👍 Hugging Face launches $100 robotic arm to democratize AI robotics

Hugging Face just dropped the SO-101 — a 3D-printed, AI-ready robotic arm that costs as little as $100. It’s open-source, upgradeable, and powerful enough to run reinforcement learning tasks on a laptop.

🧠 AI-native by design
• Features 6 motors, camera-based vision, and support for reinforcement learning
• Pairs with Hugging Face’s LeRobot toolkit and GitHub-hosted training pipeline
• Learns new physical tasks (like placing Lego) after a single demonstration

⚙️ Built for makers, educators, and researchers
• Fully 3D-printable with optional kits starting at $220
• Open source under Apache 2.0, with shareable datasets and models
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi–based LeKiwi mobile base for full autonomy

📊 How it compares to pricier competitors
• Niryo Ned2: $4,000+
• Dobot Magician: $1,700
• uArm Swift Pro: $1,000
• Hugging Face SO-101: $100–$500, depending on version

❓ Why it matters
• Makes real AI-robotics experimentation accessible for students, hobbyists, and labs
• Targets education, research, and prototyping with rapid iteration at low cost
• Hugging Face positions SO-101 as the entry-level AI robotics standard

Not everyone can afford a precision robotic arm—but Hugging Face is betting the next wave of robotics breakthroughs will come from a $100 kit and an open-source repo.

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⏫OSCAR raises €6M to scale its home services platform into the UK

Portugal-based OSCAR has secured €6 million in Pre-Series A funding to expand its on-demand home services app beyond Iberia and into the UK.

⚙️ Reinventing home services across Europe
• Offers plumbing, electrical, cleaning, laundry, and beauty services via app
• Guarantees fixed pricing, vetted professionals, and fast bookings
• Serves 600,000+ users with €20M+ in annual revenue

🌎 Strategic expansion and fresh capital
• New funds to reinforce leadership in Portugal and Spain
• UK entry planned to disrupt a fragmented market lacking trust and transparency
• Backed by Indico, Lince, Failup, Boost, and founders of Bolt and Wolt

📈 Why it’s working
• Strong execution team closing the gap between service reliability and customer expectations
• Unified platform simplifies home tasks for users — and empowers technicians with steady demand

From Lisbon to London, OSCAR is proving that convenience, speed, and trust still win in everyday consumer services.

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🛩 Zipline is building the logistics layer for the whole planet

From delivering blood in Rwanda to lunch in Dallas, Zipline is quietly operating the largest autonomous drone delivery network in the world — and it’s just getting started.

🌎From life-saving missions to daily convenience
• Zipline began by serving hospitals in Rwanda with drone-delivered blood transfusions
• Now operates in 8 countries, with clients like Walmart, Mayo Clinic, Chipotle, and Panera
• Delivered 22M+ vaccine doses and 75% of Rwanda’s blood supply outside the capital

🧱 One tech stack, many use cases
• Same drone, software, and autonomy stack used for both emergency health and commercial delivery
• Fully electric, zero-emission logistics platform, flying up to 150 miles per delivery
• 100M+ autonomous miles flown — the largest commercial autonomous system on Earth

🚁Why this matters
• Zipline combines impact, scale, and economics — serving both governments and private markets
• Expanding instant delivery beyond urban centers, even building national postal layers in some regions
• Their goal: make logistics universal, fast, cheap, and emission-free

While other drone delivery players pitch the future, Zipline is already operating it — at scale.

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🧠 Revelo sees AI-fueled hiring boom for Latin American developers

As U.S. firms ramp up post-training of LLMs, demand is surging for skilled developers — and Revelo is riding the wave by positioning LatAm talent as a critical piece of the AI supply chain.

🌎 What they’ve built
• A vetted network of 400,000+ developers across Latin America
• Full-stack hiring and payroll solution for U.S. companies
• Clients include Intuit, Oracle, Dell, and nearly every major hyperscale AI firm

⚙️ Why AI companies are hiring from LatAm
• Post-training phase of LLMs requires expert human data — especially from coders
• 22% of Revelo’s 2024 revenue came from LLM training roles
• Clients seek talent with deep language-specific coding expertise

📈 How Revelo scaled
• Founded in 2014 to solve Brazil’s tech hiring bottleneck
• Expanded across LatAm with $48M in VC backing from Social Capital, FJ Labs, Valor Capital
• Covid-era remote boom accelerated U.S. inbound demand

🫱 Strategic growth moves
• Acquired 5 LatAm-focused competitors in 30 months, including Alto and Paretisa
• Focus on nearshoring: same time zones, easier collaboration, better retention

While remote work buzz may be fading, Revelo’s thesis is holding strong — in the age of AI, proximity + expertise = staying power.

