🟣 Bono is reinventing charitable giving for the digital era

Aiming to fix the clunky donation experience, Bono lets users set monthly giving plans, discover vetted causes, and track real-world impact — all in one sleek platform.

💡A simpler, smarter way to give
• Users pick causes they care about — climate, LGBTQ+ rights, animal welfare, and more
• Bono auto-distributes monthly donations (starting at just $5)
• A pilot AI chatbot matches donors with relevant charities

⭕️ Built for transparency and trust
• Weekly reports show real outcomes — meals donated, therapy sessions funded, etc.
• Mobile app tracks annual giving impact in real time
• Partnered with over a dozen content creators to spread awareness

📈 Momentum and mission
• Soft-launched in December during LA wildfire crisis
• Now covers 1.5M U.S. charities — all with high ratings and solid social proof
• Average user donates $20/month, with some giving over $1,000

💰 Backed by top execs
• Raised $1.6M pre-seed led by Progression.Fund
• Angels include senior leaders from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Intuit, and X/Twitter

Bono is turning passive charity into active impact — making giving as modern as the causes it supports.

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⭕️ Solena Materials is engineering the future of fashion — molecule by molecule

Imperial College spinout Solena just raised $6.7M to create high-performance, biodegradable fibres using AI and synthetic biology — with zero oil, no microplastics, and next-gen design baked in.

🧬 What they’re building
• AI-designed protein-based fibres that outperform traditional synthetics
• Created using engineered microbes — sustainable and biodegradable
• Tailored at the molecular level for strength, elasticity, and softness

⚙️ From lab to loom
• Relocating to a new pilot facility at Imperial’s Deep Tech Campus
• Equipped with automated bioreactors and fibre spinning lines
• Targeting integration into fashion and sports brands’ 2026 collections

🧠 Why it’s different
• Fibres aren’t just sustainable — they’re designed from scratch using deep learning
• Avoids the “green premium” by going after premium technical use-cases first
• Positioned to benefit from EU’s upcoming microplastics regulations

With custom AI-designed proteins, Solena wants to do for textiles what Impossible did for meat — redefine what’s possible without nature’s limits.

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📊 Skillvue wants to help you find your next top performer — already hiding in your org chart

AI-powered platform Skillvue just raised $6.3M to help companies move beyond resumes and job titles — and start hiring, promoting, and managing based on actual skills. The future of HR is skills-first.

🧠 What they’re building
• An AI-driven platform that analyzes hard and soft skills across candidates and employees
• Replaces gut-feel interviews with automated behavioral assessments
• Aims to unlock hidden talent internally and improve hiring precision

📊 Real traction, real results
• Predicts performance 5x more accurately than traditional assessments
• Boosts effective talent placement by over 100%
• Used by Unipol, Carrefour, Randstad, Credem, and Douglas

🧬 Scaling fast with a research-first model
• Created a Psychometric Team led by a clinical research veteran
• Split out an independent AI department to push model development
• Plans to launch next-gen Skills Assessment Agents for end-to-end automation

With €9.5M in total funding and growing global demand for upskilling, Skillvue wants to be the tech stack for the skills-based workplace revolution.

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🥷 Anduril bets on battlefield edge — acquires Klas to supercharge autonomous warfare

Defense tech unicorn Anduril is buying rugged comms gear veteran Klas to bring hardened hardware into its AI-driven battlefield ecosystem. The move aims to bolster Anduril’s edge computing and drone coordination under real-world combat conditions.

⚙️ What Klas brings to the table
• 30+ years of experience building field-ready computing and networking gear
• Hardware built for off-grid, combat-zone environments
• Deployed globally to support military communications and drone ops

🧠 How Anduril will use it
• Klas’s tech to be integrated into Lattice, Anduril’s battlefield OS
• Enables live syncing of drone, sensor, and comms data in contested zones
• Strengthens Anduril’s pitch as the next-gen digital command stack

📈 Strategic backdrop
• This is Anduril’s ninth acquisition since 2017
• Competing with Palantir and SpaceX for missile defense contracts
• In talks to raise $2.5B at a $28B valuation, per Reuters

This is not just a hardware buy — it’s a tactical move to own the full kill chain, from battlefield sensors to autonomous decision loops.

