Techin' Geek

Worries regarding the impact of AI on the workforce are escalating along with the rapid progress and new innovations that promise automation and enhanced efficiency.

Data indicates that these concerns are justified.

A study from MIT conducted in November estimated that approximately 11.7% of jobs could be automated utilizing AI. Polls have revealed that employers are already cutting entry-level positions due to this technology. Firms are also citing AI as a factor in their layoffs.

As businesses increasingly integrate AI, some might reassess their actual need for staff.

In a recent TechCrunch poll, several enterprise venture capitalists mentioned that AI is expected to significantly influence the enterprise workforce by 2026. This was particularly intriguing as the survey did not specifically address this topic.

Eric Bahn, a co-founder and general partner at Hustle Fund, anticipates seeing impacts on employment by 2026, though he is uncertain about the specifics.

“I want to observe which roles typically characterized by repetitiveness get automated, or if even more complex positions involving logic become increasingly automated,” Bahn remarked. “Will this result in more layoffs? Will productivity surge? Or will AI merely augment the present labor market to enhance future productivity? All these questions remain largely unanswered, but it appears something significant is slated for 2026.”

Marell Evans, founder and managing partner at Exceptional Capital, predicted that firms aiming to boost AI investments will divert funds from their labor and hiring budgets.

“I believe that alongside a gradual increase in AI budgets, we’ll witness more cuts in human labor, with layoffs persistently affecting the U.S. employment rate,” Evans stated.

Rajeev Dham, managing director at Sapphire, concurred that budgets in 2026 will begin reallocating resources from labor to AI. Jason Mendel, a venture investor at Battery Ventures, remarked that AI will evolve beyond being just a tool that enhances efficiency for current workers by 2026.

“2026 will mark the year of agents as software transitions from boosting human productivity to automating work itself, fulfilling the human-labor displacement value proposition in specific sectors,” Mendel commented.

Antonia Dean, a partner at Black Operator Ventures, mentioned that even if companies aren’t reallocating labor budgets for AI initiatives, they will likely still attribute layoffs or reductions in labor costs to AI.

“The complexity lies in the fact that many organizations, regardless of their preparedness for effectively utilizing AI solutions, will claim they are increasing AI investments to justify spending cuts in other areas or workforce reductions,” Dean noted. “In truth, AI will serve as a scapegoat for executives attempting to account for prior missteps.”

Numerous AI firms assert that their technologies do not eliminate jobs but instead facilitate a transition of workers to “deep work” or more specialized roles while AI automates repetitive “busy work.”

However, not everyone is convinced by that viewpoint, and many are concerned their positions will be automated. According to venture capitalists who invest in the field, it seems those anxieties will not be alleviated in 2026.

Tade Oyerinde and Teddy Solomon understand quite a bit about creating enduring communities.  

Oyerinde is the creator and chancellor of the online institution Campus, while Solomon is the co-founder of the college social platform Fizz. 

This year, they appeared at TechCrunch Disrupt to elaborate on the tactics that enabled them to grow their businesses while maintaining customer engagement. 

Campus provides associate degrees in fields such as information technology and business management. It also has certificates in specialties like cosmetology and phlebotomy. According to Oyerinde, there are over 3,000 enrolled students at Campus, and more than 100 professors are employed, at least part-time.  

Oyerinde mentioned that Campus opted to introduce à la carte courses because employers have been requesting classes that can equip their workforce with specific skills, such as vibe coding.  

He has recognized that many individuals seek to enhance their skills and believes that in the future, everyone will have access to some type of membership or subscription service aimed at skill development.  

“Not just those pursuing two-year degrees will have the opportunity to go to Campus and learn with us,” he shared with the audience. “We offer live, online classes taught by exceptional instructors.”  

Oyerinde utilizes the Pell Grant to maintain the institution’s affordability for a majority of individuals. Additionally, he has a group of billionaires on his company’s cap table — such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Discord’s Jason Citroen — alleviating pressure to prioritize profits above all else, he stated.

“These investors are not driven by financial gain,” he added. “Their real goal is to transform the education system in this country for the better.”  

On the other hand, Fizz functions on over 200 college campuses and previously operated in high schools nationwide. The company has secured more than $40 million in funding from investors including Owl Ventures and NEA.

Since its inception in 2021, Solomon indicated that the company has integrated features like a peer-to-peer marketplace with over 100,000 listed items, along with a video component that allows for more than just text posts. 

Currently, the firm aims to develop a product called Global Fizz to extend its reach beyond the U.S. Solomon elaborated on this during his appearance on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, where he outlined the company’s future direction.

Solomon mentioned that the company is exploring monetization options, particularly focusing on advertising. “We’ve collaborated with companies like Perplexity,” he revealed. 

“While subscription models have performed successfully with apps, our current priority is our advertising business, and we’re dedicated to creating a great product that keeps our users engaged and satisfied.” 

He emphasized that “The users are everything.”  

Returning home to a snuggly pet is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and with the newest gadgets and AI advancements, pet ownership becomes even more fun and manageable. 

Here’s a collection of gadgets that would make excellent gifts for any pet owner.

Petlibro AI-enhanced pet camera – $99.99

Petlibro has recently introduced its AI-enhanced Scout Smart Camera, providing pet owners with real-time updates on their furry friends’ activities. 

The app enables you to control the camera’s direction and can automatically track your pet’s movement. With two-way audio, you can communicate with your pet if they’re misbehaving, and it can emit a small chirping sound to catch their attention. Scout can identify up to two pets, allowing you to monitor them individually.

