Delve, a Y Combinator-backed compliance startup accused of fabricating certifications for its customers, has disabled the “book a demo” feature on its website. The controversy, detailed last week in a Substack post by an anonymous whistleblower known as "DeepDelver," has also apparently led Insight Partners to scrub an article explaining its $32 million investment in the startup. TechCrunch has the story here.

An exploit kit known as DarkSword that can hack iPhones running older iOS versions has been publicly leaked on GitHub, making it trivial for attackers to deploy spyware capable of extracting messages, contacts, and other sensitive data from hundreds of millions of unpatched devices. TechCrunch has more here.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators plans to introduce a bill banning CFTC-regulated prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket from offering sports and casino-style contracts, escalating a broader fight over whether the platforms are federally regulated derivatives or state-controlled gambling. TechCrunch has more here.

OpenAI is offering private equity firms a 17.5% return via a joint venture structure and early model access if they deploy customized AI tools across their portfolio companies, as it competes with Anthropic for enterprise distribution ahead of a potential IPO. Reuters has more here.

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By Connie Loizos

Emil Michael, who serves as a senior technology official at the Department of Defense, is back in the spotlight over the government’s ongoing battle with Anthropic, and a newly released podcast interview offers one of the most detailed looks yet into his thinking on that dispute — as well as an unguarded settling of old scores from his Uber days.

The interview, released Monday and conducted last month by Joubin Mirzadegan, a partner at Kleiner Perkins who leads the venture firm’s portfolio operating team, covered a range of topics including policy and personal history — and was recorded before the DoD’s feud with Anthropic had fully come to a head. But it is Michael’s remarks about his departure from Uber — and his barely concealed bitterness about it — that grabbed our attention first.

When Mirzadegan asked him point-blank whether he had been shown the door alongside Travis Kalanick, Michael answered with a single word: “Effectively.”

Michael resigned eight days before Kalanick did, as part of the fallout from a workplace investigation triggered by allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the company. He was not named in those allegations, but the inquiry — led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder — concluded he should be removed. Kalanick followed, pushed out in what The New York Times described as a shareholder revolt by some of the company’s most prominent investors, including Benchmark.

When Mirzadegan asked whether he was still “salty” about it, Michael didn’t equivocate. “I’ll never forget that, nor forgive,” he said.

The ouster grates on both Michael and Kalanick not only because of the personal damage to their reputations but because they believed — and still believe — that autonomous driving was Uber’s future, and that the investors who forced them out killed it.

During the interview, Michael argued the decision was driven by a desire to protect near-term returns rather than build something lasting.

Dash0, a three-year-old New York startup that provides observability software to monitor systems and detect performance issues, raised a $110 million round at a $1 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Balderton Capital, with DTCP and prior backers Accel, Cherry Ventures, and Dig Ventures also investing. Bloomberg has more here.

Gimlet Labs, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that runs AI inference workloads across multiple types of chips simultaneously, raised an $80 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures, with Eclipse Ventures, Prosperity7, and Triatomic as well as previous investor Factory also engaging. The company has raised a total of $92 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Halter, a 10-year-old Auckland company that produces AI-powered collars that create virtual fences and monitor cattle location and health through a mobile app, is reportedly in the process of raising an undisclosed amount at a $2 billion valuation, with Founders Fund as the purported lead. Bloomberg has more here.

Kandou AI, a 15-year-old Swiss company that makes connectivity chips to link GPUs in AI data centers, raised a $225 million round. Investors included Maverick Silicon, SoftBank Group, Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, and Alchip. Bloomberg has more here.

Zipline, a 12-year-old South San Francisco company that operates autonomous drone delivery systems for the on-demand delivery of medical supplies, food, and retail items, raised a $200 million Series H round at a $7.6 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Fidelity, with Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Tiger Global, and Paradigm also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.

Avtal, a four-year-old Austin startup that has built a white-labeled platform that collection agencies use to communicate with consumers and collect payments through text, email, and the web, raised a $24 million Series A round led by S3 Ventures, with NJP Ventures also participating. Built in Austin has more here.

Doctronic, a two-year-old New York startup that enables consumers to receive medical guidance and connect with licensed physicians through an AI-powered consultation platform, raised a $40 million Series B round co-led by Abstract and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with previous investors Seven Stars, Union Square Ventures, Tusk Ventures, and Mantis also taking part. The company has raised a total of $65 million. MobiHealthNews has more here.

Lace, a three-year-old Norwegian startup that uses helium atom beam lithography to enable smaller chip designs, raised a $40 million Series A round led by Atomico, with M12, Linse Capital, the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation, and Nysnø also participating. Reuters has more here.

Littlebird, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that captures on-screen activity as text to let users search and query their digital activity, raised an $11 million seed round led by Lotus Studio and including Lenny Rachitsky, Scott Belsky, Gokul Rajaram, Justin Rosenstein, Shawn Wang, and Russ Heddleston. TechCrunch has more here.

