💶 Scramble makes investing in consumer brands simple

Scramble is a European platform that lets anyone back fast-growing consumer companies and earn from it - without the noise of stocks or daily market tracking.

Each month, users get a curated batch of companies, and investments are automatically diversified.

🖱 Founder-backed loans, disbursed in stages to reduce risk
🖱 Group A: monthly repayments, up to 12.4% annually
🖱 Group B: higher risk, up to 25% returns
🖱 Scramble co-invests up to 20% in every batch

✨ New users get €10 for signing up, plus €5 bonus for every €100 invested.

Positioned as a hands-off, lower-volatility way to grow capital, Scramble is betting on the appeal of consumer brands as a stable entry point for retail investors.

🎥Jim Jarmusch on Mubi’s Sequoia funding

At the Venice Film Festival, director Jim Jarmusch premiered his new film Father Mother Sister Brother and faced questions about Mubi - the indie streaming platform that co-produced the movie and recently raised $100M from Sequoia Capital.

Some filmmakers criticized the deal, citing Sequoia’s ties to Israeli defense tech. Mubi’s CEO denied any link to war funding.

Jarmusch distanced himself from the controversy:
🖱 His collaboration with Mubi began before the funding round
🖱 He praised Mubi as “fantastic” partners
🖱 But added bluntly: “All corporate money is dirty”

A reminder of the growing tension between independent cinema ideals and the realities of venture-backed streaming.

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📈 2025’s most prolific unicorn backers in Europe

So far this year Europe has minted 11 new unicorns, nearly matching all of 2024. Behind them are a handful of VCs shaping the continent’s startup landscape.

Here are the top backers at the 2025 midpoint:

🖱 Accel – Backed Tines, Lovable, Fuse Energy. Led the $200M Series A for Lovable and now counts 26 European unicorns in its portfolio.

🖱 Balderton – Backed Quantum Systems and Fuse Energy. Quantum is already eyeing €500M revenue and a potential IPO in 2026.

🖱 Creandum – Backed Lovable twice (Seed and Series A) and Fuse Energy. Doubling down on one of Europe’s hottest AI startups.

🖱 Felicis – Backed Tines and Mubi, with N8n possibly next in line.

🖱 General Catalyst – Backed Neko Health and Parloa, strengthening its reputation for being in every hot European deal.

🖱 Lakestar – Backed Neko Health and Fuse Energy, while raising new funds for deeptech and defense.

From defense tech to vibe coding, the unicorn pipeline in Europe is diversifying fast. The concentration of power among a few global VCs is shaping not just who gets funded, but which sectors become the continent’s growth engines.

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📊 GPU-backed loans are the newest gamble in venture debt

Startups racing to build AI data centers are now collateralizing their GPUs to raise debt. The model looks like classic asset-backed lending, but with a twist: no one really knows how long these chips will hold value.

🖱 Nvidia GPUs have become the “gold rush shovels” of AI, pushing firms like Lambda, Crusoe, and CoreWeave to pile up billions in GPU-collateralized loans.

🖱 Private credit giants including BlackRock, JP Morgan, and Carlyle are in the game, but smaller non-bank lenders also see opportunity in shorter-term, smaller-ticket loans.

🖱 The challenge is depreciation: chips can be worth more than retail one quarter, then instantly outdated by a next-gen model. Lenders are still struggling to design the right curves.

🖱 Some argue the market will balance itself. Even older GPUs still have value for startups with smaller compute needs. “Not everyone needs the Ferrari. The Toyota Camry is fine.”

GPU-backed loans may stick around as long as AI infrastructure spending stays hot. But they highlight the fragility of debt models built on assets with such short technological half-lives.

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💰 Anthropic hits $183B valuation with $13B raise

Anthropic secured $13B from Iconiq, Fidelity, Lightspeed, BlackRock, Blackstone, and Qatar’s sovereign fund.