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❕ A $30B Cancer Drug Faces a Major Patent Showdown

Merck’s cancer blockbuster Keytruda, which pulled in nearly $30B last year, is at the center of a high-stakes patent dispute that could reshape access and IP rights for next-gen biologics.

🧪 What’s happening
• Merck plans to launch an injectable version of Keytruda (pending FDA approval by Sept 23, launch by Oct 1)
• San Diego-based Halozyme filed suit claiming the formulation infringes on its hyaluronidase tech
• Halozyme seeks an injunction; Merck says the case is “meritless”

📉 What’s at stake
• Keytruda’s core patents start expiring in 2028 — biosimilar threat is looming
• A new delivery format could extend exclusivity and boost sales
• Merck is investing $1B in a new factory to support this shift

⭕️ Broader implications
• Could impact the race to develop injectable biologics across oncology
• Signals growing tension between large pharmas and specialty platform players like Halozyme
• Underscores urgency around IP strategy as blockbuster biologics approach patent cliffs

As the industry eyes biosimilar waves and faster patient delivery, this battle over Keytruda’s next chapter could set the tone for the future of oncology access and biologic innovation.

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🛡 Mach Industries: A bold new force in defense tech at just 21

Founded by MIT dropout Ethan Thornton, Mach Industries is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about players in next-gen military tech. Now it’s reportedly raising $100 million more to push its vision even further.

🚀 What they're building
• Vertical-liftoff cruise missiles designed for long-range precision strikes
• Space-capable weapon systems aimed at future-proof battlefield readiness
• Microfactories that scale fast and decentralize production

⚙️ Momentum on the ground
• Developing “Strategic Strike” for the U.S. Army’s Applications Lab
• Opening its first 115,000 sq ft facility in Huntington Beach, CA
• Backed by Sequoia, Bedrock, and now Khosla Ventures, with Keith Rabois leading the latest round

📈 Numbers behind the hype
• Valuation reportedly hitting $470M post-money
• $185M total raised since launch
• $79M Series A closed just months after its $5.7M seed

Mach isn’t just chasing hype—it’s building serious firepower for a new era of defense.

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📈 Goparity wants to turn everyone into an impact investor — starting at €5

Portuguese fintech Goparity just secured €2.9M to expand its ethical investing platform, making it easier for anyone — not just the wealthy — to support sustainable projects across the globe.

🌱 Investing for the 99%
• Minimum investment starts at just €5, opening the door to mass adoption
• All projects align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Focused on transparency, impact, and ethical finance over profit-first models

📊 Traction and expansion
• Over €50M in investments expected by mid-2025
• Raised €2.4M from institutional backers (3XP Global, Mustard Seed Maze, Schneider Electric)
• Added €470K via crowdfunding from 800+ retail investors under the same terms

🛠 Platform features
• E-wallet and ledger system for seamless micro-investments
• Tools like auto-invest and convertible loans to maximize returns and impact
• Full impact reporting — from clean energy to rural entrepreneurship

🚀 Why it stands out
• Low barriers vs. traditional crowdlending platforms
• SDG-exclusive project curation
• International reach, with traction in Spain, Canada, and beyond

Goparity is betting that the future of finance is transparent, inclusive, and built around doing good — one small investment at a time.

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💻 Rork: From broke and sleeping on floors to a16z-backed rocketship

Two founders, one viral tweet, and $2.8M later — Rork is rewriting the underdog playbook. Their mobile app builder lets anyone create full iOS apps with just a text prompt. Zero code. Zero fluff.

