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Top NewsA federal judge slammed Apple for “willfully” violating a 2021 antitrust injunction and referred the company for possible criminal contempt, citing CEO Tim Cook’s decision to prioritize revenue over compliance. “Cook chose poorly,” wrote Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The injunction required Apple to allow app developers to direct users to alternative payment methods outside the App Store, bypassing Apple’s in-app purchase fees. The Wall Street Journal has more here. In testimony today in the remedies phase of United States v. Google LLC, Google CEO Sundar Pichai argued that the Justice Department’s proposal to break up Google by selling Chrome and forcing the company to share search data with rivals would stifle innovation and undermine decades of R&D. The New York Times has more here. Microsoft president Brad Smith said his company would sue the U.S. government if it tries to cut off cloud services to Europe, aiming to reassure EU leaders worried about tech being used as geopolitical leverage. The Financial Times has more here. According to the WSJ, Tesla's board of directors quietly kicked off a search for a successor to Elon Musk a month ago because DOGE was taking so much of Musk's time. TechCrunch has more here. |
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Sam Altman’s World Unveils a Mobile Verification Device
By Maxwell Zeff Tools for Humanity, the startup behind the World human verification project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, unveiled Wednesday a mobile device designed to help people determine the difference between a human and an AI agent. World, a web3 project started by Altman and Alex Blania that was formerly known as Worldcoin, is based on the idea that it will eventually be impossible to distinguish humans from AI agents on the internet. To address this, World wants to create digital “proof of human” tools; these announcements are part of its effort to get millions of people to sign up. After scanning your eyeball with one of its silver metal Orbs — or now, one of its Orb Minis — World will give you a unique identifier on the blockchain to verify that you’re a human. The Orb Mini, a reference to the company’s larger Orb devices, has the familiar shape of a smartphone and is designed to be portable, a Tools for Humanity spokesperson told TechCrunch in a briefing. Thomas Meyerhoff, a former Apple designer, helped design the Orb Mini, according to people familiar with the new product. The main purpose of the Orb Mini is to verify more people, not necessarily to use apps, make calls, or send texts. However, the spokesperson said it’s unclear what the device’s ultimate functionality would be. After the event, Blania told TechCrunch it aims to eventually turn the Orb Mini into a mobile point-of-sale device . . . |
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Massive FundingsCanopy, an eleven-year-old Salt Lake City company that develops cloud-based accounting practice management software, raised a $70 million Series C round led by Viking Global Investors, with previous investors Ten Coves Capital, Ankona Capital, Pelion Venture Partners, and Tenaya Capital also chipping in. More here. Cast AI, a six-year-old North Miami Beach startup that automates Kubernetes cost optimization and cloud infrastructure management for enterprises, raised a $108 million Series C round at a post-money valuation "close to $900 million," according to TechCrunch. The deal was co-led by G2 Venture Partners and SoftBank, with Aglaé Ventures, Cota Capital, Hedosophia, Creandum, and Vintage Investment Partners also opting in. TechCrunch has more here. Persona, a seven-year-old San Francisco startup that provides identity verification and fraud prevention tools to companies across fintech, healthcare, and marketplaces, raised a $200 million Series D round at a $2 billion post-money valuation. Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital were the co-leads, with previous investors Bond, Coatue, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures also buying in. PYMNTS has more here. Rogo, a four-year-old New York startup that develops AI-powered tools to automate the work of junior investment bankers, such as building financial models, pitch decks, and valuation analyses, raised a $50 million Series A round led by Thrive Capital, with J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners, Tiger Global, and Positive Sum Ventures as well as previous investors Khosla Ventures, BoxGroup, and AlleyCorp also weighing in. The company has raised a total of $75 million. PYMNTS has more here. Supio, a four-year-old Seattle startup that builds AI tools for personal injury and mass tort law firms to automate case intake and client interaction, raised a $60 million Series B round led by Sapphire Ventures, with Mayfield and Thomson Reuters Ventures also investing. TechCrunch has more here. |
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Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big FundingsChipiron, a five-year-old Paris startup that develops low-cost MRI systems to make diagnostic imaging more affordable and accessible, raised a $17 million Series A round led by Blast, with EIC Fund, iXcore, France2030, EIC Accelerator, and Bpifrance also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $22+ million. MassDevice has more here. ChiroHD, an eight-year-old startup based in Marietta, GA, that offers practice management software for chiropractic clinics, raised a $26 million round led by Mainsail Partners. More here. Emmi AI, a one-year-old startup based in Linz, Austria, that builds industrial simulation software to model engineering systems using AI-driven physics and data integration, raised a $17.1 million seed round. Investors included 3VC, Speedinvest, and Serena. Startup Rise has more here. Field Materials, a three-year-old startup based in Charlotte, NC, that provides a procurement platform for construction materials and equipment aimed at helping contractors manage orders and pricing, raised a $10.5 million Series A round led by Navitas Capital, with Blumberg Capital, DivcoWest Ventures, S16vc, and Superseed Ventures also investing. The company has raised a total of approximately $19 million. PYMNTS has more here. Growers Edge, an eight-year-old startup based in Johnston, IA, that provides financial products and data tools to help agricultural retailers and manufacturers manage risk and boost profitability, raised a $25 million round co-led by S2G Investments, Cibus Capital, and Lowercarbon Capital, with Otter Creek and iSelect also stepping up. AFN has more here. Hoofprint Biome, a two-year-old startup based in Raleigh, NC, that engineers gut microbes to reduce methane emissions in cattle and improve sustainability in agriculture, raised a $15 million Series A round