🛡 Hakimo Raises $10.5M to Revolutionize Autonomous Security with AI

Menlo Park-based AI security startup Hakimo has secured $10.5 million in Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures and Zigg Capital, with participation from RXR Arden Digital Ventures, Defy.vc, and Gokul Rajaram. The investment aims to expand Hakimo’s autonomous security monitoring platform.

🚨 Hakimo’s AI Operator autonomously monitors existing security systems, detecting threats in real time and responding without human intervention. This innovative approach tackles challenges like staff shortages, rising costs, and false alarm fatigue.

🛸 The AI reasoning engine distinguishes Hakimo by combining computer vision with generative AI, capable of detecting any describable threat and issuing real-time warnings.

🧠 Unlike traditional setups, Hakimo integrates with existing hardware, enabling quick deployment without the need for new infrastructure.

⏫ The company has tripled its customer base in the past year, now serving over 100 clients, including Fortune 500 enterprises, car dealerships, and multifamily apartments.

Will AI-driven autonomous security like Hakimo’s eventually replace human guards entirely, or will hybrid models prevail in the industry?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🧪Ignota Labs Raises $6.9M to Give Failed Drugs a Second Chance with AI

Cambridge-based startup Ignota Labs has secured $6.9 million in a seed round co-led by Montage Ventures and AIX Ventures, aiming to revive failed drug candidates using AI-driven safety analysis. The funding will support the development of drugs that were nearly successful but were abandoned due to safety issues.

⭕️ Ignota Labs acquires failed drug candidates and uses its proprietary AI platform to identify toxicity issues, providing recommendations for chemical adjustments to make the drugs viable again.

💡 Instead of traditional drug discovery, which can cost over $10 million and take up to 8 years, Ignota’s approach cuts costs to under $1 million and speeds up the process to less than 2 years.

💰 The company plans to use the new funding to acquire more distressed drug assets and advance its first candidate, a PDE9A inhibitor for Alzheimer’s, into early trials.

🚨 CEO Sam Windsor highlights that while most AI drug discovery companies focus on new compounds, Ignota Labs targets near-successful drugs that were abandoned due to safety concerns, an area often overlooked by the industry.

Ignota Labs' innovative use of AI to revive failed drugs could disrupt traditional pharmaceutical R&D, offering a faster and more cost-effective path to clinical trials.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

👩‍⚕️ Gather Health Raises $17M to Revolutionize Primary Care for Older Adults

Gather Health, a Cambridge-based primary care startup, has secured $17 million in funding from Khosla Ventures, Maverick Ventures, and HC9 Ventures. The company focuses on keeping older adults out of the ER by combining medical offices with home care and social programs.

🚨 Gather Health targets patients aged 65+ on Medicare and Medicaid, aiming to reduce ER visits and hospitalizations through proactive care.

💡 The startup combines in-home monitoring technology, social activities, and remote care, reducing hospitalizations by 53% after 12 months.

🏠 By opening centers in underserved areas, like Dorchester, Boston, Gather Health addresses healthcare access challenges after the closure of local hospitals.

⏫With four centers already running, Gather aims to double its patient base to 5,000 by the end of the year while maintaining a value-based care model.

Gather Health's focus on community-driven, tech-enabled primary care offers a new approach to managing chronic conditions and reducing ER visits, especially for low-income older adults.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

💼 All Gravy Raises €2.6M to Bring AI to Frontline Workers

Copenhagen-based startup All Gravy has raised €2.6 million in a Seed round to scale its Gen Z-first, AI-powered platform for frontline workers. The funding supports UK expansion after signing major brands like Dishoom, Pizza Pilgrims, Honest Burgers, and Ottolenghi.

✨ All Gravy aims to streamline operations, communications, and training for retail and restaurant staff using a single all-in-one app.

⏫ The startup has tripled its revenue in the past 12 months and is used by over 1,000 shops and restaurants worldwide.

🤖 The platform uses AI to enhance productivity and support decision-making, adapting to the specific needs of each business.

