The flu may have peaked, but we were punched in the face by it this week, so we're keeping this one on the shorter side. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.:)

Mozilla has all of a sudden found itself under attack because of what critics call overly broad legal language that seemingly gives the company the right to use user data as it sees fit. TechCrunch has more here.

Bluesky has launched its alternative to Instagram. TechCrunch has more here. 

Microsoft is shutting down Skype in order to double down on Teams. TechCrunch has more here.

“Every quarter we pull together a spreadsheet that we all type PortCo data into. There is a lot of back and forth - when did that board meeting happen? Where are the notes?”
- Ops team at a $30B Growth Fund

There’s a better way. Find out how.

By Charles Rollet

Longevity is a hot trend in Silicon Valley these days, driven by rising interest—especially among the wealthy—in preventing disease through regular testing.

A new player, Biograph, has just emerged from stealth, and it’s co-founded by one of the biggest names in longevity science: Dr. Peter Attia. Attia is a Canadian-American physician best known as the author of the bestseller “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and for his podcast.

Biograph’s CEO and other co-founder is John Hering, a prominent Silicon Valley figure. A cybersecurity founder who infamously scanned celebrities’ cellphones at the 2005 Academy Awards, Hering has become best known as one Elon Musk’s biggest backers through his role as a partner at Vy Capital. There, Hering has poured billions into Musk’s startups and donated $500,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC before the election, per a WSJ profile.

Biograph calls itself the world’s “most advanced” preventive health and diagnostics clinic. It currently has a location in Silicon Valley with plans to open in New York City this quarter, and eventually expand globally, according to an announcement on its website.

The startup says it will collect over 1,000 data points across 30+ evaluations to paint a holistic picture of someone’s health and optimize their lifespan. It doesn’t come cheap: its Core membership costs $7,500 per year while the premium Black membership—which it says provides the “deepest insights”—runs $15,000.

More here.

Mimic, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup whose platform helps businesses detect and prevent ransomware attacks, as well as quickly restore data if an attack occurs, raised a $50 million Series A round co-led by GV and Menlo Ventures, with additional participation from previous investors Ballistic Ventures, Team8, Wing Ventures, and Shield Capital. The company has raised a total of $77 million. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Amnis Treasury Services, an 11-year-old Zürich company that helps SMBs handle international payments, currency exchange, and expense tracking, raised an $11 million Series B round. Swisscom Ventures was the deal lead, with support from Lansdowne. Silicon Canals has more here.

Capim, a four-year-old São Paulo startup that enables dental patients to pay for treatments over time, raised a $26.7 million Series A round co-led by QED Investors and Valor Capital, with Endeavor, Saison, and Actyus as well as previous investors OneVC, Canary, and NXTP also participating. The company has raised a total of approximately $29 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Subscript, a five-year-old San Francisco startup whose AI-powered platform automates billing, revenue tracking, and financial analysis for B2B SaaS companies, raised a $15 million Series A round led by Pelion, with First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, Forum Ventures, and Fresco Capital also contributing. The company has raised a total of $21 million. More here.

VerAI Discoveries, a five-year-old Boston startup that uses AI to find buried mineral deposits needed for renewable energy and advanced manufacturing, raised a $24 million Series B round led by Insight Partners, with previous investors Blumberg Capital, Chrysalix Venture Capital, and Orion Industrial Ventures also taking part. More here.

Workhelix, a five-year-old Palo Alto startup that helps large companies identify tasks and roles that can benefit from artificial intelligence, track AI project progress, and measure the return on investment, raised a $15 million Series A round led by AIX Ventures and including AI Fund, Accenture Ventures, BGV, Reid Hoffman, and Mira Murati. TechCrunch has more here.

Breakout, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that offers an AI-powered sales representative that manages early-stage customer interactions for software companies, raised a $3.25 million seed round led by Village Global, with Recall Capital and Z21 Ventures also investing. Business Insider has more here.

Claros, a three-year-old startup based in McLean, VA, that develops hardware and software to improve energy efficiency in data centers by optimizing power delivery to servers, raised a $9.75 million round. Investors included Red Cell Partners, General Catalyst, Virginia Venture Partners, and Composite Capital Partners. More here.

Exia Labs, a startup based in Bellevue, WA, that develops AI that acts as a "co-pilot" for military planning by analyzing documents, automating decision-making processes, and simulating mission strategies, raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Space Capital, Anorak Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, and Mana Ventures also stepping up. GeekWire has more here.

Highstock, a one-year-old New York startup that operates an online marketplace that connects brands with surplus inventory to vetted wholesale buyers worldwide, raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Greylock. More here.

Jurimesh, a two-year-old startup based in Ghent, Belgium, that automates legal due diligence for law firms and legal teams by detecting potential issues, providing tailored recommendations, and generating detailed reports, raised a $1.7 round million pre-seed round led by Syndicate One. More here.

Shiboleth, a three-year-old New York startup that automates compliance tasks for financial institutions, particularly in consumer lending, raised a $1.5 million seed round. Y Combinator was the deal lead. Crowdfund Insider has more here.

"We're told we’re the most prepared firm that founders have worked with"—that's the competitive edge Sozo Ventures gained through strategic CRM implementation. Affinity’s comprehensive guide outlines how you can replicate their success, featuring practical insights from Principal Lauren MacDonald. From pre-implementation planning to maximizing business impact, learn how to turn your CRM into a powerful deal sourcing engine. Explore the guide for more on relationship intelligence, automatic data capture, and streamlined cross-team collaboration.

Sertifi, a 19-year-old Chicago company that provides electronic signature and payment software tailored for the hospitality and travel sectors, has been purchased by Flywire, a 16-year-old Boston company that facilitates global payments, for $330 million. PYMNTS has more here. 

General Catalyst, a 25-year-old San Francisco venture firm with over $32 billion under management, is reportedly exploring an IPO and becoming the first U.S. VC firm to go public. Axios has the scoop here. 

OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman apparently doesn't think much of Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plan to launch a competitor to ChatGPT. Mashable has more here. 

Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK), the 43-year-old San Francisco-based maker of computer-aided design software, is laying off 1,350 employees or approximately 9% of its workforce. Bloomberg has more here. 

The New York Times digs into the extent to which the SEC has backed away from regulating crypto companies. More here. 

The New York City subway system used a bunch of Google Pixels and an experimental AI tool to identify track defects. Wired has more here. 

Military tech startups sense an opportunity with Pete Hegseth's ascension to Secretary of Defense. The Wall Street Journal has more here. 

A look at the rise of "vibecoding," which should have junior programmers (rightly) panicking, says the New York Times.

GQ talks to Severance creator and showrunner Dan Erickson about that confusing last episode and where the show goes from here. 

Gene Hackman's "money job."

Rear-end revealing jeans make their way down the runway.

A $15 million Fifth Avenue penthouse with not one but four separate terraces, one overlooking Central Park. 

The most expensive home in all of Texas. 

VC Keith Rabois and his husband, Jacob Helberg, are asking $65 million for their Miami Beach estate, which comes complete with a 5,600-gallon aquarium.