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Jest is challenging the app store status quo; plus, Self-driving truck startup Einride raises $113M PIPE Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Jest, a marketplace for messaging games, emerged from stealth with $7 million in seed funding.

Also, self-driving trucks startup Einride has raised an oversubscribed $113 million PIPE in advance of its SPAC merger scheduled for early 2026.

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Y Combinator grad and AI insurance brokerage Harper raises $47M; plus, AI chip startup MatX raised $500M Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Harper is an AI-native insurance brokerage that just raised a $45 million combined Series A and seed, after a member of YC's Winter 2025 cohort.

Also, MatX, a chip startup founded by two former Google hardware engineers, has raised a $500 million Series B led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, an investment fund formed by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner.

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Canva acquires startups working on animation and marketing; plus, Stripe, PayPal Ventures bet on India’s Xflow Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

With the new acquisitions, the company wants to bolster its position as a marketing solution by potentially adding video creation and more granular measurement.

Also, Stripe and PayPal Ventures have participated in Xflow's $16.6 million round that gives it a post-money valuation of $85 million.

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Ukraine’s startups keep building Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

In the four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, Ukrainian startups have done more than survive: they are still building and growing.

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Particle’s AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don’t have to Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

AI news app Particle can now pull in key moments from podcasts, letting readers instantly play short, relevant clips alongside related stories.

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Quantonation’s double-sized second fund shows quantum still has believers; plus. Ali Partovi’s Neo looks to upend the accelerator model Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

Quantonation Ventures, a venture firm investing in quantum and physics-based startups, has closed its oversubscribed second fund at €220 million, or approximately $260 million. That’s more than twice the size of its inaugural fund, and comes in addition to other signals that the quantum winter isn’t coming yet.

Also, Neo's new Residency program invests $750,000 in an uncapped SAFE for startups and provides a $40,000 no-strings-attached grant for college students.

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Nvidia deepens early-stage push into India’s AI startup ecosystem; plus, General Catalyst commits $5B to India Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Nvidia is working with investors, nonprofits, and venture firms to build earlier ties with India's fast-growing AI founder ecosystem.

Also, General Catalyst's pledge marks a sharp jump from the company's earlier $500 million–$1 billion India earmark.

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A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger that launches directly from Bluesky’s app Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Social network Bluesky now offers private messaging by integrating the startup Germ's E2E encrypted messenger natively in its app.

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Reload wants to give your AI agents a shared memory; plus, Mirai developing a framework for models to perform better on devices Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Reload announces a $2.275 million raise in a round led by Anthemis and the launch of its first AI employee, Epic.

Also, Mirai raised a $10 million seed to improve how AI models run on devices like smartphones and laptops.

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Kana emerges from stealth with $15M to build flexible AI agents for marketers; plus, World Labs lands $200M from Autodesk Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Kana, a new AI marketing startup from the founders of Rapt and Krux, has raised $15 million to build customizable, agent-based marketing tools.

The partnership will see the two companies exploring how World Labs’ models can work alongside Autodesk’s tools, and vice versa, starting with a focus on entertainment use cases.

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