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Supabase Raises $200M, Becomes Go-To Backend for AI Apps
Supabase, the open-source Firebase alternative, just raised $200M at a $2B valuation. With over 1.7M developers and explosive growth, it’s fast becoming the default backend for AI and modern apps. Built on Postgres, it simplifies setup while scaling effortlessly—earning major love from the dev community and big investors alike.
Read more on TechCrunch
Wayve Expands to Japan for AI-Driven Car Tech
British self-driving startup Wayve has opened its first Asian testing center in Japan to boost AI-powered driving software in partnership with automakers. The move aims to train its systems on Japan’s complex roads, enhancing global adaptability. Backed by SoftBank, Wayve’s tech ditches traditional maps, using camera-based machine learning for smarter autonomous driving.
Read more on Wayve
Columbia’s suspended student startup Cluely raises $5.3M in seed funding
Suspended Columbia student Chungin “Roy” Lee raised $5.3M for Cluely — an AI tool designed to secretly assist users during interviews, exams, and sales calls via a hidden browser window. Despite ethical concerns and a viral “Black Mirror”‑style launch video, Cluely claims over $3M ARR as its founders embrace controversy over convention.
Read more on Techcrunch
Virtue AI Raises $30M to Strengthen AI Safety and Compliance
Virtue AI has secured $30M in Seed and Series A funding to scale its AI security platform for enterprises. Backed by Lightspeed and Walden Catalyst, Virtue helps businesses safely deploy AI with tools like automated risk testing, guardrails, and compliance agents — eliminating the trade-off between innovation and security in AI adoption.
Read more on yahoo
Yale Grads’ Startup Spur Raises $4.5 Million in Seed Funding
Spur, an AI-powered QA testing startup founded by two Yale grads, raised $4.5M from top investors including First Round and Pear VC. Spur uses AI browser agents to mimic real users, helping companies catch bugs and speed up release cycles. Already trusted by Fortune 500s and e-commerce giants, Spur is making quality assurance faster, smarter, and fully automated.
Read more on GlobeNewsWire
OpenAI in Talks to Acquire Windsurf for Over $3 Billion
OpenAI is in talks to acquire coding assistant startup Windsurf for over $3 billion, marking its biggest deal yet. The move signals a potential AI app acquisition race as big players look beyond in-house tools. The deal could raise antitrust questions, especially given OpenAI’s complex ties with Microsoft and competition with rivals like Anysphere.
Read more on Axios
xAI Introduces Memory Feature to Grok
Elon Musk’s xAI has rolled out a memory feature for its Grok chatbot, enabling it to remember past chats for more personalized responses. Currently in beta on web and mobile (except EU/UK), users can view, manage, or delete memories anytime. This update brings Grok closer to rivals like ChatGPT and Gemini in user-tailored AI interactions.
Read more on TechCrunch
Anthropic Boosts Claude with Google Workspace Integration and Smart Research
Anthropic has upgraded Claude with two big features: direct access to Gmail, Calendar, and Docs, turning it into a true workplace assistant, and a new “Research” tool that runs multi-step searches with citations. These upgrades aim to rival Microsoft’s Copilot, while Anthropic promises more powerful updates soon — all while addressing privacy and accuracy concerns.
Read more on TheVerge
Notion rolls out an AI-powered email client for Gmail
Notion just dropped Notion Mail, an AI-packed Gmail client that helps you sort emails, draft replies, schedule meetings, and more. It’s super customizable and connects with Notion’s tools like Calendar. Unlike basic AI email helpers, it lets you build your inbox your way. More features and an iOS app are in the pipeline too!
Read more on TechCrunch
OpenAI Unveils GPT-4.1 Models Designed for Smarter Coding
OpenAI launched GPT-4.1, plus mini and nano versions, flaunting a huge 1M-token context window. It promises sharper coding skills and better real-world use, but still lags behind Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude on benchmarks. Cheap, fast, but not perfect — OpenAI admits reliability drops as input grows. Progress? Sure. Flawless? Not yet!
Read more on TechCrunch
Indian Government Allocates ₹1,000 Crore for Space Startups
The Indian government is investing ₹1,000 crore to support space startups, aiming to boost the country’s role in the global space race. Managed by SIDBI Venture Capital, this funding is part of a larger ₹10,000 crore plan over five years to spark innovation and growth in India’s fast-emerging space sector.
