U.S. military recruits tech execs

Quick Hits

Bengaluru bound: SurveyMonkey.

Clear skies: U.S. approves EVTOL.

Creative caution: Artists vs. data scraping.

Edge-friendly: Mistral innovates.

Fusion forward: Startup builds laser facility.

Grok develops: xAI launches API.

‘High agency’: Founder launches tech utopia.

Page turner: Penguin books blocks AI.

Raising Birr: Ethiopia’s maiden IPO.

Salesforce vs. Microsoft: War for autonomous tools.

Search up: Perplexity surges to $9B.

Stablecoin success: Stripe buys Bridge.

Subscription salve: FTC ends call to cancel.

Talent drain: Brits warn of tech exodus.

Taking control: Claude goes hands-free.

Think design: Canva launches Dream Lab.

Tech execs enlist as reservists

The military is recruiting Silicon Valley execs and other tech talent as weekend reservists to shore up cybersecurity and analytics capabilities. “We’re creating this people industrial base,” DOD’s talent management officer says.

U.S. remains No. 1 for tech talent

The U.S. leads in AI talent relocation thanks to top salaries and research hubs. Canada, Germany, the U.K., and China round out the top 5—with Singapore rising fast.

Founder factories

Europe’s VC-backed fintechs spin off an average of 8 new companies, according to an analysis. Dozens of startups have spun out from Swedish fintech giant Klarna, the continent’s leader.

Happy Daze

Gen Z's new favorite messaging app, Daze, has attracted 150k signups and 48M views on TikTok and Instagram pre-launch.

VCs embrace AI notepad Granola

Granola raised $20M in a week, winning over VCs with its AI-driven meeting notepad.

Weekly Pulse

Poll of the week

Startup We Love: Gavel

Why we love it: Cuts down on document busywork.

Thousands of law firms use Gavel’s no-code document automation software to turn template documents, forms, and document sets into intelligent workflows. The company has expanded beyond legal and offers workflows for sales, real estate, and banking | Apply now

Recently funded companies

Asia

Malaysia's Hata Raises $4.2M Seed for Digital Asset Brokerage

India’s GoStops Raises $4.2M for Youth-Focused Backpackers Hostels

Japan's Sun Metalon Raises $21M for Sustainable Metal Recycling Solutions

Singapore's upGrad Raises $60M in EdTech Funding

U.S.

Los Angeles-based Lumenuity Secures $1.2M Seed for Optical Technology Enhancements

NYC-based Agentech Raises $3M Seed for AI Support Workforce in Insurance

San Francisco's Azura Raises $6.9M for DeFi Platform

Pantheon AI Raises $25M for Proptech

Europe

Germany's Dryad Networks Raises $6.8M for Ultra-Early Wildfire Detection Technology

Austria's UpNano Secures $7.4M Series A for 3D Printing Innovation

London's Alvara Protocol Raises $10M for DeFi Asset Management Solutions

What we're reading

Chipotle's new AI recruiter 'Ava Cado' aims to cut hiring time by 75% (Bloomberg)

Investing in AI to build next-generation infrastructure (MIT)

EVs are just going to win (Noah Smith)

AI Prompts as PRDs: Why Prompts Will Become Important IP Assets (Tomosz Tungus)

You’re going to have a robot coworker sooner than you think (Fast Company)

2025 will see the rise of AI agents (VentureBeat)

Post of the week

Podcast of the Week

HR Work Break: Battling HR Burnout Part 1 (HR Works: The Podcast for Human Resources)

Breaking the Cycle of Burnout and Boredom with Sherry Woosley (HR Superstars)

How to survive a corporate shake-up (Working It)

✓ Startups hiring now

Tomorrow Health: Reimagining the future of home-based care | 4 open roles

Luma AI: Lifelike 3D captures | 23 open roles

Rho: Commercial banking designed to unlock the power of your people | 10 open roles

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