June 13th Newsletter

U.S. jobless claims remained at 248,000 last week, above the expected 240,000, signaling rising layoffs and heightened recession fears amid trade uncertainty and cautious corporate guidance for 2025. Inflation edged up 2.4% in May, slightly below the expected 2.5%, indicating that tariffs have had a limited impact so far. With the labor market showing signs of cooling, the Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. The World Bank slashed its 2025 growth forecast to 2.3%, projecting the weakest decade since the 1960s amid escalating trade frictions and sluggish investment. Meanwhile, Google is trimming staff through voluntary buyouts, including in its Search and Ads division, and mandating office returns as it pivots toward AI-led efficiency. Leaked GitHub code reveals AI.gov will launch July 4, embedding AI tools from OpenAI, Google, and Meta across federal agencies despite internal concerns. In consumer news, Amazon and Walmart are intensifying their drone delivery rivalry, with Walmart expanding to 100 locations and Amazon adding new hubs. Starbucks plans a national rollout of Green Dot Assist, an AI tool built with Microsoft Azure, to streamline barista workflows by 2026. Fintech also sees renewed interest as Chime closes 37% higher in its Nasdaq debut. Wrapping up, Nvidia and Perplexity are launching localized AI models in Europe, reinforcing multilingual AI access and expanding Nvidia’s regional chip footprint.

Top 5 AI Highlights

[1] 🧠 Meta is making a $15 billion investment in Scale AI, acquiring a 49% stake and marking its largest external investment to date. The deal includes Scale AI CEO, Alexandr Wang, joining Zuckerberg’s new AGI team of 50 top engineers, focused on achieving artificial general intelligence. Scale projects $2B in 2025 revenue, is valued at $25B, and is planning a tender offer for early employees. The move signals Meta’s urgency after delaying its own Behemoth model rollout and concerns of falling behind in the AI race. More from BBG.

[2] ☁️ OpenAI has signed a landmark compute partnership with Google Cloud - despite being rivals, as it moves to diversify away from Microsoft amid surging demand. Following the launch of its o3-pro model, OpenAI announced an 80% price reduction for the o3 model. With revenue now at a $10B run rate, OpenAI's application is also expanding beyond chatbots - Mattel, for instance, now taps OpenAI to help design new toys. See more at Reuters, YF, CNBC, and BBG. 

[3] 🤖 Apple opens up its AI engine to developers at WWDC 2025, launching “Foundation Models,” a local on-device framework that lets third-party apps access Apple Intelligence with just three lines of Swift—no cloud, no fees, no friction. It’s a move that looks generous but signals Apple’s pivot from building its own AI apps to betting the next breakout comes from the App Store. Rather than compete head-on with GPT-5 or Google Gemini, Apple is leaning into privacy, hardware optimization, and developer creativity, outsourcing innovation while keeping users (and their data) firmly inside its ecosystem. More from Apple.

[4] 📈Accenture has trained 500,000 employees in generative AI as part of a sweeping company-wide transformation. CEO Julie Sweet reported $2.6B in GenAI revenue over the past six months - up from just $300M after ChatGPT’s 2022 debut. The firm is using AI to automate routine consulting tasks and free up time for mentoring junior staff. In the UK, two-thirds of employees are already trained, signaling Accenture’s rapid shift toward AI-native consulting. Meanwhile, Yahoo is rolling out new AI features in its Mail app - including a gamified “Catch Up” screen - to engage Gen Z and simplify inbox management, marking the product’s biggest update in a decade. More from BBG and Bloomberg.

[5] ⚡Amazon is investing $20B into two new data center complexes in Pennsylvania, marking the state’s largest-ever private capital deployment. One site is directly adjacent to the Susquehanna nuclear plant via a controversial “behind-the-meter” energy deal, giving AWS faster and cheaper access to high-capacity power. The other campus is near Philadelphia. This follows $ 10B+ site builds already underway in Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio, and North Carolina. More from CNBC.

Founder’s Corner

VCs are still working during the summer

What We Read This Week

• Disney and NBCUniversal have sued AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement, alleging it used and replicated their IP without permission, marking Hollywood’s first major legal action against generative AI. (Axios)

• Disney will pay Comcast $438.7 million to finalize full ownership of Hulu, ending a long valuation process and enabling deeper integration with Disney+ and ESPN streaming platforms. (CNBC)

• Warner Bros. Discovery will split into two public companies, separating streaming and studio assets from cable networks to reduce debt, boost flexibility, and revive a stock down 59% since its merger. (WSJ)

• Retail layoffs have surged 274% in 2025, driven by weak foot traffic, e-commerce growth, and economic pressures, including Trump’s tariffs, with 75,802 jobs cut so far and more reductions expected. (MSN)

• Walmart, Amazon, and others are exploring stablecoins to bypass traditional payment systems, aiming to save billions in fees. Progress hinges on the Genius Act, which would regulate stablecoins in the U.S. (WSJ)

• Apple’s WWDC 2025 unveiled iOS 26, a major design refresh with “Liquid Glass,” improved multitasking for iPad, a new Games app, on-device AI tools, live translations, and expanded Vision Pro and AirPods features. (The Verge)

• X pressured major brands like Verizon and Ralph Lauren into ad deals—some via lawsuit threats—as part of Musk’s aggressive push to revive ad revenue, now under FTC antitrust scrutiny. (WSJ)

AI M&A and Fundraising news (June 6 — June 12)

• AI.work: Israeli developer of autonomous "employees", raised $10M Seed.

