Former Founders Fund VC Sam Blond launches AI sales startup to upend Salesforce
The startup, Monaco, has come out of stealth as an AI-native all-in-one CRM plus more system backed by names like the Collison brothers and Garry Tan.
Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype
It’s been a busy few months for AI hype. At the end of April, Anthropic claimed that its model Claude Mythos is better at finding software vulnerabilities than most security experts. Then we had the OpenAI–Hugging Face hacking incident, after which Anthropic (proudly) and Meta (reluctantly) disclosed similar incidents involving their models. This was followed…
Upside Robotics is reducing fertilizer use and waste in corn crops
Upside Robotics builds autonomous solar-powered robots that can help farmers reduce their fertilizer use by 70%.
Amazon Pharmacy to expand same-day delivery to nearly 4,500 US cities
The expansion will cover customers in newly served states such as Idaho and Massachusetts.
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TikTok launches an opt-in Local Feed in the U.S. leveraging users’ precise location
TikTok’s new Local Feed will show you nearby shopping, dining, events, news, and more.
Integrate raises $17M to move defense project management into the 21st century
The round was led by FPV Ventures co-founder and managing partner Wesley Chan.
Complyance raises $20M to help companies manage risk and compliance
Complyance raised a $20 million Series A led by GV for its AI-native compliance platform.
Humanoid robot startup Apptronik has now raised $935M at a $5B+ valuation
Apptronik has sold another $520 million in a Series A extension to existing and new investors like Google and Mercedes-Benz.
Meridian raises $17 million to remake the agentic spreadsheet
A new company called Meridian.AI has emerged from stealth with an IDE-based approach to agentic financial modeling.
The Download: inside the QuitGPT movement, and EVs in Africa
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. A “QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions In September, Alfred Stephen, a freelance software developer in Singapore, purchased a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 a month and offers…