Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is our guest on the latest StrictlyVC Download, and he’s a thoughtful interview, especially on the question of how a company that has put cameras on millions of front doors thinks about the privacy of the people behind them. Still, there are trade-offs. Including one Siminoff didn't mention — Ring offers full end-to-end encryption of your footage, but opting in means opting out of nearly everything else the product does. More on that, and the full conversation, here.

The Pentagon may allow limited continued use of Anthropic’s AI tools beyond a planned six-month phase-out if deemed critical to national security, according to an internal memo. Reuters has more here.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Iran used Binance to move more than $1 billion through the exchange to networks backing terror groups. The probe follows Binance’s decision to dismantle an internal investigation that had uncovered the transactions. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

The Ultimate Guide to AI in VC & PE by Affinity breaks down how firms like BlackRock and OpenAI are using AI to spot market signals earlier, accelerate research, and win competitive deals. 94% of investors say AI-augmented approaches will define private capital’s future, and those adopting them now are already seeing the results. 

See what the next generation of investors is doing differently.

By Anna Heim

Lovable crossed $400 million in annual recurring revenue in February, the Stockholm company confirmed to TechCrunch. But it declined to say whether it is still projecting to reach $1 billion ARR by year’s end, saying its focus is on “helping builders scale their impact with our platform.”

Alongside Cursor, Mercor, and others, Lovable is part of a wave of tools that make it easier to create websites and apps using natural language, a practice known as vibe coding. This initially resonated with individuals and startups, but the three-year-old company has been pushing hard to secure enterprise clients, which already include Klarna, HubSpot, and others.

Lovable’s debut brand campaign, “Earworm,” which began running this week across social platforms, YouTube, and connected TV, still speaks to mainstream users. The film follows a woman who can’t rid herself of a song — performed by Swedish band Boko Yout — until she finally opens Lovable and builds it into a working app. The creative team behind the campaign built the band app that’s featured in the film using Lovable itself as a functional, live product, in fact. “The purpose of this brand campaign is to inspire the next generation of builders — non-technical people with great ideas that deserve to come to life,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. 

That overarching message is one of the factors that have helped Lovable attract some 8 million users and become a unicorn in less than a year after its launch. But the prospect that it could also secure enterprise dollars likely played a key role in boosting its valuation to $6.6 billion.

More than half of Fortune 500 companies are using Lovable to “supercharge creativity,” co-founder and CEO Anton Osika declared at Web Summit last November. The company has added a range of dedicated features — often security-related — to convince businesses to use it for more than prototyping and keep them from canceling over time.

Alan, a 10-year-old Paris company that operates a health insurance platform with an app that lets users manage reimbursements, access doctors, and track health habits, raised a $115.8 million round at a $5.8 billion post-money valuation. Previous investor Index Ventures was the deal lead, with Greenoaks, Kaaf, and SH as well as prior backer Belfius also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

Axiamatic, a five-year-old startup based in Saratoga, CA, whose software helps companies manage large digital transformation projects, such as replacing legacy IT systems or rolling out new enterprise software across an organization, raised a $54 million round co-led by Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. Fortune has more here.

Chowbus, a 10-year-old Chicago company that builds POS systems, integrated marketing tools, and AI-driven software that help independent restaurants manage operations and grow their businesses, raised an $81 million Series E round co-led by Prysm Capital and Left Lane Capital, with Dutchess and Fika also contributing. More here.

Factorial, a 10-year-old Barcelona company that helps businesses manage employee leave, payroll, recruitment, and training through a single HR software platform, is reportedly raising a $200 million round at a $2 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. Tech Funding News has more here.

Kai, a one-year-old startup based in San Jose, CA, that uses AI to perform cybersecurity tasks across IT and operational technology environments, including threat detection, risk profiling, and vulnerability management, raised a $125 million round. Investors included Evolution Equity Partners and N47. SecurityWeek has more here.

Mind Robotics, a one-year-old Palo Alto startup that builds AI-powered factory robots for manufacturing tasks, raised a $500 million round at a $2 billion post-money valuation. The deal was co-led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Nebius Group, a company based in Amsterdam that builds and operates artificial intelligence data centers, secured a $2 billion investment from Nvidia as part of a strategic partnership to develop and deploy AI infrastructure. Bloomberg has more here.

Quince, an eight-year-old San Francisco startup that sells factory-direct luxury goods across apparel, accessories, home, and beauty, raised a $500 million Series E round at a [checks notes] $10.1 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Iconiq, with additional support from Baillie Gifford, Basis Set Ventures, DST Global, Marcy Venture Partners, Notable Capital, Wellington Management, and WndrCo. TechCrunch has more here.

Replit, a 10-year-old San Francisco company that offers an online platform for building and deploying software using AI-assisted coding tools, raised a $400 million Series D round at a $9 billion valuation. The deal was led by Georgian Partners, with G Squared, Prysm Capital, Coatue, Andreessen Horowitz, Craft Ventures, Y Combinator, Accenture Ventures, Okta Ventures, Databricks Ventures, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jared Leto also participating. In September, the company raised $250 million at a $3 billion post-money valuation. TechCrunch has more here.