💡Built for the non-coders
• Users describe the app in plain English — Rork builds the iOS app automatically
• Designed for mobile-first — built on top of frameworks like React Native and Expo
• Targets creators, founders, and non-technical teams who want to launch apps instantly

🔥 A viral turning point
• On Feb 24, a tweet from investor Matt Shumer blew up — “My jaw just DROPPED”
• Within hours: 1M+ views, $100K from Austen Allred, $350K raised the same day
• Founders were $15K in credit card debt each just to keep the app online

💰 The seed round sprint
• After the tweet, angels and VCs flooded in: Hustle Fund, Founders Inc., ChapterOne, and more
• a16z Speedrun partner Andrew Chen swooped in with a last-minute term sheet
• $2.8M secured. Cohort starts July 28 with perks like $5M in infra credits

📈 From mattress to momentum
• $100K in revenue within 5 days of launch
• Now doing $550K+ ARR with just two full-time founders
• Co-founder Daniel Dhawan now has… a bed (and his own apartment)

Rork is what happens when obsession meets perfect timing — and a little help from Twitter.

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🟣 Bono is reinventing charitable giving for the digital era

Aiming to fix the clunky donation experience, Bono lets users set monthly giving plans, discover vetted causes, and track real-world impact — all in one sleek platform.

💡A simpler, smarter way to give
• Users pick causes they care about — climate, LGBTQ+ rights, animal welfare, and more
• Bono auto-distributes monthly donations (starting at just $5)
• A pilot AI chatbot matches donors with relevant charities

⭕️ Built for transparency and trust
• Weekly reports show real outcomes — meals donated, therapy sessions funded, etc.
• Mobile app tracks annual giving impact in real time
• Partnered with over a dozen content creators to spread awareness

📈 Momentum and mission
• Soft-launched in December during LA wildfire crisis
• Now covers 1.5M U.S. charities — all with high ratings and solid social proof
• Average user donates $20/month, with some giving over $1,000

💰 Backed by top execs
• Raised $1.6M pre-seed led by Progression.Fund
• Angels include senior leaders from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Intuit, and X/Twitter

Bono is turning passive charity into active impact — making giving as modern as the causes it supports.

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⭕️ Solena Materials is engineering the future of fashion — molecule by molecule

Imperial College spinout Solena just raised $6.7M to create high-performance, biodegradable fibres using AI and synthetic biology — with zero oil, no microplastics, and next-gen design baked in.

🧬 What they’re building
• AI-designed protein-based fibres that outperform traditional synthetics
• Created using engineered microbes — sustainable and biodegradable
• Tailored at the molecular level for strength, elasticity, and softness

⚙️ From lab to loom
• Relocating to a new pilot facility at Imperial’s Deep Tech Campus
• Equipped with automated bioreactors and fibre spinning lines
• Targeting integration into fashion and sports brands’ 2026 collections

🧠 Why it’s different
• Fibres aren’t just sustainable — they’re designed from scratch using deep learning
• Avoids the “green premium” by going after premium technical use-cases first
• Positioned to benefit from EU’s upcoming microplastics regulations

With custom AI-designed proteins, Solena wants to do for textiles what Impossible did for meat — redefine what’s possible without nature’s limits.

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📊 Skillvue wants to help you find your next top performer — already hiding in your org chart

AI-powered platform Skillvue just raised $6.3M to help companies move beyond resumes and job titles — and start hiring, promoting, and managing based on actual skills. The future of HR is skills-first.

🧠 What they’re building
• An AI-driven platform that analyzes hard and soft skills across candidates and employees
• Replaces gut-feel interviews with automated behavioral assessments
• Aims to unlock hidden talent internally and improve hiring precision

📊 Real traction, real results
• Predicts performance 5x more accurately than traditional assessments
• Boosts effective talent placement by over 100%
• Used by Unipol, Carrefour, Randstad, Credem, and Douglas

🧬 Scaling fast with a research-first model
• Created a Psychometric Team led by a clinical research veteran
• Split out an independent AI department to push model development
• Plans to launch next-gen Skills Assessment Agents for end-to-end automation

With €9.5M in total funding and growing global demand for upskilling, Skillvue wants to be the tech stack for the skills-based workplace revolution.

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🥷 Anduril bets on battlefield edge — acquires Klas to supercharge autonomous warfare

Defense tech unicorn Anduril is buying rugged comms gear veteran Klas to bring hardened hardware into its AI-driven battlefield ecosystem. The move aims to bolster Anduril’s edge computing and drone coordination under real-world combat conditions.

