TECH IN THE NEWS

Droning On — NJ State Senator, Collin Rugg suggests the federal gov. is covering up something so massive involving the drones that they fear of all-out panic. A radar operator claims they are part of setting up a Space Force military big public “show”.

No Filters — Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks have been speaking critically about big tech AI model censorship to conform with political views.

RI Cyberattack — Personal data of Rhode Island residents has been breached in a large cyber attack, with a perpetrator requesting a ransom, likely an international cybercriminal group.

Picking Sides — Meta is urging California’s AG to block OpenAI’s planned for-profit conversion , siding with Elon Musk in the Silicon Valley AI battle.

Grok-2 Free — xAI’s new version of Grok-2 will be available for free to all users of the social media platform X. Premium users will get higher usage limits and first access to any future capability upgrades.

Kona Village: Luxury Meets Ancestral Wisdom

In this age of constant connectivity, true escape has become a rare luxury. Enter Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort – a transformative destination redefining hospitality by offering more than just accommodation. Our team recorded a video while visiting Kona Village to explore this unique experience in Hawaiian culture, sustainability, and personal reconnection.

DEALS WE’RE WATCHING
Closed Deals:

MASSIVE DEALS

xAI — Elon Musk’s SF-based AI startup officially closed its round at $6B at a $50B valuation, backed by Valor Equity, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, and Qatar Investment Authority. Its total raised is now $12B.

Crusoe Energy — The clean energy AI data center startup raised a $600M Series D at a $2.8B valuation, led by Founders Fund with Nvidia, Fidelity, Mubadala, and Valor Equity participating.

Archer Aviation — The eVTOL startup raised $430M to fund a new defense unit and is partnering with Anduril to build hybrid aircraft for defense applications.

One — Walmart’s fintech spinout raised $300M at $2.5B valuation, co-led by Walmart and Ribbit Capital. It will offer installment loans and payment services.

Liquid AI — The Boston-based startup raised a $250M Series A led by AMD for its efficient "Liquid Foundation Models" development.

Zest AI — The Burbank-based credit assessment AI software company raised $200M from previous investor Insight Partners.

Ayar Labs — The San Jose, CA, optical interconnect chip maker raised a $155M Series D at $1B+ valuation, co-led by Advent Global and Light Street Capital.

Capstan Medical — The robotic heart valve replacement startup raised a $110M Series C led by Eclipse, with Gideon Strategic Partners participating.

LARGE DEALS

Speak — The San Francisco-based AI language learning app raised a $78M Series C at $1B valuation led by Accel, with OpenAI Startup Fund and Khosla participating.

Gigs — The San Francisco-based “MVNO” global connectivity layer startup raised a $73M Series B led by Ribbit, with Gradient, YC, and SpeedInvest participating.

Tasca Therapeutics — The Boston-based cancer drug startup raised a $52M Series A co-led by Regeneron Ventures and Cure Ventures.

Twelve Labs — The San Francisco-based AI video analysis startup raised a $30M from investors including Databricks and Snowflake Ventures.

Current — The NYC-based mobile banking startup raised $30M from previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, Wellington, and Avenir, and secured $175M debt.

Jiko — The San Francisco-based Treasury bill investment platform raised a $29M Series C led by Upfront Ventures with participation from Airbus Ventures.

Atlas Card — The San Francisco-based luxury charge card startup raised a $27M Series B led by Marathon, with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt participating.

SMALLER DEALS

Vapi — SF-based voice AI agent platform raised $20M at $130M valuation from Bessemer, YC and Abstract, AI Grant, Saga Ventures and Michael Ovitz.

Aampe — A SF-based personalized AI agent deployment platform raised an $18M Series A led by Theory Ventures with Z47 pitching in, its total is now $27.3M.

RapidCanvas — An Austin-based no-code AI app development platform raised $16M led by Peak XV, with Titanium, Accel and Valley Capital.

Exabits — San Mateo-based GPU tokenization platform raised a $15M seed at $150M valuation led by Hack VC with previous investor Portal Ventures re-upping.

Lumen Orbit — The Redmond-based space-based AI data centers startup raised an $11M seed at a $40M valuation led by NFX and joined by Fuse.VC, Soma, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia.

Lava — NY-based Bitcoin-backed self-custody lending platform raised a $10M Series A co-led by Khosla and Founders Fund.

Maisa — The SF/Spain-based autonomous AI task management startup raised $5M pre-seed co-led by NFX and Village Global.

Finny — NY-based financial advisor lead generation platform raised a $4.3M seed co-led by Maple VC and HNVR with Crossbeam, Liquid 2, and YC also stepping up.

Exit Watch:

ServiceTitan — The trade business software company's shares surged 42% on its IPO debut, reaching a $9B valuation; Iconiq Growth's stake is now worth $1.5B.

Interpublic — Ad giant Omnicom to acquire its key rival in a $13.25B all-stock deal, creating the world's largest ad agency to better compete with Big Tech in AI era.

MoneyLion — Gen Digital is to acquire the fintech firm for $1B ($82/share plus contingent rights), integrating credit building and financial management into its identity solutions.

Joby Aviation — The eVTOL maker launched a $300M public offering ahead of its 2025 commercial launch, following a recent $222M raise and a $500M Toyota investment.

Nikola — Despite a record production year, the EV truck maker plans a $100M stock sale to raise cash for operations.

eToro — The crypto trading app hired Goldman Sachs for its potential Q2 2025 IPO following a $3.5B valuation in 2023. It is currently restricted to BTC, BCH and ETH in the US after a $1.5M SEC settlement but that may change under Trump.

Companies to Watch:

Databricks — The SF-based data platform is raising $9.5B at a $60B valuation led by Thrive Capital, with a16z, Insight, and GIC participating.

NeuBird — The San Mateo IT reliability AI startup raised a $22.5M seed extension led by Microsoft's M12 with participation from Mayfield, Stepstone, and Prosperity7. It has major customers ranging from large car manufacturing companies, financial institutions, pharmaceuticals, and even startups.

CoreWeave — The NJ-based $23B-valued data center company confidentially filed for an April IPO with Morgan Stanley, Goldman, and JPMorgan; it expects $2B revenue this year.

SpaceX — Plans an employee tender offer at a $350B valuation, doubling in a year; Morgan Stanley projects $100B revenue by 2035, up from $13B in 2024.

The Funding Buzz

Beam Ventures — A newly launched Abu Dhabi VC firm, has raised a $150M venture fund focused exclusively on gaming startups, including AI, XR and blockchain gaming.

Topology Ventures — Google alum Gary Caruso’s new San Fran VC firm raised a $75M debut fund for frontier tech with backing from Cendana, Andreessen, OpenAI cofounder & Paris Hilton.

G2 Venture Partners — The California VC Climate and sustainability focused VC that spun out of Kleiner Perkins is raising a $750M third fund.