💡 Investors include Scale Capital, Moonfire Ventures, Nordic Makers, and notable founders from Zendesk, Pleo, and Voi.

Will All Gravy's AI-powered platform become the new standard for frontline workforce management, or will traditional methods persist in the industry?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🧬 Intelliseq Raises €4.5M to Advance DNA Analysis and Genetic Diagnostics

Polish bioinformatics startup Intelliseq has secured €4.5 million in its latest funding round led by Vinci HiTech, with participation from Unfold.vc and private investors. The funding will support international expansion, particularly in the US market.

⚡️ Intelliseq specializes in automated DNA analysis, using its flagship platform iFlow to streamline genetic diagnostics and make them more accessible and accurate.

🌎 The company collaborates with major research centers, including the Metrodora Institute and DNAnexus, to develop tools for chronic fatigue syndrome, long COVID, and somatic cancer diagnostics.

🧪 Founded in 2014 by four scientists, Intelliseq aims to enhance precision healthcare through genomics and bioinformatics solutions.

💡 The fresh funding will also be used to develop predictive algorithms and support the transition from traditional to preventive healthcare.

Intelliseq’s focus on automated DNA analysis and genetic diagnostics positions it as a pioneer in precision medicine, driving innovation and accessibility in healthcare.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🍏 Apple Fined $162M by French Regulators Over Privacy Tool

French antitrust regulators have fined Apple 150 million euros ($162.4 million) for allegedly abusing its market dominance through the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) tool. This marks the first antitrust fine related to ATT.

⚖️ The fine addresses claims that ATT unfairly restricts mobile app advertising, making it harder for brands to advertise on Apple’s platforms.

🚫 The ruling follows previous fines, including a 1.8 billion euro penalty from the EU over Apple’s App Store practices.

💬 Apple expressed disappointment but noted that the French authority didn’t mandate specific changes to ATT.

🌎 The investigation covered the period 2021 to 2023, prompted by complaints from advertisers, publishers, and internet networks.

📊 The regulator argued that ATT disproportionately affected smaller publishers who rely on third-party data for revenue.

Apple now faces compliance challenges amid ongoing investigations in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania.

Will this ruling prompt further scrutiny of Apple's privacy practices in Europe?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

▶️ Runway Unveils Gen-4: A High-Fidelity AI Video Generator

AI startup Runway has launched Gen-4, a cutting-edge AI-powered video generator designed to create highly dynamic and realistic videos with consistent characters, locations, and styles. The model is now available to individual and enterprise customers.

⚡️ Gen-4 can generate consistent characters and environments across scenes and maintain coherent world environments without additional fine-tuning.

🌎 The model supports dynamic videos with realistic motion, superior prompt adherence, and advanced world understanding.

💼 Backed by Salesforce, Google, and Nvidia, Runway competes with industry giants like OpenAI and Google while securing deals with Hollywood studios.

🚀 Runway plans to achieve $300 million in annual revenue this year and is currently raising a new funding round, aiming for a $4 billion valuation.

⚠️Runway faces a legal challenge over allegations of using copyrighted artwork for training its models, with the company arguing fair use as a defense.

With Gen-4, Runway is pushing the boundaries of AI-generated video content, but challenges remain as the film and TV industries grapple with the disruptive potential of these technologies.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🤖 Temporal Raises $146M to Expand AI Microservices

Seattle-based startup Temporal has secured $146 million in a Series C funding round led by Tiger Global, with participation from Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital. The funding will support the development of AI-driven microservices and global expansion.

🚀 Temporal specializes in microservices orchestration, helping companies manage complex workflows and integrate AI capabilities.

🌎 The funds will be used to enhance R&D, improve cross-cloud support, and expand operations, particularly in EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

⚙️ Clients include Nvidia, Box, Instacart, Snap, and Stripe, utilizing Temporal for workflow management and AI integration.

💡The company's valuation has risen slightly to $1.72 billion, with revenues up 4.4x in the past 18 months.

