🔺 Lyft will credit NYC riders for congestion fee throughout January

Lyft will credit New York City riders for the new congestion fee throughout January 2025. This fee, aimed at reducing traffic in lower Manhattan and funding mass transit, charges $1.50 per ride for services like Lyft and Uber during peak hours, in addition to an existing $2.75 fee for rides that begin, end, or pass through Manhattan below 96th Street.

Lyft's credits can be used for future rides or Citi Bike rentals, which the company describes as a gesture to help users adjust to this new expense.

💬 Source

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📱 Microsoft to spend $80 billion in FY’25 on data centers for AI

Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in fiscal year 2025 to build data centers specifically designed for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. More than half of this investment will be allocated in the United States. The new AI-enabled data centers aim to train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications globally. Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith emphasized that AI is set to drive innovation and productivity across various sectors.

Additionally, there have been discussions between Microsoft and OpenAI regarding a facility to house an AI supercomputer called Stargate, which could cost over $100 billion to construct. As the demand for AI technology grows, concerns about power shortages for data centers due to AI's high energy consumption are also anticipated.

💬 Source

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🚨 OpenAI is losing money on its pricey ChatGPT Pro plan, CEO Sam Altman says

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that the company is currently losing money on its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan due to higher-than-expected usage. Despite raising around $20 billion since its inception, OpenAI is not profitable, projecting losses of about $5 billion against $3.7 billion in revenue for the previous year. Operational costs, including staffing and AI training, contribute to these losses, with expenses for ChatGPT reaching approximately $700,000 daily.

As OpenAI seeks to attract new investments through corporate restructuring, it may consider increasing subscription prices to achieve profitability. The company optimistically projects its revenue could reach $100 billion by 2029.

💬 Source

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🔵 Accel could raise billions for India, but it’s sticking to $650 million

Accel has opted to maintain its India fund size at $650 million for its eighth vehicle, despite opportunities to raise significantly more. Partner Shekhar Kirani explained that while other firms are increasing their funds, Accel believes that exceeding $650 million makes it challenging to generate high-quality returns. The firm has a history of strong performance in India, exemplified by early investments in successful startups like Swiggy.

Accel's strategy focuses on investing in approximately 40 companies annually from a pool of around 300 emerging startups. The firm is particularly interested in wealthtech and AI-driven software companies, as well as opportunities in smaller towns and villages, which it refers to as "Bharat." This approach aims to tap into the significant spending power of the top income quintile in these areas.

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🔻 Nvidia unveils $2,000 RTX 5090 GPU

Nvidia has unveiled its new RTX 5090 GPU during CES 2025, priced at $2,000. This GPU features 92 billion transistors, 4,000 AT TOPS, 380 ray-tracing TFLOPS, and 1.8 TB/s bandwidth, promising to outperform its predecessor, the RTX 4090, by up to 2x. The RTX 5090 is part of the Blackwell family, which aims to enhance gaming and creative applications through AI-driven rendering technologies.

In addition to the RTX 5090, the lineup includes the RTX 8050, 5070 Ti, and 5070, priced at $999, $749, and $549, respectively. Laptops equipped with these GPUs will start at nearly $3,000 and will be available beginning in March. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, emphasized the GPU's role in revolutionizing graphics technology, likening it to past innovations in computer graphics.

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😥Microsoft to pump $3 billion into cloud and AI push in India

Microsoft plans to invest $3 billion in India to enhance its cloud and AI capabilities, aiming to expand Azure services and upskill 10 million people by 2030. CEO Satya Nadella announced this initiative during an event in Bengaluru, highlighting the growing demand for Microsoft’s technologies among Indian clients, including firms like Infosys and Air India.

This investment is part of a broader strategy by American tech giants to establish a significant presence in India, which has become a crucial market for technology development. More than 17 million developers in India utilize Microsoft's GitHub platform, showcasing the company's significant footprint in the region.

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‼️ UK in-home healthcare provider Cera raises $150M to expand its AI platform

Cera, a UK in-home healthcare provider, has raised $150 million in a mix of debt and equity to expand its AI-driven platform. This funding comes amid increasing pressure on public healthcare systems, particularly the NHS, which is struggling post-pandemic. The investment was led by funds affiliated with BDT & MSD Partners and Schroders Capital.