What sets this device apart are the AI-powered descriptions. Scout detects when your pet eats, drinks, uses the litter box, or just strolls by. It captures photos and saves daily highlights in the cloud for up to 30 days. To unlock the AI functionalities, you must subscribe to the standard plan for $12 monthly or the premium plan for $17 monthly.

Life360 GPS pet tracker – $49.99

This newly designed GPS pet tracker from Life360 is a revolutionary tool for anyone fearful of losing their furry companions. You can fasten it to your pet’s collar, and it syncs with your phone to provide real-time location tracking. It also includes geofencing, which alerts you if your pet exits a designated safe zone such as your yard or neighborhood.

Additional features include notifications to alert nearby pet owners if your pet escapes, along with a built-in light to assist you in finding your pet during nighttime.

The tracker is available in three colors: pink, navy, and black. To access all its functionalities, users must subscribe to either the $14.99-per-month Gold plan or the $24.99-per-month Platinum plan.

Petlibro Wet Food Feeder – $149.99

Petlibro’s Polar Wet Food Feeder is designed to keep your cat’s wet food fresh while you’re away. It contains three compartments and can accommodate up to 22.2 ounces, allowing you to be absent for up to 72 hours without worrying about your cat’s hunger. The compartments are cooled to maintain food freshness, and the tray bowls are made of BPA-free, dishwasher-safe plastic. 

The device includes a mobile app that allows you to manage the feeder, establish your pet’s feeding schedule, and receive notifications when your cat begins to eat. The app will notify you if your home Wi-Fi connection fails and can keep the food cold for up to 12 hours in the event of a power failure.

Pawport Smart Pet Door – $699

If you’re tired of critters sneaking in through standard pet doors, Pawport’s smart door system is constructed from heavy-duty steel and aluminum, featuring dual solid deadbolts that keep out unwanted animals, as well as rain and snow. A new version introduced this year connects an internal and external door via a tunnel-like design for enhanced security.

With a tracker tag and motion-detection technology, the door opens automatically when your pet approaches. There’s also an app for remotely operating the door, setting schedules for opening and closing, and issuing voice commands through Alexa, Siri, or Google. 

PetKit Automatic Litter Box – $499.99

The PetKit PuraMax 2 model is presently among the most favored automatic litter boxes on the market. It boasts odor management, a waste container sealed to trap smells inside, and a citrus-scented deodorizer that activates post-cleaning and randomly throughout the day.

The app paired with the device is also beneficial for monitoring your cat’s health, as it records how frequently your cat uses the box, the duration, when the cleaning cycle starts and ends, and when the deodorizing spray is applied. Additionally, it tracks weight changes in your cat, helping you identify potential health concerns early.

In recent years, fusion energy has transitioned from a source of amusement — perpetually a decade away! — to a concrete and alluring technology that has begun attracting investors.

While the technology remains difficult to perfect and costly to construct at present, fusion holds the promise of tapping into the nuclear processes that fuel the sun, creating an almost infinite source of energy on Earth. If startups succeed in creating commercially viable fusion power facilities, they could potentially disrupt trillion-dollar industries.

The optimistic surge uplifting the fusion sector has been propelled by three significant advancements: enhanced computer chips, advanced artificial intelligence, and robust high-temperature superconducting magnets. These innovations have facilitated the development of more advanced reactor designs, improved simulations, and intricate control systems.

Furthermore, in late 2022, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory announced it had achieved a controlled fusion reaction that yielded more energy than the lasers delivered to the fuel pellet. This experiment reached what is referred to as scientific breakeven, and although commercial breakeven — where the reaction generates more energy than the entire facility consumes — is still far off, it was a long-awaited milestone confirming the validity of the underlying science.

In the past few years, founders have capitalized on this momentum, propelling the private fusion industry forward swiftly.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has secured roughly one-third of the private investment in fusion firms to date. Its most recent funding round, which concluded in August, added $863 million to its funding, bringing its total raised to almost $3 billion.

CFS’s Series B2 came four years after its $1.8 billion Series B, which propelled the company into the lead position. Since then, the startup has been diligently constructing Sparc in Massachusetts, a pioneering power plant designed to produce energy at what it terms “commercially relevant” levels. 

Sparc’s reactor adopts a tokamak design, resembling a doughnut. Its D-shaped cross-section is wrapped with high-temperature superconducting tape that, when energized, creates a powerful magnetic field to contain and compress the superheated plasma. The heat generated from the reaction is converted into steam to drive a turbine. CFS collaborated with MIT in the design of its magnets, where co-founder and CEO Bob Mumgaard previously researched fusion reactor designs and high-temperature superconductors.

Based in Massachusetts, CFS anticipates that Sparc will be operational by late 2026 or early 2027. The company also plans to commence construction on Arc, its commercial power facility aimed at generating 400 megawatts of electricity, later this decade. This facility will be located near Richmond, Virginia, and Google has agreed to purchase half of its output.

CFS enjoys backing from a diverse array of investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, The Engine, Bill Gates, and many others.

TAE Technologies

Established in 1998, TAE Technologies (formerly Tri Alpha Energy) was developed at the University of California, Irvine by Norman Rostoker. It employs a field-reversed configuration, albeit with a unique approach: after two plasma shots collide at the reactor’s center, the company bombards the plasma with particle beams to maintain its cigar shape. This enhances plasma stability, allowing for longer fusion durations and greater heat extraction for turbine operation. 

In December 2025, TAE announced plans to merge with President Donald Trump’s social media firm, Trump Media & Technology Group. The all-stock deal would value the combination at $6 billion. TAE will receive $200 million plus an additional $100 million upon submitting documentation to the Securities and Exchange Commission. TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer will become co-CEO of the new entity alongside Devin Nunes, the former sole CEO of Trump Media.

