News • EducateKaro - Tech & Startup News Updates

Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Returns to Earth After 18-Day Space Mission

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by educatekaroin News, AI, Funding, TechLeave a Comment

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla successfully completed his 18-day space mission and has now returned to Earth. On July 15, his spacecraft, Dragon, made a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Shukla launched into space on June 26 alongside astronauts from the U.S., Poland, and Hungary as part of the Axiom-4 mission, traveling over 6 million miles while conducting key experiments. After undocking from the ISS, the crew spent nearly 22.5 hours before splashdown. Shukla will undergo a 7-day rehab program to readjust to Earth’s gravity. His family expressed joy and anticipation at his safe return.

Credit: TOI

Bitcoin Nears Double YoY as Wall Street & Washington Fuel Surge

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by educatekaroin News, AI, Funding, TechLeave a Comment

Bitcoin has nearly doubled in value over the past year, recently touching $123K before settling around $116K. Unlike past rallies, this surge is being driven by growing institutional demand, massive ETF inflows, and rising adoption from major firms like BlackRock and GameStop. Spot Bitcoin ETFs traded on U.S. exchanges have now amassed more than $150 billion in assets. Meanwhile, Congress is actively discussing crypto regulation during “Crypto Week,” with bills that may reshape the legal landscape. The proposed Clarity Act could finally provide clear oversight, giving the CFTC control over digital commodities like Bitcoin — paving the way for broader institutional involvement.

Credit: CNBC

Rwazi Raises $12M to Bring Real-Time Consumer Insights to Global Brands

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by educatekaroin News, AI, Funding, TechLeave a Comment

After years of struggling to find accurate data on global consumer behavior, Joseph Rutakangwa launched Rwazi in 2021 to solve the problem. The startup has now secured $12 million in Series A funding led by Bonfire Ventures. Rwazi offers companies real-time, voluntarily shared data directly from consumers — also known as zero-party data—instead of relying on outdated reports or surveys. With operations in 190+ countries and clients like Coca-Cola and Visa, the company plans to scale its AI tools and expand its engineering team to better serve global markets.

Credit: TechCrunch

Joby Aviation Doubles eVTOL Facility Size, Eyes 2026 Launch

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by educatekaroin News, Startup, TechLeave a Comment

Joby Aviation has expanded its pilot manufacturing facility in Marina, California, to 435,500 sq. ft., doubling production capacity as it prepares to launch electric air taxis (eVTOLs) commercially. The upgraded site can now produce up to 24 aircraft annually and will support pilot training, testing, and FAA certification. Backed by Toyota’s $500M investment, Joby is also developing a larger facility in Dayton, Ohio, capable of building 500 aircraft yearly. A sixth Joby aircraft has just earned airworthiness certification. The company will start from Dubai for its first trials in 2026, followed by a U.S. rollout.

Credit: TechCrunch

Cognition Acquires Windsurf to Boost AI Engineering Future

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by educatekaroin News, AI, Business, Funding, TechLeave a Comment

Cognition has officially acquired Windsurf, the agentic IDE, bringing in its product, IP, brand, and talented team. With $82M ARR, 350+ enterprise clients, and a rapidly growing user base, Windsurf strengthens Cognition’s mission to revolutionize software engineering. The Windsurf team will continue operations for now, while their tools and IP will soon integrate into Cognition’s offerings like Devin. Notably, all Windsurf employees will benefit financially and receive full equity vesting. This move signals a major leap toward the future of autonomous software development, positioning Cognition as a powerful force in the evolving AI engineering landscape.

Credit: TechCrunch

Windsurf Deal Slips From OpenAI’s Grasp, Google Wins in the AI Talent War!

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by educatekaroin News, AI, Business, Funding, TechLeave a Comment

In a surprise twist, OpenAI’s $3B deal to acquire AI coding startup Windsurf has collapsed — and Google swooped in smartly. Instead of buying the company, Google acqui-hired key Windsurf talent, including CEO Varun Mohan, for $2.4B. They also secured a non-exclusive license to Windsurf’s tech. The rest of Windsurf stays independent under a new interim CEO. This clever move gives Google DeepMind top AI coding brains without full acquisition hassles. Meanwhile, OpenAI is left empty-handed. The race for elite AI talent is heating up, and Google just played a masterstroke.

Credit: CNBC

Grok AI Is Coming to Tesla Cars Next Week, Says Elon Musk

July 11, 2025July 11, 2025 by educatekaroin News, AI, Business, TechLeave a Comment

Elon Musk just confirmed that Grok, the AI chatbot built by his company xAI, is coming to Tesla cars “very soon”—possibly by next week. This update came hours after the launch of Grok 4, xAI’s latest AI model. Musk says Tesla drivers will be able to talk to their cars and ask Grok to do tasks. Firmware leaks also reveal Grok comes with wild personality modes like “therapist,” “conspiracy,” and even “NSFW.” However, it’ll only work in newer Teslas with Hardware 3. Grok will also power Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus.

Varda Space Raises $187M to Make Medicines in Space

July 11, 2025July 11, 2025 by educatekaroin News, Pharma, SpaceLeave a Comment

Varda Space just raised a whopping $187 million to take drug-making to the next level—literally. The company’s planning to produce key pharma ingredients in space, where zero gravity helps with things like crystallizing proteins. A new 10,000 sq. ft. lab in California will be planning which biologics should be sent to orbit. Varda’s already completed 3 space missions and aims for 4 more this year. They’re also building spacecraft in-house now and testing hypersonic tech for the U.S. military. The big goal? Solve tricky pharma problems and license out high-value patents.