SymbyAI raises $2.1M seed to make science research easier

SymbyAI, a SaaS platform that uses AI to streamline scientific research, announced a $2.1 million seed round with participation from Drive Capital and CharacterVC, among others.  Launched just last year by Ashia Livaudais and Michael House, the platform provides organized workspaces for resea

Startup co-founded by longevity guru Peter Attia emerges from stealth

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

OpenAI plans to bring Sora’s video generator to ChatGPT

OpenAI intends to eventually integrate its AI video generation tool, Sora, directly into its popular consumer chatbot app, ChatGPT, company leaders said during a Friday office hours session on Discord. Today, Sora is only available through a dedicated web app OpenAI launched in December, which let

Researchers uncover unknown Android flaws used to hack into a student’s phone

Amnesty International said that Google fixed previously unknown flaws in Android that allowed authorities to unlock phones using forensic tools. On Friday, Amnesty International published a report detailing a chain of three zero-day vulnerabilities developed by phone-unlocking company Cellebrite,

Google Sheets gets a Gemini-powered upgrade to analyze data faster and create visuals

Google is giving Sheets a Gemini-powered upgrade that is designed to help users analyze data faster and turn spreadsheets into charts using AI. With this update, users can access Gemini’s capabilities to generate insights from their data, such as correlations, trends, outliers, and more. Use

Bluesky-based Instagram alternative Flashes launches publicly

Instagram alternative Flashes publicly launched its Bluesky-based photo-sharing app on the App Store this week, gaining nearly 30,000 downloads in its first 24 hours. The app offers a classic Instagram-like experience, allowing users to upload up to four photos and videos of up to a minute in lengt

Good hype for fusion, bad buzz for YC

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can't miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Hype can be good or bad. This week, we’ve seen startups on both sides of that fence — and being on the good side warranted large f

Alkami is buying fintech Mantl for $400M

Digital banking services provider Alkami Technology is acquiring Mantl, which has been described as “the Shopify of account opening,” for $400 million. Mantl, founded in 2016 by Nathaniel Harley and Benjamin Conant, developed software to make it easier for people to open accounts digitally at

Mozilla responds to backlash over new terms, saying it’s not using people’s data for AI

Mozilla has responded to user backlash over the Firefox web browser’s new Terms of Use, which critics have called out for using overly broad language that appears to give the browser maker the rights to whatever data you input or upload. The company says the new terms aren’t a change in

Microsoft hangs up on Skype: Service to shut down May 5, 2025

After kickstarting the market for making calls over the internet 23 years ago, Skype is closing down. Microsoft, which acquired the messaging and calling app 14 years ago, said it will be retiring it from active duty on May 5 to double down on Teams. Skype users have 10 weeks to decide what they wa

Belgium investigating alleged cyberattack on intelligence agency by China-linked hackers

Belgium is investigating an alleged data breach of its state security service (VSSE) by Chinese government hackers.  In a statement sent to technewss on Friday, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said an investigation into a cyberattack was opened in November 2023 after it learned

Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia takes wraps off his first assignment for DOGE

Almost two weeks after The New York Times reported that Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia had joined Elon Musk's “Department of Government Efficiency,” Gebbia clarified his role on Thursday, announcing on X that as a starting point, he'll be leveraging his design expertise as part of an effo

Sequoia’s Roelof Botha warns ‘chumps’ not to buy into SPVs

One of Sequoia’s most prominent investors, managing partner Roelof Botha, sees signs of another greed cycle brewing in venture capital, one where the least sophisticated investors will likely get the most hurt. He posted a warning on X on Thursday, writing, “We remain destined to repea

SEC says meme coins are not securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance on Thursday saying it does not view most meme coins, which are crypto tokens that originated from memes, as securities under United States federal law. As a result, the SEC says it does not believe people who purchase or hold meme coins are pr