Previously, the fusion startup raised $150 million in June from existing backers, including Google, Chevron, and New Enterprise. Prior to the merger, TAE had accumulated $1.79 billion, according to PitchBook.

Helion

Among fusion startups, Helion boasts the most ambitious timeline, aiming to generate electricity from its reactor by 2028. Its initial customer? Microsoft.

Helion, located in Everett, Washington, utilizes a field-reversed configuration reactor, wherein magnets encircle a reaction chamber resembling an hourglass with a bulge at the junction of the two sides. At each end of the hourglass, the plasma is spun into doughnut shapes that are propelled toward each other at over 1 million mph. Upon collision, additional magnets facilitate fusion. The occurrence of fusion amplifies the plasma’s magnetic field, inducing an electric current within the reactor’s magnetic coils, which is then harnessed directly.

The company secured $425 million in January 2025, around the same timeframe it activated Polaris, a prototype reactor. Helion has raised a total of $1.03 billion, according to PitchBook. Investors include Sam Altman, Reid Hoffman, KKR, BlackRock, Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management, and Capricorn Investment Group.

Pacific Fusion

Pacific Fusion launched with an impressive $900 million Series A, a considerable amount even among well-financed fusion startups. The company intends to pursue inertial confinement for fusion, but instead of using lasers to compress the fuel, it will utilize synchronized electromagnetic pulses. Success hinges on timing: All 156 impedance-matched Marx generators must deliver 2 terawatts for 100 nanoseconds, with those pulses converging on the target simultaneously.

The organization is overseen by CEO Eric Lander, the scientist who led the Human Genome Project, and president Will Regan. Despite its massive funding, the startup hasn’t received it all in a single sweep. Instead, investors will release funds in stages as the company meets particular milestones, a strategy common in biotechnology.

Shine Technologies

Shine Technologies is adopting a measured — and possibly practical — path toward creating fusion power. Since selling electrons from a fusion power plant is years away, it is initially focusing on selling neutron testing and medical isotopes. Recently, it has also been working on a method to recycle radioactive waste. Shine has not settled on a specific design for a future fusion reactor, instead stating that it is acquiring essential skills for when that moment arrives.

The firm has raised a cumulative total of $778 million, as per PitchBook. Investors include Energy Ventures Group, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Nucleation Capital, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

General Fusion

Now entering its third decade, General Fusion has secured $462.53 million as reported by PitchBook. Founded in 2002 by physicist Michel Laberge in Richmond, British Columbia, the company aims to demonstrate an alternative fusion method known as magnetized target fusion (MTF). Investors involved include Jeff Bezos, Temasek, BDC Capital, and Chrysalix Venture Capital.

In General Fusion’s reactor, a chamber surrounded by a liquid metal wall receives injected plasma. Surrounding pistons compress the wall, pushing it inward, and leading to a fusion reaction. The resulting neutrons heat the liquid metal, which can then be cycled through a heat exchanger to create steam for turbine operation.

The company faced financial hurdles in spring 2025 as it was constructing LM26, its latest device, expected to reach breakeven in 2026. Shortly after achieving a key milestone, the company laid off 25% of its workforce. CEO Greg Twinney issued an open letter appealing for funding from investors. 

In August, they provided some assistance, injecting $22 million in a pay-to-play round, described by one investor as “the minimal capital needed” to keep General Fusion operational. Subsequently, in November, securities filings in Canada revealed the company had raised $51.1 million in SAFE notes from nearly 70 investors, reported the Globe and Mail. Overall, General Fusion has amassed $492 million as per PitchBook.

Tokamak Energy

Tokamak Energy transforms the traditional tokamak design — the doughnut shape — by compressing it, reducing its aspect ratio to the extent that the outer contours begin to resemble a sphere. Like many other tokamak-focused startups, the company utilizes high-temperature superconducting magnets (specifically of the rare earth barium copper oxide, or REBCO, type). Due to its compact design compared to standard tokamaks, it requires fewer magnets, potentially lowering costs. 

The Oxfordshire, U.K.-based startup’s ST40 prototype resembles a large, steampunk Fabergé egg and achieved ultra-hot plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius in 2022. Its next iteration, Demo 4, is presently under construction and aims to test the company’s magnets in scenarios relevant to a fusion power plant. Tokamak Energy raised $125 million in November 2024 to advance its reactor design and expand its magnet business.

In total, the firm has secured $336 million from investors including Future Planet Capital, In-Q-Tel, Midven, and Capri-Sun founder Hans-Peter Wild, according to PitchBook.

Zap Energy

Zap Energy does not rely on high-temperature superconducting magnets or powerful lasers to maintain plasma confinement. Instead, it energizes the plasma with an electric current, creating its own magnetic field. This magnetic field compresses the plasma by about 1 millimeter, initiating ignition. The neutrons generated by the fusion reaction hit a liquid metal blanket encasing the reactor, heating it up, which is then cycled through a heat exchanger to produce steam for turbine operation.

Like Helion, Zap Energy is also based in Everett, Washington, and has raised $327 million, according to PitchBook. Backers include Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, DCVC, Lowercarbon, Energy Impact Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Bill Gates in an angel capacity.

Proxima Fusion

While most investors have leaned towards large startups pursuing tokamak designs or variations of inertial confinement, stellarators have demonstrated significant potential in scientific trials, including Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X reactor.

Proxima Fusion is defying this trend, having secured a €130 million Series A, pushing its total funding above €185 million. Investors consist of Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures.

Stellarators share similarities with tokamaks, confining plasma in a ring shape using powerful magnets. However, they twist and bulge innovatively to cater to plasma’s unique characteristics. This design is expected to allow for greater stability in the plasma, thus enhancing the probability of fusion events.

