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TransUnion disclosed a July breach that exposed names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of 4.4 million U.S. customers, making it the latest corporate giant swept up in this summer’s wave of high-profile hacks. TechCrunch has more here.

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Anthropic Users Face a New Choice – Opt Out or Share Your Chats for AI Training

By Connie Loizos

Anthropic is making some big changes to how it handles user data, requiring all Claude users to decide by September 28 whether they want their conversations used to train AI models. While the company directed us to its blog post on the policy changes when asked about what prompted the move, we've formed some theories of our own.

But first, what’s changing: Previously, Anthropic didn’t use consumer chat data for model training. Now, the company wants to train its AI systems on user conversations and coding sessions, and it said it’s extending data retention to five years for those who don't opt out.

That is a massive update. Previously, users of Anthropic’s consumer products were told that their prompts and conversation outputs would be automatically deleted from Anthropic’s back end within 30 days “unless legally or policy‑required to keep them longer” or their input was flagged as violating its policies, in which case a user’s inputs and outputs might be retained for up to two years.

By consumer, we mean the new policies apply to Claude Free, Pro, and Max users, including those using Claude Code. Business customers using Claude Gov, Claude for Work, Claude for Education, or API access will be unaffected, which is how OpenAI similarly protects enterprise customers from data training policies.

So why is this happening? In that post about the update, Anthropic frames the changes around user choice, saying that by not opting out, users will “help us improve model safety, making our systems for detecting harmful content more accurate and less likely to flag harmless conversations.” Users will “also help future Claude models improve at skills like coding, analysis, and reasoning, ultimately leading to better models for all users.”

In short, help us help you. But the full truth is probably a little less selfless.

Massive Fundings

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a seven-year-old Devens, Massachusetts startup that is developing commercial fusion power plants, raised an $863 million Series B2 round, with investors including Nvidia as well as previous investors Google and Khosla Ventures. The company has raised a total of approximately $3 billion, which the company claims to be “about one-third of the total capital invested in private fusion companies worldwide.” Bloomberg has more here.

Framer, a nine-year-old Amsterdam startup that lets designers and companies build and manage websites without coding, raised a $100 million Series D round at a $2 billion post-money valuation. The deal was co-led by previous investors Meritech and Atomico. TechCrunch has more here.

Rain, a six-year-old New York startup that provides stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure and issues Visa debit and credit cards, raised a $58 million Series B round led by Sapphire Ventures, with Samsung Next, Dragonfly, Galaxy Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, Lightspeed, and Norwest also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $88.5 million. The Block has more here.

Wugen, an eight-year-old startup based in St Louis, MO, that is developing an off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy using donor cells to treat aggressive blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, raised a $115 million round led by Fidelity, with RiverVest Venture Partners, Lightchain Capital, Abingworth, ICG, LYZZ Capital, Tybourne Capital Management, and Aisling Capital Management also piling on. BioPharma Dive has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

aPriori, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that is building a crypto trading system that combines liquid staking rewards with an AI-driven decentralized exchange aggregator on the Monad blockchain, raised a $20 million round. HashKey Capital, Pantera Capital, Primitive Ventures, IMC Trading, GEM, Gate Labs, Ambush Capital, and Big Brain Collective invested in the deal. The company has raised a total of $30 million. The Block has more here.

BIGC, a five-year-old Seoul startup that runs a digital venue service that lets artists stream live performances, sell tickets and merchandise, and interact with fans worldwide, raised a $14 million Series A round co-led by Stonebridge Ventures and BonAngels Venture Partners, with Nextrans, NAU IB, Hana Ventures, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), and Alois Ventures also participating. The company has raised a total of $25.4 million. More here.

InstaLILY, a three-year-old New York startup that builds AI agents that run complex workflows inside enterprise systems for industries like construction, healthcare, and insurance, raised a $25 million round led by Insight Partners, with Perceptive Ventures and Marvin Ventures also investing. Tech Funding News has more here.

M0, a three-year-old Zug startup that provides infrastructure that lets developers and regulated entities create and manage their own application-specific stablecoins with shared liquidity across the ecosystem, raised a $40 million Series B round. Investors included Polychain Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst Fund as well as previous investors Road Capital, Pantera, and Bain Capital Crypto. PYMNTS has more here.

Maisa AI, a one-year-old startup that is creating AI workers that companies can train to handle complex business tasks reliably, raised a $25 million seed round. Creandum and Forgepoint Capital were the co-leads. TechCrunch has more here.

