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Sports Technology

AI-Managed Baseball Game Sparks Debate Among Oakland Ballers Fans

The Oakland Ballers, an independent baseball team, experimented with AI management during a game, partnering with Distillery to use AI software trained on baseball data. The AI made similar decisions to the human manager, Aaron Miles, who only intervened once due to a player's illness.

Despite the smooth execution, the AI experiment sparked backlash from fans, who viewed it as prioritizing technology over baseball tradition and community. This reaction highlighted a broader debate about the role of AI in sports and society. The Ballers do not intend to repeat the AI experiment in the future.

Artificial Intelligence

Nvidia and OpenAI Forge Strategic Partnership with $100B Investment

Nvidia plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to build massive data centers for AI model training and deployment. The companies intend to deploy 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems to power OpenAI's next-generation AI infrastructure. This deal could reduce OpenAI's reliance on Microsoft. OpenAI will collaborate with Nvidia as a preferred strategic compute and networking partner for its AI factory growth, complementing existing partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle, and SoftBank.

Cybersecurity

Unit 221B Secures $5M to Combat Emerging Cyber Threats from Young Hackers

Unit 221B, a New Jersey-based security company, has raised $5 million in seed funding to combat the growing threat of young, English-speaking hackers involved in cybercrime, child abuse, and extremism. The funding, led by J2 Ventures, will be used to expand and improve its eWitness threat intelligence platform, which helps law enforcement and government investigators track and arrest malicious hackers. Unit 221B has been instrumental in securing key arrests of high-profile hackers associated with groups like Scattered Spider and The Com. The eWitness platform collects threat intelligence from trusted sources, including police, journalists, and security researchers, to help investigators identify and track threats, build cases, and share information. The platform is also used by private companies to track threats to their brand and industry.

Health Tech

Oura Ring's Valuation Soars to $11B with $875M Series E Funding

Oura Health Oy, the company behind the Oura health and fitness ring, is reportedly raising $875 million in a Series E funding round.

This new round values the company at approximately $10.9 billion, nearly doubling its previous $5 billion valuation from December 2024.

Oura has sold 5.5 million rings to date and anticipates generating over $1 billion in revenue this year, doubling the $500 million made in 2024.

The company plans to utilize the funding to scale production, expand internationally, and invest in further product development.

Recent growth has been attributed to female consumers, retail store sales, health savings account purchases, and international market expansion.

Space Exploration

Blue Origin Secures NASA Contract for Lunar Rover Delivery

Blue Origin has been awarded a $190 million NASA contract to transport the VIPER rover to the lunar south pole using its Blue Moon Mk1 lander, scheduled for late 2027. This decision reinstates the VIPER mission, which was previously canceled due to cost overruns and delays. VIPER, a golf cart-sized rover, will spend approximately 100 days mapping water ice deposits using its drill and spectrometers, which is crucial for NASA's future lunar science goals and potential long-term human presence on the moon.

Business and Finance

eBay Expands into Social Commerce with Tise Acquisition

eBay has announced its acquisition of Tise, a social marketplace focused on second-hand fashion and interior design. This move aims to attract Gen Z and millennial customers and enhance eBay's consumer-to-consumer experience. Tise's community features, such as following sellers, liking listings, and personalized recommendations, align with eBay's goals. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Tise, founded in 2014, has raised $45 million in funding.

Social Media

Bluesky Intensifies Moderation Efforts Amidst User Feedback

Bluesky is ramping up its moderation efforts to foster healthier conversations by more strictly enforcing community guidelines. This decision follows feedback from over 14,000 community members, leading to revisions that aim to balance constructive dialogue with protecting creative expression and marginalized voices. Enforcement will include quicker account restrictions for guideline violations and clearer indications of potentially violating content. The platform also plans to introduce features like a 'zen mode' and prompts for constructive engagement. These changes have sparked discussions, particularly regarding policies on sexual content, with some users expressing concerns about their impact on various communities.

Cybersecurity

Unit 221B Secures $5M to Combat Emerging Hacker Threats

Unit 221B, a New Jersey-based security company, has raised $5 million in seed funding to expand its eWitness threat intelligence platform. The funding, led by J2 Ventures, will help Unit 221B track and disrupt emerging hacking groups, particularly English-speaking young adults and teenagers involved in cybercrime, child abuse, and extremism. These hackers, sometimes called "advanced persistent teenagers," have been responsible for significant data breaches and ransomware attacks on major companies and governments. Unit 221B's eWitness platform collects threat intelligence from trusted sources, helping law enforcement and private companies identify, track, and arrest malicious actors. The company's work has led to key arrests of hackers associated with groups like Scattered Spider and The Com.

Finance & Cryptocurrency

Shield Secures $5M Seed Funding to Revolutionize Cross-Border Crypto Transactions

Crypto neo-bank Shield has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Giant Ventures to facilitate cross-border transactions in cryptocurrencies for exporters and importers.

Shield, founded in 2022 and pivoting to payments in 2024, also provides compliance screenings, addressing sanctions and money laundering threats.

The funding will be used to secure more banking partnerships and expand its compliance product, including licensing coverage, transaction monitoring, and fraud detection.

Shield has processed over $100 million in payments since its launch, with $40 million in the last month alone.

Strategic angel investors in the round include Chris Dixon’s a16z’s crypto startup accelerator, Factor Capital, alongside Coinbase and Bank of America.

Climate Tech & Data Analytics

Earthmover's Pivot: From Climate to Weather Data Dominance

Earthmover, initially focused on climate tech, has pivoted to address the more immediate impact of climate on daily life by focusing on weather-related data. This shift allows them to leverage their data structure, designed for handling large, complex datasets, in a more dynamic and urgent context.

The company's core product remains its robust data structure and tools that help customers extract insights from their data. Earthmover has secured $7.2 million in seed funding led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Costanoa Ventures and Preston-Werner Ventures, to further develop its platform.

Built on open-source software like Xarray, Pangeo, and Icechunk, Earthmover operates on major cloud providers and on-premise servers, ensuring customer data remains accessible and secure even in the event of a pivot or business disruption. Customers include Kettle (insurance startup) and RWE (German multinational energy company).

Earthmover aims to democratize access to weather and geospatial data, enabling users to visualize forecasts and insights without needing specialized programming skills.