For those that are new around here, this is an extension of my weekly newsletter where I highlight new and innovative AI products that are worth exploring.
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Happy Wednesday!
Here’s your news in newsletter!
In this Issue:
Your Weekly Industry News Recap
The 💎Hefty💎 Raise Recap
Headliner: From China With Love - DeepSeek Preps New AI Agent to Compete with US Rivals
Guess who's getting a new rival? DeepSeek, that we know well for their R1 Model of earlier in the year, is gearing up to launch a major new AI agent by the end of the year to take on the likes of OpenAI directly. This is touted to pretty much do its own thing with very little help from a human. Are we getting ready for another DeepSeek comeback kid shakeup? Read more
Your Weekly Industry News Recap
(Pretty Quiet This Week)
Google is considering making its "AI Mode" the default for searches in certain scenarios. 🔍 Read more
This A16z article shares some pretty precise takes on benchmarks on how to retain users for AI-powered products. retention - taking a few pages from the traditional product playbook, and adding some unique flavor as well! Read more
A new report from the Knight First Amendment Institute discusses how AI agents could impact our democratic resilience. 🗳️ Read more
An article suggests that PromptQL's $900-an-hour AI engineers could be coming for McKinsey's AI business. 😲 Read more
🚨🎁FREE RESOURCE ALERT! COMING SOON
A Google engineer is about to release a free 400-page guide to help people understand and build agentic AI systems.
Drop date = December 2025 📆📚 Read more
Microsoft researchers have developed a new technology for video AI agents that can generate actions and speech from video clips. 🎥 Read more
Microsoft AI has introduced a new 14B math reasoning model called R-Star2 Agent, which uses agentic reinforcement learning to achieve a high level of performance. 🧮 Read more
MerchMix has launched what it claims is the world's first AI-powered "agentic" retail platform to help eliminate stock inefficiency. 📦 Read more
Nvidia has dropped a bombshell with a new open and massive AI model that is ready to rival GPT-4. 🔥 Read more
Big plays are coming from Open AI! Par for the course for much of the AI Talent boom, they’ve signed an acquisition of Statsig 🤝 Read more
Microsoft researchers have developed a new analog optical computer that can solve complex problems and shows promise for AI. 💡 Read more
This Week’s 💎Hefty💎 Raise Recap 📈💰
LocusX has raised a $3 million seed round to build an AI engine that debugs video game code and helps teams ship better games faster 🕹️ Read more
Born, the creators of the virtual pet Pengu, just secured $15 million to create a new wave of social AI companions. 🐾 Read more
AI coding platform Replit announced a massive new funding round that values the company at $3 billion, a huge jump from its last valuation. 🚀 Read more
Cusp AI, a UK-based materials company advised by "The Godfather of AI," has raised over $100 million in Series A funding to find new sustainable materials. 🌱 Read more
LightSpun, an AI platform for dental insurance, has secured $13 million in Series A funding to streamline claims and cut down on admin costs. 🦷 Read more
Higgsfield.ai has landed a massive $50 million Series A to transform AI video creation and social media content production. 📹 Read more
A maritime safety startup has secured $20.7 million in Series A funding to help keep our oceans safer using AI. 🚢 Read more
Augment, an AI startup, raised $85 million in a Series A round to supercharge logistics with its AI teammate, "Augie." 🚛 Read more
Sola Security has raised $35 million in Series A funding to use AI to simplify and speed up how organizations respond to cyber threats. 🔒 Read more
Dispatch has secured $18 million in Series A funding to advance its AI-ready data infrastructure for financial advisors. 📈 Read more
Vouched, an AI-powered identity verification provider, has raised $17 million in a Series A round to expand its platform. 🆔 Read more
Atlassian is making a big move into AI by acquiring The Browser Company for $610 million. 💻 Read more
Supersonik has launched with $5 million in seed funding to use an AI agent to revolutionize software sales with live product demos. 🤖 Read more
Reveal Healthtech has raised $7.2 million in Series A funding to power the next wave of AI-driven healthcare solutions. 🏥 Read more
RushOwl has raised $10 million in Series A funding to expand its ride-sharing platform across Asia. 🚗 Read more
Intella has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding to accelerate its development of Arabic speech AI. 🗣️ Read more
Young founders have raised $5 million for an AI startup that simulates human behavior. 🧠 Read more
Anthropic has completed a Series F funding round of $13 billion, which brings its valuation to an incredible $183 billion. 🤯 Read more
Kite AI has raised $18 million in Series A funding, led by PayPal Ventures, to build decentralized AI infrastructure. 🌐 Read more
LayerX, a Japanese AI SaaS startup, has raised $100 million in a Series B round to expand its back-office automation platform. 💼 Read more
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO 🎧
For those a bit more UX inclined, and gearing towards (re)designing their paradigms, here’s a little something from the design side of life I found to be a nice brief on AI Agents. Mostly this was a CX and UX piece, that inspired me a bit to rethink some of the interaction models I’ve been taking for granted.
Stay well, and see you next week!
-✌🏽 Sam
Cue the legal stuff: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely my own and do not reflect the views, positions, or policies of my employer or any organizations I am affiliated with. All content is for informational purposes only and to express opinion.