As tech heavyweights unleash new innovations this summer, competition is heating up across industries. In the artificial intelligence space, Apple debuted major upgrades to Siri at its annual developer conference, promising a more personalized voice assistant powered by its new “Apple Intelligence” platform. However, not all were pleased with the announcements. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed disagreement with Apple’s integration of Siri with other services, threatening consequences for companies using iPhones.
Across the Atlantic, the European startup scene continues expanding rapidly. A French AI startup attained a huge Series B round of over $600 million to challenge major players in developing cutting-edge models. Founded by former researchers, the company aims to contribute openly-available tools for the AI community. In Italy, a new venture fund launched with 50 million euros dedicated to early-stage entrepreneurs, looking to close the country’s funding gap and support local innovation.
Some sector leaders faced turbulence. Indian edtech giant Byju’s dealt with financial target misses and personnel changes, raising governance concerns. While once hugely valued, its rights issue was halted by a court. For document sharing platform Carta, challenges arose involving data practices and competitive moves, translating to a sharp valuation decrease. Security also came under scrutiny after high-profile breaches impacted customers of cloud data warehouse Snowflake.
While startupland saw downs, exciting funding rounds occurred. An HR technology startup focused on Gen Z banking needs raised a sizable seed of $14 million. In Paris, a firm developing biomimicry-inspired drug discovery using AI secured a Series A north of $50 million. Back in Silicon Valley, a chatbot startup consisting of Ivy League dropouts just reached the ten-figure valuation mark on relatively low funds. As tech powers continue evolving, both collaboration and competition will undoubtedly shape the industry’s direction.
