FUNDRAISING ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Valon Technologies raises $150M Series D at $2.3B valuation for AI-powered mortgage servicing
• Illuminate raises $30M to build RL training environments that teach frontier AI models non-coding knowledge work

GUEST INTERVIEWS

• Ridge CEO Sean Frank turned down data broker offers and explains why — plus agentic commerce, TikTok shop, and the e-commerce macro
• Neo's Ali Partovi proposes holding AI companies criminally liable for their models' autonomous illegal actions
• Underdog launches private on-device AI agent with payment-based monetization — no data centers, no subscriptions
• Bryan Johnson on dunking at 49, near-death flying stories, and why endurance racing is an underrated elite sport

COMMENTARY

• AI game mods are viral meme gold but no one's actually playing them through
• Chinese EVs are conquering the UK — and Detroit is watching nervously
• Fiat's $15k 25mph electric microcar is selling out and making America stare