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Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
EngineAI Robotics lands $200M Series B, valuation tops $1.4B
EngineAI Robotics Technology Co. closed a $200 million Series B round, pushing its valuation above 10 billion yuan (≈$1.4 billion). The financing was co‑led by Henan Investment Group’s Huirong Fund and Luxshare Precision, with participation from state‑backed platforms and family offices. Henan plans to use its provincial supply‑chain network to accelerate EngineAI’s regional expansion.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Masters’ Union raises $12M to back under‑25 founders
Sweetwater Labs, a New York‑based natural skincare label, has built its customer base almost entirely through personal referrals, avoiding influencer deals and paid digital campaigns. Founder Nadia Doh says the brand’s product performance fuels the growth, offering a rare ad‑free acquisition model in a sector that spends billions on digital advertising.
OnSite, a Singapore‑based PropTech startup, closed a S$1.7 million (~$1.25 million) seed round co‑led by Tin Men Capital and Alter Global. The funding will accelerate development of its AI‑enabled messaging system that organizes voice notes, photos and text for construction teams across...
Imagine building an entire sports league like a tech company — software + AI — at the heart of all the operations, running lean, running fast, building for the athletes first, then fans. That’s my vision for @athlos — you...
A very unusual pitch. I am at @NinjaTechAI in Mountain View. @babakph founder had his AI agents reverse engineer my site https://t.co/8L5xphk0qQ and build a better one. Basically the first time a founder said “we copied everything you did in one night...
Canadian retailers eyeing the UK in 2026 face a market that rewards value and affordability. While luxury segments grow, mid‑tier brands struggle amid cost‑of‑living pressures and high operating expenses. Success hinges on mastering UK immigration rules, securing a sponsor licence,...
Remember why you got in the game. For most founders it comes down to one word: Freedom. And it comes down to controlling the 4 Ws in life: • Work WHEN you want • Work WHERE you want • Work on WHAT you want • Work with...
Ya Dough'n Pizza, founded by Garett Goodman, turned a COVID‑era backyard pop‑up that sold 25 pizzas a week into a four‑location brand. The company relies on weekly pre‑orders and a tight menu to test demand, and it now targets six...
Elevation Ten Thousand, a New York‑based boutique agency, introduced a new growth framework that turned Catseye Pest Control into a $70 million exit and is now supporting its PE‑backed owner in a $300 million growth push. The agency’s operator‑first approach promises rapid,...
Merino Energy, a San Francisco‑based climate‑hardware startup, emerged from stealth this week with the Merino Mono, a $3,800 professional‑grade heat‑pump system that includes installation and can be set up in under an hour. The product targets multi‑unit buildings and older...
Harvard spin‑out Engramme is seeking roughly $100 million in funding to develop AI‑driven memory augmentation technology. The company, founded by former Harvard Medical School professor Gabriel Kreiman and Ph.D. Spandan Madan, aims to create systems that enable humans to recall information...
TikTok has turned the upscale laundromat model into a viral passive‑income narrative, spotlighting Sydney entrepreneur Omer Tas and his Stacks Laundry chain. Tas grew a single self‑service outlet into seven locations in three years, attracting a flood of inquiries from...
The episode critiques Donald Trump's toxic leadership style, arguing it fosters a new breed of socially detached, performative masculinity. It contrasts this with Robert Mueller, portrayed as a modest role model whose conduct offers a healthier example of leadership. The...
I spent the last 2 weeks wiring Vora IQ so a new solopreneur can answer 7 questions and get: - a draft launch roadmap - a week of social posts - a simple revenue target sheet No prompt engineering. No “act as my…” Just: “Here’s my...
Grants for Creators is offering up to $100,000 to entrepreneurs and artists operating in Greater Boston. The program targets filmmakers, community chefs, product designers, and digital artists who are developing projects that benefit underserved neighborhoods. Applications must be submitted by...
Top 8 signs your SaaS is about to find PMF: > Everybody's faces light up when you talk about the product > People asked how to buy it before you built it > Thousands of people joined a waitlist > Hundreds of people...
