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Source: Tech Crunch

Polymarket reportedly raises $300 million from Donald Trump Jr.ā€™s investment fund

Startups

"Polymarket has raised $300 million from 1789 Capital, a fund partnered with Donald Trump Jr., as part of a larger $1 billion funding round. This investment comes amid significant regulatory tension between state governments and federal authorities over the oversight of prediction markets. While many states are litigating against these sites, the federal government and Trump Jr. argue that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should be the sole regulator.".

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Source: Tech Crunch

a16z brings growth fund to $8.5B days after launching new $1.1B fund

Startups

"Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has expanded its fifth growth fund to $8.5 billion and launched a new $1.1 billion "Machine Age Fund" targeting AI hardware. The growth fund supports scaling startups across enterprise AI, defense, robotics, and health tech. These moves reflect the rapid acceleration of AI companies. The firm, which manages $90 billion in assets, is also increasing its investments in politics and lobbying.".

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Source: Tech Crunch

A group funded by Andreessen, Horowitz, and Brockman plan data center ads to sway midterms

Startups

Build American AI, a group affiliated with the super PAC Leading the Future, plans to spend millions on ads promoting data centers in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Funded by figures like Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, LTF supports pro-AI candidates. Despite this, OpenAI has distanced itself from LTF, citing concerns over transparency and astroturfing. Andreessen Horowitz remains a top political donor, investing heavily in AI and crypto.

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Source: Tech Crunch

FTC accuses Amazon of running a ā€˜secret ad surcharge schemeā€™ in new lawsuit

Startups

"The FTC and 22 states have sued Amazon, alleging the company secretly inflated advertising costs for over one million businesses. The lawsuit claims Amazon manipulated its auction system by introducing hidden surcharges and fake bidders, effectively charging advertisers their full winning bids instead of the promised second-price rate. Amazon has denied these allegations, calling the lawsuit misguided and arguing that the FTC misunderstands how its advertising auctions operate.".

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Source: Tech Crunch

The Pentagon now has its own version of ChatGPT and Grok

Startups

The Pentagon has integrated custom versions of OpenAIā€™s ChatGPT and xAIā€™s Grok into its secure GenAI.mil portal, providing 3 million personnel with generative AI tools tailored for military needs. These secure versions prevent sensitive data leaks common in consumer products. While ChatGPT Mil focuses on administrative tasks, Grok aims to enhance mission precision. This expansion follows a dispute with Anthropic and reflects broader efforts to maintain a technological edge.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Instagram puts new limits on undisclosed AI profiles

Startups

Instagram is renaming its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile" to clearly identify accounts featuring AI-created people. To prevent user deception, the platform will limit the reach of accounts that fail to disclose AI-generated subjects. However, those using AI for minor edits or graphics remain exempt. This move follows growing concerns over deceptive AI influencers and health personalities, alongside Meta's broader regulatory challenges and settlements.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Appleā€™s top App Store exec, Phil Schiller, follows wave of exits as CEO Tim Cook steps down

Startups

Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple's CEO, with John Ternus taking over the leadership role. This transition coincides with a wave of executive departures, including Phil Schiller, who is leaving his App Store leadership position to become an Apple Fellow. Other retiring executives include Jeff Williams and Jennifer Bailey. Ternus now faces the challenge of rebuilding the company's leadership team amidst these significant organizational changes.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Microsoft tests fix for latest hours-long Outlook outage

Startups

"Microsoft confirmed a widespread, multi-hour outage on Monday affecting its Exchange Online service, which caused significant disruptions for Outlook users. The issue, stemming from an authentication component, led to email delays, delivery failures, and authentication errors. Microsoft identified the source of the problem and is currently testing a remediation strategy on a portion of its infrastructure before implementing a broader solution to restore full functionality.".

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Source: Tech Crunch

Kalshi bans George Santos for life over State of the Union bets

Startups

Prediction market Kalshi has issued a lifetime ban to former Republican Representative George Santos, marking the first such action by the company. Santos was fined $71,356 for betting on his own attendance at President Trumpā€™s State of the Union address. Kalshi also suspended several other political candidates for wagering on their own races. This follows a separate $35,000 settlement Santos reached with the CFTC over similar conduct.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a ā€œHarvey for police officersā€

Startups

Blue Voice, a Boston-based AI startup, has emerged from stealth with $6 million in funding to provide police officers with real-time policy guidance. Founded by David Lawrence, Amit Patankar, and Michael Gropman, the tool is used by 225 agencies across 25 states. By offering instant access to department-specific laws and protocols, Blue Voice helps officers make informed decisions, reducing operational errors and improving public safety.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Hackers claim millions of patient records stolen during data breach at healthcare giant McKesson

Startups

"The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on pharmaceutical distributor McKesson, stealing millions of rows of sensitive patient and employee data. Using phishing and social engineering, the group accessed cloud-hosted Snowflake and Salesforce environments. The stolen information includes Social Security numbers and medical records. The hackers demanded a $55 million ransom, marking the latest in a series of high-profile breaches targeting the American healthcare sector.".

