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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.

Finance

Tide Achieves Unicorn Status with $120M Funding, Driven by Indian Market Growth

U.K.-based fintech Tide has achieved unicorn status with a $120 million funding round led by TPG. The company, which provides a unified business platform for micro and small enterprises, now serves over 1.6 million businesses globally, with India being its largest and fastest-growing market. The funding will be used for geographic expansion, product enhancement, and investment in agentic AI. Tide aims to onboard one million businesses in India by the end of the year and is expanding into Germany and France.

Venture Capital

The Shifting Sands of Venture Capital: Is the MBA Losing Its Grip?

The traditional MBA-to-VC pipeline is facing disruption as VC firms increasingly prioritize technical expertise over business school credentials, particularly in emerging sectors like AI and hardware. While top business schools like Harvard and Stanford continue to place graduates into VC roles, with median starting salaries around $177,500, the overall percentage of VC professionals holding MBAs has decreased. Professor Ilya Strebulaev's research indicates a shift from 44% in the early 2000s to 32% today. Executive recruiters note a reduced appetite for MBAs as firms seek talent from tech companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. Despite this shift, interest in VC remains high among MBA students, with Stanford's VC club boasting 600 members, even with the hefty $200,000+ price tag of top MBA programs.

Technology & Travel

European Airports Grappled with Delays Following Cyber Incident

Major European airports, including Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, experienced substantial delays due to a cyber-related incident affecting Collins Aerospace, a provider of airline check-in technology.

The incident forced airlines to switch to manual check-in processes, resulting in significant disruptions. Heathrow Airport reported over 130 delayed flights and several cancellations.

Airports are advising passengers to arrive at least three hours before long-haul flights and two hours before short-haul flights to mitigate potential delays.

Business & Technology

TikTok Restructuring: US Ownership Agreement Reached

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced an agreement for TikTok's U.S. operations to be spun out under majority American ownership. Americans will hold six of seven board seats, and the algorithm will be U.S.-controlled. New investors include Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake Management, with Oracle overseeing security. ByteDance's ownership would be reduced to less than 20%.

Immigration and Technology

Tech Giants Respond to H-1B Visa Changes: Urging Employees to Remain in the US

Following President Trump's proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have reportedly advised their H-1B visa holding employees to remain in the United States.

These companies have sent memos to their employees, cautioning against foreign travel and advising those currently traveling to return before the new regulations take effect. Amazon leads in H-1B visa recipients this fiscal year, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google.

The White House clarified that the fee will only apply to new H-1B applicants and not to existing holders or renewals.

Fashion Tech

Phia: Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni Disrupt Fashion Shopping with $8M Seed Round

Phia, a new fashion shopping app founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has raised an $8 million seed round led by Kleiner Perkins. The app aims to simplify online shopping by allowing users to compare prices across over 300 million fashion items.

Phia utilizes AI to personalize the e-commerce experience, offering a seamless platform where customers can track previous purchases and discover new items of interest. The company emphasizes a Gen Z-focused marketing strategy, leveraging social media and founder-led content to engage users.

The funding will be used to expand the team, which currently consists of 12 people, with hiring primarily conducted through social media. Gates and Kianni envision Phia as the future of personalized shopping, with plans to develop a personalized agent that syncs with calendars to provide tailored shopping recommendations.