Venture funding to fintech companies is up year over year so far, but concentrated into significantly fewer companies, Crunchbase data shows. Global venture funding to financial technology startups totaled $12B across 751 deals in 2026 as of April 6, per @Crunchbase...
TechCrunch has partnered with SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, Asia’s largest innovation conference, to bring its Startup Battlefield to Japan. The SusHi Tech Challenge attracted 820 applications from 60 countries, with the Grand Prix winner earning ¥10 million (about $64,500) and an...
Barron Trump, a 20‑year‑old NYU sophomore, has filed a private‑placement SEC filing raising $1 million to launch Sollos Yerba Mate, a pineapple‑coconut flavored ready‑to‑drink beverage slated for a May 2026 debut. The venture, incorporated in Delaware and registered in Florida, positions...
Hulken’s boxy, fold‑up wheeled tote has become a must‑have accessory for Gen‑Z shoppers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, propelling the company’s revenue from $390,000 in 2020 to $29 million in 2024. The surge underscores how rapid social‑media trends can translate...
Worcester’s Guild of St. Agnes and Seven Hills Foundation launched a two‑year, rent‑free incubator for family child‑care entrepreneurs, giving educators like Minerva Caba Toribio a classroom for up to ten children. The pilot, funded by a $1 million Health Foundation grant, supplies...
Sierra announced Ghostwriter, an AI‑agent‑as‑a‑service that builds other SaaS agents for enterprise customers. The tool, showcased at the HumanX conference, already delivered a Nordstrom‑specific agent in four weeks, underscoring Sierra’s $100 million ARR and $10 billion valuation after a $350 million funding round.
Cloudflare introduced EmDash, an open‑source content‑management system built for AI agents, positioning it as a spiritual successor to WordPress. The early‑access launch has provoked sharp reactions from WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and leading plugin developers, who question both the technical...
Claude Cowork, Mythos, and the Future of Software: my conversation with @felixrieseberg, who leads Cowork at @AnthropicAI 00:00 Intro 01:53 Claude Mythos Preview and the “step-function change” 06:16 Why Anthropic is treating Mythos differently 11:19 The real story behind Claude Cowork’s “10-day” build 12:42...
Anjuna Security expanded to roughly 75 employees in 2021 before slashing its headcount in two rounds of layoffs during 2022’s market slowdown. CEO Ayal Yogev says a culture built on “care” and a shift to demand‑driven hiring allowed the company...
The global transformer shortage, exacerbated by COVID‑induced supply‑chain disruptions, has pushed lead times for high‑voltage units to three‑plus years and driven up costs. Startups are moving in, with Ayr Energy standardizing component designs and leveraging under‑utilized Indian factories to slash...
OpenAI released a 13‑page policy paper proposing a “startup‑in‑a‑box” that bundles AI‑driven back‑office services, model contracts and micro‑grant financing to accelerate new companies. The offering builds on its OpenAI for Startups program and aims to lower overhead for founders, letting...
In a two‑hour interview with Lex Fridman, NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang distilled ten strategic lessons, emphasizing that NVIDIA is a computing platform rather than a pure chip maker. He highlighted the risky but pivotal CUDA‑on‑GeForce bet that built an install...
Vivatides Therapeutics announced a $54 million Series A round to accelerate its pre‑clinical siRNA and antisense oligonucleotide programs, with Sequoia Capital leading the investment. In Europe, Novo Nordisk confirmed that its obesity drug Wegovy will drop the costly cold‑chain requirement, simplifying distribution. Meanwhile,...
Ryan Robba, formerly reporting manager at wealth‑management firm St James’s Place, is launching his own sustainability‑services business in 2026. The venture will help companies tighten emissions data, meet the new UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and address chronic Scope 3 data gaps. A distinctive feature...
I might have accidentally made my SaaS… unsearchable. I broke down all my naming mistakes (and lessons learned) in my newsletter, released tomorrow: → https://paulinecx.beehiiv.com/
Stay patient. I worked a day job at a restaurant for 10 years while working on my dream job on the side. Washing dishes, then hosting, then bussing tables and then waiting tables. Just a friendly reminder to keep grinding. 👊 💯
Hybron Technologies closed an oversubscribed $25 million seed round led by Marque Ventures, with participation from a slate of venture firms and angel investors. The company says its carbon‑fiber process can produce composites up to 100 times faster and at a fraction...