Reframe Systems, a three-year-old Boston startup that is building automated microfactories that use robotics and software to construct site-customized homes faster and at lower cost, raised a $20 million Series A round co-led by Eclipse and VoLo Earth Ventures, with MassMutual Catalyst Funds, Cubit Capital, RA Capital Management, Saga Ventures, and Nor'easter Ventures also stepping up. More here.

Terraton, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that develops biochar facilities that turn agricultural waste into carbon-storing fertilizer and sells a franchise-style system to help local partners build and run them, raised an $11.5 million seed round co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Gigascale Capital, with ANA Future Frontier Fund and Takanawa Gateway Global Co-Benefits Fund also chipping in. TechCrunch has more here.

Smaller Fundings

Bench IQ, a three-year-old Toronto startup that provides litigators with AI-driven analysis of judges’ decision-making to help them shape legal strategies more effectively, raised a $5.3 million seed round co-led by Battery Ventures and Inovia Capital, with additional participation from CIBC Innovation Banking, MVP Ventures, Maple VC, and Haystack VC. More here.

Darwin AI, a two-year-old São Paulo startup that builds AI agents that handle tasks like sales qualification, customer support, post-sales follow-up, and collections for mid-market companies in Latin America, raised a $4.5 million seed extension led by Base10 Partners. The company has raised a total of $7 million. More here.

EnsiliTech, a four-year-old startup based in Bath, UK, that is developing a silica-based method that keeps vaccines and biologics stable at room temperature, eliminating the need for refrigeration during storage and transport, raised a $6.1 million seed round. Eos Advisory was the deal lead, with Calculus Capital and HERmesa also joining in. Tech Funding News has more here.

Farang, a Stockholm startup founded this year that is working on a new AI model architecture to create specialized assistants for areas like programming and medicine with lower computing costs, raised a $1.7 million seed round co-led by Voima Ventures and the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund. Tech.eu has more here.

Heave, a six-year-old startup based in Tampa, FL, that connects construction companies with mobile heavy equipment mechanics who can repair machines on-site within 24 hours, raised a $7 million Series A round led by Outsiders Fund, with previous investors FJ Labs, Long Journey Ventures, and Slow Ventures also contributing. The company has raised a total of $13 million. More here.

Mantic, a London startup founded this year that is developing AI that forecasts major world events such as supply chain disruptions or geopolitical shocks for businesses and governments, raised a $4 million pre-seed round. Episode 1 was the lead investor, with DRW also pitching in. UKTN has more here.

Sarborg, a one-year-old Cayman Islands startup that develops AI agents that help pharmaceutical companies repurpose drugs and optimize clinical trial decisions using proprietary disease and drug signature data, raised a $10 million seed round. Corvus Capital led the funding. More here.

Welcome Tech, a 16-year-old Los Angeles company that connects immigrant workers in the U.S. with jobs, healthcare, financial services, and other essential resources while helping employers hire and retain them, raised a $7.5 million round. Investors included TTV Capital, Mubadala Capital, Westbound Equity Partners, CityRock Ventures Partners, Next Legacy Partners, and BTN Ventures. More here.

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New Funds

Envoy Fund, a new San Francisco-based VC firm founded by Threshold Ventures alumnus Chirag Chotalia, is raising its debut fund, though details on strategy and target size have not yet been disclosed. PitchBook has the scoop here.

Exits

Typepad, once an early rival to WordPress, will permanently shut down on September 30, marking the quiet end of a blogging relic that never caught up with the times. Engadget has more here.

People

It sure is nice to have friends in high places. According to Bloomberg, Mark Zuckerberg privately urged Donald Trump to push back on Europe’s digital taxes, and days later, the president responded by threatening sweeping tariffs and export curbs on countries targeting U.S. tech firms. More here.

Post-Its

Data

Twelve European startups hit unicorn status in the first half of 2025, with fresh billion-dollar valuations spanning AI, biotech, defense tech, drones, and space, proof that while mega-rounds may have cooled since 2021, Europe’s next wave of billion-dollar companies is still very much alive. TechCrunch has more here.

Essential Reads

Lovable, the nine-month-old Swedish vibe-coding startup that just raised $200 million at a $1.8 billion valuation, is now fielding unsolicited offers valuing it north of $4 billion as investors chase the sector’s hottest new unicorn. TechCrunch has more here.

Detours

Will Smith may have just sabotaged his comeback by posting a tour video so riddled with AI-looking crowd glitches that some fans now think he’s faking support.

Lost luggage “hauls” have become the latest viral content play, with creators unboxing unclaimed suitcases bought from resellers and auction houses, turning travelers’ worst nightmare into millions of views.

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Retail Therapy

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