🕶️ Why Zuck won’t bow to the white house again

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Six bullets of updates

1. 📜 California bill backed by Microsoft and others mandates watermarks on AI-generated content to curb misinformation.

2. ⚖️ Paris court clarifies Telegram founder Pavel Durov's arrest, raising questions in the tech community.

3. 🔗 Palico becomes the first FINRA-approved firm for LP-led secondaries deals, driving growth in online investments.

4. 🤖 Viggle introduces AI characters for memes and idea visualization, backed by $17M in funding as it prepares for the Polaris Dawn launch.

5. 🎯 The U.S. Military’s latest PSYOP involves advertising on Tinder, strategically targeting users with specific messages.

6. 📉 Nvidia's upcoming earnings call could impact its market cap by $300 billion, affecting the entire stock market.

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Why Meta won’t bow to the white house again

Mark Zuckerberg, expressed regret for yielding to pressure from the Biden administration to censor content during the pandemic. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg admitted that the interference was "wrong" and vowed to resist similar pressures in the future. He detailed how senior officials urged Meta to censor certain posts about Covid-19, including humor and satire, which led to frustration when the platform resisted. Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta’s downplaying of content related to the New York Post’s coverage of Hunter Biden ahead of the 2020 election, which the FBI suggested could be Russian disinformation, was a mistake.

The letter, celebrated by Republicans as a victory for free speech, is part of an ongoing debate in Washington over the role of social media in moderating content. Zuckerberg also stated that he would not repeat contributions made during the last presidential election cycle to fund election infrastructure, aiming to maintain neutrality. The White House defended its approach, emphasizing the need for responsible actions to protect public health during the pandemic, while maintaining that tech companies should make independent decisions about the information they present.

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. Startup bootcamp | AIvolution II | August 31 | Acceleration Program, Amsterdam

2. Brinc - Climate Technology | September 3 | Acceleration Program, San Francisco, CA

3. Product-Led Summit | September 4 | Conference, San Francisco, CA

4. Crash Course in Financial Modeling | September 11 | Webinar

5. Financial modeling bootcamp for startup founders | September 16-20 | Bootcamp, Live

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These companies just raised money

1. 💾 Data infrastructure startup Cribl raises $319M at a $3.5B valuation, demonstrating the strength of the data industry.

2. 🌿 Chilean biotech Botanical Solution Inc. raises $7.6M to boost production of QS-21, targeting a $312.6B botanical market.

3. 💳 Brazilian fintech Magie raises $5.1M to enhance client acquisition, security, and introduce features like facial recognition.

4. 🚀 Pylon secures a $17M investment to develop a comprehensive B2B customer service platform after pivoting to meet client demands.

5. 🌱 Mercately, a profitable LatAm startup, secures a $2.6M seed round with support from TechStars and Meta to fuel its growth.

6. 🛡️ Pryzm, a new defense tech startup, raises $2M to help other companies win lucrative contracts.

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Unicorn uprising: Europe’s €447B boom in 2024’s VC comeback

In 2024, the total value of Europe's unicorns has climbed to €447.4 billion, marking a 3% increase from the previous year, according to a new Pitchbook report. This growth reflects the ongoing recovery in European VC valuations, particularly in the second quarter of 2024, where unicorn deal value surged from €1 billion in Q1 to €2.4 billion in Q2. The year has already witnessed 28 unicorn deals, nearing last year’s total of 39, with IT, financial services, and B2B markets leading the charge. AI has notably dominated the largest rounds, contributing to the sector's significant influence on the European tech landscape.

The report also highlights that early-stage startup deal sizes have experienced the most substantial growth, with median deal sizes rising by 43.9% to €1.8 million in H1 2024. Early-stage valuations also increased by 17.3%, reaching €17.3 million. While late-stage valuations saw minor declines, the overall market remains strong, especially in pre-seed rounds. Fintech continues to outpace other sectors in deal sizes and valuations, followed closely by SaaS, AI, and machine learning, underscoring the sustained interest and investment in these high-growth areas.

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