Had such a great time chatting with Claire on TalkingPostgres. We covered everything from my motivation for founding Nile, life lessons learned during different states in my career and the most important things in a Postgres conference.
AI is helping healthcare companies hit exceptional revenue scale in year 1. @keatonbedell and Josh Tauber describe exactly the inflection point in healthcare infrastructure that made a 2-person, $1.8B company possible. WATCH/LISTEN: Spotify: https://t.co/hrs0ZbILVz Apple: https://t.co/e8IxsoZ2bB Youtube: https://t.co/ORjNyzcOli
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Club Pilates, now part of Xponential Fitness, has surged 200% in monthly visits since 2019 by opening over 1,400 studios. Recent same‑store data shows performance leveling, prompting the chain to shift from pure expansion to optimizing its existing footprint. Xponential’s...
“Fire fast.” Yes; if firing is necessary, dragging it out is worse -- for that person, the team, and yourself. But, if you’re hiring and firing fast a lot, that means you’re bad at hiring, and you 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to fix it. You’re punishing...
At 21, I was working 16 hours a day packing orders and scrubbing floors. By 27, I'd done over half a billion in sales. Here are the 7 skills I wish I knew back when I started: https://t.co/c73PaL9rN0
Sasha Pieterse, best known for "Pretty Little Liars," has launched a new production company, Mother Bare Productions, with the first project being a feature‑film adaptation of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s upcoming urban‑fantasy series "Infernal Affairs." Pieterse will co‑produce and star as Detective Sorcha O’Malley opposite the series’ supernatural lead, Lucifer’s...
One of the biggest founder mistakes is trying to sell like a builder. Buyers do not care about the features you are proud of. They care about the problem they need solved. The best sales conversations start there. What is the biggest sales mistake...
Everyone sees a successful store: 'They got lucky with the product.' Ecom founders see a successful store: 'They tested 50 products before this one and built a system to do it.' Different perspective.
Trustfnd, a startup targeting independent journalists on Ghost and beehiiv, introduced its first paid bundle in March, offering a 30‑day trial pass to three progressive newsletters for $8.50. The bundle, featuring Kat Tenbarge, Marisa Kabas and Katelyn Burns, generated roughly...
After doing a *ton* of successful home / small apt building rehab deals with his family in LA (his mom actually spoke at Reconvene years ago), Jonathan in now bootstrapping a property management business in Bend, OR. Really enjoying following his...
$NVDA leaning further into RISC is what I would call real signal. Also, @GavinSBaker leading the round reflects well. SiFive is cooking. Definitely one to keep an eye on. 🚀
A fledgling AI‑hardware startup delivered a paid presentation at a major deep‑learning conference, unveiling its prototype “tin‑can” processor. Attendees appeared disengaged, yet the talk sparked a post‑event surge of FOMO among researchers and investors. Within days, the startup reported a...
Why Most Founders Get Their First Marketing Hire Wrong - https://t.co/Mv3vU7q6Xf - https://t.co/VUA6vOtz0B by Marti Willett
I asked an employee at Hampton who has interviewed over 500 Hampton applicants to tell me if she noticed any differences between the super successful founders (+$100m) and the mildly successful founders who applied. She had 4 distinct points. Here...
Fusion power has moved from a perpetual joke to a serious investment theme, driven by advances in AI, high‑temperature superconducting magnets, and powerful computing. Private firms have collectively raised over $10 billion, with Commonwealth Fusion Systems alone nearing $3 billion and Helion...
Michelle Evatt and Heidi Fielding have launched Florere, a new premium womenswear label built on four decades of combined design experience. The brand secured a successful Series A funding round last year, providing the capital needed to develop its first...
Health‑care venture capital continues to pour money into startups designed by technologists rather than clinicians, creating products that clash with established workflows. Dr. Harsha Moole argues that physician‑scientists bring a structural advantage by vetting opportunities through three gates—clinical necessity, regulatory feasibility,...
Of course you’re a founder if your product is assembled by other people and agentic tools. You can even call yourself an engineer if you held the reins.