Temporal's focus on agentic AI and reliable microservices positions it as a key player in the evolving AI infrastructure landscape.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🧠 Chinese Brain Implant Project Set to Overtake Musk’s Neuralink

A Chinese brain-computer interface (BCI) project is gaining traction and may soon outpace Elon Musk's Neuralink. The collaboration between the Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CIBR) and NeuCyber NeuroTech has already implanted chips in three patients, with plans for ten more by the end of 2025.

🚀 The Beinao No.1 chip has shown success in enabling paralyzed patients to control robotic arms through thought.

🫱 China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has expressed strong support for advancing BCI technology, aiming to develop brain-computer fusion and brain-like chips.

🫀 Neuralink, which uses invasive chip implantation for stronger signals, lags behind as China pushes forward with semi-invasive chips.

💡 Another competitor, Synchron, backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, has trialed BCI tech on ten patients in the US.

🌎 With China's rapid support for BCI advancements, concerns arise over privacy and potential misuse of data within an authoritarian regime.

As China's BCI projects advance, the question remains: Can Neuralink maintain its edge in the race for human augmentation?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🚀 SpaceX Launches 4 Space Tourists on Historic Polar Orbit

SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 4 space tourists on a groundbreaking mission to orbit both the North and South Poles. This marks the first-ever polar orbit with a commercial crew.

🚀 The crew includes Chun Wang, a Chinese-born entrepreneur and space enthusiast, along with Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips.

✨The mission, named Fram2, aims to conduct two dozen experiments, including the first human X-rays in space.

📸 The crew brought extra cameras to capture the unique polar views from space.

🌎 The polar orbit allows the capsule to circle the globe in 1.5 hours, flying over both poles, a first in 64 years of human spaceflight.

SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of commercial space travel, making space exploration more accessible and adventurous than ever before.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🤖 Agility Robotics Raises $400M to Scale Bipedal Robot Digit

Agility Robotics, the company behind the bipedal robot Digit, has raised $400 million in new funding, pushing its valuation to $1.75 billion. The investment aims to scale production and expand real-world applications for Digit in logistics and industrial settings.

⚡️ Founded in 2015 as a spinout from Oregon State University, Agility focuses on creating humanoid robots to perform physically demanding tasks.

🤖 Digit is already being tested in Amazon warehouses, as well as by GXO Logistics and Schaeffler Group, to tackle warehouse shortages and repetitive tasks.

💡The new funding will support RoboFab expansion, team growth, and R&D to enhance Digit’s capabilities and reduce production costs.

🔗 Competitors like Figure AI, Apptronik, and Physical Intelligence are also attracting large investments, as the humanoid robotics race heats up.

Agility Robotics is positioning Digit as a practical, real-world solution for labor-intensive industries, moving humanoid robots closer to mainstream adoption.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🏠 Roam Raises $11.5M to Revolutionize the Housing Market with Assumable Mortgages

New York-based startup Roam has raised $11.5 million in a Series A round led by Khosla Ventures, aiming to make assumable mortgages more accessible to homebuyers amid rising interest rates.

🌟 Roam's platform connects buyers to homes with assumable mortgages, allowing them to secure lower monthly payments compared to current rates.

🚀 In 2024, Roam facilitated $200 million in home sales, charging buyers 1% of the purchase price as a fee.

📈 The company plans to expand nationwide by the end of 2025, building on its presence in 17 states, including California, Texas, and Florida.

💼 CEO Raunaq Singh, formerly of Opendoor, emphasizes the platform's ability to reduce homebuying time from 180 days to 45 days.

💡 Roam's innovative model addresses the housing affordability crisis, offering a solution to high mortgage rates with assumable loans.

Roam’s mission to make homeownership more affordable positions it as a key player in the evolving housing tech landscape.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🇨🇳 Chinese Tech Giants Rush to Buy Nvidia’s H20 AI Chips Amid U.S. Ban

Chinese companies like ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent have placed over $16 billion in orders for Nvidia’s H20 AI chips in the first quarter of 2025, trying to secure the hardware before potential U.S. export restrictions come into effect.

