Lime, a micromobility firm, has secured $167 million through its IPO.

The scooter and bike company, operational for nine years and supported by Uber, issued 6.68 million shares priced at $25 each, aligning with the midpoint of its $24 to $26 price spectrum. Trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker “LIME” commenced Wednesday afternoon, witnessing a surge of about 9% within the initial hour.

Lime has contemplated an IPO for many years. In 2021, after a funding round of $523 million, CEO Wayne Ting informed TechCrunch of the company’s plans for an IPO in 2022. He reiterated this notion in 2023, mentioning that Lime was still awaiting favorable market conditions.

The anticipated IPO values Lime at approximately $1.66 billion, narrowly missing the valuation obtained by fellow micromobility player Bird in its merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2021.

Lime is in need of capital. In its IPO submission in May, the firm stated a “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain a going concern. Lime indicated that it requires the IPO funds to settle around $1 billion in liabilities, with over half of that amount due by the close of this year. Without the IPO, Lime informed potential investors it would have to seek alternative financing avenues.

Lime finds itself on precarious financial ground as the micromobility sector has been quite unforgiving over recent years, even during prosperous times. Bird sought bankruptcy protection and restructured post-IPO, while other rivals have either merged (Tier and Dott), been delisted from prominent exchanges (Micromobility.com), or ceased operations entirely (Superpedestrian).

Despite the turmoil, Lime has succeeded in increasing its revenue over the past years. It reported $521 million in 2023, $686.6 million in 2024, and $886.7 million the previous year. The company also reduced its losses from $122.3 million in 2023 to just $33.9 million in 2024, although that number climbed back to $59.3 million in 2025.

This growth has largely stemmed from Lime’s capacity to expand internationally. The company now functions in 230 cities across 29 nations. However, it remains somewhat reliant on Uber, which possesses 24% of Lime and contributed over 14% of its revenue last year. (Uber facilitates Lime ride bookings through its app in certain cities.)

This article has been refreshed with details regarding Lime’s stock trading commencement.

Fears regarding AI chatbots’ influence on mental wellness, personal security, harassment, and misinformation have compelled AI creators to introduce measures that enhance oversight of their AI models’ responses and actions.

However, apprehensions cannot diminish the demand. AI holds vast potential, and individuals are reluctant to allow an impersonal tech entity to limit their access to that opportunity. If they can maintain their privacy while utilizing AI models freely, why shouldn’t they?

Venice AI, which provides entry to over 200 AI models while ensuring user privacy, is thriving in response to this demand. Just two years from its inception, the enterprise boasts more than 850,000 distinct visitors to its website, serves over 3 million active users, and handles an average of 1.7 million API requests daily.

The startup maintains “uncensored,” open-source models on its own data centers, directing queries to closed-source models, including those from OpenAI or Anthropic. All user inputs are encrypted and decrypted client-side, routed through an external proxy prior to processing and return, with no information retained on Venice’s systems. It also offers end-to-end encryption on certain models, though a subscription is required for that feature.

The company is already in the black, with annualized revenue run-rate exceeding $70 million, as its CEO Erik Voorhees (depicted above, at the center) disclosed in an exclusive interview with TechCrunch.

Naturally, investors have rushed to claim a portion of that momentum. On Wednesday, Venice AI announced it has secured $65 million in a Series A funding round at a $1 billion valuation, marking its first external fundraising effort. The round was spearheaded by the crypto-oriented venture firm Dragonfly, with involvement from Coinbase Ventures, North Island Ventures, and others.

The connection between Voorhees, Venice’s commitment to privacy, and its new crypto investors is striking, particularly in light of the CEO’s history and prior endeavors. A pioneer in bitcoin advocacy, Voorhees has founded several crypto enterprises, such as the bitcoin gambling platform Satoshi Dice and cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, and has long championed the preservation of user privacy.

Indeed, when a Wall Street Journal investigation accused ShapeShift, which originally did not require user identification, of processing millions of dubious funds, Voorhees allegedly remarked: “I don’t believe individuals should have their identity documented to apprehend an occasional wrongdoer.”

He conveyed a similar sentiment when questioned about Venice AI’s approach to offering access to AI models in light of recent incidents of AI-induced psychosis and consequent harm, stating his team views their service as a “neutral tool or a neutral platform.”

“This principle mirrors that of Bitcoin, where Bitcoin, as a neutral protocol, functions uniformly for everyone,” he stated. “I believe it’s actually rather perilous from a safety standpoint for society to step into this next phase and have everyone under constant surveillance. To me, that is considerably more hazardous than any specific individual posing a controversial query or something that could be deemed inappropriate.”

There’s a significant emphasis on granting users autonomy as well. Users can select from AI models that generate text, images, audio, and video — each varying in performance, quality, and the extent of censorship applied. The website prominently displays several AI “characters” for personalization and interaction, and the company takes pride in providing an “uncensored” experience.

