Top News

Perplexity lobbed a $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome, nearly double its own valuation, in what appears to be a strategic signal to an antitrust judge considering whether to force Google to sell the browser. TechCrunch has more here.

Sam Altman is opening a new front in his long-running feud with Elon Musk by co-founding Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup that is raising $250 million at an $850 million valuation. Much of the funding is expected to come from OpenAI’s venture arm, reports the Financial Times, but a source familiar with the deal tells TechCrunch that talks are still early and OpenAI has not yet committed to participating.

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Hackers Breach and Expose a Major North Korean Spying Operation

By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Hackers claim to have compromised the computer of a North Korean government hacker and leaked its contents online, offering a rare window into a hacking operation by the notoriously secretive nation. 

The two hackers, who go by Saber and cyb0rg, published a report about the breach in the latest issue of Phrack magazine, a legendary cybersecurity e-zine that was first published in 1985. The latest issue was distributed at the Def Con hackers conference in Las Vegas last week.

In the article, the two hackers wrote that they were able to compromise a workstation containing a virtual machine and a virtual private server belonging to the hacker, whom they call “Kim.” The hackers claim Kim works for the North Korean government espionage group known as Kimsuky, also known as APT43 and Thallium. The hackers leaked the stolen data to DDoSecrets, a nonprofit collective that stores leaked datasets in the public interest.

Kimsuky is a prolific advanced persistent threat (APT) group widely believed to be working inside North Korea’s government, targeting journalists and government agencies in South Korea and elsewhere, and other targets that could be of interest for North Korea’s intelligence apparatus. 

As is usual with North Korea, Kimsuky also conducts operations more akin to a cybercriminal group — for example, stealing and laundering cryptocurrencies to fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. 

This hack gives an almost-unprecedented look inside the operation of Kimsuky, given that the two hackers compromised one of the group’s members, rather than investigating a data breach as cybersecurity researchers and companies typically have to rely on.

“It shows a glimpse how openly ‘Kimsuky’ cooperates with Chinese [government hackers] and shares their tools and techniques,” the hackers wrote.

Massive Fundings

1Kosmos, a seven-year-old startup based in Somerset, NJ, that provides biometric identity proofing and passwordless authentication built on blockchain, raised a $57 million Series B round co-led by Forgepoint Capital and Oquirrh Ventures, with NextEra Energy Ventures and Gula Tech Adventures also engaging. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Aira, a two-year-old Stockholm startup that manufactures heat pumps, raised a $175.2 million round. Previous investors Altor, Kallskär, Kinnevik, Lingotto, and Temasek provided the capital. ESG Today has more here.

SetPoint Medical, a 19-year-old company based in Valencia, CA, that makes implantable devices that stimulate the vagus nerve to reduce inflammation and treat chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, raised a $115 million Series D co-led by Elevage Medical Technologies and Ally Bridge Group, with Northwell Health and SPRIG Equity as well as previous investors Norwest, NEA, Viking Global Investors, Action Potential Venture Capital, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Euclidean Capital, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Morgenthaler Ventures, ShangBay Capital, Ascendum Capital, Catalio Capital Management, Gilmartin Capital, and Midas Capital also piling on. MassDevice has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Arintra, a six-year-old Austin startup whose AI software automatically reviews patient medical records to identify and code all billable services so healthcare providers are paid accurately, raised a $21 million Series A round led by Peak XV, with Endeavor Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Counterpart Ventures, Spider Capital, and Ten13 also participating. More here.

Certivity, a five-year-old Munich startup that builds cloud software which helps automotive manufacturers and suppliers manage vehicle compliance and certification processes worldwide, raised a $15.5 million Series A round co-led by Almaz Capital and UVC Partners, with Earlybird X, HTGF, and Plug and Play also joining in. The SaaS News has more here.

Confido, a three-year-old New York startup whose AI-powered finance software helps consumer packaged goods brands manage billing, payments, and cash flow from a single system, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Footwork, with Watchfire Ventures, Barrel Ventures, Liquid 2, Boulder Food Groups, and Y Combinator also investing. More here.

Datumo, a seven-year-old Seoul startup that builds software that evaluates and benchmarks large language models so organizations can choose the best-performing AI for their use cases, raised a $15.5 million round. Investors included Salesforce Ventures, KB Investment, ACVC Partners, and SBI Investment. The company has raised a total of $28 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Evertune, a four-year-old New York startup that develops AI marketing software that helps brands improve visibility and performance in AI-powered search results, raised a $15 million Series A round. Felicis Ventures was the deal lead. More here.

GoodShip, a three-year-old startup based in Bellevue, WA, whose AI-powered software enables shippers and carriers to coordinate, track, and manage freight more efficiently, raised a $25 million Series B round led by Greenfield Partners and including previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Ironspring Ventures, Chicago Ventures, and FUSE VC. Business Insider has more here.

Jocasta Neuroscience, a five-year-old startup based in Scottsdale, AZ, that is developing a proprietary form of the longevity protein alpha-Klotho to treat cognitive decline linked to neurodegenerative diseases, raised a $35 million Series A round led by True Ventures, with Explore Investments, Moore Strategic Ventures, SC8 Investments, Glentura, and the Yagan Family Foundation also contributing. More here.

Life Safety Inspection Vault, a seven-year-old startup based in Pocatello, ID, that makes cloud software that helps fire and life safety service companies conduct, document, and manage inspections and maintenance to meet compliance requirements, raised a $28.7 million round. Mainsail Partners provided the capital. More here.

