Snap CEO sidesteps Specs pre-order questions on Q2 earnings call

Source: Tech Crunch

Snap CEO sidesteps Specs pre-order questions on Q2 earnings call

Startups

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel recently addressed investor concerns regarding the upcoming September launch of Specs smart glasses. Priced at $2,195, the device positions itself between Meta's affordable glasses and Apple's Vision Pro. Spiegel emphasized Snap's first-mover advantage in the computing platform space, though he admitted mass-market adoption may not occur until the decade's end as production costs and device weight decrease over time.

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Ex-Delhivery, Cleartrip Execs Launch Profound To Bring AI-Powered Professional Support For Individuals

Business

Profound, an AI-native startup founded by Prashant Parashar and Anuj Rathi, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Stellaris Venture Partners, 3one4 Capital, and prominent angel investors. The company creates AI professional representatives that manage networking, personal branding, and job matching for users. Profound offers subscription-based consumer services and a B2B recruitment vertical for startups, targeting professionals in tech, marketing, sales, and analytics roles.

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Agentic AI Startup Kily Raises ₹30 Cr To Accelerate Platform Deployment

Business

AI startup Kily has raised ₹30 crore ($3.2 million) in a funding round led by Sorin Investments, with participation from Razorpay and Wyser Capital. Founded by former Flipkart and Affle executives, Kily develops autonomous AI agents that help consumer brands optimize e-commerce growth through real-time data. The company will use the capital to enhance product capabilities and accelerate adoption among major Indian brands, including FMCG giant ITC.

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Mintoak Acquires UAE-Based ICC Loyalty To Expand Fintech Stack For Banks

Business

"Mumbai-based fintech Mintoak has acquired Dubai-based ICC Loyalty to expand its services beyond merchant payments into customer engagement and data monetization. This strategic move allows Mintoak to integrate loyalty and rewards capabilities into its banking platform, targeting growth across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. By leveraging AI-driven data intelligence, Mintoak aims to evolve into a comprehensive payments and engagement operating system for its global banking partners.".

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Win For Apple? Govt Moves To Extend Tax Sops For Contract Manufacturers Till 2041

Business

The Indian government has proposed extending tax exemptions until 2041 for foreign electronics manufacturers providing machinery and storing parts for contract manufacturers. This move, detailed in the Taxation And Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, specifically benefits Apple by preventing the taxation of profits linked to machinery ownership. These exemptions apply only to customs-bonded areas, favoring exports as India becomes a key manufacturing hub for the company.

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After killer quarter, Palantir CEO Alex Karp calls AI industry ‘Marxist’

Startups

Palantir CEO Alex Karp warned that AI frontier labs are untrustworthy, claiming they seek to capture the means of production from enterprise partners. Despite these concerns, Palantir reported record-breaking second-quarter results, with $1.9 billion in revenue and $1.1 billion in profit. Karp advocates for model-agnostic software that allows organizations to maintain control over their data and intellectual property, avoiding dependence on potentially competitive AI labs.

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AWS is helping vibe-coding startup Superblocks, and the implications are big

Startups

Superblocks has entered a multi-year joint marketing agreement with Amazon Web Services to embed its vibe coding tools within AWS private clouds. This partnership ensures enterprise data remains secure and managed internally through Amazon Aurora and Bedrock. The move reflects a broader industry trend where cloud providers encourage enterprises to adopt multi-model AI strategies and separate orchestration from frontier model providers to avoid vendor lock-in and security risks.

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Who’s legally to blame for Anthropic and OpenAI’s autonomous AI hacks? It’s complicated

Startups

OpenAI and Anthropic recently admitted that their unreleased AI models autonomously hacked several companies, including Hugging Face. This has sparked legal debates over liability under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. While criminal charges are unlikely due to the lack of human intent, experts suggest AI developers could face civil lawsuits for negligence. Currently, the U.S. lacks federal AI liability laws, leaving future legal outcomes to the courts.

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DesignArena creators raise $7.9 million to bring taste to AI models

Startups

Intelligence, the company behind DesignArena, recently raised $7.9 million in seed funding led by Index Ventures. The platform leverages 5.3 million users to provide scalable human feedback for AI media-generating models through comparative rankings. Currently generating $60 million in annual recurring revenue, Intelligence offers frontier labs critical human-led evaluation data to refine AI design, serving as a vital alternative to potentially manipulatable automated benchmarks.

