Meta is investing millions in a new super PAC, the American Technology Excellence Project, to challenge state-level AI regulations perceived as stifling innovation. This move follows the launch of a California-focused PAC and aims to support tech-friendly politicians from both parties.

The super PAC will promote U.S. tech leadership, advocate for AI progress, and focus on parental control amid growing child safety concerns related to AI. This initiative emerges as numerous states propose AI regulations due to the perceived inaction of the federal government.

Silicon Valley is increasing efforts to influence AI legislation, arguing against a fragmented regulatory landscape and emphasizing the need to compete with China in AI development.

Tim Chen, the solo VC behind Essence VC, has successfully closed his fourth fund with $41 million. This occurred without active fundraising efforts, as investors eagerly pre-empted the process.

The surge in interest followed the acquisition of Tabular, one of Chen's portfolio companies from his second round, by Databricks for approximately $2.2 billion in 2024. This acquisition significantly elevated Chen's profile among LPs, who began to recognize his expertise.

Chen's focus on early-stage developer-tool and infrastructure startups, combined with his background as a software engineer, sets him apart in the venture capital landscape. His ability to assist founders in product development, as demonstrated with ComfyUI, further enhances his appeal to both founders and investors.

Fund IV is supported by investors such as Tomasz Tunguz and Ethan Kurzweil. Chen's unique background as an infrastructure engineer is recognized as a valuable asset in the VC world.

Alloy, an Australian startup, is addressing the challenge of managing the vast amounts of data generated by robots. The company provides data infrastructure that helps robotics companies process and organize data from various sources like sensors and cameras. Alloy encodes and labels data, enabling users to search for bugs and errors using natural language and set up rules for future issue detection. CEO Joe Harris emphasizes the importance of reducing time spent on data plumbing to focus on reliability. Having launched in February 2025, Alloy has secured four Australian design partners and plans to expand into the U.S. market. The company raised over AUD $4.5 million (approximately $3 million USD) in a pre-seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, with participation from other firms and angel investors. Alloy aims to provide a specialized tool similar to Databricks for robotics, capitalizing on the increasing commercial applications of robotics.

Goodnotes is introducing new features aimed at professionals, including a collaborative whiteboard, document creation, and an AI assistant. The AI assistant supports various input methods and can summarize meetings, create visuals, proofread text, and generate templates. The company acquired a South Korean startup specializing in meeting and video summaries to enhance these AI capabilities. Goodnotes is also launching Goodnotes Essentials ($11.99/year) and Goodnotes Pro ($35.99/year) plans, offering features like AI for Q&A, Google Calendar and OneDrive integration, and AI-powered content suggestions. While still supporting students, Goodnotes aims to become a comprehensive notetaking app for all users, with over 25 million monthly active users.

Sila, a battery materials startup, has commenced operations at its new factory in Moses Lake, Washington. The facility aims to produce enough silicon anode material for 20,000 to 50,000 electric vehicles initially, with potential for expansion to supply 2.5 million vehicles. Sila's silicon anodes promise to improve lithium-ion battery energy density by up to 50%. The company has agreements to supply Panasonic and Mercedes-Benz. While other companies like Group14 and Amprius are also developing silicon anode materials, Sila's Moses Lake factory is the first auto-scale silicon anode plant in the U.S. The location was chosen for its access to cheap hydropower, abundant land, and a nearby raw material supplier.

Sila plans to use the initial material produced at the factory to demonstrate consistency to customers. In the future, Sila anticipates that batteries made with its material will be cheaper than those using graphite anodes from Western suppliers, while also reducing the need for expensive materials like nickel. The company plans to expand to Europe and Asia in the future.

OpenAI is expanding its ChatGPT Go subscription plan, initially launched in India, to Indonesia. The plan costs Rp75,000 ($4.50) per month and offers users 10 times higher usage limits compared to the free version.

ChatGPT Go is a mid-tier option between the free version and the $20/month ChatGPT Plus, providing better memory of previous conversations for more personalized responses.

Since launching ChatGPT Go in India, OpenAI has seen its paid subscribers more than double. This expansion puts OpenAI in competition with Google's similarly-priced AI Plus subscription plan in Indonesia.

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.