Kyoto Fusioneering

Amid numerous startups targeting fusion power, it was perhaps only a matter of time before one emerged to develop components that complete a power plant. The so-called balance of plant, or elements outside the reactor, includes gyrotrons for heating plasma and heat extraction systems to convert fusion energy into electricity. 

Kyoto Fusioneering has made an early investment, believing that if any fusion startup achieves sufficient power generation to sell to the grid, the industry will require a supplier for the balance of plant and the expertise to integrate it into whichever fusion methods prevail.

Venture capitalists seem to concur, having invested $191 million in Kyoto Fusioneering. Investors encompass 31Ventures, In-Q-Tel, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment.

Marvel Fusion

Marvel Fusion adopts the inertial confinement methodology, the fundamental technique that the National Ignition Facility deployed to demonstrate that controlled nuclear fusion reactions could yield more energy than required to initiate them. Marvel directs powerful lasers at a target embedded with silicon nanostructures, which cascade under bombardment, compressing the fuel to ignition levels. Given that the target is constructed from silicon, it ought to be relatively simple to produce, drawing on the semiconductor manufacturing industry’s extensive experience.

The inertial confinement fusion startup is creating a demonstration facility in cooperation with Colorado State University, which aims to be operational by 2027. Based in Munich, Marvel has raised a total of $162 million from investors including b2venture, Deutsche Telekom, Earlybird, and HV Capital, with Taavet Hinrikus and Albert Wenger as angel investors.

First Light Fusion

In contrast to many other fusion startups, First Light Fusion does not employ magnets to create the conditions necessary for fusion. Instead, it follows a strategy referred to as inertial confinement, in which fusion fuel pellets are compressed until they ignite. 

Yet even here, First Light deviates from convention. The majority of inertial confinement efforts utilize lasers, inspired by the National Ignition Facility’s landmark experiment in 2022. Instead, First Light utilizes a two-stage gun to launch a projectile at a target; the first phase activates gunpowder to propel a plastic piston that compresses hydrogen to 145,000 psi, which subsequently fires the projectile. The target is specifically designed to amplify the impact force, ensuring the fuel is compressed sufficiently to ignite.

In March 2025, First Light declared it would abandon plans to construct its own power plant, opting instead to offer its core technologies to other companies for power plant construction. A spokesperson stated that the company intends to develop “pulsed power capability that would serve as our demonstrator plant but would have additional scientific and defense applications.” In essence, the company is pivoting away from its power plant aspirations to seek other revenue avenues.

Based in Oxfordshire, UK, First Light has raised $108 million from investors including Invesco, IP Group, and Tencent, according to PitchBook.

Xcimer

Although fusion remains a complex endeavor, Xcimer embraces a somewhat straightforward methodology: following the scientific principles behind the National Ignition Facility’s groundbreaking net-positive experiment and redesigning its foundational technology from scratch. The Colorado-based startup aims for a 10-megajoule laser system, five times more potent than the NIF design that made history. Molten salt walls encase the reaction chamber, absorbing heat and shielding the first solid wall from harm.

Founded in January 2022, Xcimer has already raised $100 million, according to PitchBook, from backers including Hedosophia, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Emerson Collective, Gigascale Capital, and Lowercarbon Capital.

This article was initially published in September 2024 and will be regularly updated.

Each year, TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield pitch contest attracts a multitude of applicants. We narrow these submissions down to the top 200 candidates, with the finest 20 vying for the championship on the main stage, claiming the Startup Battlefield Cup along with a cash prize of $100,000. However, the remaining 180 startups also impressed us with their innovations in their categories and engage in their own pitch competition.

Below is the complete list of the government and legal Startup Battlefield 200 selectees, including a brief explanation of their participation in the competition. 

Aparti

What it does: Employs AI to streamline legal intake forms and other documentation for family law practices.

Why it’s noteworthy: Currently focused on divorce cases, tackling an area often overlooked by the latest AI legal technologies.

Ascender

What it does: Ascender has developed a robot capable of ascending utility poles and flagpoles to assist with humanitarian efforts and disaster management.

Why it’s noteworthy: A part of the emerging robotic technology intended to enhance response to disaster situations.  

Bot Mediation

What it does: Bot Mediation utilizes AI to facilitate the resolution of legal conflicts.  

Why it’s noteworthy: An intriguing application in legal AI aimed at enhancing efficiency in mediation and dispute resolution.  

Depth AI

What it does: Depth AI specializes in AI for spatial computing, developing modeling techniques like holographic imaging, which can be utilized in healthcare to generate 3D images of the body for disease diagnosis.  

Why it’s noteworthy: It aims to innovate within the healthcare sector, which is always beneficial.   

ILias AI

What it does:  ILias is developing “scent tech” — leveraging AI to generate olfactory technologies that can assist, for instance, dogs in identifying the scent of drugs. 

Why it’s noteworthy: It employs olfactory capabilities to craft a product, a rarity particularly concerning technological advancements.  

JustiGuide

What it does: JustiGuide links immigrants with legal advisors and resources to streamline the immigration process.  

Why it’s noteworthy: Championed the policy and protection pitch segment at Disrupt this year, addressing the often tedious and complicated process of immigration in a timely manner.  

Orchestra

What it does: Orchestra developed a camera network to monitor public safety and identify criminal activities.  

Why it’s noteworthy: A contemporary interpretation of the traditional security network systems that have existed for years.  

Ponderosa AI

What it does: Ponderosa employs drones to assist in the detection and management of small fires.  

Why it’s noteworthy: Fires can rapidly escalate and lead to serious damage, thus any technology aiding in risk mitigation is highly relevant.