🖱 ARR jumped from $1B to $5B in one year
🖱 300K+ enterprise customers onboard
🖱 Large accounts ($100K+ ARR) grew nearly 7x
🖱 Claude Code brings $500M annually with usage up 10x in 3 months

The deal cements Anthropic as one of the fastest-scaling AI companies in history.

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📣 Larry Page on the power of “lazy” thinking

Page once said:

“Find leverage in the world so you can actually be lazy.”

Not about slacking, but about spotting the levers that turn small moves into 10x outcomes.

🖱In 2000 he called AI the ultimate Google.
🖱In 2025 he showed up at Y Combinator to push founders to think bigger.

Google went from a dorm project to global dominance because Page never chased effort for effort’s sake.

💡In venture the same rule applies. Returns don’t come from working harder than everyone else. They come from finding the right lever.

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📊 How many startups actually make it to Series B?

Carta’s latest data shows that about 30% of Seed-backed startups reach a Series B within seven years.

🖱That stage already counts as a solid milestone. Early investors usually have a path to returns, founders often cashed out a small piece, and the company proved it can scale beyond the first checks.

🖱Later investors may still face turbulence, but those on board from the beginning are already in the win column.

The myth of “only 1% of startups succeed” doesn’t quite match the numbers.

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🔥 OpenAI buys Statsig for $1.1B

OpenAI just made one of its biggest acquisitions yet, picking up Statsig, a platform for product testing and A/B experiments used by Microsoft, EA, and Atlassian.

🖱Later Founder Vijay Raji will become CTO of Applications at OpenAI, overseeing ChatGPT, Codex, and new products
🖱Later Statsig’s tools will be integrated into OpenAI to speed up development and experimentation
🖱Later The startup will remain a separate entity in Seattle, still serving external clients, while its full team joins OpenAI
🖱Later Deal is pending regulatory approval

A $1.1B move that signals OpenAI is doubling down on scaling product velocity, not just models.

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📰 Perplexity tries a Spotify-style fix for AI content

AI search has cut website traffic in half for some publishers. Why click when the answer is summarized in the result?

Perplexity is testing a new model: real revenue share instead of “traffic for access.” Publishers get paid every time their content is used inside Comet, the AI browser.

🖱Later $42.5M payout pool at launch, funded by Comet Plus subscriptions
🖱Later 80% of that revenue goes to publishers
🖱Later Payments tied to actual usage: link opens, citations in AI answers, task completions
🖱Later Direct response to lawsuits and accusations that AI is just scraping

OpenAI pays for training licenses but not usage. Google’s AI Overviews show content but offer no revenue.
Perplexity wants to flip the script: pay publishers per use, not just for training.

Whether this becomes the new normal or ends up like music streaming, with creators complaining about micropennies, will decide if AI and media can finally coexist.

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⚖️ Google avoids breakup in antitrust trial

A federal judge has ruled that Google won’t be forced to split up its search business, but it will need to change how it operates.

🖱Later Google can no longer tie Search, Chrome, Gemini, or Google Assistant to exclusive distribution or revenue deals
🖱Later Must share parts of its search index and user-interaction data with “qualified competitors”
🖱Later Required to offer search and ad syndication services at standard rates
🖱Later A technical committee will enforce the remedies for six years

The DOJ had pushed for harsher penalties, including divestiture of Chrome or Android, but Judge Amit Mehta opted for a narrower set of remedies.

The stranglehold of default placements (like Google paying Apple $20B+ annually for Safari) is loosening. That could open rare distribution opportunities in search, AI assistants, and ad tech — if challengers can seize the moment.

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🤝 Anthropic was using Statsig too

Turns out Anthropic had been actively using Statsig - the same startup OpenAI just acquired.

Even funnier, they disclosed this only a few days before the deal.

Coincidence? Or just Silicon Valley’s version of poetic timing.

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📊 Concentration of venture capital in 2025

This year, 41% of all US venture funding went to just 10 startups, the highest concentration in at least a decade.