Profound, a one-year-old New York startup that develops AI-powered tools that track and improve how brands appear in AI-generated search results, raised a $35 million Series B round led by Sequoia Capital, with previous investors Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, Saga VC, and South Park Commons also investing. Adweek has more here.

Softwear Automation, a 14-year-old Atlanta company that makes robotic sewing machines that automate garment production for apparel manufacturers, raised a $20 million Series B1 round led by Bestseller, with previous investors CTW Venture Partners, SRI Capital, and MacDonald Ventures also stepping up. More here.

Squint, a four-year-old startup based in San Jose, CA, that uses AI and augmented reality to record expert manufacturing know-how and deliver interactive guidance so factory workers can perform complex tasks accurately and efficiently, raised a $40 million Series B round at a $265 million valuation, according to Fortune. The deal was co-led by The Westly Group and TCV, with previous investors Sequoia Capital and Menlo Ventures also taking part. Fortune has more here.

Smaller Fundings

Continua, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that builds AI agents to assist with collaboration and planning in group chats, raised an $8 million seed round led by GV with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners. TechCrunch has more here.

Coverd.us, a one-year-old New York startup that makes a gamified personal finance app that transforms routine financial activities into interactive experiences with cash rewards to encourage better money habits, raised a $7.8 million seed round led by Yolo Investments, with Andreessen Horowitz, Volt Capital, WndrCo, Arbitrum Gaming Catalyst, and Tusk Ventures also jumping in. More here.

Cuttable, a five-year-old Melbourne startup that uses AI to quickly produce high volumes of customized ads for online businesses, raised a $2.9 million seed round led by Square Peg, with Brand Fund and previous investor Rampersand also pitching in. Capital Brief has more here.

Dealops, a three-year-old Brooklyn startup whose AI software automates pricing, proposal creation, and contract workflows so sales teams can close deals faster, raised a $7 million round. The co-leads were Pear VC and General Catalyst, with Depth VC, Elsa Ventures, Weekend Fund, Flex Capital, Allison Pickens Ventures, and 20Sales also opting in. More here.

HoneyCoin, a five-year-old Nairobi startup that enables people to move and spend money across borders using stablecoins connected to local payment systems, raised a $4.9 million seed round. Flourish Ventures was the deal lead, with Visa, TLCom Capital, and the Stellar Development Foundation also anteing up. TechAfrica News has more here.

Mako, a two-year-old New York startup that creates AI-powered tools that automatically write and optimize GPU code to improve performance and reduce costs for AI and other high-compute applications, raised an $8.5 million seed round. M13 led the investment, with Neo and Flybridge also participating. More here.

Prefer, a three-year-old Singapore startup that uses fermentation to transform food manufacturing byproducts into sustainable coffee and cocoa flavors for the food industry, raised a $4.2 million round. At One Ventures and Chancery Hill Capital were the co-leads. The company has raised a total of $6.2 million. More here.

Riva, a London startup founded this year that helps businesses send international payments instantly and at lower cost by using blockchain technology and stablecoins alongside traditional payment networks, raised a $3 million pre-seed round. Investors included Project A. EU-Startups has more here.

Uno Platform, a two-year-old Montreal startup that provides enterprise-grade tools for building cross-platform .NET applications from a single codebase, raised a $2.54 million seed round co-led by AQC Capital and Desjardins Capital. TechCrunch has more here.

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New Funds

Portal Innovations, a five-year-old Chicago VC firm that backs life sciences startups in emerging biotech hubs, is raising a $100 million fund, its second. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

People

Do Kwon, the once-celebrated founder behind the $40 billion Luna and TerraUSD crypto implosion that helped wipe out $300 billion in market value, pled guilty to fraud in New York and faces up to 12 years in prison under a plea deal. The New York Times has more here.

The White House is reportedly considering awarding 19-year-old former hacker and ex-DOGE staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. (Past recipients include Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mother Teresa.) The Daily Beast has more here.

Post-Its

Sam Altman and Elon Musk are at it again, flaming each other on X over Musk’s claims that Apple is favoring OpenAI over other AI chatbots. Business Insider has more here.

Essential Reads

Microsoft is running a targeted raid on Meta’s AI ranks, maintaining a spreadsheet of prized engineers and offering multimillion-dollar pay packages in a bid to outbid even Meta’s nine-figure offers. Business Insider has more here.

The Wall Street Journal digs deep into how Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang engineered a White House reversal on China chip sales by dangling a $500 billion U.S. investment and cutting a backroom percentage deal with Trump to get his company back in the game. More here.

A growing set of tech elites are shelling out up to $50,000 for embryo genetic testing that claims to predict IQ, using it alongside pricey matchmaking services and IVF to engineer “high-performing” kids, even as scientists warn the gains are marginal and the ethics murky. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Detours

Trend watch: could Cristiano Ronaldo’s 25-carat engagement ring for longtime girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez signal a new demand for giant diamonds?

Quiet luxury’s beige palette is out and “rich Italian wife” maximalism is in, with Pucci geometrics, Missoni zigzags, and Cavalli animal prints dominating beaches, boutiques, and resale sites as shoppers chase La Dolce Vita.

Brain Rot

Biohacking video game scores. Because why train your reflexes when you can rewire them?

Retail Therapy

For just $5.5 million, you can be a neighbor of the “Royal Tenenbaums” in this 1899 Romanesque Revival townhouse in Harlem’s Hamilton Heights, a five-story mix of preserved historic details, modern upgrades, and a rentable studio.

A Seattle travel company is offering a $205,000-per-person, 29-day private jet trip that takes guests to all seven continents and pairs bucket-list stops like Antarctica and Machu Picchu with luxury digs and an on-board chef.

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