“We’re focused on freedom and genuinely respecting users as adults, which I believe is uncommon these days,” Voorhees remarked.

The founder indicated that Venice also enhances some open models’ system prompts to encourage more open responses, though it does not impose any restrictions on the models.

Unsurprisingly, there are two crypto tokens linked to this initiative. Venice introduced a token named “VVV” in early January, aiming to attract users, according to Voorhees, and in August of the previous year launched another, termed “DIEM.” Users can purchase VVV and subsequently stake it to mint DIEM, generating $1 worth of AI credits daily that can be utilized on Venice. However, Voorhees noted that only about 8% of the company’s users transact with crypto.

The founder attributed the company’s expansion to the robust performance of the crypto tokens, although he stated that the primary driver was achieving feature parity with ChatGPT. “When we started, we were quite distant from what ChatGPT could deliver, but people chose us because of privacy. Today, we are very close to what ChatGPT can achieve […] and as we bridged that gap, it has become an increasingly attractive alternative,” he stated.

Looking ahead, Venice AI intends to utilize the new funding to begin acquiring GPUs and constructing its own data centers to eliminate GPU leasing and enhance its gross margins.

Gemini Spark, the AI assistant from Google designed to assist with various elements of your online experience, is now accessible on Mac.

The company announced on Wednesday that Spark will be incorporated into the existing Gemini desktop application, alongside a range of updates and new functionalities, such as real-time topic monitoring and enhanced connectivity to additional applications like Google Tasks and Google Keep.

The macOS introduction enables Gemini Spark to more effectively rival desktop AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Microsoft’s Copilot, OpenClaw, and others, as it will have the capability to interact with files on the system, and eventually, manage remote tasks.

Although it won’t be available at launch, Google assures users that they will “soon” have the ability to assign multi-step tasks to Spark on their smartphones, like instructing the desktop assistant to extract data from a file on their Mac.

In the meantime, Spark can be employed to categorize and organize files, or utilize local files as a basis for creating new Google Workspace documents or spreadsheets. For example, Google proposes that Spark can convert invoices stored on your computer into a budgeting sheet.

Currently, Gemini Spark for macOS (beta) is exclusively accessible to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S.

When Spark debuted last month, we highlighted the absence of integration with Keep, Google’s note-taking application, as a significant point of dissatisfaction during our initial assessments. It’s logical that brief lists and notes should be stored in applications like Google Keep rather than Google Docs, which seems excessive for something as simple as a vacation packing list.

Clearly, we were not alone in this suggestion, as Google has now introduced support for Tasks and Keep. Spark also now interfaces with various third-party applications, including Canva, Dropbox, Instacart, OpenTable, and Zillow Rentals.

This will enable Spark to carry out a variety of tasks, such as reserving tables, ordering groceries weekly, creating flyers, or scheduling apartment viewings.

Additionally, Gemini Spark is now equipped to monitor subjects and respond to developments in real time, enhancing its capabilities for tasks that require monitoring sports results, stock fluctuations, or breaking news. Furthermore, this means Spark can observe other aspects, such as social media activity, blogs, online purchasing, and weather conditions.

Moreover, Google mentions it is introducing support for the custom Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling you to integrate your preferred apps directly within Spark to develop a more personalized assistant according to your requirements.

Sony declared on Wednesday that it will cease the production of physical discs for all new PlayStation titles beginning in January 2028, signaling a shift towards a fully digital future. Following this date, all new releases will be available for purchase digitally via the PlayStation Store and various retailers. Games released prior to this deadline will still be obtainable on disc.

Physical copies have historically been a fundamental aspect of gaming culture, making the farewell to game discs a bittersweet moment for many gamers. Nevertheless, Sony expressed that this choice reflects the current trends in how most players purchase and engage with games.

“This is a natural evolution for Sony Interactive Entertainment to respond to consumer trends as the widespread preference for digital media greatly exceeds that of physical discs. This change will allow us to align more closely with how the majority of our community chooses to access and enjoy games today,” the company stated in its announcement. 

According to Sony’s financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, digital downloads constituted 85% of full-game software sales for PS4 and PS5, while physical copies made up the remaining 15%.

The downturn of physical games is also evident in retail spaces, with stores that once depended heavily on physical discs continuing to decline as more gamers opt for online purchases. GameStop has reportedly shuttered over 1,300 locations in the last two fiscal years.

This announcement follows closely after Grand Theft Auto 6 fans expressed dissatisfaction upon discovering that the game’s “physical” edition would contain only a download code within the packaging instead of an actual game disc, underscoring that some gamers still cherish collecting physical editions.

In addition, Sony disclosed on Wednesday that it will be closing the PlayStation Store on the PlayStation 3 in selected markets later this year, and global closures of the PS3 and PlayStation Vita stores will take place next year. 

Once these stores are closed, players will no longer be able to acquire new digital content on those systems. Sony noted that previously purchased games and content will remain available for download for the foreseeable future.