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🍴 Posha: Your AI-powered kitchen robot that cooks while you work

Posha, the newly launched AI kitchen assistant, wants to revolutionize home cooking — reducing your time in the kitchen by up to 70%. With $8M Series A funding led by Accel, it’s setting out to automate healthy meals for busy people.

🍴 What it does
• Prepares meals from over 1,000 recipes using AI, computer vision, and robotics
• Handles cooking tasks like heating, stirring, timing, and ingredient dispensing
• Uses a built-in camera to adapt in real-time — like caramelizing onions or roasting chicken to perfection

🚀 Why it’s different
• No meal kits or proprietary formats — users load ingredients and go
• Fully customizable via app — change spice levels, doneness, ingredients
• Designed to fit under kitchen cabinets with quick dishwasher-safe cleanup

💡 The vision
• Aims to be as essential as a microwave in modern homes
• Subscription model for personalized recipe plans
• Targeting the U.S. market with growing demand for healthy, home-cooked meals without the effort

Posha’s AI chef brings robotics out of factories and into your kitchen — and it's hungry for mass adoption.

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💠 Fastino: The AI startup training powerful models on budget gaming GPUs

While Big Tech races to build trillion-parameter behemoths, Fastino is taking the lean route — and just raised $17.5M to prove small can be mighty.

💡A new model for models
• Builds task-specific, compact AI models that run on <$100K worth of gaming GPUs
• Claims models are faster, cheaper to train, and more accurate for targeted enterprise tasks
• Early models include tools for document summarization and data redaction

💰 Backed by top investors
• $17.5M seed led by Khosla Ventures, bringing total raised to $25M
• Previous investors include M12 (Microsoft’s VC arm) and Insight Partners

⚡️Millisecond answers, single-token output
• Models are so compact they return full responses in one token
• Focused on enterprise clients and built for speed and efficiency

Fastino is betting that small, smart, and specific is the future of enterprise AI — not just big and bloated.

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✈️ Rove: The Gen Z travel hack turning everyday shopping into airline miles

Founded by a 22-year-old Wharton grad and a Harvard dropout, Rove is on a mission to help millions earn free flights—no credit card required.

🌎 A global idea born from travel
• Inspired by Asia Miles in Hong Kong, where everyday purchases earn flight miles
• Built as a “universal” loyalty program across 11 airline partners
• Includes major names like Qatar Airways, Air France-KLM, and Finnair

💰 How it works
• Earn airline miles from 7,000+ merchants via Rove’s Chrome extension
• Hotel bookings are key—some deals give users up to 40% of the value back as miles
• Miles can be combined from Rove, shopping, hotels, and even eligible credit cards

🚀 Backed by big names
• Raised $2M from YC, General Catalyst, Soma Capital
• Part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 batch
• Positioned as a no-barrier entry point into “travel hacking” for Gen Z

Rove is flipping the script on travel rewards—no credit score needed, just smart clicks and a Chrome plugin.

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🚁 Quantum Systems: Europe’s AI drone leader takes flight

Quantum Systems is building battlefield-grade autonomous drones powered by AI — now expanding globally with backing from Airbus, Thiel, Balderton, and more. With a focus on defence and critical industries, the company is reshaping aerial intelligence.

🔧 What they’ve built
• AI-powered modular drones that operate without GPS or stable communication
• Flagship platform Vector AI already deployed in Ukraine and NATO missions
• Dual-use systems for defence, mining, agriculture, and infrastructure

⚡️ Where they’re headed
• Scaling global production to meet rising demand across EU and Asia-Pacific
• Strengthening defence portfolio through acquisitions in Germany and the UK
• Growing a 550-person team across Germany, Australia, Ukraine, and Romania

❕ Why it matters
• Helps Europe reduce reliance on foreign defence tech
• Aligns with EU’s push for sovereign, software-defined defence
• Bridges startups and legacy defence systems with faster, smarter drone tech

Quantum is turning AI drones into Europe’s frontline advantage — and betting big on global aerial dominance.

