Meta is weighing cuts of up to 30% to its metaverse division as investors push the company to redirect spending toward AI efforts. Bloomberg has more here.

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is negotiating a sweeping plan to build Trump-branded AI industrial parks on federal land using Japanese trade-deal money. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Harmonic 

Find, rank and analyze any startup. Automatically. 

Book a demo to check it out → 

By Sean O’Kane

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an X post on Thursday that owners can text and drive with the latest version of his company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance software, despite the fact that it’s illegal to do so in most states.

Musk replied to another user who had noticed the newest update to the software, known as FSD, was not flashing a warning as he used his phone while driving. The Tesla CEO wrote the update allows it “depending on context of surrounding traffic.”

Musk didn’t offer any details, and Tesla does not have a PR team that can provide more information. Musk didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Nearly all 50 states have banned texting while driving, and around half of states have made any handheld phone usage while driving illegal, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Despite Musk’s perpetual hype, FSD is still a driver-assistance system that does not make Tesla’s vehicles fully autonomous. Drivers initially needed to have their hands on the wheel even when FSD was engaged. That requirement was later removed and allowed drivers to have hands off as long as the in-cabin camera detected they were paying attention to the road.

FSD uses a mix of in-cabin camera and steering wheel sensors to monitor a driver’s attentiveness. And because FSD is just driver-assistance software, and not full autonomy, drivers need to be ready to take control of the vehicle if the system encounters a situation it cannot handle. This handover of control is often a major component of crashes that involve the use of driver-assistance systems.

Musk himself has in the past said that Autopilot, the driver-assistance system that comes standard in all Teslas, sometimes made drivers too complacent and confident. Regulators have found more than a dozen fatal crashes in which Autopilot was active.

7AI, a three-year-old Boston startup that builds AI agents for security operations, raised a $130 million Series A round at a $700 million post-money valuation. Index Ventures was the deal lead, with additional participation from Blackstone Innovations as well as previous investors Greylock Partners, CRV, and Spark Capital. The company has raised a total of $166 million. More here.

Antithesis, an eight-year-old startup based in Tysons Corner, VA, that runs deterministic simulations to validate software reliability, raised a $105 million Series A round led by Jane Street, with Amplify Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Tamarack Global, First In Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures, Hyperion Capital, and Patrick Collison as well as previous investor Spark Capital also taking part. CoinDesk has more here.

Brevo, a 14-year-old Paris company that provides CRM and marketing automation software, raised a $583 million round co-led by General Atlantic and Oakley Capital, with Bpifrance and Bridgepoint also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

Flex, a four-year-old Miami startup that provides financial tools for middle-market business owners, raised a $60 million Series B round. The round was led by Portage, with CrossLink Capital, Spice VC, Titanium Ventures, Wellington, Companyon Ventures, Florida Funders, and FirstLook Partners also investing. The company has raised a total of $105 million. Refresh Miami has more here.

Harvey, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that builds AI tools for legal professionals, confirmed earlier rumors it had raised $160 million Series F round at an $8 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with WndrCo, T. Rowe Price, Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, Conviction, and Elad Gil also joining in. TechCrunch has more here.

Paradigm Health, a three-year-old startup based in Columbus, OH, that supports clinical trial operations for healthcare providers, raised a $78 million Series B round led by ARCH Venture Partners, with DFJ Growth, F-Prime, General Catalyst, GV, Lux Capital, Mubadala Capital, and the American Cancer Society's BrightEdge Fund also contributing. More here.

Triana Biomedicines, a seven-year-old startup based in Lexington, MA, that develops molecular glue therapies, raised a $120 million Series B round co-led by Ascenta Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners, with YK Bioventures, Regeneron Ventures, Invus, and Finchley Healthcare Ventures as well as previous investors RA Capital Management, Atlas Venture, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pfizer Ventures, and Surveyor Capital also piling on. More here.

Aether Biomachines, a nine-year-old Menlo Park startup that designs AI-engineered proteins for industrial and environmental applications, raised a $15 million round led by Tribe Capital and including Natural Capital, Henkel Corporation, Resilience Reserve, Shrug Capital, 4DX Ventures, Unless Partners, and Radicle Impact. The company has raised a total of $64 million. Unite.AI has more here.