Cera's platform utilizes proprietary AI modeling to analyze patient data, which has reportedly led to significant reductions in hospitalizations, patient falls, and faster hospital discharges. The company claims to be EBITA-positive and free cash flow positive, indicating a shift towards self-sustainability. With this new funding, Cera aims to enhance its services and technology, positioning itself as a major player in the home healthcare space, covering approximately 30 million people in the UK. Cera's success highlights its role in alleviating pressure on the NHS while providing comprehensive home healthcare services.

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🌐 China is reportedly open to Elon Musk acquiring TikTok US

Chinese officials are reportedly considering the possibility of selling TikTok's U.S. operations to Elon Musk if the Supreme Court upholds a law banning the app. While the Chinese government prefers that TikTok remains under ByteDance's ownership, discussions about a sale to Musk are seen as part of a strategy to engage with the incoming Trump administration.

If the acquisition occurs, Musk’s company, X, would gain access to TikTok's 170 million American users and significant advertising revenue. However, a TikTok spokesperson dismissed the report as "pure fiction." The extent of ByteDance and TikTok's awareness of these discussions remains unclear, suggesting potential Chinese influence over the platform.

💬 Source

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⚙️ RedNote, Flip, Clapper and Likee claim the top of the App Store as TikTok comes back online

As TikTok returns online after a brief ban, several competing apps have surged in popularity, dominating the App Store's top charts. RedNote (Xiaohongshu) has claimed the No. 1 spot, gaining 700,000 new U.S. users during the TikTok ban. Other apps like Clapper, Flip, and Likee also ranked high, with Clapper and Likee taking the No. 4 and No. 2 spots, respectively.

The TikTok outage prompted users to explore alternatives, signaling a preference for Chinese apps over Instagram. Despite TikTok's restoration, these competitors continue to thrive, with significant download increases reported. Notably, VPN apps also saw a spike in downloads as users attempted to bypass restrictions during the ban. The app landscape is expected to shift again as users reconsider their choices with TikTok back online.

💬 Source

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⚡️ Neko, the body-scanning startup co-founded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek, snaps up $260M at a $1.8B valuation

Neko Health, a body-scanning startup co-founded by Spotify's Daniel Ek, has raised $260 million in a Series B funding round, valuing the company at $1.8 billion. The funding will help Neko expand into new markets, particularly the U.S., where demand is high, and allow for the development of new diagnostic technologies and additional clinics. Neko has seen significant interest, with a waitlist growing to over 100,000 people.

The startup focuses on preventative healthcare, offering comprehensive health assessments using proprietary technology that generates extensive health data. Its clinics provide detailed examinations for various health risks, and a majority of customers rebook for follow-up appointments. Neko aims to innovate in the healthcare space by vertically integrating its services, making its own medical devices and software, and continually enhancing its offerings.

The funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from other investors. As healthcare increasingly shifts towards preventative measures, Neko positions itself as a key player in this evolving landscape.

💬 Source

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🚀 TravelPerk raises $200M as valuation nearly doubles to $2.7B!

TravelPerk, the business travel management platform, has just secured a massive $200 million in funding, pushing its valuation to $2.7 billion — nearly double its previous figure!

📈 Investors are clearly confident in TravelPerk’s potential, especially as the business travel market continues to recover post-pandemic. The platform offers seamless booking, trip management, and reporting tools, making it a favorite among companies worldwide.

What’s next? TravelPerk plans to expand its services, invest in new technologies, and strengthen its market position.

Do you use tools like TravelPerk for business travel? Share your thoughts in the comments!👇

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🧱 “Want to build Lego? Sign this NDA first!”

Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO and well-known tech investor, has made an *unusual* offer on X (formerly Twitter):

*“Need volunteers to come to my office in Palo Alto today to construct a 5,000-piece Lego set. Will provide pizza. Have to sign NDA. Please DM.”*

Yes, you read that right. Legos, pizza, and... an NDA? 👀

🔒Why the NDA?
- Is Friedman hiding a secret Lego cult?
- Does he have access to ultra-rare Lego sets (the Birkin bags of the nerd world)?
- Or is he just protecting the location of his office from overzealous Stanford sophomores?

😮 The Mystery Deepens:
While building Legos with a tech legend sounds like a dream Friday night, the NDA has everyone wondering: *What’s so secretive about a Lego session?*

😀 Hot Take:
If you’re in Palo Alto and love Legos (and don’t mind signing an NDA for the lowest-stakes secret ever), this might be your chance to join the weirdest Silicon Valley gathering of the year.

