San Francisco is still No. 1 | Newsletter

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Quick Hits

Camera clarity: Arlo recognizes faces.

Code clash: Kotlin challenges Java.

Developing devs: OpenAI opens academy.

IPO bound: India’s Fractal.

Mars mission: SpaceX's plans 6 launches.

Mea culpa: CrowdStrike apologizes.

Meta misstep: Celebs fall for AI hoax.

Multi-modal: Snapchat adds Google’s AI.

New Threads: Meta snags Threads.com.

Power play: Microsoft eyes nuclear plant.

No phone zone: Schools curb phones.

Recharged: U.S. invests $3B in batteries.

Silent social: TikTok ends streaming.

Sovereign data: GitHub offers EU-only storage.

Spinoff: Siemens sheds EV charging.

Stealth mode: Apple designer builds AI hardware.

Stock picks: Chatbot cleared for financial advice.

Weaponizing chips: India builds U.S. plant.

Worker win: Ex-Xer wins severance suit.

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Trending Startups

San Francisco remains No. 1 with VCs

San Francisco remains the world’s top startup city for venture funding—though NYC is growing faster, according to Pitchbook rankings. China’s Hefei is the world’s fastest-growing VC hub, displacing Dubai.

GenAI adoption tops PCs, Internet

Generative AI is spreading faster than the PC or Internet did, reaching 30%+ adoption in the U.S. in just 2 years. It’s spreading fast in homes and popular with more than just techies.

Farmers harvest AI’s benefits

Farmers are leveraging AI-powered equipment to boost efficiency. John Deere uses 60% less herbicide thanks to “See & Spray” tech.

ActivityPub expands the fediverse

The author and editor of the ActivityPub protocol launched a new nonprofit to expand the open social web beyond its current 200M users. Meta’s adoption for Threads should help.

Andrew Ng automates mentorship

Workera aims to create an AI agent for mentoring based on lessons the founder learned from his mentor, well-known AI researcher Andrew Ng.

Cash back on Mortgages?

Fintech Mesa offers 1% cash back on mortgages. “We’ve just taken what everybody loves about travel and dining cards to re-contextualize that,” founder Kelley Halpin says.

Raising influence

Amazon is doubling payouts to tens of thousands of influencers in India who post about products.

Recently Funded

• France's Kestra Raises $8M for Open-Source Orchestration

• UK's Vsim Raises $24M for Robotics Simulation Tech

• San Francisco’s Atomicwork Secures $3M for Workflow Automation

• Bay Area’s Reframe Technologies Raises $5M for Digital Collaboration

• San Francisco’s Celestia Foundation Nabs $100M for Modular Blockchain Solutions

• Sharang Shakti Raises $600k for Defense Robotics Innovation

• Bengaluru-based Aarna Networks Raises $1.2M for GPU-as-a-Service

• TraqCheck Raises $14M for Employee Background Verification

• Nurix AI Raises $27.5M for AI Agents for Enterprises

Weekly Pulse

Post of the Week

Poll of the Week

Podcast of the Week

Sean Behr: Fountain CEO: Transforming Hiring for Frontline Workers (The POZCAST: Decoding Success with Adam Posner)

Improving Job Descriptions and Employee Retention with Wendy Sellers (HR Superstars)

Startups Hiring Now

Wonder: Incredible food for every table | 9 open roles

Volley: Voice-controlled games and entertainment for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and smartphones | 10 open roles

Bubble: We’re building the software to build all software | 8 open roles

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