💰 The H20 chip is Nvidia’s top-tier AI processor still available in China, designed after the 2023 U.S. export ban on more advanced chips.

🚀 Nvidia’s revenue from Chinese sales hit $17 billion last year, accounting for 13% of its total revenue.

⚠️Supply concerns are emerging, as H3C and other Chinese manufacturers warn of potential shortages.

🔄 Despite the looming restrictions, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he doesn’t expect a major short-term impact, though plans are in place to shift production to the U.S.

With AI demand skyrocketing in China, tech firms are racing to secure essential hardware, making Nvidia's H20 chip a hot commodity before potential bans hit.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

💡DeepIP Raises $15M to Streamline Patent Drafting with AI

Paris and New York-based startup DeepIP has secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Resonance, with participation from Headline, Serena Capital, and Balderton. The funding will be used to enhance its AI assistant and expand product teams.

🤖 DeepIP's AI assistant helps draft patents faster, summarizing large documents, suggesting alternative claim structures, and detecting omissions.

🌎 The platform is gaining traction among corporations and law firms, including Schwegman Lundberg Woessner, and has already helped draft 8,500 patent applications.

🗣️CEO François-Xavier Leduc emphasizes that the AI tool is designed to assist rather than replace patent practitioners, making the patent filing process more efficient.

💼 With legal tech investment on the rise, DeepIP's solution addresses the complexity of patent drafting, saving time and effort for attorneys.

DeepIP is positioned to revolutionize patent drafting by combining AI innovation with human expertise, making the process faster and more accurate.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🤖 Legora Takes on Legal Tech Giants with AI-Powered Solutions

Stockholm-born startup Legora is making waves in the legal tech space with its AI software for lawyers, challenging established players like Harvey. The company recently signed Goodwin as a client and opened a New York City office to expand its global presence.

🌱 Founded in 2023, Legora aims to help legal professionals work smarter with a digital workspace built on large language models, now used in nearly 20 countries by more than 250 clients.

💡Key Features: The platform's tabular review tool enables the bulk upload of documents and uses software "agents" to extract specific information quickly and accurately.

💰 Funding: The startup has raised over $35 million from investors like Benchmark, Redpoint, and Y Combinator.

🌎Expansion: With a focus on the U.S. market, Legora aims to become a leading name in legal tech, leveraging its agile engineering team to stay ahead of the competition.

Can Legora outpace Harvey and legacy legal tech giants in the race for AI-powered legal solutions?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🚀 Amazon's Starlink Competitor 'Project Kuiper' Set for Launch

Amazon is set to launch 27 satellites as part of Project Kuiper next week, aiming to challenge Starlink's dominance in satellite internet. The launch will take place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., on April 9.

🚀 High-Speed Global Internet: Project Kuiper aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to almost any location worldwide, similar to Starlink.

🔄 Mass Deployment: Amazon has secured over 80 launch dates to eventually deploy a fleet of 3,200 satellites.

💻 Consumer Terminals: The standard terminal will deliver speeds up to 400 Mbps, while the Pro version reaches 1 Gbps. A smaller, affordable model offers 100 Mbps.

💰Cost Focus: Amazon plans to keep customer terminal costs under $500, comparable to Starlink's $349-$499 range.

Will Project Kuiper be able to compete with Starlink in delivering affordable, global satellite internet?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

💰Runway Raises $308M to Boost AI-Powered Media Production

Runway, known for its video-generating AI models, has secured $308 million in a Series D funding round led by General Atlantic, with participation from Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Nvidia, SoftBank, and others. The funding will be used to advance AI research, expand the Runway Studios film and animation arm, and hire new talent.

💡 Runway's Offerings: The startup provides a suite of AI media tools, including video- and image-generating models, and recently launched Gen-4, a model that creates consistent characters, locations, and objects across scenes.

🎥 Hollywood Collaboration: Runway has inked a deal with a major Hollywood studio and aims to reach $300 million in annualized revenue this year.