🖱Later OpenAI — 20.3%
🖱Later ScaleAI — 7.2%
🖱Later xAI — 5.1%
🖱Later Anthropic — 1.8%
🖱Later Infinite Reality — 1.5%*
🖱Later World View — 1.3%
🖱Later Anduril — 1.3%
🖱Later Safe Superintelligence — 1%
🖱Later Thinking Machines — 1%

*Infinite Reality claims $3B, but the fund denies it. And the product hardly looks like a $3B company.

The result is clear: venture capital in 2025 is flowing into fewer, bigger bets. For most startups, the pie is shrinking.

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🌐 Atlassian to acquire The Browser Company for $610M

Atlassian is buying The Browser Company, maker of Arc and Dia, in a $610M cash deal. The move aims to build an AI-powered browser tailored for SaaS-heavy workflows and knowledge workers.

🖱 The Browser Company will remain independent under Atlassian
🖱 Development focus shifts to Dia after Arc was discontinued
🖱 Deal enables faster hiring, cross-platform support, and feature rollouts
🖱 Backed by investors like Jeff Weiner, Ev Williams, Dylan Field, and Akshay Kothari
🖱 Expected to close in Q2 FY2026

A strong signal that the browser is no longer just a window to the web - it’s becoming the new OS for work.

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🚀 Quantum leap in European funding

Finnish startup IQM Quantum Computers has secured $320M in Series B — the largest quantum round in Europe to date. This brings its total funding to $600M.

🖱 Led by Ten Eleven Ventures with backing from Tesi and Finnish pension funds
🖱 Capital will accelerate development of error correction systems — the key step from hundreds to millions of qubits

IQM is positioning Europe as a serious player in quantum tech, with applications stretching from science to defense. The race for scalable quantum computing is heating up.

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💰Tesla floats $1 trillion bonus for Musk

Tesla has proposed a new 10-year compensation package that could grant Elon Musk up to $1T if he hits ambitious growth targets.

🖱 Musk must grow Tesla’s market cap from $1T to $8T
🖱 Success would award him 423M shares, boosting his stake to ~25%
🖱 Tesla told shareholders the world is at a turning point, and only Musk can drive the company into an era of “sustainable abundance” through AI, robotics, and scalable tech
🖱 The proposal goes to a shareholder vote later this year

A trillion-dollar bet on Musk isn’t just pay — it’s Tesla doubling down on its entire future.

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🎥Warner Bros sues Midjourney over character copies

Warner Bros has filed a lawsuit against Midjourney, accusing the AI service of letting users generate images of Batman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and other iconic characters without permission. Similar suits have already come from Disney and Universal.

🖱 Court filings show side-by-side comparisons of official art vs Midjourney outputs
🖱 Warner argues it’s not just fan art — the images compete directly in merchandise like T-shirts and posters
🖱 The studio is seeking $150K per infringed work, which could scale into billions given Midjourney’s reach
🖱 Midjourney defends itself with “fair use,” noting studios themselves rely on generative AI tools

This clash could set a precedent for how far copyright stretches in the age of AI.

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💵 How much social media makes per US user

In the US, Meta earns more per average user than Netflix does from its premium $25/month plan. Advertising power beats subscriptions when it comes to monetization at scale.

Social media isn’t free - you’re just paying with attention, and it turns out that’s worth more than cash.

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📊 Crypto Venture Weekly: September 1–5, 2025

$185M raised across 22 projects this week, led by Etherealize ($40M) and Utila ($22M).

TRON Inc. added $110M to its TRX treasury, while CIMG Inc. acquired 500 BTC ($55M).

M&A saw Kraken acquire Breakout, Solowin buy AlloyX for $350M, and RedStone purchase Credora. Sora Ventures launched a $1B Bitcoin Treasury Fund.

Here’s what the top 10 are building 👇

🖱 Etherealize ($40M, Paradigm, Electric Capital)
Institutional marketing and product arm for Ethereum.

