Felicis, a seed and Series A firm, has announced its largest fund to date, Fund X, with $900 million. This follows their $825 million Fund IX in 2023 and $600 million Fund XIII in 2021. Known for backing successful companies like Ayden, Bonobos, Ring, Shopify, and Twitch, Felicis has supported over 50 unicorns and had 125+ exits since 2006. The firm is now heavily invested in AI, with 70% of its active portfolio comprising AI-native startups, including Browser Use, Poolside, Runway, and Supabase. Felicis anticipates the emergence of numerous $100B+ AI companies this decade.

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against a former engineer, Zhongjie “Jay” Li, alleging that he stole trade secrets related to its Optimus humanoid robotics program. The lawsuit claims Li used this information to launch Proception, a robotics startup focused on developing advanced humanoid hands.

According to the complaint, Li downloaded confidential information about Optimus onto personal smartphones and researched humanoid robotic hands and startup funding sources during his time at Tesla. Proception's website claims to be working on revolutionizing human-robot interaction with advanced humanoid hands.

Tesla's Optimus program has faced delays, with the initial unveiling in 2021 and subsequent announcements about production timelines. Elon Musk stated that Tesla would begin selling the robot in 2026.

Bluesky faces criticism regarding its growth and perceived echo chamber effect, with some users returning to X (formerly Twitter). Investor Mark Cuban expressed concerns about increasing hatefulness on the platform.

Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino have capitalized on this unrest, positioning X as the superior platform.

However, Bluesky's team aims to build more than just a social app, instead focusing on the wider AT Proto ecosystem, allowing users to switch apps, customize feeds, or create their own social platforms.

Apps like Blacksky and Gander Social cater to specific communities, while feed builders like Graze and Surf enable users to curate content based on their interests.

The AT Protocol supports various apps, including photo and video sharing, livestreaming, communication, blogging, music, and movie/TV recommendation apps.

Tools like Openvibe, Surf, and Tapestry allow users to combine feeds from multiple social networks and open platforms.

Promoting this connected social network can benefit Bluesky's brand by showcasing its potential beyond being just an X alternative.

The Meta AI app is under fire for potentially exposing users' private conversations, audio clips, and images due to a default sharing feature. Users are unknowingly publishing sensitive information, including requests for help with tax evasion, personal details, and other private data. The app, launched on April 29, has seen examples of users sharing home addresses and sensitive court details. Meta has not commented on the record regarding these privacy concerns. The app's design, which allows users to publicly share AI conversations, is being criticized for its potential to create a privacy disaster, drawing comparisons to past privacy failures by other tech companies. Trolling and sharing of inappropriate content are also becoming increasingly common on the platform.

Apple's WWDC 2025 showcased AI-driven updates across its ecosystem. Visual Intelligence now interacts with on-screen content, leveraging Google Search and ChatGPT. Image Playground integrates ChatGPT for diverse image generation styles. A new AI workout coach offers personalized encouragement during exercise. Live translation is available in Messages, FaceTime, and calls. AI call screening and hold assist enhance the phone experience. Poll suggestions are integrated into Messages. The Shortcuts app gains AI summarization capabilities. Spotlight search becomes more contextually aware. Developers can now access Apple's AI models offline using the Foundation Models framework.

However, the anticipated AI-powered Siri enhancements were delayed until next year.

Researchers discovered that two European journalists' iPhones were compromised using Paragon spyware. Apple has since addressed the exploited vulnerability with a software update (iOS 18.3.1) released on February 10.

The Citizen Lab report revealed that the flaw was triggered by a maliciously crafted photo or video shared via an iCloud Link. Apple updated its security advisory to include details about this previously undisclosed flaw, confirming it was exploited in a sophisticated attack against specific individuals.

The Paragon spyware issue initially surfaced in January when WhatsApp alerted approximately 90 users, including journalists and human rights activists, about being targeted by Graphite spyware. Subsequently, in April, numerous iPhone users received notifications from Apple regarding mercenary spyware attacks.

Citizen Lab's findings confirm that two journalists who received Apple's notification were indeed hacked using Paragon's spyware. The full scope of Graphite's targeting remains unclear, with Apple indicating that affected users across 100 countries received notifications.

Chime's IPO valued the company at $14.5 billion after shares opened at $42. The company faced near failure in 2016, receiving 100 rejections from investors while trying to extend its Series A funding. Lauren Kolodny, then at Aspect Ventures, provided a $9 million extension that saved the company. Chime reported $1.7 billion in revenue in 2024, with losses shrinking significantly, and achieved profitability in Q1 2025.

Battery manufacturer Powin has filed for bankruptcy, citing over $300 million in debt. The Chapter 11 filing allows the company to continue operations while restructuring its debt. Powin, which manufactures grid-scale batteries using LFP cells from China, had been seeking domestic suppliers. The company recently laid off nearly 250 employees, leaving only 85 remaining. Brian Krane has replaced Jeff Waters as CEO. Despite being a survivor of the first clean tech boom and receiving $135 million in growth equity in 2022, along with a $200 million revolving credit facility from KKR, Powin's reliance on Chinese LFP cells and potential tariffs may have contributed to its financial difficulties. The company ranked third in the U.S. for installed grid-scale battery capacity.

Apple's iPadOS 26 update introduces significant multitasking improvements, aiming to make the iPad a more productive tool. The new OS features enhanced window management, allowing users to see and tile all open windows for intuitive multitasking.

Key features include a new Preview app for native PDF editing with AutoFill and Apple Pencil support, a Mac-like menu bar for easier access to commands, and the ability to pin folders to the dock.

iPadOS 26 also supports high-intensity background tasks like video exporting, and offers the ability to choose specific audio inputs for apps or websites. A local capture feature allows recording of video calls from any conferencing app.

These updates aim to make the iPad a more viable option for professionals, especially those in multimedia, and offer a lighter alternative to heavier laptops for on-the-go work.

Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, has acquired Clay, a relationship-management app. This acquisition follows the additions of Beeper and Texts.com to Automattic's portfolio. Clay, which had raised over $9 million in venture capital, offers a smart address book and personal CRM, allowing users to organize contacts and track updates from various platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

The Clay team, including co-founders Zachary Hamed and Matthew Achariam, will join Automattic's Other Bets Division. Automattic plans to integrate Clay with its existing products, such as Beeper, to create an identity layer for online tools. Clay's founders emphasized the shared mission and the opportunity to continue developing the app within Automattic.

Clay's features include AI-powered assistance for network navigation and integration with open technologies like ActivityPub and AT Protocol. The app manages over 150 million relationships and is available on macOS, Windows, iOS, and web. While plans for integration are underway, Automattic has not yet committed to a specific timeline or changes to Clay's pricing, which currently starts at $10 per month for paid plans.