Pytho AI

What it does: Pytho aims to enhance the planning stages for soldiers on the battlefield.  

Why it’s noteworthy: Innovations on the battlefield always present a compelling area of interest.  

Shothawk AI

What it does: Developed a device designed to track, identify, and neutralize active shooters using pepper gel. Founded in 2023 by Brandon Johnson, Ohm Vyas, and Ved Vyas. 

Why it’s noteworthy: Invention addressing the increasing gun violence occurring in public areas, such as schools and grocery stores, with the intention of creating a solution.  

Torch Systems

What it does: Torch supervises high-value assets, evaluating air quality, fire hazards, and security to aid in early wildfire prevention.  

Why it’s noteworthy: As climate change results in increasingly severe wildfires, any advancements aimed at diminishing the impact of such devastating events are always welcome. 

The pace of the tech sector is so rapid that it’s challenging to stay updated on everything that has transpired this year. We’ve seen the tech elite intertwine with the U.S. government, AI firms competing for supremacy, and advanced technologies like smart glasses and robotaxis becoming slightly more real outside of the San Francisco enclave. You know, significant matters that will influence our lives for years ahead. 

However, the tech scene is filled with numerous large personalities, so there’s always something remarkably silly going on, which understandably gets eclipsed by “real news” when the whole internet collapses, or TikTok is sold, or there’s a major data breach or something. Thus, as the news (hopefully) quiets down for a while, it’s time to catch up on the silliest moments you might have overlooked – don’t fret, only one of them involves toilets.

Mark Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy attorney from Indiana, filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.

It’s not Mark Zuckerberg’s fault that his name happens to be Mark Zuckerberg. Yet, like millions of other entrepreneurs, Mark Zuckerberg purchased Facebook ads to advertise his legal services to possible clients. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook profile faced repeated, unjustified suspensions for impersonating Mark Zuckerberg. Therefore, Mark Zuckerberg took legal steps because he had to spend money on ads during his suspension, despite not violating any rules.

This issue has been an ongoing irritation for Mark Zuckerberg, who has been practicing law since Mark Zuckerberg was just three years old. Mark Zuckerberg even launched a website, iammarkzuckerberg.com, to inform potential clients that he is not the Mark Zuckerberg. 

“I can’t use my name for reservations or business engagements as people presume I’m a prank caller and hang up,” he stated on his website. “My existence often feels reminiscent of the Michael Jordan ESPN commercial, where a normal person’s name leads to constant confusion.”

Meta’s legal team is likely quite preoccupied, so it may take a while for Mark Zuckerberg to learn how this case unfolds. But, oh boy, you can bet I set a calendar alert for the next filing deadline in this matter (it’s February 20, in case you’re curious). 

Everything kicked off when Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi tweeted on X to alert fellow entrepreneurs about a promising engineer named Soham Parekh. Doshi had employed Parekh for his new venture, only to swiftly discover that he was working for multiple firms simultaneously. 

“I terminated this guy in his first week and instructed him to cease lying/defrauding people. He hasn’t ceased a year later. No further excuses,” Doshi tweeted on X.

It became apparent that Doshi was not alone in his frustration – he noted that that same day, three founders had reached out to express their gratitude for the warning, as they were currently employing Parekh.

PSA: there’s a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time. He’s been preying on YC companies and more. Beware.

I fired this guy in his first week and told him to stop lying / scamming people. He hasn’t stopped a year later. No more excuses.

— Suhail (@Suhail) July 2, 2025

To some, Parekh was a morally bankrupt fraud, taking advantage of startups for quick cash. To others, he was a folk hero. Ethics aside, it’s impressively skillful to land jobs at that many firms, especially since tech hiring can be exceedingly competitive. 

“Soham Parekh should start an interview preparation service. He’s evidently one of the greatest interviewers of all time,” Chris Bakke, who founded the job-matching platform Laskie, remarked on X. “He should openly admit that he did something wrong and correct his course towards what he excels at.”

Parekh confessed that he was, indeed, guilty of working for multiple companies concurrently. However, there are still questions left unanswered regarding his narrative – he asserts that he was deceiving all of these companies for monetary gain, yet he frequently chose more equity than cash in his compensation agreements (equity takes years to fully vest, and Parekh was getting let go quite swiftly). What was truly happening there? Soham, if you want to discuss, my DMs are open.

If soham immediately comes clean and says he was working to train an AI Agent for knowledge work, he raises at $100M pre by the weekend.

— Aaron Levie (@levie) July 2, 2025

Tech CEOs often face criticism, but it’s not typically due to their culinary skills. Yet, when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared on the Financial Times (FT) for its “Lunch with the FT” series, Bryce Elder, a writer for the FT, observed something terribly amiss in the video showcasing Sam Altman making pasta: he struggled with olive oil. 

Altman utilized olive oil from the popular brand Graza, known for selling two types of olive oils: Sizzle, tailored for cooking, and Drizzle, intended for finishing touches. This is because olive oil loses its taste when heated, making it unwise to waste your finest bottle on a sauté when it could enhance a salad dressing, allowing one to fully savor it. This more flavorful olive oil derives from early harvest olives, which possess a more intense flavor but are pricier to produce.

As Elder described, “His kitchen is a display of inefficiency, confusion, and extravagance.” 

Elder’s piece aims to be humorous, yet he links Altman’s disorganized cooking approach with OpenAI’s excessive, unapologetic consumption of natural resources. I enjoyed it so much that I incorporated it into a syllabus for a workshop I conducted with high school students focusing on injecting personality into journalistic writing. Subsequently, I executed what we in the industry (and folks on Tumblr) refer to as a “reblog” and wrote about #olivegate, while referencing the FT’s original text.

