Startups on the moon

Quick Hits

Access denied:?Google considers paywall.

AI ambitions:?South Korea, Italy invest big.

Animated debate: Pink Floyd picks AI artwork.

August arrival: Tesla talks robotaxi plans.

Cloud control: Governments eye 'sovereign' AI.

Custom curation:?Spotify launches AI playlists.

Digital Darwin: Researchers digitize library.

Fueling tech:?Toyota pledges $300M.

Human copilots: GM adds robotaxi drivers.

London lab: Microsoft's hub debuts

Message merger:?Automattic expands reach.

Photo contest: TikTok takes on Insta.

Premium perks:?X expands Grok access.

Ripple's reach: Dollar-pegged stablecoin coming.

Spanish spark: EU backs $1B VC fund.

Tech twosomes: US-Taiwan matchmaking debuts.

Tree-free TP: Startups ditch wood for bamboo.

India tech economy revs

With a booming SaaS sector and major investments from Apple and Tesla, India is rapidly emerging as a contender for tech dominance in Asia. Investors put up $160M+ across 21 deals in the past week alone.

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U.S. splashes the green

The U.S. invests nearly $1T to support emissions-reducing green tech deployment. Startups can access loans, and consumers benefit from tax credits for EVs and heat pumps.

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Dimon: AI transforms workforce

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon calls AI as transformative as the printing press, with the potential to "augment virtually every job."

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Startups on the moon

NASA picks three companies – Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab – to design a next-generation lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) fit for moon travel and autonomous robotic exploration.

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The loneliness app

Los Angeles-based Buffet tackles the loneliness epidemic with an app that's like Tinder + OpenTable with sites set on the Big Apple.

Poll of the week

Recently funded companies

NYC's Adro Closes $2M for Financial Services

Indianapolis' Neurava Nets $2M Seed for Wearable Tech

Los Angeles' Storiaverse Raises $3M for Mobile Entertainment

Athens, Ga.-based Lockchain.ai Locks in $5M for Blockchain Risk Management

San Francisco's Ivo Secures $5M for AI-Powered Legal Tech

San Francisco's Juicer Raises $5M for Restaurant Tech

Thai HD Clinches $6M Series A for Health Care Chatbots

Israeli Spines Collects $7M for AI Publishing

NYC's Summer Secures $9M for Student Loan Solutions

TerraClear Optimizes Ag-Tech with $15M

Turkish ikas Attracts $20M for E-Commerce Platform

Post of the week

What we're reading?

• Reimagining hiring and learning with the power of AI (LinkedIn)
• Billie Jean King Wants to Change the Playbook for Female Founders (Inc.)
• Why ‘Tokenizing’ Assets Is Turning Banks On to Crypto (Bloomberg)
• Meta’s AI chief: LLMs will never reach human-level intelligence (TheNextWeb)
• AI Can Pretend to Be Stupider Than It Really Is, Scientists Find (The_Byte)

Podcasts of the Week

HR Works Podcast: How AI Will Transform the Recruitment Sector (HR Works)

Investor Extraordinaire Arlan Hamilton Explores Her New Book “Your First Million” (Startup of the Year)

? Startups hiring now

PitchLabs: Building each other. Building the world | 5 open roles

CourseCareers: Replacing the college system | 22 open roles

Maximus: Consumer telemedicine startup | 4 open roles

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