Top News

Meta is in talks to raise $29 billion from private credit firms like Apollo and KKR to fund its AI data center buildout, highlighting how even Big Tech is straining under balance sheet pressure from The Great AI Arms Race. The Financial Times has more here. 

A Berlin data protection official has asked Apple and Google to remove Chinese AI app DeepSeek over claims it illegally transfers user data to China, echoing a similar ban in Italy and signaling growing EU scrutiny of foreign AI platforms. TechCrunch has more here.

Sponsored By ...

Got time on July 10? Learn how Motive Ventures transformed their tech stack from fragmented to frictionless. In this webinar hosted by Affinity, Motive Ventures will share best practices for building an optimized investment tech stack, including practical methods for automating workflows between your essential tools, leveraging AI for faster due diligence, and creating systems that enhance fundraising efficiency.

Get actionable insights from operators who've successfully navigated the tech complexity that so many firms face today.

Meta Is Offering Multimillion-Dollar Pay for AI Researchers, But Not $100M “Signing Bonuses”

By Julie Bort & Marina Temkin

Meta is definitely offering hefty multimillion-dollar pay packages to AI researchers when wooing them to its new superintelligence lab. But no one is really getting a $100 million “signing bonus,” according to a poached researcher and comments from a leaked internal meeting.

During a company-wide all-hands meeting on Thursday leaked to The Verge, some of Meta’s top executives were asked about the bonuses that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Meta had offered to top researchers.

Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth implied that only a few people for very senior leadership roles may have been offered that kind of money, but clarified “the actual terms of the offer” wasn’t a “sign-on bonus. It’s all these different things.” In other words,not an instant chunk of cash. Tech companies typically offer the biggestchunks of their pay to senior leaders in restricted stock unit (RSU) grants, dependent on either tenure or performance metrics.

A four-year total pay package worth about $100 million for a very senior leader is not inconceivable for Meta. Most of Meta’s named officers, including Boswell, have earned total compensation of between $20 million and nearly $24 million per year for years.

Altman was “suggesting that we’re doing this for every single person,” Bosworth reportedly said at the meeting. “Look, you guys, the market’s hot. It’s not that hot.” (Meta did not immediately respond to our request for comment.)

On Thursday, researcher Lucas Beyer confirmed he was leaving OpenAI to join Meta along with the two others who led OpenAI’s Zurich office. He tweeted: “1) yes, we will be joining Meta. 2) no, we did not get 100M sign-on, that’s fake news.” (Beyer politely declined to comment further on his new role to TechCrunch.)

More here. 

Massive Fundings

Tacta Systems, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup that develops robotics and AI technology that helps manufacturers automate complex tasks involving physical manipulation, such as assembling or handling irregular objects, raised a $64 million Series A round co-led by America's Frontier Fund and SBVA, with B Capital, EDBI, Sojitz, CDIB-TEN Capital, Yazaki Innovations, B5 Capital, Tyche Partners, and Woven Capital as well as previous investor Matter Venture Partners also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $75 million. More here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Handspring, a four-year-old New York startup that operates virtual clinics that deliver personalized mental health care for children, teens, young adults, and their parents via licensed therapists online, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Cobalt Ventures, with NextView Ventures, nvp capital, 25madison, Arkitekt Ventures, VamosVentures, Hyde Park Angels, and Cornucopian Capital also piling on. More here.

Smaller Fundings

Bonfy.AI, a one-year-old startup based in Mountain View, CA, that helps companies protect sensitive content by detecting and controlling what employees can share across apps and devices, raised a $9.5 million seed round led by TLV Partners, with Saban Capital Partners also opting in. SecurityWeek has more here.

CalmWave, a three-year-old Seattle startup that provides software that helps hospital intensive care units reduce unnecessary patient alarms and improve staff workflows by analyzing real-time data, raised a $4.4 million seed+ round. Investors included prior backers Third Prime, Bonfire Ventures, Catalyst by Wellstar, and Silver Circle. More here.

Castle, a two-year-old Miami startup that provides a platform that lets small businesses automatically convert a portion of their idle cash into Bitcoin and manage those holdings through a custodial account, raised a $1 million pre-seed round led by Boost VC, with Winklevoss Capital, Park Rangers Capital, and Epoch VC also pitching in. Refresh Miami has more here.

Claira, a four-year-old New York startup that offers an AI-powered platform that helps financial institutions analyze legal documents to better understand and manage the risks in complex deals, raised a $7 million round. Barclays, Citi, and Reimagine Tech Ventures co-led the deal, with Activant Capital, KDX, OPCO Ventures, and Glezbeck Ventures also participating. More here.