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💠 Scale AI avoids further scrutiny as Labor Department drops investigation

The U.S. Department of Labor has officially dropped its Fair Labor Standards Act probe into Scale AI and its HR partners, removing a cloud that had loomed over the $13.8B startup since March.

⚖️ What was under investigation
• DOL examined potential worker misclassification and unpaid wages
• Scale relies on thousands of contractors for critical AI labeling tasks
• Ex-workers have filed lawsuits claiming denial of benefits and misclassification

📉 Why the case was dropped
• DOL did not provide a reason; Scale declined to comment
• On May 1, the agency paused enforcement of a Biden-era contractor rule
• Scale may also be navigating policy shifts under a potential Trump return

🔗 Political and insider ties
• Scale CEO Alexandr Wang publicly urged Trump to “win the AI war”
• Former Scale MD Michael Kratsios now leads White House science policy

The decision removes a major regulatory overhang—but legal pressure from former workers could still complicate the narrative.

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🟣 Recraft: The AI image generator beating DALL-E at its own game

Recraft has quietly become a powerhouse in branded visual generation—outperforming Midjourney and DALL-E on industry benchmarks, now backed by Accel with $30M in fresh capital.

🎯 Built for brand precision
• Proprietary model lets users place logos and text exactly where needed
• Maintains consistent style across multiple images—crucial for design teams
• Generates high-res images in 7 seconds, twice as fast as DALL-E 3

🚀 From red pandas to record scores
• Their “red panda” model topped the Artificial Analysis benchmark (ELO 1172)
• First to support image generation at any size with pixel-perfect layout control
• Used by 4M users with $5M ARR—quietly scaling with real demand

🗣️ Led by an unconventional founder
• CEO Anna Veronika Dorogush was a pro model before building CatBoost at Yandex
• Combines deep ML engineering with creative understanding of design workflows
• Her leadership helped Recraft outpace industry giants from stealth

💰 Backed by top-tier investors
• $30M Series B led by Accel, with Khosla and Madrona in the mix
• Total funding now $42M, targeting aggressive growth in brand and agency adoption

Recraft isn’t chasing hype—it’s quietly rewriting the rulebook for generative AI in professional design.

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❕ Fizz sues Instacart and Partiful over trademark in Gen Z turf war

Gen Z social platform Fizz is taking Instacart and Partiful to court, alleging trademark infringement over their new co-launched “Fizz” party delivery app—targeting the same audience Fizz claims to have built since 2020.

⚖️ What’s in the lawsuit
• Filed in Northern California seeking a jury trial, damages, and an injunction
• Claims Instacart and Partiful knowingly used “Fizz” to mislead Gen Z users
• Accuses them of trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and unfair competition

📣 Fizz’s argument
• Says it has used the “FIZZ” name since early 2022, filed for trademark in 2021
• Claims Instacart’s use of <fizz.com> was in bad faith to divert traffic from <fizz.social>
• Alleges Partiful is leveraging its brand after failing to capture Gen Z organically

No comment yet from Instacart or Partiful—but this Gen Z showdown just escalated into a courtroom battle.

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👩‍⚕️ Teal Health becomes first to win FDA approval for at-home cervical cancer screening

In a historic move for women’s health, Teal Health has received FDA approval for the Teal Wand, the first-ever at-home cervical cancer screening device—allowing patients to self-collect samples and skip the doctor’s office.

💡 What’s new
• The Teal Wand enables patients to collect cervical samples at home and mail them to a lab
• Includes virtual provider access for result reviews and medical guidance
• Launches in California this June, with plans to expand

📈 Backed by leading investors
• $23M raised to date, including Serena Ventures, Chelsea Clinton, Forerunner, and Emerson Collective
• Aims to reduce the 1-in-4 women currently behind on screenings

This is more than convenience—it’s a step toward healthcare access and autonomy for millions.

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🔘 Whoop walks back upgrade policy after user backlash

Fitness tracker startup Whoop faced major criticism this week after introducing paid upgrade fees for its new 5.0 device — despite previously promising free upgrades.

