🕶️ Will big tech’s dirty secrets finally see the light of day?

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Six bullets of updates

1. 📱 iPhone 16 launched yesterday but without the highly anticipated Apple Intelligence feature, causing a buzz.

2. Kiwibot turns delivery robots into mobile billboards by acquiring ad startup, tapping into a $100B market.

3. 🌊 NATO invests €5M in Aquark Technologies for improved quantum sensing in PNT systems, from air to underwater.

4. 🚀 Kiwibot acquires an ad startup to turn its delivery robots into mobile billboards, adding a new revenue stream.

5. 📉 Motional's CEO steps down as the self-driving startup races ahead with AI tech and strategic growth plans.

6. 🌍 Internet surveillance firm Sandvine will exit 56 'non-democratic' countries, citing ethical concerns over sales.

Will the EU's AI act expose big tech's dirty data secrets?

Tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Meta are making a final effort to influence the implementation of the EU’s AI Act, aiming for more lenient regulations to avoid potential multi-billion dollar fines. The AI Act, passed in May, is the world's first comprehensive legal framework governing AI technology. However, the enforcement details remain unclear, especially regarding "general purpose" AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT. As part of the process, the EU has invited companies, academics, and others to help draft the accompanying code of practice, which will serve as a non-binding guideline for companies to demonstrate compliance. This has attracted nearly 1,000 applications, reflecting high interest in shaping the law.

One of the key concerns for companies is data scraping and transparency, as firms like Stability AI and OpenAI face scrutiny over whether they’ve used copyrighted content without permission to train AI models. The AI Act requires companies to provide detailed summaries of the data used, potentially exposing them to copyright lawsuits. While some business leaders want to protect trade secrets by keeping these summaries vague, others argue that creators deserve transparency about how their content is used. Non-profits, like Mozilla and Access Now, are pushing for robust transparency rules to prevent big tech companies from diluting the law's requirements, fearing that a lack of accountability could undermine innovation and fairness.

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. Founder Institute Core Program  | Deadline: September 22 | USA

2. Antler Canada | Deadline: September 23 | Canada

3. Crash Course in Financial Modeling | September 25 | Webinar

4. Startups and Business Networking Event NYC | September 25 | Meetup

5. Startups & Investors Networking NY | September 25 | Meetup

6. Antler Amsterdam | September 30 | Amsterdam

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These companies just raised money

1. 🚀 India's Physics Wallah secures $210M in funding at a $2.8B valuation, bucking the trend in scarce edtech investments.

2. 💸 Health insurance startup Alan reaches a $4.5B valuation after securing $193M in a new funding round.

3. ✨ Virtuous, a fundraising CRM for nonprofits, secures a $100M funding round from Susquehanna Growth Equity.

4. 📈 Brazilian B2B marketplace Cayena raises $55M in a Series B round to expand to 500 cities, achieving 5x growth since 2021.

5. 🧠 AI notetaker Fathom raises $17M to boost productivity, already integrated with 60k+ Zoom meetings.

6. 💼 Koltin, a Mexican insurtech for seniors, raises $7.3M in Series A to improve health and financial security.

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Power struggle: can $3B in U.S. cash really break China’s battery hold?

The U.S. government is injecting $3 billion into 25 battery tech startups as part of the Biden administration's broader efforts to boost domestic battery manufacturing under the Inflation Reduction Act. This funding, drawn from a $16 billion allocation by the Department of Energy, is aimed at building local battery production, processing, and recycling facilities to reduce reliance on China. South Carolina companies lead the way, securing $850 million, with Cirba Solutions receiving $200 million to support electric vehicle battery processing. Michigan startups also saw a major boost, including GM-backed Mitra Chem, which received $100 million for lithium-iron phosphate production. The funding supports startups working across the entire battery supply chain, from mineral extraction to recycling.

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Top 6 (Funded) Startups that DESERVED to burn