• Aethero: High-performance space-rated AI computers, raised $8.4M Seed.

• AgentSmyth: Agentic AI tools for trading workflows, raised $8.7M Seed.

• Aiera: Generative AI platform for financial services and event analysis, raised $25M Series B.

• Altura: AI-powered bid management platform for public/private tenders, raised €8M (~$9.2M) Series A.

• Amperos Health: AI to automate clinician documentation, raised $4.2M Seed.

• Amplify Partners: VC firm investing in software and AI, raised $900M fund.

• Anduril: AI-powered defense systems like drones, raised a $2.5B round.

• Arlequin AI: AI tools for disinformation detection, raised $5M Seed.

• Bria: Enterprise visual generative AI platform using licensed data, raised $40M Series B.

• Coco Robotics: Last-mile delivery robot startup, raised $80M.

• Cyera: Sensitive data protection for AI use, raised a $540M Series E.

• Daybreak: Supply chain planning software startup, raised a $15M Series A.

• Deep Sentinel: AI-enabled live surveillance platform, raised a $15M Series B.

• Dreamhub: AI-powered CRM for B2B software, raised $7M.

• Farsight: AI agents for finance professionals, raised a $13M Series A.

• Filament Syfter: AI data platform for private market dealmakers, raised £3.5M (~$4.4M) Series A.

• FinanceKey: Automated finance and treasury platform, raised $3.4M Seed.

• Flank: Legal AI agents for law firms, raised $10M.

• Glean: AI-powered workplace search across platforms, raised a $150M Series F

• Guardz: AI cybersecurity for MSPs/SMBs, raised $56M Series B.

• Guidehealth: AI and care teams for chronic care, raised $10M.

• Hirundo: Machine unlearning technology to eliminate AI hallucinations, raised $8M Seed.

• Horizon3.ai: Automated AI cybersecurity vulnerability testing, raised a $100M Series D.

• Kargo: AI-powered warehouse inventory management, raised $18.4M.

• Kiin AI: Virtual scientist platform for drug discovery, raised £1.6M (~$2M) Pre-seed.

• Latent Technology: Real-time AI character animation for games, raised $8M Seed.

• Laurel: AI timekeeping startup, raised a $100M Series C.

• Lemony: Plug-and-play device for on-prem AI, raised a $2M Seed.

• Maze: AI-driven cloud security monitoring startup, raised a $25M Series A.

• Mixus: AI agents for identity and workplace comms, raised $2.6M Pre-seed.

• Moments Lab: AI video discovery platform, raised $24M.

• Nectar Social: Agentic social commerce platform, raised $10.6M Seed.

• OBT Live: AI-powered customer engagement platform, raised $2.9M Series A.

• Obvio: AI-powered traffic safety camera platform, raised $22M Series A.

• Omnisent: German acoustic AI startup, raised a $3M Pre-seed.

• Outset: AI-driven customer interview analysis, raised $17M Series A.

• Pactum: AI contract negotiation tools for enterprises, raised a $54M Series C.

• Pickle: Real-time AI avatar/clone technology, raised $4.42M Seed.

• pWin.ai: Generative AI for government contractors, raised $10M Seed.

• RabitiAI: Decentralized AI infrastructure platform, raised $5M.

• Relevance AI: AI workforce platform for building and deploying autonomous agents, raised $24M Series B.

• Rosebud: AI-powered journaling and mood tracking app, raised $6M Seed.

• S2N Health: AI medical device analytics, raised $4.31M Seed.

• Salus Cloud: AI-native DevSecOps platform, raised $3.7M Seed.

• Scale AI: Data labeling and infrastructure for AI models, received $14.9B from Meta for a 49% stake.

• Shield Technology Partners: AI-enabled IT service consolidator, raised $100M.

• Shilo AI: AI real estate insights platform, raised $2.6M Seed.

• Sintra AI: AI helpers for SMB operations, raised $17M Seed.

• Solidroad: AI testing and debugging platform, raised $6.5M Seed.

• Superblocks: Secure enterprise platform for AI-driven application development, raised $23M Series A extension.

• Swimlane: AI hyperautomation security startup, raised $45M Growth Equity.

• Testaify: AI hiring assessments, raised $2.51M.

• Thread AI: AI workflow infrastructure platform, raised a $20M Series A.

• Toma: AI voice agents for car dealerships, raised $17M Series A.

• Tracksuit: AI for consumer brand perception tracking, raised $25M Series B.

• Trellis: AI-powered legal research assistant, raised a $15M Series B.

• Weavy: Embedded AI collaboration tools, raised $4M Seed.

• Wordsmith AI: Legal AI agent infrastructure, raised a $25M Series A.