⚠️Legal Challenge: Runway faces a lawsuit over allegedly training its AI models on copyrighted artwork without permission, but the company argues fair use as a defense.

Can Runway's AI models revolutionize media production despite the legal hurdles ahead?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🤖 OpenAI Announces New AI Models: o3 and o4-mini to Arrive Soon, GPT-5 Delayed

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a change in the company’s AI model release schedule. The o3 and o4-mini models will be launched in the next few weeks, while GPT-5 is expected to arrive in a few months.

🔄Updated Strategy: OpenAI is prioritizing deeper improvements to GPT-5, aiming to push the model's capabilities further than initially planned.

⚡️Intermediate Models: The o3 and o4-mini models will be released first to maintain user engagement and manage infrastructure while GPT-5 undergoes enhancements.

🚀Anticipating Demand: Altman acknowledged the need to ensure sufficient capacity as OpenAI expects unprecedented demand for GPT-5.

💡Why the Delay?: The decision wasn't just about fixing bugs but about making GPT-5 significantly stronger and better prepared for large-scale use.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🐳 Poseidon Aerospace Unveils Seagull: A Modern Take on the 'Sea Monster' Glider

San Francisco-based Poseidon Aerospace has launched Seagull, an uncrewed sea glider inspired by the Soviet Caspian Sea Monster. The glider leverages low-altitude flight to minimize drag and increase lift, aiming to revolutionize cargo transportation.

✨Renaissance Tech: Seagull revives Cold War-era ekranoplan technology with modern upgrades like carbon fiber construction and autonomous control.

🚀 Operational Debut: Poseidon plans to test Seagull with the US Navy and Coast Guard this summer.

💜 Logistics Potential: Capable of carrying 100 pounds with a 13-foot wingspan, Seagull targets high-priority goods like medical supplies.

🦎 Next Steps: Poseidon is working on a larger model called Heron, designed for contested logistics missions with a 50-foot wingspan and two-ton payload capacity.

Will Poseidon’s Seagull glider take flight as the next big innovation in autonomous cargo transport?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

💎 Insurtech GRACE Secures €5.9M to Protect Luxury Goods

Franco-Swiss fintech startup GRACE has raised €5.9 million in a Seed round to expand its AI-powered insurance platform for luxury items. The funding round was led by FinTech Collective and Speedinvest, with participation from Firstminute Capital, Purple, Kima Ventures, Bpifrance, a16z, and Sequoia through their Scout Program.

🚨 Luxury Theft on the Rise: The value of stolen luxury goods has surged 236% year-over-year, highlighting the need for better protection solutions.

🌟 Seamless Protection: GRACE provides automatic coverage against theft and loss from the moment of purchase, with claims resolved within days.

🫱 Strategic Partnerships: Collaborates with Chubb, a global insurance leader, and plans to cover 200,000 luxury items by 2025 through partnerships with major luxury brands.

📊 Data-Driven Insights: The platform also helps brands collect customer data, improving their understanding of buyer behavior.

With theft of luxury items on the rise, can GRACE redefine how high-value assets are protected?

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures

🤖 Chef Robotics Raises $20.6M to Automate Food Production

AI robotics startup Chef Robotics has secured $20.6 million in a Series A round led by Avataar Venture Partners. The funding will help the company scale its AI-powered food preparation robots, which are designed to operate in assembly lines alongside human workers.

🍴 Revolutionizing Food Production: Chef robots use spatial intelligence to handle diverse ingredients, making them more versatile than traditional factory machines.

💼 Key Clients: Includes Amy's Kitchen, Sunbasket, and Chef Bombay.

🚀 Major Backers: Construct Capital, Bloomberg Beta, Promus Ventures, and others participated, with Silicon Valley Bank providing an additional $22.5 million in equipment financing.

🌎 Real-World Impact: Deployed in North America, Chef robots have processed nearly 2,000 ingredients and produced over 44 million food servings.

With the food industry facing a labor shortage, Chef Robotics aims to bridge the gap with autonomous solutions that enhance productivity and reduce operational costs.

📊 Powered by V3V Ventures