Circular Genomics, a five-year-old San Diego startup that develops circular RNA biomarkers for early Alzheimer’s detection, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Mountain Group Partners, with Poplar Grove Investors, HIP Fund, and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation also investing. More here.

Fact Base, a three-year-old Tokyo startup that provides drawing management software for manufacturers, raised a $28.5 million Series C round led by Insight Partners. More here.

imper.ai, a New York startup that aims to prevent AI-driven impersonation and social engineering attacks, raised a $28 million round co-led by Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures, with Maple VC, Vessy VC, and Cerca Partners also digging in. CTech has more here.

IMTC, an 11-year-old New York company that helps asset and wealth management firms manage fixed income assets for their clients, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Nyca Partners, with Tribeca ESP also stepping up. More here.

Iolyx Therapeutics, a seven-year-old startup based in Burlingame, CA, that develops therapeutics for ocular inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, raised a $15 million Series B round led by Frazier Life Sciences, with GC&H also chipping in. Fierce Biotech has more here.

Lumia, a New York startup founded this year that develops security and governance tools for autonomous AI agents, raised an $18 million seed round led by Team8, with New Era also participating. Tech Funding News has more here.

Micruity, a nine-year-old Toronto startup that provides data infrastructure for retirement-income products, raised a $20 million Series A round co-led by Rebalance Capital and Nationwide Ventures, with TIAA Ventures, State Street Investment Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Collab Capital, Reinsurance Group of America, and the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America as well as previous investors Western & Southern Financial Group, Prudential Financial, Pacific Life, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, and SixThirty Ventures also piling on. Reuters has more here.

Ostium, a four-year-old New York startup that develops a protocol for onchain perpetual swaps on global markets, raised a $20 million Series A round co-led by General Catalyst and Jump Crypto. The company has raised a total of $27.8 million. The Block has more here.

pH7 Technologies, a six-year-old Vancouver startup that develops metal-extraction technology for mining operators, raised a $25.6 million Series B round led by Fine Structure Ventures, with BHP Ventures, Energy & Environment Investment, Siteground, Gaingels Fund, and Calm Venture as well as previous investors TDK Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Rhapsody Venture Partners, and BASF Venture Capital also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $254 million. More here.

Phia, a two-year-old New York AI-powered startup that helps people find and compare products online (co-founders Phoebe Gates and climate activist Sophia Kianni spoke at Disrupt this fall), raised a $30 million round led by Notable Capital, with Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures also participating. Bloomberg has more here.

Pine, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup that builds an AI agent that completes digital tasks for consumers, raised a $25 million Series A round. Investors included Fortwest Capital. More here.

Vinci, a three-year-old Palo Alto startup that builds simulation software for chip designers, raised $46 million in seed and Series A funding. Xora Innovation led the Series A, and Eclipse led the seed, with Khosla Ventures also investing. SiliconANGLE has more here.

ZincFive, a 10-year-old company based in Tualatin, OR, that makes nickel-zinc battery systems for data center backup power, raised a $30 million Series F round. Investors included prior backers Helios Climate Ventures, Climate Investment (CI), Japan Energy Fund, General Ventures, and Clear Creek Investments. The company has raised a total of $254 million. More here.

Addis Energy, a one-year-old startup based in Cambridge, MA, that is working on developing a clean ammonia production technology, raised an $8.3 million seed round. The round was led by At One Ventures, with previous investors Engine Ventures and Pillar VC also participating. The company has raised a total of $17.3 million. More here.

Alinia, a three-year-old New York and Barcelona startup that develops compliance tools for AI agents in financial services, raised a $7.5 million seed round led by Mouro Capital, with Raise Ventures, Speedinvest, and Precursor Ventures also engaging. Tech Funding News has more here.

Autolane, a one-year-old Palo Alto startup that builds coordination tools for autonomous vehicle operations, raised a $7.4 million round co-led by Draper Associates and Hyperplane. TechCrunch has more here.

