, allowing time for potential deals or negotiations.

• Multiple investor groups, including Frank McCourt’s The People’s Bid and Jesse Tinsley’s American Investor Consortium, are competing to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, with offers reaching up to $60 billion.

• Other interested buyers include Oracle, Walmart, Microsoft, Perplexity AI, and former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, with discussions still ongoing.

HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES

💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities

• Principal - Identity Venture | Germany - Apply Here

• Analyst - MongoDB Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Principal Associate - Stride Venture | India - Apply Here

• Summer Venture Capital Associate - Acumen | USA - Apply Here

• 25m Health Analyst - Madison | USA - Apply Here

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

• Content Manager - Bessemer Venture Partner | USA -Apply Here

• Investor Relations Manager - Faad Capital | India - Apply Here

• Analyst - Yali Capital | India - 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.

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