From TechCrunch · 40 stories
Databricks Acquires Spreadsheet Startup Row Zero to Integrate BI, AI Agents, and Spreadsheets
Databricks acquired Row Zero, a cloud spreadsheet startup, to combine its AI agent capabilities with a familiar spreadsheet interface for data analysis. This acquisition aims to allow users to interact with secure enterprise data in a spreadsheet format without transferring it to less secure environments.
Lovable's Annualized Revenue Exceeds $600M, Up From $500M in June
Lovable, a vibe-coding platform, announced its annualized revenue run-rate has surpassed $600 million, an increase from $500 million reported in June. The company attributes this growth to its focus on enterprise clients, now including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies.
XREAL Aura Android XR glasses receive over 10,000 reservations, early-bird deal ends
XREAL announced that its Aura Android XR glasses have surpassed 10,000 reservations since June, indicating demand for the upcoming device. The early-bird reservation deal, which offered a $199 credit for a $99 deposit, has concluded, though $199 deposits are still available.
Amazon Introduces Kindle Click Bluetooth Remote and Page-Turn-Cover for E-readers
Amazon has launched new accessories for its Kindle e-readers, including the Kindle Click, a $34.99 Bluetooth remote for page turning, and the Page-Turn-Cover, a cover with physical buttons. The Kindle Click is compatible with all new Kindle devices and models from 2024 onwards, while the Page-Turn-Cover works with Signature Edition Kindles featuring pogo pins. These accessories provide alternative methods for navigating pages without touching the e-reader screen.
Amazon's Chief Sustainability Officer States Company Lacks Full Plan for 2040 Net-Zero Goal
Amazon's chief sustainability officer, Kara Hurst, admitted the company does not yet have a complete plan to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2040. This statement highlights the complexity of decarbonization for large corporations and raises questions about the feasibility of such ambitious environmental goals without clear roadmaps.
Enveda Raises $311M Series E at $2B Valuation for AI-Driven Drug Discovery
Enveda, an AI-driven biotech startup, secured $311 million in Series E funding, doubling its valuation to $2 billion. The company uses AI to discover new drugs from natural sources and is advancing several candidates into human clinical trials.
Zoox Grounds Atlanta Autonomous Vehicle Fleet After Worker Gas Exposure Reports
Zoox grounded its autonomous vehicle test fleet in Atlanta after workers reported symptoms consistent with toxic gas exposure, leading to an OSHA inquiry. This incident highlights safety challenges in the rapid expansion of autonomous vehicle testing, impacting worker well-being and operational continuity.
YouTube updates comments with GIFs and TV support, adds new creator monetization tools
YouTube announced updates to its comment section, including GIF support and commenting from TVs, alongside new features for creators to monetize content and manage fan communities. These changes aim to improve viewer interaction and provide creators with more tools beyond advertising revenue.
YouTube integrates AI-powered 'Ask YouTube' into shopping experience
YouTube is expanding its AI-powered 'Ask YouTube' conversational search feature to include shopping functionalities. This update allows users to receive product recommendations, comparison tables, and ask follow-up questions directly on video watch pages, leveraging a custom Gemini model.
YouTube introduces AI-powered custom feeds for personalized video recommendations
YouTube launched a new feature called custom feeds, allowing users to describe desired video content using natural language prompts to generate personalized recommendation feeds. This feature, powered by Google's Gemini AI, aims to help users navigate YouTube's extensive video library by creating interest-specific or mood-based feeds.
YouTube launches "Shorts Series" for episodic content on its short-form video platform
YouTube introduced "Shorts Series," allowing creators to organize their short-form videos into episodic seasons with custom thumbnails and continuous playback. This feature aims to keep viewers engaged on YouTube by providing a structured viewing experience for microdramas, competing with dedicated microdrama apps.
LinkedIn introduces new tools to combat fake profiles and work histories
LinkedIn launched new features allowing members to vouch for colleagues' experience and enabling companies to remove false employment claims. These updates address the increasing ease of creating fake online identities, aiming to enhance authenticity on the professional networking platform.
Ema Raises $77M in Series B Funding to Automate Enterprise Processes with AI Agents
Ema, a startup specializing in AI agents for corporate process automation across HR, IT, and finance, secured $77 million in Series B funding. This investment brings its total funding to $140 million and aims to expand its role in replacing traditional enterprise software and IT services.