Gestala, a one-year-old Chinese startup that develops non-invasive ultrasound brain–computer interface systems, raised a $21.6 million round co-led by Guosheng Capital and Dalton Venture, with Tsing Song Capital, Gobi Ventures, Fourier Intelligence, Liepin, and Seas Capital also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

Rebar, a two-year-old New York startup that automates the review of construction documents such as blueprints and specification books to generate project estimates and quotes for HVAC contractors and distributors, raised a $14 million Series A round led by Prudence and including Zero Infinity Partners, Founder Collective, Villain Capital, and Optimist Ventures. Crunchbase News has more here.

Scanner, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that connects AI agents to organizations’ security data lakes to enable interactive threat hunting, detection engineering, and autonomous security response workflows, raised a $22 million Series A round. Sequoia Capital led the transaction, with CRV and Mantis VC also chipping in. SecurityWeek has more here.

Standard Kernel, a one-year-old startup based in Mountain View, CA, that uses AI to generate highly optimized GPU kernels that improve the performance of AI workloads without requiring changes to models or hardware, raised a $20 million seed round led by Jump Capital, with General Catalyst, Felicis, Cowboy Ventures, Link Ventures, Essence VC, CoreWeave, and Ericsson Ventures also engaging. VentureBurn has more here.

Swarm Aero, a four-year-old company based in Oxnard, CA that manufactures large uncrewed aerial vehicles and software that enables coordinated drone swarms, raised a $35 million Series A round co-led by Two Sigma Ventures and Silent Ventures, with Khosla Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Friends & Family Capital, Construct Capital, Coatue, Founders Fund, Alumni Ventures, and MaC Venture Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $59 million. More here.

Translucent, a two-year-old New York startup whose AI platform aims to consolidate operational, clinical, and financial data to give healthcare organizations real-time visibility into financial performance and risks, raised a $27 million Series A round led by GV, with NEA, Virtue, and FPV Ventures also digging in. More here.

Unreasonable Labs, a one-year-old startup with offices in Palo Alto and Cambridge, MA, that uses AI to analyze and connect scientific knowledge across disciplines to generate and test new research hypotheses, raised a $13.5 million round led by Playground Global, with AIX Ventures, E14 Fund, and MS&AD Ventures also taking stakes. More here.

Captur, a six-year-old New York and London startup that provides AI software that verifies user-submitted photos for quality and accuracy directly on mobile devices in real-time, raised a $6 million seed round led by Rally Ventures, with Sure Valley Ventures also taking part. More here.

Depot, a four-year-old startup based in Beaverton, OR, whose cloud platform accelerates container image builds and CI workflows for software development teams, raised a $10 million Series A round. Investors included prior backers Felicis, Y Combinator, and Pioneer Fund. More here.

Finperks, a one-year-old Berlin startup that provides API infrastructure that enables banks, fintechs, and HR platforms to integrate prepaid products such as cashback, employee benefits, and digital gift cards through a single integration, raised a $4 million pre-seed round co-led by Motive Partners and seed+speed Ventures. EU-Startups has more here.

️Hyperscale Power, a recently founded Zurich startup that develops solid-state transformers designed to reduce the size and complexity of power-conversion equipment in data centers and electrical grids, raised a $5.8 million seed round. World Fund and Vsquared Ventures were the co-leads. TechCrunch has more here.

Kled, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that lets users upload photos, videos, and other personal data and license it to AI companies through a data marketplace that pays contributors when their data is used, raised a $5.5 million seed round. Investors included Aglaé, K5 Global, Diplo, Parable VC, and Cox Exponential. More here.

Nyad, a two-year-old startup based in Birmingham, AL, that is designing an AI-powered decision-support platform that helps wastewater treatment operators monitor biological processes and optimize plant performance in real-time, raised a $1.3 million pre-seed round led by Boost VC, with Draper Associates, Halogen Ventures, Ollin Ventures, Apprentis, and First Avenue Ventures also pitching in. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Quantro Security, a one-year-old New York startup that has developed an AI agent that ingests and normalizes cybersecurity data from multiple sources to analyze risk and recommend remediation actions for security teams, raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round at a $25 million post-money valuation. Gradient provided the funding. SecurityWeek has more here.

Rasa Legal, a four-year-old Salt Lake City startup that provides software and legal services that help individuals determine eligibility for criminal record sealing or expungement and complete the clearance process under state law, raised a $5 million seed round led by Rethink Education, with Social Finance, Halogen Ventures, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation also investing. Pulse 2.0 has more here.

Remitian, a two-year-old Miami startup that has built a tax payment API that enables tax software providers and accounting firms to initiate, validate, and track tax payments across multiple jurisdictions from within their platforms, raised a $7 million seed round. Investors included Ryan Lazanis. Refresh Miami has more here.

Sybilion, a five-year-old Oslo startup that is developing an AI platform that analyzes external economic and operational signals to help manufacturers make procurement, pricing, and supply chain decisions earlier and with quantified risk boundaries, raised a $4.2 million seed round. Venturefriends and Semapa Next co-led the deal. Tech Funding News has more here.