🖱 Utila ($22M, Red Dot, DCG, FunFair, Nyca Partners)
All-in-one digital asset operations platform for institutions.

🖱 Kite AI ($18M, General Catalyst, PayPal Ventures, Animoca, HashKey, GSR, Hashed)
A purpose-built L1 blockchain for AI applications.

🖱 Aria ($15M, Polychain, Neoclassic, Story Protocol Foundation)
IP tokenization platform built on Story Protocol.

🖱 Obita ($10M, Mirana Ventures, Vision Plus, HashKey, Web3.com Ventures)
Global B2B financial infrastructure and digital finance network.

🖱 Plural ($7.13M, Paradigm, Maven 11, Volt, Neoclassic)
Tokenizing solar, storage, batteries, and data centers.

🖱 Reflect ($3.75M, a16z CSX, Big Brain, Solana Ventures, Colosseum, Equilibrium)
Yield-bearing stablecoin protocol built on Solana.

🖱 Wildcat Finance ($3.5M, Robot Ventures, P2 Ventures, Kronos Research, Hyperithm)
Configurable undercollateralized credit rails on Ethereum.

🖱 Maiga ($2M, Amber Group, Red Beard, IBC, Chainlink)
Decentralized AI agent and DeFAI platform on BNB Chain.

🖱 Gigaverse ($1M, 1Confirmation)
A Web3 role-playing game live on Abstract.

Investor focus this week was on stablecoin infra, AI-powered DeFi, and tokenized assets, while treasuries and M&A reshaped the landscape.

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📣 EU fines Google, Trump vows retaliation

The European Commission fined Google €2.95B for abusing its dominance in adtech by favoring its own platforms. Brussels says only a structural fix, like selling parts of its business, may solve the conflict of interest.

🖱 It’s Google’s fourth multibillion-euro EU fine since 2017
🖱 Google has 60 days to propose remedies and plans to appeal
🖱 European Publishers Council demands tougher action, even a breakup
🖱 Trump blasted the fine as “unfair” and threatened Section 301 tariffs against the EU

For Google, €2.95B is pocket change, but the bigger fight is over whether Europe forces a real breakup.

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⚡️ OpenAI to mass-produce its own AI chips with Broadcom

OpenAI will begin large-scale production of custom AI chips next year, co-designed with Broadcom, as it looks to cut reliance on Nvidia and meet surging compute demand.

🖱 Broadcom CEO Hock Tan hinted at a $10B order from a “mystery customer” - confirmed to be OpenAI
🖱 News sent Broadcom shares up 9.4%, lifting its market cap to $1.6T
🖱 Chips are intended for OpenAI’s internal use, not external customers
🖱 Follows Google, Amazon, and Meta, which also design custom AI chips
🖱 HSBC forecasts Broadcom’s custom chip growth could outpace Nvidia’s by 2026

Altman has said compute is OpenAI’s top priority, with plans to double its capacity within five months as GPT-5 adoption surges.

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🛡 The global fight over age verification laws

Governments worldwide are moving to enforce stricter age and identity checks online — aiming to shield children, but raising huge privacy and censorship concerns.

🖱 US: 23 states now require porn sites and platforms to verify IDs; some sites like Pornhub simply block traffic instead. Critics warn these laws risk data breaches and could censor LGBTQ content and sex ed.

🖱 UK: The Online Safety Act (July 2025) forces identity checks across search, social media, messaging, and even cloud services. Users must upload IDs or biometrics, sparking fears over privacy and blocked access to news and education.

🖱 Global ripple: YouTube is testing age estimation tech in the US, while VPN downloads in the UK soared after the law took effect. In France, Pornhub bans triggered a 1000% spike in VPN sign-ups.

Supporters call this a win for child safety. Opponents see it as a dangerous step toward mass surveillance and censorship. The real tension: protecting kids without erasing online anonymity for everyone else.

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