Swish, an 18-month-old Bengaluru startup that operates a network of kitchens and delivery infrastructure for rapid food delivery, raised a $38 million Series B round at a $139 million post-money valuation. The deal was co-led by Hara Global and Bain Capital Ventures, with Accel, Stride Ventures, and Alteria Capital also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $54 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Egide, a one-year-old French startup that is developing interceptor drones designed to destroy hostile unmanned aerial vehicles, raised a $9.3 million seed round co-led by Expeditions, Eurazeo, and Heartcore Capital, with additional support from Galion.exe and Kima Ventures. The Next Web has more here.

Ezra, a one-year-old San Francisco startup whose voice AI interviewing platform enables recruiting teams to screen candidates through structured voice conversations, raised a $3.2 million seed round co-led by Penny Jar Capital and LMNT Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz and Telegraph Hill Capital also contributing. More here.

HappyPay, a five-year-old Cape Town startup that offers buy now, pay later services that let consumers split purchases into interest-free installments at checkout, raised a $5 million seed round led by Partech, with Futuregrowth Asset Management, The University Technology Fund, and Summit.Deals as well as previous investors 4Di Capital, E4EAfrica, Equitable Ventures, Launch Africa Ventures, Enso Equity, and Felix Strategic Investments also piling on. More here.

Newly, a three-year-old Stockholm startup that enables users to build and launch native iOS and Android apps without code using an AI-driven platform, raised a $2 million round. PSV Tech was the deal lead, with Karaoke Club, Wave Ventures, Inception Fund, Foundry Ventures, and Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company also investing. More here.

Novaworks, a one-year-old startup based in Los Altos, CA, that aims to embed AI into HR workflows to help companies coordinate and manage employees, contractors, and agents across enterprise systems, raised an $8 million seed round led by Stalwart Ventures, with ServiceNow Ventures and Bell Ventures also opting in. More here.

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5c(c) Capital, a new venture firm founded by two early Kalshi employees that plans to invest in prediction market startups, is raising up to $35 million with backing from investors including Tarek Mansour, Shayne Coplan, Marc Andreessen, Micky Malka, and Kyle Samani. Fortune has more here.

360 Capital, a 28-year-old Paris- and Milan-based VC firm that invests in early-stage deeptech, climate tech, and digital startups, completed a first close of €85 million of a planned €100 million fund targeting early-stage deeptech companies. Tech.eu has more here.

Meta has hired the founders and team behind AI startup Dreamer to work on AI agents within its Superintelligence Labs. (One of those founders is Hugo Barra, who previously worked at Meta.) The deal excludes Dreamer’s technology, and the future of Dreamer, which raised $56 million at a $500 million valuation in 2024, is unclear. Bloomberg has more here.

In a podcast interview with Lex Fridman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claims we’ve already achieved AGI. Other topics include AI scaling laws, OpenClaw, the evolution of coding, China’s AI ecosystem, and data centers in space. More here.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is developing a personal AI agent to help with his work as CEO as the company pushes broader use of AI tools internally to speed decision-making, reduce layers, and reshape roles across its workforce. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Leonid Radvinsky, the 43-year-old billionaire owner of OnlyFans who turned the company into a multibillion-dollar creator platform after acquiring it in 2018, has died following a battle with cancer. TechCrunch has more here.

Bloomberg profiles Apple hardware chief John Ternus as Tim Cook’s likeliest successor, highlighting his expanding control over hardware, software, and new product areas even as questions persist about whether his steady, engineering-driven approach is bold enough to lead Apple through its next phase, particularly in AI. More here.

Senator Bernie Sanders released a video meant to expose AI privacy risks, but the chatbot largely echoed his framing, illustrating how AI systems can mirror users’ assumptions rather than challenge them. TechCrunch has more here.

The “Polyagentmorous ClawFather” is not going to reimburse you for your crummy AI agents.

In yet another example of incestuous AI dealmaking, the Sam Altman-backed fusion startup Helion is in early talks to supply OpenAI with as much as 12.5% of its total output, with Altman stepping down as Helion’s board chair. TechCrunch has more here.

Veteran podcasters are increasingly shutting down or pivoting as the industry tilts toward celebrity hosts, video formats, and a winner-take-most ad market that leaves many long-running shows struggling to sustain revenue despite sizable audiences. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Samsung is drawing consumer backlash after it began inserting banner ads and occasionally full-screen promotions into its smart fridge displays. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Americans have become obsessed with the French talk show Quotidien, which features a distinctive lighting setup — soft, diffused, and 360-degree — so flattering that the lighting has become the show’s real draw.

This San Francisco bakery has lines so long that it has had to hire a “line coordinator.”

Grown men who play with toy cars.

A turn-of-the-century Georgetown townhouse has hit the market for $15 million after a renovation transformed it into a 7,200-square-foot compound with a courtyard, guesthouse, lap pool, outdoor kitchen, private primary suite wing, home theater, and gym.

An electric motorbike that won’t fall down.

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