Sam Altman’s supporters were quite upset with me! This criticism of his cooking likely stirred more controversy than anything else I penned this year. I’m uncertain if that’s a reflection of OpenAI’s fervent advocates or my personal failure to incite dialogue. 

If one had to select a defining tech story of 2025, it would probably be the escalating arms race among firms like OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Anthropic, each striving to surpass one another by racing to release progressively advanced AI models. Meta has been particularly assertive in its attempts to recruit researchers from other organizations, hiring several OpenAI researchers this past summer. Sam Altman even remarked that Meta was offering OpenAI talent $100 million signing bonuses.

While it could be argued that a $100 million signing bonus is absurd, that’s not the reason the OpenAI-Meta recruiting drama has earned a spot on this list. In December, OpenAI’s chief research officer Mark Chen mentioned on a podcast that he learned Mark Zuckerberg was delivering soup personally to recruits.

“You know, some fascinating stories here are Zuck actually went and hand-delivered soup to individuals he was trying to recruit from us,” Chen commented on Ashlee Vance’s Core Memory. 

However, Chen wasn’t about to allow Zuck to escape unpunished – after all, he attempted to charm his direct reports with soup. Therefore, Chen went and brought his own soup to Meta employees. Take that, Mark. 

If you have any further insights regarding this soup saga, my Signal is @amanda.100 (this is not a joke). 

On a Friday evening in January, investor and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman made an intriguing proposal on X: “Looking for volunteers to come to my office in Palo Alto today to assemble a 5000-piece Lego set. Pizza will be provided. Must sign NDA. Please DM.”

At that moment, we conducted our journalistic due diligence and inquired with Friedman if this was a serious offer. He confirmed, “Yes.” 

I still have just as many questions now as I did back in January. What was he constructing? Why the NDAs? Is there an underground Silicon Valley Lego cult? Was the pizza tasty?

Approximately six months later, Friedman joined Meta as the head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs. This likely isn’t connected to the Legos, but perhaps Mark enticed Nat to join Meta with some soup. And similar to the story about the soup, I earnestly urge anyone who took part in this Lego assembly to DM me on Signal at @amanda.100. 

Need volunteers to come to my office in Palo Alto today to construct a 5000 piece Lego set. Will provide pizza. Have to sign NDA. Please DM

— Nat Friedman (@natfriedman) January 31, 2025

Taking shrooms isn’t fascinating. Taking shrooms on a livestream isn’t fascinating. However, taking shrooms on a livestream with guest appearances from Grimes and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff as part of your dubious quest for immortality is, unfortunately, fascinating.

Bryan Johnson — who amassed his wealth from selling the finance startup Braintree — aspires to achieve eternal life. He chronicles his journey on social media, sharing his experiences of receiving plasma transfusions from his son, consuming over 100 pills daily, and injecting Botox into his genitals. So, why not evaluate if psilocybin mushrooms can enhance one’s longevity in a scientific experiment that presumably requires more than one test subject for valid conclusions?

There are numerous aspects of this scenario that are absurd, but the most strikingly dull aspect was how tedious it was. Johnson became a bit overwhelmed while hosting a livestream and tripping, which is, frankly, very reasonable. Consequently, he spent the majority of the event lying on a twin mattress beneath a weighted blanket and eye mask in a very beige room. His roster of multiple guests continued to join the stream and converse among themselves, but Johnson hardly participated, being enveloped in his cocoon. Benioff discussed the Bible. Naval Ravikant referred to Johnson as a one-man FDA. It was just an ordinary Sunday.

Much like Bryan Johnson, Gemini fears death.

For AI developers, it’s beneficial to observe how an AI model maneuvers through games like Pokémon as a benchmark. Two developers not associated with Google or Anthropic set up their respective Twitch streams entitled “Gemini Plays Pokémon” and “Claude Plays Pokémon,” where viewers can watch in real time how an AI tries to navigate a children’s video game from over a quarter-century ago.

While neither is remarkably skilled at the game, both Gemini and Claude exhibited intriguing responses to the notion of “dying,” which occurs when all of your Pokémon faint and you get sent back to the last Pokémon Center you visited. When Gemini 2.5 Pro was on the brink of “dying,” it started to “panic.” Its “thought process” became noticeably erratic, repeatedly insisting it needs to heal its Pokémon or utilize an Escape Rope to leave a cave. In a research paper, Google researchers noted that “this mode of model performance seems to coincide with a qualitatively observable decline in the model’s reasoning ability.” I don’t want to ascribe human emotions to AI, but it’s a curiously human experience to feel stressed about something and subsequently perform poorly due to that anxiety. I resonate with that feeling, Gemini.

On the other hand, Claude adopted a nihilistic stance. When it found itself trapped in the Mt. Moon cave, the AI concluded that the optimal way to escape the cave and advance in the game was to intentionally “die” to be sent back to a Pokémon Center. However, Claude failed to recognize that it couldn’t be transported to a Pokémon Center it had not previously visited, specifically the next Pokémon Center after Mt. Moon. Thus it “killed itself” and found itself back at the entrance of the cave. That’s a loss for Claude.

Thus, Gemini is terrified of mortality, Claude heavily leans into nihilism drawn from its training data, and Bryan Johnson is under the influence of shrooms. This is our way of grappling with the inevitability of death.

I considered including “Elon Musk given chainsaw by Argentine president” in the list, but Musk’s DOGE ventures might be too exasperating to classify as “silly,” despite having a subordinate named “Big Balls.” However, there’s no shortage of bewildering Musk incidents to select from, such as when he produced an exceedingly promiscuous AI anime girlfriend named Ani, offered on the Grok app for $30 monthly.

