Top News

Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s bromance imploded today, with Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment, accusing him of hiding Epstein ties, and pledging to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft after Trump threatened to axe his government contracts. Shares of Tesla fell more than 14% today. CNBC and TechCrunch have more here and here. 

Rippling escalated its feud with Deel by accusing the company of running a "criminal syndicate" in a new RICO lawsuit that alleges Deel spied on multiple rivals. Federal prosecutors are also reportedly investigating. TechCrunch has more here. 

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Toma’s AI Voice Agents Have Taken Off at Car Dealerships — and Attracted Funding from a16z

By Sean O'Kane

When Monik Pamecha co-founded AI voice startup Toma in early 2024, he hadn’t anticipated spending the summer months sweating in Bible Belt car dealerships. He and co-founder Anthony Krivonos were still focused on banking and healthcare customers when the dealers came knocking.

“They just called us up and said ‘we are drowning in phone calls,’” Pamecha described that initial contact in an interview with TechCrunch.

Seeing an opportunity to pivot into a far less-regulated space than banking or healthcare, Pamecha and Krivonos set up a test: They decided to have their voice agent call essentially every car dealership in the country multiple times. Over the span of a few weeks they found those calls were only picked up 45% of the time.

The co-founders packed their bags. And like some sort of modern reinterpretation of the movie “Tommy Boy,” they set out to tour a dozen car dealerships in Oklahoma and Mississippi to get a better understanding of how these businesses work. They got their hands dirty both figuratively and literally; Pamecha said his wife was surprised by the grease stains on his clothes when he returned home.

That commitment paid off. Not only did they win customers, they got the dealers’ full charm offensive. The founders shared home-cooked meals — a sometimes awkward-but-funny affair given Pamecha’s vegetarianism, he said — and were invited to tour the Corvette Museum. At least one dealer even asked the Toma founders to tag along to a shooting range.

Seema Amble, a partner at a16z who led the $17 million that Toma has raised to date, said the pair were “effectively living at these dealerships, going to these dealers’ family barbecues, really understanding how they operate.”

More here. 

Massive Fundings

Anduril, an eight-year-old startup based in Costa Mesa, CA, that builds AI-powered defense systems such as drones, autonomous submarines, and surveillance tools, raised a $2.5 billion round at a $30.5 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Founders Fund, which contributed $1 billion of the total investment. (Trae Stephens of Founders Fund is among the company's founders.) TechCrunch has more here. 

Anysphere, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that makes the AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, raised $900 million at a $9.9 billion valuation, reports Bloomberg, confirming a scoop by the Financial Times last month. The deal was led by Thrive Capital, with Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and DST Global also opting in. TechCrunch has more here.

Neuralink, a nine-year-old startup based in Fremont, CA, that develops brain-computer interface technology that aims to restore mobility and communication in people with neurological disorders, confirmed reports that it had raised a $650 million Series E round. Investors in the deal included ARK Invest, DFJ Growth, Founders Fund, G42, Human Capital, Lightspeed, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners, and Vy Capital. CNBC has more here.

Vivrelle, a seven-year-old New York startup that lets members rent and return high-end fashion accessories as part of a subscription, raised a $62 million Series C round led by Protagonist. FashionNetwork USA has more here.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

Impart Security, a four-year-old Miami startup that enables developers to secure their applications by combining edge-deployed agents with a centralized policy engine, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Madrona, with CRV and 8-Bit Capital also taking part. More here.

Nectar Social, a two-year-old Seattle startup that runs a social commerce platform that lets creators and influencers build and manage their own digital storefronts, linking product recommendations with content, raised a $10.6 million round co-led by GV and True Ventures, with BAM Ventures, Charge Ventures, FAB Ventures, Flying Fish Ventures, Mercury Fund, Trust Fund, and XRC Ventures also chiming in. More here.

Rails, a two-year-old Miami startup that operates a digital asset exchange that combines centralized and decentralized features, raised a $14 million round. Investors included Slow Ventures, CMCC, Kraken, Round13, and Quantstamp. CoinDesk has more here.

Reserv, a three-year-old New York startup that builds tools for streamlining claims processing in the insurance industry, raised a $25 million Series B round. The lead investor was Flourish Ventures, with Accenture Ventures also pitching in. More here.

Simetrik, an eight-year-old New York startup that helps large enterprises automate complex financial processes like reconciliation, reporting, and transaction tracking across multiple systems, raised a $30 million Series B extension round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives. FinTech Global has more here.