⚙️ What Klas brings to the table
• 30+ years of experience building field-ready computing and networking gear
• Hardware built for off-grid, combat-zone environments
• Deployed globally to support military communications and drone ops

🧠 How Anduril will use it
• Klas’s tech to be integrated into Lattice, Anduril’s battlefield OS
• Enables live syncing of drone, sensor, and comms data in contested zones
• Strengthens Anduril’s pitch as the next-gen digital command stack

📈 Strategic backdrop
• This is Anduril’s ninth acquisition since 2017
• Competing with Palantir and SpaceX for missile defense contracts
• In talks to raise $2.5B at a $28B valuation, per Reuters

This is not just a hardware buy — it’s a tactical move to own the full kill chain, from battlefield sensors to autonomous decision loops.

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🍴 Posha: Your AI-powered kitchen robot that cooks while you work

Posha, the newly launched AI kitchen assistant, wants to revolutionize home cooking — reducing your time in the kitchen by up to 70%. With $8M Series A funding led by Accel, it’s setting out to automate healthy meals for busy people.

🍴 What it does
• Prepares meals from over 1,000 recipes using AI, computer vision, and robotics
• Handles cooking tasks like heating, stirring, timing, and ingredient dispensing
• Uses a built-in camera to adapt in real-time — like caramelizing onions or roasting chicken to perfection

🚀 Why it’s different
• No meal kits or proprietary formats — users load ingredients and go
• Fully customizable via app — change spice levels, doneness, ingredients
• Designed to fit under kitchen cabinets with quick dishwasher-safe cleanup

💡 The vision
• Aims to be as essential as a microwave in modern homes
• Subscription model for personalized recipe plans
• Targeting the U.S. market with growing demand for healthy, home-cooked meals without the effort

Posha’s AI chef brings robotics out of factories and into your kitchen — and it's hungry for mass adoption.

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💠 Fastino: The AI startup training powerful models on budget gaming GPUs

While Big Tech races to build trillion-parameter behemoths, Fastino is taking the lean route — and just raised $17.5M to prove small can be mighty.

💡A new model for models
• Builds task-specific, compact AI models that run on <$100K worth of gaming GPUs
• Claims models are faster, cheaper to train, and more accurate for targeted enterprise tasks
• Early models include tools for document summarization and data redaction

💰 Backed by top investors
• $17.5M seed led by Khosla Ventures, bringing total raised to $25M
• Previous investors include M12 (Microsoft’s VC arm) and Insight Partners

⚡️Millisecond answers, single-token output
• Models are so compact they return full responses in one token
• Focused on enterprise clients and built for speed and efficiency

Fastino is betting that small, smart, and specific is the future of enterprise AI — not just big and bloated.

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✈️ Rove: The Gen Z travel hack turning everyday shopping into airline miles

Founded by a 22-year-old Wharton grad and a Harvard dropout, Rove is on a mission to help millions earn free flights—no credit card required.

🌎 A global idea born from travel
• Inspired by Asia Miles in Hong Kong, where everyday purchases earn flight miles
• Built as a “universal” loyalty program across 11 airline partners
• Includes major names like Qatar Airways, Air France-KLM, and Finnair

💰 How it works
• Earn airline miles from 7,000+ merchants via Rove’s Chrome extension
• Hotel bookings are key—some deals give users up to 40% of the value back as miles
• Miles can be combined from Rove, shopping, hotels, and even eligible credit cards

🚀 Backed by big names
• Raised $2M from YC, General Catalyst, Soma Capital
• Part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 batch
• Positioned as a no-barrier entry point into “travel hacking” for Gen Z

Rove is flipping the script on travel rewards—no credit score needed, just smart clicks and a Chrome plugin.

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🚁 Quantum Systems: Europe’s AI drone leader takes flight

Quantum Systems is building battlefield-grade autonomous drones powered by AI — now expanding globally with backing from Airbus, Thiel, Balderton, and more. With a focus on defence and critical industries, the company is reshaping aerial intelligence.