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Source: Tech Crunch

Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in pay-to-play bridge funding to save Bolt

Startups

Ryan Breslow, the reinstated CEO of checkout startup Bolt, is raising a bridge round of up to $27 million to sustain the company. After its valuation plummeted from $11 billion to $300 million, Bolt is seeking funds from existing investors via a convertible note with a pay-to-play provision. Breslow is personally contributing $5 million, aiming for profitability and a full Series E2 round while leveraging AI efficiency.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Tim Cookā€™s parting message: Apple is in the hands of a product builder

Startups

Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple's CEO, naming John Ternus, the senior vice president of hardware engineering, as his successor. Ternus's appointment signals a renewed company focus on hardware and product execution, particularly as AI demand grows. Cook will transition into the role of executive chairman, where he will continue managing key political relationships with the Chinese government and President Trump while remaining at Apple Park.

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Source: Tech Crunch

VLC crosses 7 billion downloads

Startups

VLC media player, developed by non-profit VideoLAN, has surpassed 7 billion downloads across all platforms. This milestone follows the 6 billion mark reached in January 2025. President Jean-Baptiste Kempf announced the achievement and noted the app's recent port to Amazonā€™s Vega OS for TVs. VideoLAN is currently developing VLC 4 and expanding platform and codec support, while previously teasing AI-powered translation and subtitle features for the player.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Clipto uses AI to search terabytes of video and is now valued at $250M

Startups

Clipto, a San Francisco-based startup, has raised $15 million to develop AI-powered software that indexes local files, including videos, audio, and documents. Founded by Henry Kang, the company enables users to search their content using natural language or AI agents. With $15 million in annual recurring revenue and 30 million users, Clipto differentiates itself from tech giants by offering cross-platform search and local data processing.

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Source: Tech Crunch

How AI could make it harder for governments to use hacking tools

Startups

Cryptography professor Matthew Green warns that AI could make software so secure by patching vulnerabilities that law enforcement will lose their ability to hack targets. This shift might disrupt the current balance where governments buy exploits instead of demanding backdoors. While some experts agree that bugs will become scarce, others argue that complex vulnerabilities will persist and AI will continue to aid offensive security researchers.

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Source: Tech Crunch

Nvidiaā€™s $3.5B MediaTek bet reveals its plan for tackling Big Techā€™s AI chip buildout

Startups

"Nvidia is investing $3.5 billion in MediaTek to enable the Taiwanese chipmaker to design custom AI chips for hyperscalers and AI companies. By integrating Nvidiaā€™s NVLink Fusion technology, these custom chips can operate within Nvidia-based data centers. This strategic move allows Nvidia to maintain its infrastructure dominance while supporting client-specific silicon. The partnership also extends to consumer AI PCs and software-defined vehicles for autonomous driving.".

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Source: Tech Crunch

MapQuestā€™s app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario

Startups

MapQuest has seen a significant surge in downloads and usage after refusing to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, defying an executive order from President Trump. While Google Maps is complying with the government's naming change for U.S. users, MapQuest's decision propelled it to the top of navigation app charts in the United States and Canada, with usage spiking to fifty times its normal levels.

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Source: Your story

As Tim Cook steps down, India stands at the heart of Appleā€™s next chapter

Startups

As Tim Cook steps down as Apple CEO, his legacy in India is defined by transforming the country into a critical market and production hub. Annual sales have surpassed $10 billion, while India now assembles roughly 25% of global iPhones to reduce reliance on China. While challenges in supply chain depth and affordability remain, India is now central to Apple's global sales and manufacturing strategy under successor John Ternus.

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Close to half the merchants not willing to pay MDR on UPI: Survey

Startups

A LocalCircles survey reveals that 41% of merchants refuse to pay any Minimum Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. While 33% would accept a fee of 0.25% or less, a separate survey of 45,000 users indicates that 53% would abandon UPI for high-value payments if charges were levied. Many users would instead switch to credit cards, debit cards, or cash alternatives.

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