Over 1,700 US Water Providers Exposed to Hacks via Stolen Employee Passwords
New research by SpyCloud reveals that 1,787 U.S. water and wastewater providers have had employee passwords and active logged-in sessions compromised by password-stealing malware. This exposure allows hackers to access operational networks and remote-access systems, posing a risk to critical infrastructure.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture Joins Lantern Child Safety Program, Commits $2M to NCMEC
TikTok's U.S. unit, TikTok USDS Joint Venture, joined Lantern, a cross-platform child safety initiative, to collaborate with other tech companies on identifying harmful content and behavior. The company also committed $2 million to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to modernize its CyberTipline.
Nexstrom raises $12M seed round to scale 2D semiconductor manufacturing for chip fabs
Singapore-based startup Nexstrom secured a $12 million seed funding round, bringing its total funding to $15 million. The company is developing equipment and processes to enable foundries to manufacture transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors directly on 300mm wafers, addressing challenges in scaling 2D materials for chip production.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures announces 21 startups in its sixth Fellows cohort
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) has selected 21 startups for its sixth Fellows program cohort, focusing on technologies to address future electricity demand increases. These startups span various sectors, including nuclear fusion, agriculture, robotics, and data center power efficiency, aiming to support the anticipated tripling of electricity demand due to global electrification efforts.
Morphotonics Raises €40M to Expand Nanoimprint Lithography into Data Centers
Morphotonics, a Dutch company specializing in nanoimprint lithography (NIL) for display manufacturing, has raised €40 million in funding. This investment will enable the company to scale production and enter the data center optical components market, in addition to its existing work on AR glasses displays.
Kairos Power Secures Up to $100M from Samsung C&T for Google Reactor Project
Kairos Power received an investment and engineering services worth up to $100 million from Samsung C&T to build a 50-megawatt demonstration reactor for Google. This collaboration aims to accelerate the development of nuclear power solutions to meet the increasing energy demands from AI data centers.
Former Accountant Launches Tabby AI Bookkeeping Platform for Small Businesses
Ahad Ali, a former accountant, launched Tabby, an AI-powered real-time bookkeeping interface for small businesses, aiming to automate bookkeeping tasks. Tabby uses AI to provide up-to-the-minute financial data, challenging traditional accounting software like QuickBooks.
California Law AB 1130 Penalizes Undisclosed Political Ads by Influencers
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1130, a new law that introduces fines and potential misdemeanor charges for online influencers who fail to disclose paid political content. This legislation strengthens existing disclosure requirements by adding enforcement mechanisms, addressing previous ambiguities in the law.
NHTSA and SAE Launch ASCEND Initiative to Develop AV Performance Standards
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and SAE International have partnered to launch ASCEND, a government-industry initiative focused on accelerating the development of data-driven performance standards for autonomous vehicles (AVs). This collaboration aims to establish federal leadership in AV competency standards, addressing the current lack of standardized testing for self-driving technology and the patchwork of state and local regulations.
Vals Raises $40 Million Series A to Develop New AI Benchmarking Standards
Vals, a startup founded in 2024, secured $40 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz to address limitations in current AI benchmarking systems. The company aims to provide more relevant and secure evaluations for modern AI models, moving beyond abstract intelligence tests to assess complex task completion.
India mandates caller-ID apps to share spam reports with telcos, Truecaller calls it anti-competitive
India's telecom regulator, TRAI, now requires caller-ID and call-management apps to share user-flagged spam reports with telecom operators via a blockchain-based platform. This change aims to broaden spam reporting for enforcement, but Truecaller, a major app in India, views the mandate as anti-competitive due to the transfer of commercially valuable data.
Angle Health Raises $200M Series C at $2.7B Valuation, Includes $400M Tender Offer
Angle Health, a health insurance startup, secured $200 million in Series C funding and a $400 million tender offer, valuing the company at $2.7 billion. This funding round and tender offer allow employees to cash out shares, impacting the company's financial structure and growth trajectory in the health insurance sector.
Manus seeks $500M funding at $4B valuation after Meta merger blocked by China
Chinese AI startup Manus is reportedly seeking to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, following the termination of its acquisition by Meta due to Chinese regulatory concerns. The company has resumed independent operations and is considering an IPO in Hong Kong, indicating its continued growth ambitions despite the failed merger.
Mazama Energy Raises $135M Series B for Super-Hot-Rock Geothermal Development
Geothermal startup Mazama Energy secured $135 million in Series B funding to develop horizontal wells in super-hot rocks, aiming to generate 15 megawatts of electricity per well. This funding will advance their enhanced geothermal technology, which targets deeper, hotter rock formations to produce significantly more power than traditional methods, potentially supporting large-scale energy demands like AI data centers.