And if you go, please break the NDA and tell us what really happened😄

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📈 IPO Buzz for 2025: Companies ready to go Public 🚀

Tech companies are gearing up for an exciting 2025, with IPOs expected to heat up across various sectors like fintech, space tech, and AI. Fueled by a more favorable regulatory climate, here’s a glimpse of the companies in the works for their IPOs this year:

✅ Filed in 2025:

🟠eToro (Israel): A $5B valuation in the works for this popular trading platform.

🟠Voyager Technologies (US): Valued at $2-3B, this space & defense tech company is set to go public.

🟠Karman Holdings (US): Aiming to raise $100M, this missile tech startup could reach a $3B valuation.

✅ In the Works Since 2024:

🟠Chime (US): This digital bank plans its IPO in 2025, aiming to hit a $25B valuation.

🟠Klarna (Sweden): The buy-now-pay-later fintech, valued at $14.6B, is set for a 2025 debut.

🟠Genesys (US): AI cloud startup eyes a 2025 IPO with a potential $2B raise.

🟠Cerebras (US): Competing with Nvidia, this chip startup may go public after raising its $4B valuation.

✅Trying Since 2023:

🟠Shein (Singapore/China): After setbacks, this fast-fashion giant is still trying to IPO with a $45B valuation.

🟠Oyo (India): Aiming for an IPO in early 2025 after previous attempts fell through, valued at $3.8B.

Expect more companies to hit the market, with a new wave of tech-driven IPOs poised to reshape industries in 2025💡

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🍒 Cherry Ventures rises $500M Fund

Can it fuel Europe’s first Trillion-Dollar Startup?💵

Berlin-based VC firm Cherry Ventures has raised a new $500M fund, aiming to back early-stage startups and support Series B+ follow-ons. But will it be enough to compete with U.S. giants?

✅ Bold Vision – Cherry wants to build Europe’s first trillion-dollar company and push back against pessimism about the region’s startup ecosystem.

✅ Tough Competition – U.S. AI startups raised $97B, while Europe’s AI funding lags at $8B.

✅ Not the Biggest Player – Cherry didn’t make last year’s HEC-Dow Jones VC ranking, while Balderton Capital recently secured $1.3B for European tech.

✅ Diverse Portfolio – Includes The Exploration Company (space tech), Flink (grocery delivery), Robeaute (neurosurgical microbots), and logistics unicorn Forto.

✅ Strong Backers – LPs include Miki Kusi (Wolt), Ilkka Paananen (Supercell), and Jochen Engert (Flix).

Will this fund be enough to drive Europe’s next big wave❓

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🔍 The AI Startup that creates jobs – not just replaces them

Silicon Valley is racing to build AI agents that automate human labor, putting millions of jobs at risk. But VC Mike Ghaffary of Burst Capital is on a mission to back startups that don’t just replace jobs—they create well-paying, middle-class jobs for people without AI or ML degrees.

He’s looking for companies that:

✅ Empower small business owners (like Owner or GlossGenius)
✅ Automate tasks while keeping jobs intact
✅ Use AI for vocational training in high-paying trades (electricians, plumbers, etc.)

💬 Ghaffary believes that without startups focusing on job creation, society will face massive underemployment. Could your startup be the solution?

What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!👇

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🎙VC Sheel Mohnot on Twitter fame, Fintech, and AI hype

If you follow fintech on X, you've probably come across Sheel Mohnot, co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV). With 150K+ followers, he’s not just a well-known investor but also a social media personality.

⭐️Fintech & Investments
Sheel's firm, BTV, manages $300M and focuses on pre-seed & seed-stage fintech startups. They’ve backed AngelList, Charlie, Coast, and Unit, and run the Mint accelerator.

⭐️Viral Moments & Social Media Strategy
From posting memes to appearing in a Justin Bieber video, Sheel's online presence has helped attract founders and win deals. His metaverse wedding with Taco Bell? Just another chapter in his unconventional story.

⭐️Fintech is back!
Sheel believes the market is heating up again, with more exits on the horizon. His biggest bets?

✅ "Everything is fintech" – SaaS and B2B marketplaces integrating financial services
✅ Accounting startups – A growing sector due to the shortage of accountants

⭐️AI Startups: Hype vs. Reality
Sheel sees many companies claiming to be AI-driven, but only a few truly are. However, he notes that recent developments like DeepSeek are driving down AI costs, benefiting startups using AI in meaningful ways.

💬 What do you think - are we in an AI bubble, or is fintech + AI the future? Let’s discuss!

