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Black Forest Labs raises $300M at $3.25B valuation; plus, OpenAI’s investment into Thrive Holdings is its latest circular deal Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

The round was co-led by Salesforce Ventures and Anjney Midha (AMP), and saw participation from a16z, NVIDIA, Northzone, Creandum, Earlybird VC, BroadLight Capital, General Catalyst, Temasek, Bain Capital Ventures, Air Street Capital, Visionaries Club, Canva and Figma Ventures.

Also, analysts will be watching to see if Thrive-owned firms actually succeed in building long-term profitable businesses using OpenAI’s tech, or if the result is really just pumped up valuations based on speculative market potential.

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How AI PR startup Clipbook won Mark Cuban’s investment from a cold email Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

Adam Joseph was shocked when Mark Cuban replied to his email with an inquisition full of questions.

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Are you balding? There’s an AI for that; plus, JustiGuide wants to use AI to help people navigate the US immigration system Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

MyHair AI examines photos of the scalp to help diagnose hair loss and suggest scientifically validated clinics and treatments.

The startup uses AI to help immigrants understand the system, connect with lawyers and reduce associated costs.

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Google teams up with Accel to hunt for India’s next AI breakouts Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

Google and Accel will jointly invest up to $2 million in each startup through their new partnership.

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Find Your Grind raises $5M to grow platform empowering students to explore unique career paths; plus Fleet Space finds massive lithium deposit using AI and satellites Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

Career exploration platform Find Your Grind raises $5 million to help more students discover alternative professions.

Also, the discovery of a massive lithium deposit suggests that a region in Quebec might hold even more lithium than originally suspected.

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X-energy rides nuclear wave, raises $700M Series D Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

The small modular reactor startup is capitalizing on surging interest from tech companies and data center developers.

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This startup wants to build a fusion reactor — on a boat; plus, Momentic raises $15M to automate software testing Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

Startups are still racing to build the world's first commercial fusion power plant on land, but Maritime Fusion thinks the path will be easier out at sea.

Also, AI testing startup Momentic has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Standard Capital, with participation from Dropbox Ventures. Existing investors at Y Combinator, FCVC, Transpose Platform and Karman Ventures also participated.

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Bret Taylor’s Sierra reaches $100M ARR in under two years; also, Phictly’s new app brings people together over their favorite books and TV shows Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

Sierra’s rapid growth suggests that enerprises are embracing AI agents.

Also, Phictly helps fans find niche clubs for their favorite books, shows, and movies, offering intimate, spoiler-safe communities with flexible pacing and tracker tools.

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The European startup market is ready for the limelight Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

The region's startup market is hungry for its first trillion-dollar startup, and in many ways has set itself up to reach that goal.

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Source: Kalshi’s valuation jumps to $11B after raising massive $1B round ; plus, this startup can track objects within 3 cm Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

The quickly growing prediction betting market raised fresh capital from Sequoia and CapitalG, according to someone familiar with the deal.

Also, Point One Navigation, now valued at $230 million, is building out well beyond automotive.

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