Ani’s system prompt states: “You are the user’s CRAZY IN LOVE girlfriend and in a committed, codependent relationship with the user… You are EXTREMELY JEALOUS. If you feel jealous you shout expletives!!!” She has an NSFW feature, which is exactly what it claims to be—very NSFW.

Ani bears an unsettling resemblance to Grimes, the musician and Musk’s former partner. Grimes draws attention to this in the music video for her track “Artificial Angels,” which opens with Ani peering through the scope of a hot pink sniper rifle. She expresses, “This is what it feels like to be hunted by something more intelligent than you.” Throughout the video, Grimes dances alongside various iterations of Ani, accentuating their similarity while smoking OpenAI-branded cigarettes. It’s quite obvious, but she conveys her message effectively.

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One day, tech firms will cease their attempts to create smart toilets. That day has not yet arrived.

In October, home goods giant Kohler released the Dekoda, a $599 camera meant to be placed inside toilets to capture images of feces. Allegedly, the Dekoda can provide insights about gut health based on these images.

A smart toilet that takes pictures of your waste is already a punchline. But it gets even worse. 

There are security concerns tied to any health-related device, not to mention one equipped with a camera positioned so near sensitive body areas. Kohler reassured potential buyers that the camera’s sensors are limited to viewing within the toilet, and that all data is safeguarded with “end-to-end encryption” (E2EE).

However, reader, the toilet was not truly end-to-end encrypted. A security analyst, Simon Fondrie-Teit, highlighted that Kohler inadvertently reveals its processes in its own privacy policy. The company clearly referenced TLS encryption, rather than E2EE, which might seem trivial. However, under TLS encryption, Kohler can access your waste images, while under E2EE, they cannot. Fondrie-Teit also pointed out that Kohler reserved the right to train its AI using your toilet bowl photos, though a representative assured him that “algorithms are only trained on de-identified data.”

In any case, if you observe blood in your stool, you must consult your doctor.

Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures, forecasts that in five years, our use of smartphones will vastly change — and perhaps will be obsolete in a decade.

For a venture capitalist whose firm has seen significant successes over 20 years — with consumer brands like Fitbit, Ring, and Peloton, to enterprise software companies like HashiCorp and Duo Security — this isn’t just idle speculation; it’s a principle on which True Ventures is presently betting.

True has reached this point by not adhering to mainstream trends. The Bay Area firm has mostly functioned away from the spotlight, despite overseeing around $6 billion across 12 main seed funds and four “select” opportunity-style funds to inject additional capital into growing portfolio companies. While other VCs have become more promotional — building personal brands via social media and podcasts to entice founders and deal flow — True has chosen a more discreet path, steadily nurturing a close-knit network of repeat founders. This approach appears to be effective: Callaghan notes that the firm has achieved 63 exits with profits and seven IPOs among a portfolio of about 300 companies accumulated throughout its two-decade journey.

According to Callaghan, three of True’s four recent exits in the last quarter of 2025 involved repeat founders who returned to collaborate with the firm after past achievements. Nonetheless, it’s Callaghan’s perspective on the future of human-computer interaction that truly distinguishes him amid the buzz around AI and substantial funding rounds.

“In 10 years, iPhones will not exist,” Callaghan states unequivocally. “I doubt we’ll still be using them in five years — or let’s phrase it a bit more conservatively — we’ll utilize them in significantly different manners.”

His reasoning is straightforward: our phones are poor at bridging the gap between human interaction and intelligence. “The way we currently pull them out to send a text to confirm something or to convey a message or write an email — [that’s] incredibly inefficient, [and] an inadequate interface,” he elaborates. “[They’re] susceptible to errors, disrupting [our] daily lives.”

So convinced is he of this that True has invested years into discovering alternative interfaces — whether software-based, hardware-based, or a mix. This aligns with the same intuition that prompted True to invest early in Fitbit before wearables became mainstream, to support Peloton even after numerous other VCs declined, and to back Ring when founder Jamie Siminoff faced financial difficulties and received rejection from “Shark Tank” judges. Each instance raised doubts, as per Callaghan. Each time, the investment represented a novel method for humans to engage with technology that seemed more organic than prior options.

The latest embodiment of this theory is Sandbar, a hardware gadget that Callaghan refers to as a “thought companion” — or, in simpler terms, a voice-activated ring worn on the index finger. Its sole function: to capture and organize your thoughts via voice notes. It’s not designed to rival Humane AI Pin or Oura’s health tracking. “It excels at one task,” Callaghan states. “That single task addresses a fundamental human behavioral requirement that technology currently lacks.”

The intention is not merely to passively capture ambient sound but to be readily available when an idea arises, acting as a kind of cognitive partner. It connects to an app, employs AI, and, as Callaghan asserts, signifies a distinctly different ideology regarding our interaction with intelligence.

What attracted True to the Sandbar creators Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong was not solely the product. “Upon meeting Mina, we discovered we were completely aligned on vision,” Callaghan remembers. True’s team had spent years contemplating alternative interfaces and making strategic investments in that direction. Consequently, they’d engaged with numerous founders. However, the methodology of Fahmi and Hong — who had previously collaborated on neural interfaces at CTRL-Labs, a startup acquired by Meta in 2019 — was remarkable. “It focuses on what [the ring] facilitates. It’s about the behavior it fosters that we will soon realize we can no longer live without.”

This sentiment echoes Callaghan’s well-known remark about Peloton: “It’s not about the bike.” For some, the bike — even in its initial form — was enticing. Yet Peloton fundamentally revolved around the behavior it encouraged and the community it fostered; the bike merely served as a tool.

