New York peeps, we’re headed your way! On Thursday night, September 10, we’re hosting a night in the West Village with Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures, Deven Parekh of Insight Partners, and more — plus good drinks, good food, and great conversation. Huge thanks to our co-host in the evening, Collaborative Fund, for making it happen; we’re getting excited about this one. Space is limited, so don’t wait to grab a spot. | | Top News | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and more than 100 other companies warned that a wave of increasingly sophisticated AI-enabled cyberattacks is coming, urging governments to invest in cyberdefense and AI labs to give hospitals and infrastructure providers access to their most capable models. TechCrunch has more here. | A federal judge blocked the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic over its refusal to allow Claude to be used for U.S. surveillance or autonomous weapons, calling the national-security designation “illegal and baseless” and an improper retaliation against a government critic. Reuters has more here. | Meta is publicly urging YouTube and TikTok to adopt the same child-safety restrictions it accepted in its $17.1 billion settlement, but neither rival has embraced the proposal: YouTube declined to comment, and TikTok did not respond. The New York Times has more here. | The Trump administration is weighing sweeping new semiconductor tariffs that could also hit servers and other chip-powered products, alarming tech companies that warn the duties would raise data-center costs and worsen chip shortages. Politico has more here. | | |
AI board deck parsing, vetted by $20B+ AUM firms | Finance teams need accurate numbers. Investment teams need them fast. Standard Metrics combines AI parsing with human review, so firms don’t have to make that choice. Read More | | Buried in Meta’s $18B Settlement Is a Legal Pass on Kids’ Data |  | Image Credits: Anna Barclay / Getty Images |
| By Sarah Perez | In addition to paying out up to $18 billion and adding child safety measures, Meta’s settlement agreement with attorneys general from 29 states includes an interesting provision: The states have agreed not to sue Meta under existing child safety laws over its retention and use of children’s data. | That permission is being granted for the limited purpose of training and testing Meta’s age-assurance model and includes guardrails, but it’s a curious policy decision to make in a case centered on child safety, and one that could be difficult to properly enforce. | As specified in the settlement agreement, Meta must develop, train, and begin testing a model designed to detect which users on Meta’s platforms are under the age of 13. This must be done within a year of the document’s effective date. (While the agreement doesn’t specify that the model has to be AI-based, Meta’s current age-detection tools are powered by AI technology.) | Under U.S. child safety law, COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) typically requires that websites and apps limit the collection and retention of children’s personal information. Meta’s settlement agreement says that Meta shouldn’t need to violate COPPA to train or implement its age-assurance models. However, the agreement also says that the state AGs have agreed “fully, finally, and forever” not to bring any past, present, or future COPPA claims — or claims under similar state laws — related to Meta’s use of children’s data. | | | Massive Fundings | Gestala, a one-year-old startup based in Chengdu, China, that develops ultrasound-based brain-computer interfaces that map and modulate brain circuits for chronic pain and other neurological conditions, raised an $84 million round. Investors included HSG, Lens Technology, Sinovation Ventures, and C Capital as well as previous investors Dalton Venture, Seas Capital, Tsing Song Capital, and Gobi Partners. More here. | Regent Craft, a six-year-old startup based in North Kingstown, RI, that builds electric seagliders that carry passengers or military cargo over coastal waters while operating under maritime rules, raised a $120 million Series B round co-led by Mare Liberum and AE Ventures, with DCVC as well as previous investors Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Japan Airlines, and Giant Step Capital also pitching in. Erebor Bank also provided $120 million in debt. The company has raised a total of $340 million in debt and equity. Tech Funding News has more here. | RQD, a seven-year-old New York startup that provides clearing and custody infrastructure that helps broker-dealers, advisers, and foreign financial institutions trade and settle U.S. securities, raised a $74 million round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, with ABN AMRO Clearing Bank and Nyca Partners also stepping up. CoinDesk has more here. | Socure, a 14-year-old company based in Incline Village, NV, that helps banks, fintechs, and government agencies verify customer identities, approve legitimate users, and detect fraud, raised a $156 million round at a $5.2 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by Summit Partners, with Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Wells Fargo, and Docusign also taking part. The company has raised a total of $742+ million. Crunchbase News has more here. | Town, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that makes a personalized AI assistant for work tasks across email, calendar, Slack, docs, and other tools, is reportedly in talks to raise funding at a $1 billion valuation in a round led by Index Ventures. The company previously raised from Andreessen Horowitz and Forerunner Ventures. Newcomer has more here. | Wrtn, a five-year-old Seoul startup that provides consumer AI tools for accessing large language models, creating entertainment content, and using character chat services, raised a $72.4 million round at an $869 million valuation. Investors included Coreline Ventures and Eugene Asset Management as well as previous investors Goodwater Capital, Antler Global, Woori Venture Partners, and the Korea Development Bank. The Korea Times has more here. | | Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings | Arintra, a six-year-old San Francisco startup that automates medical coding, documentation review, and denial appeals for health systems to help them get paid accurately for care delivered, raised a $25 million Series B round led by Define Ventures, with Peak XV Partners, Yale New Haven Health Center for Health Care Innovation, Endeavor Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Counterpart Ventures, Ten13, and Spider Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $51 million. More here. | CivilGrid, a six-year-old startup that gives governments, utilities, and civil engineering firms a map of underground utility assets, property ownership, and environmental constraints to plan infrastructure projects, raised a $26 million Series A round led by Spark Capital, with Afore, A*, Ford Street Ventures, SNR, and Energy Impact Partners also participating. TechCrunch has more here. | Faro AI, a seven-year-old San Diego startup that deploys AI agents that help drugmakers design clinical studies and automate development workflows from early trials through approval, raised a $37.3 million Series B round co-led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund and S32, with Ankona Capital as well as previous investors General Catalyst, Northpond Ventures, Polaris Partners, PTX Capital, and Zetta also chiming in. More here. | Levanta, a three-year-old Seattle startup that connects retail brands with creators to manage product promotions, affiliate commissions, sales tracking, and payments across online marketplaces, raised a $22 million Series B round led by Volition Capital, with Long Run Capital and OpenSky Ventures also digging in. The company has raised a total of $43+ million. GeekWire has more here. | Quaise Energy, an eight-year-old Houston startup that develops superhot geothermal energy projects that tap high-temperature underground heat for power generation, raised a $35 million Series B round from Nabors Industries. Renewables Now has more here. | TerraBlaster, a two-year-old startup based in Redwood City, CA, that maps soil pH and nutrient levels from tractor-towed sensors to help growers apply fertilizer more precisely, raised a $12.5 million seed round led by Ulu Ventures, with Khosla Ventures, Trailhead Capital, Builders Vision, Bidra, Ag Startup Engine, Reservoir, Sunna, Plug & Play, GrainInnovate, and the Hort Innovation Venture Fund also participating. The company has raised a total of $16.5 million. More here. | Transfyr, a one-year-old startup based in Cambridge, MA, that uses video, audio, sensors, and AI to capture lab experiments and identify hidden procedural differences that can make studies succeed or fail, raised a $25 million seed round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Lux Capital, Breakout Ventures, Factory, Neo, SV Angel, MVP Ventures, and Underscore VC. The New York Times has more here. | Yardstik, a six-year-old Minneapolis startup that helps employers screen job candidates, verify worker identities and credentials, and monitor post-hire fraud risks, raised a $30 million Series B round led by Harbert Growth Partners, with Rally Ventures, MissionOG, Crosslink Capital, Grotech Ventures, and Great North Ventures also buying in. The company has raised a total of $65 million. SiliconANGLE has more here. | | Smaller Fundings | |
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