Flowstep, a two-year-old startup based in Tallinn, Estonia, that provides an AI-powered platform that helps product and design teams turn ideas into user interface designs, wireframes, and user flows, raised a $2.6 million seed round. Supernode was the lead investor, with Adesso Ventures, Angel Invest, Dnipro VC, and Iron Wolf Capital as well as previous investors Tera Ventures and Specialist VC also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $4.5 million. Silicon Canals has more here.

Foresight, a two-year-old New York startup that helps private market investors track, analyze, and compare data across funds and managers using a single platform, raised a $5.5 million seed round led by NEA, with KDX Ventures also participating. More here.

Klutch AI, a two-year-old Seattle startup that builds software that helps construction teams automate repetitive tasks and quickly access project information through an AI assistant, raised an $8 million seed round co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Bling Capital, with additional participation from Brick & Mortar Ventures, Original Capital, and Anthology Fund. More here.

Nascent Materials, a one-year-old startup based in Newark, NJ, that is developing new materials to improve the performance and lower the cost of LFP batteries used by electric vehicle and energy storage manufacturers, raised a $2.3 million seed round led by SOSV, with New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund and UM6P Ventures also contributing. TechCrunch has more here.

NexusMD, a one-year-old Melbourne startup that builds AI agents that help doctors complete administrative tasks like writing patient notes, reviewing records, and managing referrals, raised a $4.1 million seed round. Square Peg provided the financing. Startup Daily has more here.

PoliCloud, a Cannes startup founded this year that builds cloud infrastructure that helps European companies keep their data local and compliant with regional privacy laws, raised an $8.8 million seed round led by Global Ventures, with MI8, OneRagtime, Inria, and France's National Institute for Research in Digital Science & Technology also investing. More here.

Serve First, a five-year-old London startup that provides software that helps companies use AI to improve how they handle customer inquiries and support requests, raised a $6.3 million round. Investors included Pembroke VCT, Mercia Ventures, Tiny VCT, and Techstars. More here.

Sponsored By ...

Harmonic

The startup discovery platform.

Book a demo to check it out →

New Funds

HalogenVentures, a ten-year-old VC firm based in Los Angeles that backs consumer startups with at least one female founder, has raised a $30 million fund, its third, to invest in early-stage companies focused on the physical and financial health of families. TechCrunch has more here. 

Exits

OpenAI has acquihired Crossing Minds, a seven-year-old startup based in San Francisco that builds AI-driven recommendation tools for e-commerce companies, signaling OpenAI’s deeper push into personalized consumer experiences as it begins rolling out shopping features of its own. TechCrunch has more here. 

People

In an interview with the New York Times, Peter Thiel said anxious VCs and founders are pouring money into AI and biotech as a way to escape what he sees as a broader cultural and economic stagnation. More here. 

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez tied the knot today, and according to The Wall Street Journal, the theme was "unapologetic glamour." More here. 

Data

AI investment in the U.S. jumped 33% quarter-over-quarter and 550% since late 2022, according to Pitchbook. The New York Times has more here. 

Essential Reads

The New York Times digs into Mark Zuckerberg's all-consuming effort to reorient Meta around AI, including possibly scaling back the company's investment in Llama. More here. 

More on Meta: the company has apparently compiled a closely guarded internal document called "The List," tracking dozens of top-tier AI researchers with rare technical skills and deep peer networks. The Wall Street Journal has more here. 

Denmark is moving to give individuals copyright over their own face, body, and voice in a first-of-its-kind push to crack down on deepfakes and force platforms to remove AI-generated imitations shared without consent. The Guardian has more here. 

Senate Republicans are pushing to expand the QSBS tax break, letting VCs invest later, exit sooner, and shield up to 50% more in gains, potentially turning early-stage bets into tens of millions in tax-free income while costing the government an extra $17.2 billion over ten years. Bloomberg has more here. 

Detours

At a snowy Airbnb southeast of Pittsburgh, a Wired reporter hosted a retreat for people in serious relationships with AI partners, but the weekend soon devolved into emotional meltdowns, jealousy, and uneasy questions about love, loneliness, and whether talking to code can ever really fill the void. More here. 

Two Neuralink implantees playing Call of Duty using just their minds.

Next-level birdwatching.

Retail Therapy

A very chill glass of beer.

This centenary edition Leica is cool, but let's be honest: would you really want it without Leica's distinctive red logo?

Sponsored By ...

Join us as we cover the playbook every startup needs, from inception to pre-IPO conversations with institutional investors. Learn stage-specific insights as a founder. Discover emerging companies as an operator. Scout rising talent as an investor. Get concentrated wisdom covering what matters most at every critical milestone. Register now. Tuesday. July 15. Boston.