Crypto's coders are quitting for AI, and the industry can't ignore it
Crypto's coders are quitting for AI, and the industry can't ignore it
Walter Schulze
Walter Schulze brings all the breaking news stories in the tech and startup world and to ensure that Startup Fortune offers a timely reporting on the trends happen in the industry. He now works on a part time basis for Startup Fortune specializing in covering tech and startup news and he also sheds light on investment opportunities and trends.
Convertible Note vs SAFE: The Dilution Math Founders Skip Before They Sign
Convertible note vs SAFE is the decision most pre-seed founders let their lawyer make by default, without ever running the dilution math on discount rates and valuation caps. Here's the plain-English breakdown of how SAFE valuation caps and convertible note interest actually convert into lost equity.
TikTok confirms layoffs in Singapore and three other cities in one day
TikTok confirmed layoffs in its Singapore Trust and Safety team on July 1, coinciding with cuts in Indonesia and Malaysia and a reported 300 planned job losses in Dublin. The company says automated systems already handle 85% of content removals, and it is simultaneously hiring hundreds of new specialist roles in Dublin even as it cuts hundreds of others.
Crusoe is raising billions to prove investors still believe in AI's buildout
Crusoe is reportedly raising up to $2 billion in a pre-IPO round that could value the AI data center company between $30 billion and $40 billion, up from just $10 billion eight months ago. The surge comes weeks after Bloomberg reported Crusoe was pushed off a flagship Wyoming project when Google balked at costs and timelines, raising questions about whether the AI infrastructure boom is outrunning its own execution risks.
A Former Goldman Analyst's New AI Startup Just Raised $22 Million
A Former Goldman Analyst's New AI Startup Just Raised $22 Million
ShareChat's parent plans a $400 million IPO after years of cuts and losses
Mohalla Tech, the Indian company behind ShareChat, Moj and QuickTV, is planning a public listing within four to five quarters and aiming to raise up to $400 million, according to Bloomberg. The move follows a sharp turnaround: after cutting a fifth of its staff and taking a steep valuation cut in 2023, the company says it turned operationally profitable in its first fiscal quarter of 2026.
Venice AI became a unicorn by promising to forget everything you tell it
Venice AI, the privacy-first platform founded by crypto veteran Erik Voorhees, raised $65 million and hit a $1 billion valuation, according to TechCrunch. The round, led by Dragonfly with Coinbase Ventures participating, bets that trust beats raw model capability now that most AI labs draw on similar underlying models.
Anthropic Gets Its Most Powerful AI Models Back After an 18-Day Fight With Washington
The Department of Commerce has lifted an export control order that forced Anthropic to pull Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 offline worldwide after Amazon researchers found a jailbreak in the models. The 18-day standoff ends just as Anthropic works through a confidential IPO filing valuing the company near $965 billion.
The CLARITY Act's ethics fight is the only thing standing between crypto and a legal foundation
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is on the Senate calendar and cleared committee 15-9, but a fight over conflict-of-interest rules tied to the Trump family's crypto holdings is blocking the floor vote that would reshape how the SEC and CFTC regulate digital assets. With August recess looming, the window is closing fast.
Bending Spoons prices its Nasdaq IPO above range as Wall Street bets on AI-powered software roll-ups
Bending Spoons, the Milan-based acquirer behind AOL, Evernote, Vimeo, and WeTransfer, priced its Nasdaq IPO above its marketed range on June 30, targeting a $19 billion valuation after reporting $1.31 billion in 2025 revenue and a dramatic swing to profitability. CEO Luca Ferrari's AI-powered cost-cutting playbook, where 90% of code changes are now AI-generated and internal LLMs handle 80% of support queries, has produced stunning short-term numbers. But with the restructuring phase largely comp
Central banks are warning that AI leverage is the real risk, not just the valuations
The IMF, BIS, and Bank of England have each warned this month that AI leverage poses a greater systemic threat than stretched valuations alone. With US margin debt at a record $1.4 trillion and leveraged ETF assets doubling in under 70 days, the risk isn't a slow correction but a forced deleveraging cascade that could move faster than 2008.
Chamath Palihapitiya steps back into the operator seat as 8090 Labs closes a $135 million Series A to chase the enterprise AI coding market
Chamath Palihapitiya is leaving the podcast seat for the CEO chair, stepping in to lead 8090 Labs after the enterprise AI coding startup closed a $135 million Series A led by Salesforce Ventures. The company's Software Factory product targets corporate development teams in regulated industries, staking out terrain that Cursor and GitHub Copilot haven't prioritized.
How to Build a SaaS Pricing Strategy That Scales From Startup to Enterprise
SaaS pricing strategy is one of the highest-leverage decisions a founder makes, and most get it wrong in the same direction: they set a number early, never revisit it, and wonder why their best customers feel like a bargain. This guide covers the four core pricing models, when to switch between them, and how to build tiers that convert SMBs without leaving enterprise revenue uncollected.
The AI infrastructure boom is turning Q2 2026 into the market's best quarter in six years and founders should pay attention
The S&P 500 crossed 7,600 for the first time in June and is on track for its best quarter since 2020, driven almost entirely by AI infrastructure spending from the hyperscalers. The rally has reopened IPO and late-stage funding windows that stalled earlier in the year, but founders should understand which sectors are actually positioned to benefit.
A 20-year-old high school dropout just raised $31 million to stop AI data centers from poisoning themselves
Omen AI, founded by 20-year-old serial entrepreneur Zach Laberge, has closed a $31 million Series A led by Nava Ventures to deploy real-time fluid monitoring inside liquid-cooled AI data center racks. The company's miniature spectrometer catches bacterial contamination before it forces costly rack shutdowns, and has already signed roughly a dozen data center customers including TensorWave.
Taiwan Raided Super Micro's Offices Today as the Nvidia Chip Smuggling Case Reaches a New Front
Taiwanese authorities raided Super Micro Computer's offices and six residences on June 29, expanding a criminal probe into a $2.5 billion scheme to smuggle Nvidia AI chips to China. The case, which already drew DOJ charges against co-founder Wally Liaw in March, has turned Taiwan into the enforcement front line for US export controls as the island weighs new laws to criminalize AI chip diversion directly.