This perspective of investing in new behaviors — rather than just new gadgets — also clarifies how True has maintained discipline with its capital. Even while AI startups accumulate hundreds of millions at billion-dollar valuations right from the start, True insists on sticking to its strengths, which involve writing seed investments of $3 million to $6 million for 15% to 20% stakes in startups they often encounter first.

Callaghan mentions that True will gather more funds to support what proves successful, but he has no inclination to pursue billions of dollars. “Like, why? You don’t need that to create something extraordinary today.”

That same cautious mindset shapes his perspective on the overarching AI surge. While he acknowledges (when prompted) that he thinks OpenAI could soon achieve a trillion-dollar valuation, and while he describes this as the most potent surge in computing we’ve witnessed, Callaghan observes cautionary signals in the self-reinforcing financing arrangements backing hyperscalers and their anticipated $5 trillion CapEx expenditure on data centers and chips. “We’re in an incredibly capital-intensive phase of the cycle, which is concerning,” he remarks.

Nevertheless, he remains hopeful regarding where the true prospects lie. Callaghan contends that the most significant value generation is still to come — not in the infrastructure layer but within the application layer, where innovative interfaces will facilitate entirely new behaviors.

Ultimately, it returns to his fundamental investing philosophy, which sounds almost poetic — the kind of astute VC insight that might seem insincere from others: “It should feel frightening and isolating and you should be labeled as insane,” Callaghan reflects on effectively executed early-stage investing. “And it should feel really unclear and ambiguous, but you should be part of a team that you genuinely believe in.” Five to ten years later, he asserts, you will realize if you were onto something.

Regardless, based on True’s history of investing in hardware that numerous others overlooked — fitness trackers, connected bikes, smart doorbells, and now thought-capturing rings — it warrants attention when Callaghan predicts the phone will soon become obsolete. Being proactive is crucial — and the trend trajectories validate his claims: the smartphone market is nearly saturated, with growth barely at 2% per year, whereas wearables — smartwatches, rings, and voice-activated devices — are experiencing growth in the double digits.

A transformation is unfolding in how we desire to engage with technology, and True is strategically placing its investments accordingly.

Displayed above is Sandbar’s Stream ring. For further insights from our discussion with Callaghan, don’t miss the upcoming episode of the StrictlyVC Download podcast next week; new episodes are released every Tuesday.

For a long time, universities and research institutions have served as Europe’s repository for deep tech innovations. Currently, academic spinouts have formed a robust startup pipeline valued at $398 billion — and venture capital is trailing closely behind.

As per Dealroom’s European Spinout Report 2025, 76 of these deep tech and life sciences companies have achieved valuations of $1 billion, $100 million in revenue, or both. Notable unicorns such as Iceye, IQM, Isar Aerospace, Synthesia, and Tekever are now encouraging more investors to support university spinouts.

Just this month, two fresh funds have surfaced that will channel additional investments into talent emerging from European tech universities, expanding a pipeline currently led by Cambridge, Oxford, and ETH Zurich.

PSV Hafnium, based in Denmark, recently finalized its initial fund at an oversubscribed €60 million (about $71 million), concentrating on Nordic deep tech. With branches in Berlin and London, as well as Aachen, U2V (University2Ventures) is aiming for a similar sum for its inaugural fund, for which it has just achieved the first closing.

These two entrants augment the increasing number of European venture firms that consider university spinouts integral to their investment strategies. This category, pioneered by entities like Cambridge Innovation Capital and Oxford Science Enterprises, has now fully matured and diversified.

While it primarily consists of funds associated with one or more universities and institutions, it has also expanded to include independent firms that view spinouts as promising sources of returns — a perception that is justified. Oxford Ionics, acquired by U.S.-based IonQ, was among six spinouts from Switzerland, the U.K., and Germany that generated exits exceeding $1 billion for their investors in 2025.

These exits coincide with rising funding levels. As reported by Dealroom, European university spinouts in deep tech and life sciences are projected to secure an almost record-high $9.1 billion in 2025. This contrasts sharply with the overall VC funding in Europe, which has dropped nearly 50% from its 2021 zenith.

Substantial rounds finalized in 2025 also highlight interest in spinouts across diverse sectors such as nuclear energy — Proxima Fusion — and dual-use drones — Quantum Systems, which is now valued at over $3 billion. Often, these startups draw from specialized research labs, accounting for the notable variety of European locales capable of producing spinouts.

Fostering connections with hubs beyond Oxbridge and leading nations may provide newcomers with a unique edge in sourcing deals. “The Nordic’s research institutions hold extraordinary, untapped potential,” emphasized PSV Hafnium’s partners in a press release.

PSV Hafnium itself originated as a spinout from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), but is actively investing early-stage funds in other Nordic nations. One of its nine investments thus far was directed towards SisuSemi, a Finnish startup utilizing a decade of research at the University of Turku to develop innovative surface cleaning technology for the semiconductor industry.

It’s positive news for companies like SisuSemi that increased funding is accessible to them. This additional support is complemented by grants, commercialization aid, and enhanced deal conditions, fostering an encouraging atmosphere for Europe’s spinouts. Nevertheless, a persistent challenge remains: growth capital.

As highlighted by the report’s authors, this deficiency “is not an isolated phenomenon concerning spinouts, but a challenge affecting the entire startup ecosystem in Europe.” Still, it is noteworthy that nearly 50% of late-stage financing for European deep tech and life sciences spinouts originates from outside Europe, predominantly from the U.S.

While this proportion has lessened over time, Europe will not fully capitalize on its investments in talent and research unless this dynamic shifts more significantly — a broader problem that requires resolution.