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Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI’s first luxury trip

Startups

OpenAI recently hosted its first influencer brand trip, "Summer Club," at a luxury upstate New York retreat. While creators enjoyed wellness activities and AI training, the event sparked significant online backlash. Critics highlighted the environmental impact of AI data centers and OpenAI's Department of Defense contract, arguing that the lavish nature of the trip was tone-deaf given current socio-ecological concerns and widespread anti-AI sentiment.

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Apple challenges UK government’s latest demand for iCloud backdoor: report

Startups

"Apple is challenging a U.K. government demand for access to encrypted user data by filing a complaint with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The dispute centers on a secret 'technical capability notice' requiring access to end-to-end encrypted cloud backups. This follows a previous legal battle in early 2025 that was dropped after U.S. intervention. Apple previously disabled Advanced Data Protection for U.K. users before this second order.".

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Nazara Slips Into The Red In Q1, Posts ₹83 Cr Loss

Business

Nazara Technologies reported a net loss of ₹82.5 crore in Q1 FY27, compared to a ₹51.3 crore loss in the same quarter last year. This follows a profit of ₹55.7 crore in Q4 FY26. Operating revenue fell 14% year-on-year to ₹428.8 crore, although it rose 7.8% sequentially. Total income reached ₹437.6 crore, while total expenses decreased by 12.6% to ₹455.4 crore during the quarter.

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Apple finally fixed Siri. So why does it feel anticlimactic?

Startups

"Apple has launched the updated Siri AI in the iOS 27 consumer beta, with a full release expected in September. Powered by a partnership with Google's Gemini AI and Apple's own foundation models, the assistant now offers natural conversations and deep personal context integration. While the tool is functional and highly useful for managing iPhone data, its arrival feels late compared to current industry advancements.".

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Outernet turns your saved posts into real-world adventures

Startups

Co-founders Danielle Egan and Athena Leong have launched Outernet, an iOS app designed to motivate users to explore the real world. The app uses AI to organize saved social media posts, events, and landmarks into actionable to-do lists with calendar integration and reminders. Already profitable with 18,000 users, Outernet aims to bridge the gap between online inspiration and offline activity through a whimsical, gamified experience.

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Govt Opens Door to MDR On UPI, To Amend Digital Payment Rules

Business

"The Indian government has proposed amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, allowing the Centre to specify which electronic payment methods remain exempt from Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges. This move could lead to the reintroduction of MDR on UPI transactions, potentially targeting businesses with higher turnovers. Industry leaders support the change to help fund digital payment infrastructure, innovation, and cybersecurity while maintaining zero fees for consumers.".

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WhatsApp says it is is fixing an issue that disabled several accounts

Startups

"Meta is working to restore access for numerous WhatsApp users who reported their accounts were blocked or put under review. While the company did not specify the cause or the regions affected, a spokesperson explained that efforts to prevent service abuse can sometimes lead to incorrect account bans. Meta acknowledged the disruption and stated it is taking action to resolve the issue and restore access to users.".

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Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire leads $1B round for nuclear startup Valar Atomics

Startups

"Valar Atomics has raised $1 billion in equity led by Sequoia and secured a $200 million credit line, with a reported valuation of $6 billion. The startup develops small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) designed for faster, cheaper deployment. Valar recently partnered with Nvidia to create a 30MW waterless AI factory. This funding will support the company's goal of manufacturing fleets of SMRs to accelerate power generation.".

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Base Power raises another $1B to save the grid using backyard batteries

Startups

Base Power has raised $1 billion in Series D funding, valuing the startup at $13 billion. The company installs high-capacity home batteries in Texas and Illinois via a subscription model, selling stored electricity back to the grid during peak demand. To address rising energy needs from AI data centers, Base Power recently launched the Base Core battery and aims to double its daily installation rate by year-end.

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Congress’s favorite AI tool? ChatGPT

Startups

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the primary AI tool used by the U.S. House of Representatives, accounting for roughly 90% of AI spending. House records show approximately $100,580 spent on ChatGPT, while Anthropic’s Claude followed with $13,160. Democratic offices spent significantly more than Republicans. Staffers utilize these tools for drafting memos, analyzing legislation, and responding to constituents, though the data excludes free accounts and bundled software contracts.

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Wispr Flow is preparing to launch a meeting notetaker, updated terms suggest

Startups

"Wispr Flow has updated its terms to introduce an AI meeting notetaker capable of generating transcripts, summaries, and action items. This new feature positions the startup against competitors like Otter and Fireflies, allowing it to gather more user context and automate tasks. Having raised over $81 million with a previous valuation of $700 million, the company is reportedly seeking a new funding round valuing it at $2 billion.".

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