🔧 What they’ve built
• AI-powered modular drones that operate without GPS or stable communication
• Flagship platform Vector AI already deployed in Ukraine and NATO missions
• Dual-use systems for defence, mining, agriculture, and infrastructure

⚡️ Where they’re headed
• Scaling global production to meet rising demand across EU and Asia-Pacific
• Strengthening defence portfolio through acquisitions in Germany and the UK
• Growing a 550-person team across Germany, Australia, Ukraine, and Romania

❕ Why it matters
• Helps Europe reduce reliance on foreign defence tech
• Aligns with EU’s push for sovereign, software-defined defence
• Bridges startups and legacy defence systems with faster, smarter drone tech

Quantum is turning AI drones into Europe’s frontline advantage — and betting big on global aerial dominance.

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💠 Scale AI avoids further scrutiny as Labor Department drops investigation

The U.S. Department of Labor has officially dropped its Fair Labor Standards Act probe into Scale AI and its HR partners, removing a cloud that had loomed over the $13.8B startup since March.

⚖️ What was under investigation
• DOL examined potential worker misclassification and unpaid wages
• Scale relies on thousands of contractors for critical AI labeling tasks
• Ex-workers have filed lawsuits claiming denial of benefits and misclassification

📉 Why the case was dropped
• DOL did not provide a reason; Scale declined to comment
• On May 1, the agency paused enforcement of a Biden-era contractor rule
• Scale may also be navigating policy shifts under a potential Trump return

🔗 Political and insider ties
• Scale CEO Alexandr Wang publicly urged Trump to “win the AI war”
• Former Scale MD Michael Kratsios now leads White House science policy

The decision removes a major regulatory overhang—but legal pressure from former workers could still complicate the narrative.

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🟣 Recraft: The AI image generator beating DALL-E at its own game

Recraft has quietly become a powerhouse in branded visual generation—outperforming Midjourney and DALL-E on industry benchmarks, now backed by Accel with $30M in fresh capital.

🎯 Built for brand precision
• Proprietary model lets users place logos and text exactly where needed
• Maintains consistent style across multiple images—crucial for design teams
• Generates high-res images in 7 seconds, twice as fast as DALL-E 3

🚀 From red pandas to record scores
• Their “red panda” model topped the Artificial Analysis benchmark (ELO 1172)
• First to support image generation at any size with pixel-perfect layout control
• Used by 4M users with $5M ARR—quietly scaling with real demand

🗣️ Led by an unconventional founder
• CEO Anna Veronika Dorogush was a pro model before building CatBoost at Yandex
• Combines deep ML engineering with creative understanding of design workflows
• Her leadership helped Recraft outpace industry giants from stealth

💰 Backed by top-tier investors
• $30M Series B led by Accel, with Khosla and Madrona in the mix
• Total funding now $42M, targeting aggressive growth in brand and agency adoption

Recraft isn’t chasing hype—it’s quietly rewriting the rulebook for generative AI in professional design.

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❕ Fizz sues Instacart and Partiful over trademark in Gen Z turf war

Gen Z social platform Fizz is taking Instacart and Partiful to court, alleging trademark infringement over their new co-launched “Fizz” party delivery app—targeting the same audience Fizz claims to have built since 2020.

⚖️ What’s in the lawsuit
• Filed in Northern California seeking a jury trial, damages, and an injunction
• Claims Instacart and Partiful knowingly used “Fizz” to mislead Gen Z users
• Accuses them of trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and unfair competition

📣 Fizz’s argument
• Says it has used the “FIZZ” name since early 2022, filed for trademark in 2021
• Claims Instacart’s use of <fizz.com> was in bad faith to divert traffic from <fizz.social>
• Alleges Partiful is leveraging its brand after failing to capture Gen Z organically

No comment yet from Instacart or Partiful—but this Gen Z showdown just escalated into a courtroom battle.

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👩‍⚕️ Teal Health becomes first to win FDA approval for at-home cervical cancer screening

In a historic move for women’s health, Teal Health has received FDA approval for the Teal Wand, the first-ever at-home cervical cancer screening device—allowing patients to self-collect samples and skip the doctor’s office.

💡 What’s new
• The Teal Wand enables patients to collect cervical samples at home and mail them to a lab
• Includes virtual provider access for result reviews and medical guidance
• Launches in California this June, with plans to expand

📈 Backed by leading investors
• $23M raised to date, including Serena Ventures, Chelsea Clinton, Forerunner, and Emerson Collective
• Aims to reduce the 1-in-4 women currently behind on screenings

This is more than convenience—it’s a step toward healthcare access and autonomy for millions.

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