The M(SFT) x G(OOG) Team Up No One Saw Coming🌍📣

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.

Hey hey!

Happy Wednesday!

Here’s your news in newsletter!

Riding off the high of yesterday’s catchup recap, Today’s News issue covers the news from the past week, so it’ll be short and sweet.

In this Issue:

• Your Weekly Industry News Recap

• A Case for Canadian AI

• The Raise Recap

• FYI TO FOUDNERS - Funding Opportunity

Headliner: The M(SFT) x G(OOG) Team Up No One Saw Coming🌍📣

You read that right. Microsoft and Google are teaming up—not to compete, but to cooperate—on setting a standard language for AI agents. 🤝🧠 With Microsoft pushing for interoperability and Google’s A2A protocol gaining traction, the future of AI assistants looks a lot more collaborative. The goal? Make sure your AI tools, no matter who built them, can talk to each other clearly and safely. 🌐💬 As agentic AI explodes across platforms, shared protocols might be the glue that keeps it all working. ⚙️🧩
🔗 Read more - Microsoft & Google collaboration
🔗 Read more - Google's A2A Protocol🧠🗺️

Your Weekly Industry News Recap

Testing new format - What do you think?

• VUNO’s AI Cardiac Tool Gets Certified in EU/UK – VUNO's AI is helping flag heart risks and just got the green light from European regulators. ❤️✅
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• Arya AI Rolls Out Domain-Specific LLM Tools – Arya’s MCP tech helps customize generic AI models into niche experts. 🧠🔧
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• U.S. Reviews China-AI VC Ties – The U.S. is eyeing American VC firms’ connections to Chinese AI players. 🔍🌐
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• Tips for Building Energy-Efficient AI Systems – AI doesn’t have to guzzle power—this guide shows how to build greener models. 🌱💻
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• Texas Lawsuit Targets Google Over Data Privacy – Texas is suing Google again, this time over how it handles user data and AI. ⚖️📱
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• Skymizer Wants You to Build Your Own AI Chip – With new IP, Skymizer is empowering devs to go full custom with their AI hardware. 🧠🔧
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• Infinix Launches Real-Time Translating AI Buds – These earbuds can translate on the fly—and they’re live on IndieGogo. 🎧🌍
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• BirdEye Unveils Hyperlocal AI Vision for Businesses – This platform helps businesses make sense of what’s happening on the ground—literally. 🏪📸
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• SAS Showcases AI Agent Upgrades in Viya – SAS is dropping new features to make their AI tools faster, smarter, and more trustworthy. 🔍💼
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• AI Observability Market on a Growth Tear – Observability is the new hot topic in AI infrastructure—and it’s scaling fast. 📊🔥
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• MITRE Maps Out the AI Assurance Landscape – The latest report outlines how we should be verifying AI systems in the real world. ✅📋
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• Securing AI Against Evolving Threats – AI is under siege from all angles—this piece breaks down how to defend it. 🛡️🧠
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• Kyvos Launches GenAI Analytics Tool for Enterprises – Big data meets GenAI with Kyvos Dialogs, built for business intelligence pros. 📈💬
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• Agentic AI in the Wild: Real-World Use Cases – From customer service to operations, this piece shows how agentic AI is showing up IRL. 🤖🏢
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A CASE FOR CANADIAN AI

Warning: Canadian bias, this is a newsletter run by a Canadian working in the tech space.

Canada is uniquely positioned to lead in the global AI race, thanks to its world-class research institutes, supportive ecosystem, and early investments. 🤖 As Lawrence Zhang and Daniel Castro put it, “Canada’s AI advantage is clear—but it must act now to harness it” (Macdonald-Laurier Institute). While regulatory gaps around facial recognition pose challenges, they also offer a chance for Canada to set global standards (IAPP).

Trade tensions only raise the urgency, but as Kevin Press notes, Canada’s policymakers are facing a “once-in-a-generation test at the brink of adoption” (Investment Executive). With the right mix of ambition and smart governance, Canada can stay on the map not just as a player, but as a shaper of AI’s global future. 🍁🚀

This Week’s Raise Recap 📈💰 

• PhaseV Lands $50M to Boost AI in Clinical Trials – Pharma’s getting a serious AI upgrade as PhaseV grabs $50M to speed up clinical development. 💊⚡
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• Wyld Launches $50M Fund for Saudi AI Startups – Saudi VC Wyld is going all in on AI, opening a $50M fund to back ambitious local startups. 🇸🇦🚀
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• Markopolo AI Raises $2M Seed to Scale in Saudi Arabia – Digital ad startup Markopolo just secured funding to expand in the Middle East. 📈🧠
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• Google & NVIDIA Back Israeli AI Firm’s $300M Raise – This Israeli AI startup just closed a monster round with two tech giants behind it. 💰🇮🇱
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• Clarium Raises $27M to Reinvent Healthcare Supply Chains – This AI-powered logistics startup just bagged a fresh $27M to keep hospitals moving. 🏥📦
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• Mistral Debuts New Open-Source Model ‘Medium’ – French AI darling Mistral keeps the heat on with another powerful model release. 🇫🇷🧠
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• Fastino Raises $17.5M to Train AI on Cheap GPUs – This scrappy startup is proving you don’t need fancy hardware to build smart AI. 🎮💡
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• Medmain Raises $18M for AI in Pathology – This Japanese startup is transforming pathology with AI—and just pulled in major capital. 🔬🇯🇵
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• CodeAnt AI Gets $2M to Streamline Enterprise Ops – This Indian startup wants to simplify enterprise AI with plug-and-play agents. ⚙️🇮🇳
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• StackAI Raises $16M to Democratize AI Agents – With a slick interface and fresh Series A funding, StackAI wants everyone building AI tools. 💬💼
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FYI TO FOUDNERS - Funding Opportunity

Google just rolled out its AI Futures Fund to back bold startup founders with long-term visions. 💸🚀 The fund isn’t about quick wins—it’s aimed at supporting risky, transformational ideas that could reshape industries. It’s a clear signal that Google wants to nurture frontier innovation, not just incremental upgrades. 🌍🧠 For early-stage founders with a moonshot, this could be the fuel they’ve been waiting for. 🔥

Stay well, and see you next week!

-✌🏽 Sam