Monday, July 7, 2025

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we've got notes on a Midwest VC firm pulling off a successful turnaround; Brex's plan to embrace chaos and AI tools; and Grok's support for fringe right-wing ideals. We've also got a new stem cell treatment for pets; a list of the top AI unicorns this year; LLMs working together, and more. Let's dive in!

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group / Getty Images

1. A notable return: Being a Midwest VC firm isn't for the faint of heart, but Drive Capital has managed to do it – and a co-founder split that could have ended the firm – with grace. In May, the firm managed to return $500 million to investors in a single week. Read More

2. Chatbot bias on display: Elon Musk said xAI has "improved" its Grok chatbot. Turns out, the improvements involve more biased and edgy responses. Asked if it would be bad to elect more Democrats, Grok replied, "Yes," and pointed to Heritage Foundation analyses. It also decided to drum up antisemitism against Jewish Hollywood executives. Read More

3. Are unicorns even special anymore? Investors are in such a frenzy for anything AI that at least 36 new tech unicorns were minted in the first half of 2025. While most of these have something to do with AI, a few are from other industries, like space or blockchain trading. Read More

A Message from Fidelity

It's not 2021 anymore. Understanding the 2025 VC landscape.

The latest report from Fidelity Private Shares, Navigating the VC Playbook in 2025, breaks down where capital is flowing, why AI is skewing the data, and how M&A is becoming the top exit path. Whether you're fundraising or planning ahead, this is a must read for growing companies.

Download Here

Morning Must-Reads

Image Credits: SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images

🫂 Embracing chaos: To keep up with the AI cycle, Brex had to ditch its previously long software procurement process for a model that lets the company vet potential AI tools faster. It's messy, but Brex CTO James Reggio says it's necessary. Read More

🐈 Who wants a treat? San Diego startup Gallant has raised $18 million to bring the first FDA-approved, ready-to-use stem cell therapy to veterinary medicine. The treatment is still experimental, but the startup's first goal is to target a painful mouth condition in cats. Read More

🪫 Bye, bye clean cars: Since Trump's tax bill will end Biden's $7,500 EV tax credit, Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto has remained mum about its upcoming pickup truck that's said to have a price tag starting "under $20,000." Affordability has been the car's biggest feature so far, so things may get problematic if Slate can't keep the price down. Read More

😬 Enough about Soham Parekh (I hope): If you've managed to avoid the origin story of this software engineer (and his Hermione Granger-esque feat of working at multiple companies simultaneously) and why he's suddenly gone viral, we've got the tea right here. Read More

🤓 Hype does pay: Cluely's says it now has annual recurring revenue of $7 million since it launched its new "cheat on everything" enterprise product a week ago. Founder Roy Lee told TechCrunch that everybody "who has a meeting or interview is testing this out," which sounds like hyperbole, but time will tell if the startup can maintain its momentum. Read More

A Message from HSBC

The HSBC 2025 Fintech report is here

Discover where Fintech is headed. Unpack key industry shifts and how they're shaping the global financial ecosystem.

Download the report

Around the Web

🤝 Bots together strong: Trees cooperate and share resources to grow, rather than compete for sunlight. Could the same be true for LLMs? Japanese AI lab Sakana AI thinks so. It's introduced a new technique that allows multiple LLMs to cooperate on a single task that's too complex for any individual model, per Venture Beat. Read More

💰 M&A Land: Bloomberg reports that CoreWeave has agreed to buy Core Scientific in an all-stock deal worth about $9 billion. The merger will help CoreWeave expand its AI data center capacity. Read More

📱 Lessons from Motorola: Trump keeps pushing Apple executives to make iPhones in the U.S., but if you look back a decade, you'll find Google tried this in Texas 12 years ago with Motorola, only to fail. Fortune has a deep dive into the complex web of manufacturing costs, low demand, and other issues that could be instructive for Apple. Read More

Before You Go

📘 RIP Louvre of Bluesky: TC's Anthony Ha has an obit for one of the best Bluesky accounts that disappeared over the weekend. He writes, "While [The Louvre of Bluesky] posted commentary and jokes of its own, its most brutally funny and haunting work came in the form of screenshots capturing rogue Bluesky posts in all their unhinged glory." Read More