Read more on entrackr
Google Unveils Ironwood AI Chip to Rival Nvidia
Google has launched its seventh-gen AI chip, Ironwood, designed for fast AI inference tasks like powering chatbots. The chip can work in clusters of over 9,000 units and delivers double the energy efficiency of its predecessor. Available only through Google Cloud, Ironwood boosts Google’s AI edge. Alphabet shares jumped 9.7% following the announcement.
Read more on Reuters
Fintech Founder Faces Fraud Charges After ‘AI’ Shopping App Revealed to Rely on Human Labor in the Philippines
Albert Saniger, ex-CEO of AI shopping app Nate, was charged with defrauding investors by falsely claiming its tech enabled fully automated online purchases. In reality, humans in a Philippine call center did the work. Nate raised over $50M before collapsing in 2023, leaving investors with major losses. Similar cases of exaggerated AI claims have surfaced recently.
Read more on TechCrunch
Amazon CEO Urges Heavy AI Investment for Long-Term Gains
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, in his annual shareholder letter, emphasized the need for aggressive AI investments to secure future profits. With over $100B planned in 2025 capex—mainly for AWS AI—Jassy called AI a “once-in-a-lifetime reinvention.” He highlighted current costs in data centers and chips but expects prices to drop as Amazon builds over 1,000 generative AI tools.
Read more on TechCrunch
Meta Unveils Llama 4 Collection
Meta launches its Llama 4 collection, introducing Scout, Maverick, and Behemoth models built with a mixture-of-experts architecture. The new AI models deliver enhanced visual understanding, impressive performance on coding and reasoning benchmarks, and balanced responses on controversial topics. Scout runs on a single GPU, while Maverick and Behemoth demand robust hardware. License restrictions apply for EU users according to Meta.
Read more on TechCrunch
OpenAI’s Image Generator Goes Free for All!
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman announced that their GPT-4o-powered image generator is now free for everyone, previously exclusive to paid ChatGPT users. With a possible three-image daily limit, it’s already a hit—melting GPUs and sparking Studio Ghibli-style art debates. OpenAI also raised $40 billion, boasting 500 million weekly ChatGPT users.
Read more on TechCrunch
Isomorphic Labs Secures $600M for AI Drug Innovation
Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs raised $600 million in its first funding round, led by Thrive Capital and Google Ventures, to advance its AI-driven drug discovery mission: “solving all disease.” Founded by Demis Hassabis, the London-based lab behind the Nobel-winning AlphaFold plans to boost research and expand its team with this investment.
Read more on nypost
xAI Acquires X in All-Stock Deal to Boost AI Ambitions
Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has acquired social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in an all-stock deal, valuing xAI at $80B and X at $33B. The merger integrates data, AI models, and talent, strengthening xAI’s competitive edge. Musk aims to leverage X’s vast user base and data to accelerate AI development.
Read more on TechCrunch
Indian Government Drops Import Duties on EV and Smartphone Components
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced zero import duties on key EV and mobile battery components to boost local manufacturing. The Finance Bill 2025 also abolishes the 6% digital ad tax, rationalizes customs tariffs, and provides tax relief for salaried individuals. A new Income Tax Bill will be discussed in the next session.
Read more on TheHindu
ChatGPT Now Creates and Edits Images with GPT-4o
OpenAI has upgraded ChatGPT with GPT-4o’s native image generation—allowing users to create, modify, and edit images. Available now for Pro users ($200/month), it’s rolling out soon to free and Plus users. More detailed and accurate than DALL-E 3, GPT-4o is trained on public and proprietary data while respecting artists’ rights.
Read more on TechCrunch
Google Introduces Gemini 2.5 Pro – Its Most Advanced AI Yet
Google has unveiled Gemini 2.5 Pro, its most intelligent AI model, excelling in reasoning, coding, and multimodal understanding. It tops AI benchmarks, features a 1M-token context window (soon 2M), and enhances complex problem-solving. Now available in Google AI Studio and Gemini Advanced, it’s coming soon to Vertex AI with pricing updates.
Read more on Google
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