7/25/23

∆ Tech in the News

New Crunchbase Stats Show +80% decline in startup creating in the last three years - Investors are more risk averse and looking to fund growth-stage companies. However, this presents a huge opportunity to new and existing entrepreneurs that can whether the storm and address a market need.

Worldcoin Leaps to $350M Market Cap - Sam Altman's new AI crypto token project, backed by $125M in VC funding (including SBF), shows promise after facing early backlash over its use of biometrics to onboard users to the network.

Elon Makes Twitter Name Change to “X” Official - The vision continues to unfold after the launch of xAI last week. Musk’s ambition is emerging as transforming Twitter into an AI-powered "everything app” like China’s WeChat.

New York Times and Others Forming a Coalition Against Top AI Firms - Major news publishers are forming a coalition to sue major AI companies for Billions, citing copyright infringement over model training methods, which could lead to the circumvention of publishing services altogether.

Mastercard's Blockchain Solution to Scalping - Mastercard has filed a patent for a blockchain system designed to curb ticket scalping. It utilizes a ledger to record transactions to assign a "suspicion score" and halt transfers.

˚The hottest thing in tech this week

Will AirPods soon be able to read your mind? Apple files patent for brain analyzing device.

Apple has filed a patent to integrate electrodes into AirPods to enable EEG brain activity monitoring for applications like sleep tracking, stress response, and neurofeedback therapy. This bidirectional brain-computer integration will enable transformative applications from adaptive augmented realities to intuitive device control.

This technology could enable Apple products like augmented reality glasses to react to users' cognitive states for customized experiences.

We expect to see a spread of similar brain-sensing wearables amid surging interest in neurotech and ambient computing as companies push to advance human-AI symbiosis through products we already use daily.

Deals We’re Watching

Founders to Watch and Opportunities to Catch

Closed Deals:

1. Tracking Bias for Public Benefit - Ad Fontes Media, a Colorado-based startup that tracks media biases, has raised $4.2 million in a Series A funding round ahead of the presidential election.

2. Dutch Neobank Eyes the US Market - After raising $111M from current investors, Bunq aims to target European expats living in the US.

3. Learning from Theranos’ Failures? - Vital Biosciences has raised $48 million led by Sam Altman, 8VC, and Laboratory Corp. of America to perform 50 lab-grade tests on a few drops of blood in 20 minutes.

4. A Coach for Everyone - Quench.ai raised $5m in pre-seed to match users to suitable videos for upskilling in a round led by Firstminute, Plug and Play, Notion Capital, Antler, and more.

Companies on the rise:

1. Crescendo Biologics announces the expansion of its CB307 Phase 1b trial in PSMA+ solid tumors after a successful venture round.

2. Former SpaceX employee looks to develop a line of spacecraft for last-mile payload delivery to power a mission to Mars with Relativity Space by 2026.

3. $98M AI-focused SBIR contract awarded to AIS by the Air Force Research Laboratory for researching techniques to enhance the effectiveness and autonomy of cyber capabilities.

4. Australia-based Quantum Computing company on track to commercial-ready products in 3-5 years after a successful Series A.

5. Another $250 million in funding is headed for seed-stage AI startups by Mayfield. This follows an announcement of $600M raised by Wing VC towards their AI-first thesis earlier this month.

That's a wrap, folks! It's been a whirlwind of tech news and fresh funding rounds to start the week. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

And remember that today's challenges are tomorrow's opportunities, especially in the fast-evolving world of tech.

The Tech Buzz Team