Thread AI, a two-year-old New York startup that provides composable infrastructure that connects AI models, data, and automation to create flexible workflows tailored to an organization’s specific needs, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Greycroft, with Index Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Meritech Capital, and Homebrew also digging in. PYMNTS has more here.

Smaller Fundings

Amperos Health, a two-year-old New York startup that uses AI to help clinicians automate documentation, streamline workflows, and reduce time spent on electronic health records, raised a $4.2 million seed round. Investors included Uncork Capital, Neo, and Nebular. AlleyWatch has more here.

Kiwi, a five-year-old New York startup that helps underserved consumers in Latin America access credit and make purchases through partner merchants, raised a $7.8 million Series A round co-led by LIP Ventures and Advent-Morro Equity Partners, with Morro Ventures, Independent Capital, Neer Venture Partners, and Invariantes Fund also investing. The company has raised a total of $15+ million. FF News has more here.

Latent Technology, a three-year-old London startup that uses AI to help game developers create lifelike character animations in real time, raised an $8 million seed round co-led by AlbionVC and Spark Capital, with Root Ventures and Alumni Venturesalso stepping up. VentureBeat has more here.

Lendurai, a two-year-old startup based in Tallinn, Estonia, that develops drones that can be used for both commercial and military purposes, raised a $6.4 million seed round led by Expeditions Fund, with HCVC and Vsquared Ventures also participating. Silicon Canals has more here.

Rosebud, a two-year-old startup based in Santa Monica, CA, that makes a journaling app that uses AI to help users reflect on their thoughts, track emotional patterns, and build a consistent writing habit over time, raised a $6 million seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with 776, Initialized Capital, Fuel Capital, Avenir, and Tim Ferriss also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

Solidroad, a two-year-old Dublin startup that helps AI teams test their models, fix problems, and get them ready for real-world use, raised a $6.5 million seed round. First Round Capital was the deal lead, with Y Combinator also participating. The company has raised a total of $8 million. VentureBeat has more here.

Switch Energy, a nine-year-old Boston startup that helps buildings and businesses set up and manage electric vehicle charging, raised a $4 million round. Constellation Technology Ventures provided the funds. More here.

Prefer-Not-to-Say Fundings

Kohort Software, a seven-year-old London startup that helps finance teams create forecasts, manage budgets, and track performance, raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by The Raine Group, with Velocity Capital and Portfolio Ventures as well as previous investors Eurazeo, AlbionVC, and Triple Point Ventures also investing. More here.

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New Funds

Nordic Foodtech VC, a six-year-old Helsinki venture firm, just announced a €40 million first close on its second fund to back early-stage startups transforming agriculture and food. EU-Startups has more here. 

Exits

Cellebrite, a 26-year-old Israeli phone-unlocking firm, is shelling out $170 million to acquire eight-year-old Corellium, a Florida-based mobile security startup once sued by Apple, in a move that could intensify scrutiny from privacy hawks and national security regulators. TechCrunch has more here. 

Going Public

Circle, a 12-year-old stablecoin issuer now based in New York, surged 168% on its NYSE debut, buoyed by the Senate’s advancement of the GENIUS Act and growing support for crypto from the Trump administration. CNBC has more here. 

People

In a New York Times op ed today, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that advanced AI models are already showing dangerous behaviors in lab tests and urged Congress to mandate transparency from developers, slamming a proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state-level AI regulation as reckless given the speed of innovation. More here. 

Elon Musk’s public attack on Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill" has split Silicon Valley, with allies like Shaun Maguire and Garry Tan backing Musk’s stance, while other prominent figures like David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya remain conspicuously quiet. Wired has more here. 

Essential Reads

According to reporting from The Information, Amazon is training humanoid robots to leap out of Rivian vans and deliver packages, marking a bold next step in its push to automate the entire last-mile delivery chain. The Verge has more here. 

"Vibe hacking," or prompting AI to write malicious code, is quickly becoming a cybersecurity nightmare, lowering the barrier for amateur attackers and supercharging the capabilities of seasoned hackers. Wired has more here. 

After a string of high-profile flameouts (see "FTX"), Singapore’s Temasek has slammed the brakes on early-stage investing in favor of safer, pre-IPO plays and fund-of-fund investments. The Financial Times has more here. 

Detours

Sweden is "hot" as well-to-do "coolcationers" ditch the French Riviera for Scandinavia's colder climes. As one travel pro puts it, "Sweden and Finland are now making their move."

A new trailer for Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein.

Actress Saoirse Ronan stars in the Talking Heads' first-ever music video for Psycho Killer to mark the band's 50th (!) anniversary.  

Retail Therapy

A "Swiss superwatch" with no hands, dial, or crown.