💡 What happened
• Users were told to pay $49–$79 or extend their subscription by 12 months to get the new device
• This contradicted a long-standing policy promising free upgrades after six months
• Angry customers flooded Reddit and social media

📣 Company response
• Whoop now offers free upgrades to anyone with 12+ months left
• with less time can extend their plan to qualify
• The startup claimed the 6-month upgrade promise was “posted in error”

📈What it means
• The community is split — some call it a win, others see it as damage control
• Users with 11 months left are stuck paying or extending

When your whole brand is about premium service, don’t cut corners on loyalty.

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🧪 Elizabeth Holmes’ partner is pitching a new blood-testing startup

Billy Evans — partner of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes — is reportedly fundraising for a new company called Haemanthus, focused on “human health optimization” through blood, saliva, and urine analysis.

🧪 What they’re building
• A machine that uses lasers to detect infections and cancer
• Plans to start with pet diagnostics, then expand to human health
• Targeting over $50M in funding

❓ Why it’s raising eyebrows
• The concept closely mirrors Theranos — but with lasers
• Some investors, including Jim Breyer, have already passed

Theranos 2.0 or a clean slate? Investors aren’t so sure.

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🔺 Ex-Northvolt CEO returns with stealth AI manufacturing startup

Just two months after Northvolt collapsed under $5.8B in debt, former CEO Peter Carlsson is back — this time betting on AI to transform factory floors.

🧠 What they’re building
• New Sweden-based startup using machine learning to optimize manufacturing
• Targets predictive maintenance, real-time quality control, and leaner operations
• No name yet — still in stealth, with team scaling to ~20

💰 Who’s backing it
• VC funding secured from top firms in Europe and Silicon Valley
• Carlsson took a major stake himself
• His Tesla + Northvolt track record reportedly helped close the round

🔧 Why it matters
• Industrial AI is heating up — and legacy players like GE and Siemens are slow
• Carlsson is aiming for faster, more focused execution
• Could mark a redemption arc after Northvolt’s high-profile failure

Second acts in tech are rare — but Carlsson’s new play might just hit the timing right.

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💳 Ramp Faces Congressional Scrutiny Over $25M Federal Contract Bid

A high-profile investigation is underway into fintech startup Ramp’s pursuit of a $25 million U.S. government contract, raising concerns over fairness and political ties.

🔍 Suspicions of preferential treatment
• Rep. Gerald Connolly is probing Ramp’s involvement in a pilot for the federal SmartPay program.
• His concerns include Ramp’s lack of prior federal contracting experience and its ties to Trump-affiliated investors like Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and 8VC.
• Ramp allegedly engaged with payments industry entities before an official request for information was made public.

📊 A lucrative government target
• The SmartPay program processes over $40 billion in annual federal spending via 4.6M cards.
• Currently dominated by Citibank and US Bank, the program represents a $700 billion opportunity.
• Ramp says it entered the process after seeing a public post by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and was referred by a former customer.

🏛 Political backlash could reshape fintech bids
• Connolly is demanding a full list of Ramp’s interactions with GSA and has cited a GSA staffer calling Ramp the “favorite.”
• Ramp, recently valued at $13B, declined to comment on the investigation.

Is the federal fintech door opening—or just opening controversy?

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🧪Classiq Wants to Be the Microsoft of Quantum Computing

Israeli startup Classiq has raised $110 million in Series C funding — the largest ever for a quantum software company — to solidify its role as the foundational software layer for the quantum era.

🔬 Quantum platform that writes itself
• Classiq’s platform automatically generates quantum circuits from high-level specs, compressing them by up to 97%.
• It enables developers to build applications across any quantum hardware, without needing deep quantum expertise.
• Used by top firms like BMW, Deloitte, Rolls-Royce, Citi, and dozens of global universities.

📊 Scientific depth and rapid growth
• Tripled both revenues and customer base yearly, serving enterprises and academia worldwide.
• Filed over 60 patents with a 100% acceptance rate in quantum modeling and compilation.
• Led by a seasoned team spanning quantum physics, chip design, and software engineering.

🚀 Funding to fuel global scale
• $110M round led by Entrée Capital, with backers like HSBC, Samsung Next, Norwest, Wing, Team8, and QBeat.
• Total funding now at $173M, aimed at global expansion and building out enterprise go-to-market and R&D.
• Fully integrated with leading clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP) and nearly all major quantum hardware platforms.