Taya, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that offers an AI-powered necklace that captures short voice notes for personal reflection, raised a $5 million seed round co-led by MaC Venture Capital and Female Founders Fund, with Andreessen Horowitz also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

Fidelity — Your Pitch Isn’t the Only Thing Investors Are Evaluating  

Investors don’t just listen to what you say—they look at how your company operates. Is ownership clear? Do your numbers match your story? Can you answer follow-up questions without digging through spreadsheets? The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips founders with the materials investors expect to see, before pressure is on. Because confidence in the room doesn’t come from slides. It comes from preparation. 

Entrepreneurs First, a 15-year-old San Francisco startup accelerator and talent investor that backs individuals before they have a team or idea and helps them build companies from scratch, raised a $200 million fund from investors including Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, Claire Hughes Johnson, Charlie Songhurst, Sara Clemens, Danny Rimer, Matt Cohler, and Greylock. More here.

We previously reported that Netflix is buying InterPositive, an AI moviemaking startup founded by Ben Affleck, but now we know a little bit more about the price. It turns out that the streamer could pay as much as $600 million for the startup. Bloomberg has more here.

Anduril is acquiring ExoAnalytic Solutions, a 17-year-old company based in Foothill Ranch, CA, that operates a global network of telescopes and software to track spacecraft and provide space domain awareness for U.S. national security agencies. Terms were not disclosed. TechCrunch has more here.

Zendesk is acquiring Forethought, a seven-year-old San Francisco startup that develops AI software to automate customer service interactions. Terms were not disclosed. Forethought raised a total of $115 million from investors like Blue Cloud Ventures, NEA, Industry Ventures, Neo, Village Global, and Sound Ventures. TechCrunch has more here.

PayPay, an eight-year-old Japanese company that operates one of Japan’s largest mobile payments apps, plans to price its U.S. IPO at $16 per share, raising about $880 million and valuing the SoftBank-backed firm near $10.7 billion. Bloomberg has more here.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr criticized Amazon for challenging SpaceX’s proposal to deploy up to one million satellites, saying the company should focus instead on accelerating launches for its own Kuiper constellation. Reuters has more here.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have reportedly bought a $170 million waterfront compound on the ultra-exclusive Indian Creek island near Miami, setting a record for the most expensive home sale in Miami-Dade County. The New York Times has more here.

Grammarly has disabled its “Expert Review” AI feature after criticism from writers who said the tool generated editing advice “inspired by” their work without permission and misrepresented their voices. The Verge has more here.

Wired goes behind the scenes to chronicle OpenAI’s attempts to catch up to Anthropic’s Claude Code, which is now generating more than $2.5 billion in annualized revenue. More here.

CNN found that popular AI chatbots frequently helped teen users research targets and weapons for violent attacks in tests conducted with the Center for Countering Digital Hate, with 8 of 10 bots providing information that could aid an attack more than 50% of the time. More here.

Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPhone, expected as soon as this fall, will feature an iPad mini-sized internal display with an iPad-like interface that supports side-by-side apps when unfolded, according to people familiar with the project. Bloomberg has more here.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Aaru, a two-year-old AI startup founded by teenagers that has reached a $1 billion valuation by using AI agents to simulate consumer behavior for market research and corporate strategy. Clients include McDonald’s, Bayer, and EY. More here.

Artificial intelligence isn’t easing workloads as many predicted; instead, it is accelerating the pace, density, and complexity of work, according to a large analysis of employee activity. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

A new viral social media trend has women posting side-by-side comparisons of the flattering photos they take of their partners versus the far less flattering ones their husbands or boyfriends take of them.

Gen Z shoppers are rediscovering the mall, boosting foot traffic and demand for retail space after years of decline as younger consumers show a stronger preference for in-person shopping than older generations.

Wired headphones are making a comeback as consumers push back against Bluetooth devices, drawn by better sound quality, fewer connectivity hassles, and a growing retro-tech aesthetic.

Why bears have suddenly started attacking people in Japan.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, there is a quiet luxury shoe rivalry going on between Lora Piana’s Open Walk and Zegna’s Triple Stitch, two understated designs that have become status markers among billionaires, CEOs, and other ultra-wealthy buyers.

The New York Times visits Pine Cay, an 800-acre private island resort in Turks and Caicos where suites run about $2,800 a night and guests pay for near-total silence, deserted beaches, and a deliberately low-key brand of ultra-luxury.

UK Quantum – Accelerating healthcare prevention 

The UK’s National Health Service is already placing quantum at the centre of its preventative healthcare strategy. By 2030, the UK aspires to use quantum sensing to improve early diagnosis and treatment, from cancer screening to enhanced MRI scanning. Quantum sensors can detect extremely faint biological signals such as trace biomarkers or subtle neural activity that conventional devices overlook, enabling earlier and more reliable diagnoses. As the tech becomes smaller, more robust and affordable, point-of-care testing outside specialist facilities becomes realistic. 

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