Slash, a vertical banking platform founded by two college dropouts, has secured $100 million in Series C funding led by Khosla Ventures and Ribbit Capital. The San Francisco-based fintech's valuation has nearly quadrupled since its May 2025 Series B round, marking a remarkable comeback after a sudden collapse of its initial market. This latest funding round highlights the company's successful pivot and strong growth trajectory in the fintech space.
Upscale AI, a company specializing in AI infrastructure, is reportedly in discussions to secure its third funding round just seven months after its inception, with the potential to reach a valuation of $2 billion.
The upcoming week will see British banks gain access to Anthropic's advanced AI model, Claude, which until now has only been available to a select group of US companies like Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. This decision comes despite concerns from senior finance leaders about the potential risks of the technology, previously deemed too sensitive for public release. Anthropic plans to extend the use of this AI tool to UK financial institutions, signaling a significant development in the intersection of finance and artificial intelligence.
Netflix is poised for significant growth in its advertising segment, with projections to double its ad revenue to $3 billion in 2025. The platform's advertiser base has expanded by more than 70% year over year, reaching over 4,000 advertisers, signaling strong momentum in its advertising strategy despite the absence of major players like Warner Bros. and Reed Hastings.
According to LUMA Partners' Q1 report, macroeconomic challenges have slowed dealmaking in the ad tech and martech sectors. Despite this cooling trend, investments in AI continue to attract strong interest as the most sought-after area.
Recent analysis indicates that employees displaced by AI tend to face prolonged periods of reduced earnings, slower wage progression, and extended recovery times compared to those laid off due to other factors.
Allbirds is making a sharp pivot from its sustainable footwear roots to the tech world by rebranding as NewBird AI. After selling its shoe business to American Exchange Group for $39 million, the company is now focusing on offering GPU-as-a-service cloud computing solutions. They have also raised $50 million through convertible financing. Following a remarkable 600% spike in its stock price, which then dropped by around a third, NewBird AI plans to lease GPUs to companies developing AI applications.
Returning investors a16z and Thrive are poised to lead Cursor's latest funding round, aiming to raise over $2 billion as the company experiences rapid growth in its enterprise sector.
The European Investment Fund is launching a €15 billion fund of funds named ETCI 2, designed to potentially unlock up to €80 billion for scaling companies across Europe. Germany’s WIN initiative aims to mobilize €12 billion by 2030, while France’s Tibi program has committed €7 billion in private investment, backing 92 VC and growth funds so far.
Airwallex and Stripe, once operating smoothly in separate regions with distinct customer bases, are now stepping into each other's markets and competing directly. This marks a significant shift from their previous paths, where collaboration seemed possible, to a new phase of rivalry.