Classiq isn't building niche tools—it’s positioning itself as the universal operating system for quantum applications.

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🧬 TILT Biotherapeutics advances immune-enhanced virus therapy for ovarian cancer

Finnish biotech TILT is developing a next-gen oncolytic virus that boosts T-cell response in solid tumours — aiming to solve one of cancer immunotherapy’s toughest problems.

🧪 Rethinking treatment for solid tumours
• TILT’s lead candidate TILT-123 uses a chimeric adenovirus armed with TNF and IL-2 to trigger a strong local immune response.
• Converts “cold” tumours into “hot” ones, enhancing the effect of T-cell therapies and checkpoint inhibitors.
• Targets hard-to-treat cases like platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and melanoma.

📊 New funding to scale clinical trials
• Raised $25.6M Series B from the EIC Fund, Lifeline Ventures, TESI, and others.
• Funds will support Phase 2 trials in the U.S., plus additional Phase 1b studies and clinical site expansion.
• Recent Phase 1a trial showed 64% disease control and strong safety in ovarian cancer patients.

🫱 A platform built on deep clinical roots
• Founded by oncologist Akseli Hemminki, who’s treated nearly 300 patients with experimental virus therapies.
• Partners include Merck & Co. and Merck KGaA, testing TILT-123 with KEYTRUDA® in combination trials.
• Data published in Nature Communications and presented at AACR highlights the approach’s potential.

TILT’s science isn’t just promising — it’s already in patients, with global partners and a pipeline ready to expand.

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🧬 Quidditas builds precise gene replacement tech for next-gen therapies

Belgian biotech startup Quidditas is pushing genome editing beyond CRISPR with a platform that enables full gene or exon replacement at any site in the genome — opening doors to treat rare and complex diseases.

🔍A novel solution to CRISPR’s limits
• Their GREAT technology allows precise recombination of DNA/RNA of any length, anywhere in the genome.
• Enables full excision and replacement of gene sequences, overcoming constraints in size, control, and standardisation.
• Built for gene therapy, protein bioproduction, and regenerative medicine.

📊 Backed by biotech investors and public funding
• Supported by iXLife Capital, Key Ventures, and business angels.
• Received a €1.72M innovation grant from Wallonia’s Win4Company program.
• Funds will expand R&D and explore broader biomedical use cases.

🧪Led by scientists with global research pedigree
• Founded in 2022 by François Cherbonneau and Aurore Prunevieille, alumni of Harvard and Saint-Louis Hospital.
• The team blends expertise in molecular genetics, immunology, and biotherapy.
• Their goal: “cure from the beginning” with scalable, precise tools for real-world genetic medicine.

With its platform built from scratch — not patched onto CRISPR — Quidditas could redefine what’s possible in genome editing.

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🔎 Saildrone to launch AI maritime security hub in Europe

Saildrone is building a network of autonomous, AI-powered ocean drones to monitor Europe’s critical underwater infrastructure — and it’s starting with a new HQ in Denmark.

🔍 Persistent surveillance for undersea assets
• Saildrone’s wind- and solar-powered USVs patrol for 12+ months without refuelling.
• Designed to monitor pipelines, cables, and borders — even in GPS-denied environments.
• Uses multi-sensor navigation and proprietary AI to track threats and detect sabotage in real time.

📊 New funding to expand in Europe
• Raised $60M, led by Denmark’s EIFO, bringing total to $325M.
• Will open European HQ in Copenhagen, with first four USVs launching in Baltic waters by June.
• Plans to scale to 50+ units by 2026 across NATO for missions including anti-sub warfare and drone defense.

⚙️ Cost-efficient alternative to naval patrols
• Cuts operational costs by up to 96% compared to manned vessels.
• Already deployed in the Arctic, North Sea, and Southern Ocean.
• Backed by EU and NATO frameworks for subsea cable security and maritime AI systems.

From undersea sabotage to border enforcement, Saildrone is becoming the eyes and ears of Europe’s next-gen maritime defense.

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