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💼 Marc Andreessen wants to make a16z a lasting company

Many wonder if Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the $45B venture giant, will go public. Co-founder Marc Andreessen says he’s not rushing into an IPO but aims to turn a16z into a long-term investment business that stands the test of time.

✅ The Problem with Venture Capital Firms
Traditional VC firms operate as partnerships—small groups of investors making decisions together. But this model heavily relies on individuals and loses value when the founding partners step away.

✅ What’s Andreessen’s Vision?
He takes inspiration from JP Morgan and Blackstone, which started small but grew into financial powerhouses. He believes a16z should function as a real business—with structured management, scalability, and long-term sustainability.

✅ Why Does This Matter?
Andreessen wants a16z to keep investing and supporting founders across generations. Plus, as he bluntly put it: "In most partnerships, people eventually realize they don’t actually like each other that much."

Will a16z become the next Goldman Sachs?🤔

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🧬 New Biotech Venture Fund launches Amid NIH Funding uncertainty

The biotech industry is facing uncertainty as the Trump administration pushes for limits on NIH funding for research institutions. While a federal judge has temporarily blocked the move, early-stage biotech startups relying on SBIR grants could still face funding delays or cuts.

🌼 Enter Altitude Lab Pre-seed Venture Fund – a new initiative by Recursion CEO Chris Gibson and biotech entrepreneur David Bearss. This fund will invest $100K–$250K in 10–15 biotech startups, offering early support in a critical time.

🔬Why It Matters:

✅ NIH grants have been a key funding source for biotech startups
✅ Recursion itself got a $1.46M SBIR grant in 2014, fueling its AI-driven drug discovery platform
✅ The fund provides startups with 12 months of office & lab space at Salt Lake City’s Altitude Lab

💡Gibson's Vision: Build a mini-Cambridge in Salt Lake City & help promising biotechs survive funding gaps.

With biotech innovation at stake, this fund could be a lifeline for groundbreaking startups.

What do you think? Will private capital step in as government funding wavers?

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👀 Arize AI: Leading the charge in AI Observability

As AI becomes an essential part of modern business, ensuring its reliability is more critical than ever. That’s where Arize AI steps in.

Much like traditional observability platforms monitor software, Arize focuses on AI models and applications, helping companies detect and fix issues before they escalate.

🗓 Founded in 2020 by Jason Lopatecki and Aparna Dhinakaran, Arize has grown into a key player in AI observability, working with industry giants like Uber, Klaviyo, and Tripadvisor. The company’s open-source tool, Arize Phoenix, sees over 2 million downloads per month, proving its growing influence in the AI community.

💵With $70 million in fresh Series C funding, backed by Adams Street Partners, Datadog, PagerDuty, and others, Arize is set to expand its reach, focusing on AI agents, voice AI, and enhancing its core platform. Despite increasing competition, Arize stands out by offering both pre- and post-launch evaluations for a wide range of AI applications.

As AI adoption skyrockets, observability becomes a must-have rather than a luxury. Will Arize’s first-mover advantage give it dominance in this fast-growing market?

💡What do you think—does AI observability hold the key to the future of AI reliability? Share your thoughts!

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Millie raises $12M series A to transform maternity care👶

Millie, a California-based maternity clinic founded by Anu Sharma, has secured a $12 million Series A funding round from an all-female investor group, including RH Capital, TMV, and Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures. This brings the company’s total funding to nearly $19 million💵

Why Millie❓

Sharma’s inspiration for Millie came from her own pregnancy experience in 2019. Despite being the daughter of a doctor, she faced complications that were overlooked by medical professionals. That experience led her to create the maternity clinic she wished had existed when she gave birth - one that offers comprehensive, high-quality, and personalized care for mothers at every stage.

🏥 What Does Millie Offer?

Millie provides full-spectrum maternity and gynecology services, including:

✅ Hybrid care model – in-person visits + virtual consultations
✅ Postpartum coaching & mental health support
✅ Nutrition counseling & remote patient monitoring
✅ AI-powered workflows for efficiency
✅ Collaboration with major insurers & healthcare providers

Unlike traditional maternity care, Millie blends technology with human-centered care, ensuring mothers receive continuous support from pregnancy through postpartum recovery.

📍What’s next?
With fresh funding, Millie plans to expand its physical clinics across California, enhance its AI-driven technology, and grow its network of healthcare partners.

As maternal health challenges persist, innovative, accessible, and personalized care models like Millie could be game-changers.

What do you think - can FemTech reshape the future of maternity care?💬

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