led by SOSV, with Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Breakthrough Energy Fellows, and Alexandria Venture Investments as well as previous investors AgriZeroNZ, Twynam, Good Growth Capital, and Ponderosa Ventures also taking stakes. TechCrunch has more here. Kintsugi, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that automates sales tax compliance for businesses by integrating with platforms like Shopify, Stripe, and QuickBooks to calculate, file, and remit taxes across multiple jurisdictions, raised an $18 million round at approximately a $150 million post-money valuation, almost double the valuation it commanded in November. The deal was led by Vertex. TechCrunch has more here. Near Space Labs, an eight-year-old Brooklyn startup that offers high-resolution imagery of Earth from the stratosphere for government, climate, and infrastructure monitoring applications, raised a $20 million Series B round led by Bold Capital Partners, with USAA, Climate Capital, Gaingels, and River Park Ventures also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $40+ million. TechCrunch has more here. Nuvo, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that enables companies to create verified profiles sharing critical information such as licenses, creditworthiness, banking details, and trade history with potential partners, raised a $34 million Series A round from Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. It also disclosed that it raised an $11 million seed round co-led by Founders Fund and Index Ventures, with additional participation from Foundation Capital, Human Capital, and Susa Ventures. TechCrunch has more here. Zoe, a seven-year-old New York startup that provides a wealth management platform connecting registered investment advisors (RIAs) with high-net-worth clients, raised a $29.6 million Series B round led by Sageview Capital, with CAPTRUST, Creative Planning, and Mariner Wealth Advisors also buying in. More here. |
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Smaller FundingsFaye, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that offers AI-powered financial planning and estate advisory tools for families and connects them with licensed financial advisors as needed, raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round. Unusual Ventures was the deal lead. More here. Queens Carbon, a three-year-old startup based in Pine Brook, NJ, that is developing climate-friendly cement technology to decarbonize construction, raised a $10 million seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures, with Plug and Play, Clean Energy Venture Group, and Buzzi Unicem USA also investing. More here. Replenysh, a nine-year-old Los Angeles startup that provides a recycling logistics platform for brands and communities to collect, track, and reuse materials, raised an $8 million Series A round led by M13, with Incite and previous investors Kindred Ventures and Floodgate Fund also chiming in. Waste Dive has more here. Telgea, a one-year-old Stockholm startup that builds mobile operations management software for industrial field teams to track tasks and compliance in real-time, raised a $2.7 million round. Amigo Ventures, Antler, Motivate Ventures, and the Stockholm School of Economics invested in the deal. EU-Startups has more here. Trek Health, a three-year-old startup based in San Mateo, CA, that automates insurance billing and reimbursement workflows for mental health providers, raised an $11 million Series A round led by Madrona with participation from Accrete Health Partners, LifeX Ventures, Correlation Ventures, SNR Ventures, and Founder Collective. More here. |
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New FundsA group of Harvard MBA students launched Twenty25 Ventures, a $1 million fund that will automatically invest in startups founded by their classmates who raise at least $500,000 and secure outside backing. "If a founder in our class is able to do that, they will get a check," said co-founder Insoo Chang. The Harvard Crimson has more here. |
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ExitsAccording to a report from Bloomberg, Ripple, the San Francisco-based cross-border payment company using XRP cryptocurrency, offered somewhere between $4 billion to $5 billion to acquire Circle, the USD stablecoin issuer. Circle rejected the offer. Decrypt has more here. |
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PeopleIn a long (!) podcast interview with Dwarkesh Patel, Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims AI already writes better code than "the average very good person on the team" and embraces the idea that people will form therapeutic and possibly romantic relationships with AI. More here. In a recent Andreessen Horowitz podcast, a16z co-founder Mark Andreessen said he doesn't think AI will be able to replace the "intangible" skills of a venture capitalist. "So, it is possible—I don’t want to be definitive," he qualified, "but it’s possible that that is quite literally timeless. And when, you know, when the AI is doing everything else, that may be one of the last remaining fields that people are still doing.” Gizmodo has more here. |
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Essential Reads
Duolingo announced that it has launched 148 new language courses built with generative AI—nearly matching the total it created in its first 12 years—just days after revealing plans to replace some contractors with AI. CEO Luis von Ahn framed the shift as a major acceleration in course development, although the company's turn towards AI has sparked concerns about job displacement and content quality. TechCrunch has more here. Yesterday, Meta quietly updated its policies to allow user data from its smart glasses to train its AI, sparking backlash after some wearers discovered their clips were being uploaded by default. A new firmware update adds clearer opt-in prompts, but critics say it’s the latest example of surveillance baked into wearable tech. TechCrunch has more here. A Wall Street Journal reporter tested wearables like Bee and Limitless that record everything you say and use AI to generate summaries, reminders, and to-do lists. More here. |
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DetoursA federal judge rejected a lawsuit filed by a lawyer who featured a dragon cartoon as his firm's logo on every page of the filing. Scenes from the fifth annual European Gull Scream Championship. The 50 best bars in North America. |
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Retail TherapyX-Files actor and former Yale Ph.D. student David Duchovny has put his Point Dume manse on the market for $12.5 million. Set on an acre of land, it boasts a gym, a pool, deeded access to a secluded beach, as well as a vintage train caboose that serves as a guesthouse. |
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