Google DeepMind Launches Institute to Broaden AGI Safety and Policy Discussions
Google and Google DeepMind established the DeepMind Institute to foster diverse perspectives on artificial general intelligence (AGI) among researchers and the broader community. The institute aims to advance discussions on AGI's societal implications and safety, releasing initial essays on economic policies, model transparency, and evaluation frameworks. This initiative matters as it signals a structured effort from a major AI developer to engage with and shape the evolving debate around AGI governance and safety standards.
Pinterest launches 'Restyle' AI feature for home decor visualization in beta
Pinterest introduced "Restyle," a new AI-powered feature in beta for U.S. and Canadian users, allowing them to visualize home decor changes in their own spaces using photos. This feature integrates AI to help users move from inspiration to potential purchase by seeing items in their personal environments, potentially increasing sales for Pinterest.
Apple modifies App Tracking Transparency consent screens for EU apps after antitrust probe
Apple will allow EU app developers to use alternative App Tracking Transparency (ATT) consent screens with modified formatting and language. This change follows a multi-year antitrust probe by German regulators, who argued Apple's original ATT system favored its own apps by not requiring consent for its data collection.
Superhuman Acquires AI Notetaker Fathom to Integrate Meeting Context into Productivity Suite
Superhuman has acquired Fathom, an AI-powered meeting notetaker with over 400,000 monthly active users, to integrate meeting context and action items directly into its productivity platform. This acquisition allows Superhuman to expand into agentic AI work by proactively surfacing relevant information from meetings, rather than building a notetaker internally.
Y Combinator Demo Day features deep tech startups, including nuclear-powered data centers
Y Combinator's latest Demo Day showcased a cohort with a strong focus on deep tech, including companies like Atomarine, which is developing nuclear-powered floating data centers, and Dipole Labs, which is creating optical networking hardware for AI data centers. This batch featured more grounded valuations compared to previous cohorts, with several startups addressing complex technical challenges.
Fusion Power Startups Partner with Defense Sector for Funding and Laser Weapon Development
Fusion power startups are increasingly partnering with the defense industry as climate tech venture funding slows. This collaboration provides new funding sources for expensive fusion research and allows defense contractors to explore advanced laser technologies for weapons systems. Xcimer, a laser-based fusion startup, recently announced an investment and partnership with RTX, a defense conglomerate.
Mecka AI Nears $500M Valuation in Sequoia-Led Funding Round for Robot Training Data
Mecka AI, a startup specializing in collecting human motion data for training humanoid robots, is close to securing a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at approximately $500 million. This financing follows a $60 million round three months prior, indicating rapid investor interest in solutions addressing the data bottleneck for general-purpose robotics.
Khosla Ventures to Open First Office Outside Sand Hill Road in New York City
Khosla Ventures is opening a new office on 14th Street in New York City this fall, marking its first expansion beyond its Menlo Park, California headquarters. The new location will house investors and an "executive briefing center" to connect portfolio companies with Fortune 500 firms, aiming to facilitate customer acquisition and pilots.
Moonshot AI Targets $2 Billion Annual Revenue by Year-End
Moonshot AI, a Chinese AI lab, aims to achieve $2 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, doubling its August revenue run rate. This aggressive goal reflects the success of its K3 model, despite recent accusations of model distillation from Anthropic. The target indicates potential for revenue generation from open-weight AI models, even with lower margins compared to closed-weight competitors.
Roblox Expands AI Game Creation Tools and Cross-Platform Publishing
Roblox announced new features at its Developer Conference, including broader availability for its AI-powered "Build" game creation tool and the ability for developers to publish games as standalone apps outside the Roblox platform. These updates aim to simplify game development and extend the reach of Roblox-powered games to more platforms and players.
Nscale Appoints Former OpenAI Executive Fidji Simo to Board Ahead of Potential IPO
Nscale, a UK-based AI data center startup, has appointed Fidji Simo, former OpenAI and Instacart executive, to its board of directors. This appointment occurs as Nscale prepares for a potential IPO this fall, aiming to strengthen its leadership with experience in scaling large technology platforms.
Collaborative Fund Invests in D.C. United, Following Thrive Capital's Pro Sports Ownership Model
Collaborative Fund, a venture capital firm, has acquired a stake in the soccer club D.C. United and its stadium, Audi Field. This move follows Thrive Capital's recent entry into professional sports ownership, signaling a new trend of venture capital firms investing in sports franchises.
OpenAI Halts New Pro Subscriptions Due to Astra Model Demand
OpenAI has temporarily paused new subscriptions for its $200/month Pro plan, citing infrastructure strain caused by unprecedented demand for its new Astra model. This measure aims to maintain service quality for existing users while other plans, including API and lower-cost options, remain available.