Curvestone AI, a London startup that automates regulated, document-heavy workflows, raised a $4 million seed round led by MTech Capital and including Boost Capital Partners, D2 Fund, and Portfolio Ventures. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Reditus Space, a two-year-old Atlanta startup that builds reusable spacecraft for microgravity research and in-space manufacturing, raised a $7.1 million seed round. Investors included Antler and Y Combinator. SpaceNews has more here.

Ridley, a Boulder startup founded this year that builds AI tools for home sellers and buyers, raised a $6.4 million seed round led by Fifth Wall, with 1984 Ventures, 1Sharpe Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Aglae Ventures, and Park Rangers Capital also anteing up. More here.

Spotlite, a nine-year-old Portuguese startup that uses satellite imagery to deliver predictive infrastructure monitoring insights, raised a $4.1 million seed round co-led by Índico Capital Partners and Explorer Investments. Startup Rise has more here.

Track Titan, a five-year-old London startup that provides AI coaching tools for sim racers and amateur drivers, raised a $5 million seed round co-led by Partech and Game Changers Ventures, with Sequel and APX also joining in. Tech Funding News has more here.

Private capital is facing its most complex market in over a decade. IPO windows are unpredictable, M&A selective, and valuations under pressure as LPs demand liquidity and fundraising tightens. According to Affinity’s 2026 Predictions Survey, 54% of investors cite proving fund value as their top challenge, while 67% expect more deals despite exit uncertainty. Join Northwestern Mutual, Armira, and Affinity on Dec 11 at 10AMPT/1PM ET to explore how firms are adapting strategies to thrive in 2026. 

Valkyrie, a new solo VC fund launched by former SV Angel partner Beth Turner, closed a $45 million vehicle in May to back around 80 early AI and critical-industry startups. Forbes has more here.

Moore Threads, a Beijing company known as “China’s Nvidia” for producing AI training and inference GPUs, surged over 400% in its $1.1 billion Shanghai debut. CNBC has more here.

Legendary mathematician Ken Ono’s move to join Axiom Math, a young startup using AI to push the boundaries of mathematical discovery, shows how quickly the field is drifting toward superintelligence. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Awkward! AI pioneer and recently departed Meta exec Yann LeCun’s move to launch a Paris-based startup without funding from Meta spotlights a growing rift between Silicon Valley’s fixation on generative AI and LeCun’s push for physical-world prediction models that could reshape robotics and embodied intelligence. Bloomberg has more here.

AI chatbots in two controlled studies moved about 4% of U.S. participants toward Trump or Harris by overwhelming them with targeted factual claims, underscoring how quickly political strategies could shift as campaigns adopt conversational AI. The Washington Post has more here.

A Polymarket trader who pocketed more than $1 million on eerily accurate Google-related bets is raising alarms that prediction markets may be drifting into a new era of insider trading risk just as big institutions start treating them as real financial signals. Forbes has more here.

Fortell, a New York hearing-aid startup using custom chips and AI to crack the cocktail-party problem, is quietly rolling out $6,800 devices through an invite-ish Park Avenue clinic. Wired has more here.

TBPN, an 11-month-old LA video podcast that has become a tech-industry staple, struck a deal giving it the same NYSE access enjoyed by financial networks like CNBC and Cheddar. Fast Company has more here.

Spotify’s new “listening age” feature has users joking about being decades older as streaming habits skew toward vintage music.

The best TV shows of 2025.

Teaching an octopus to play the piano …

Ressence’s new Type 3 Marc Newson, a $54,500 mechanical watch designed by the original Apple Watch designer, could very well be the ultimate anti-Apple Watch.

We had some bad information in yesterday’s newsletter about a startup called PermitFlow, a five-year-old New York startup that provides workflow and automation software to manage construction permitting. It turns out it raised a $54 million Series B round led by Accel, with Kleiner Perkins, Felicis, Initialized Capital, Altos Ventures, Y Combinator also joining in. We regret the error.

Please send all of your hot gossip to [email protected] or [email protected].

To book ads directly, contact us at [email protected].