Content Buffer
Welcome, Tech Leaders.
Stripe invites customers to its management team meetings for candid feedback, an unconventional strategy.
Chef Robotics, a food robotics startup, receives $43 million in series A funding after facing potential death. Let’s dive deeper…
In today's ContentBuffer update:
Stripe's customer-centric approach
Chef Robotics secures $43 million in funding
Nate's AI checkout app founder charged with fraud
Yahoo removes diversity, equity, and inclusion policies from website
No-cost egg freezing for women
Thinking Machines Lab seeks $2 billion seed round
5 new AI tools & 5 new AI jobs
More tech news
Latest Development
Company_news
Image source: TechCrunch
Summary: Stripe's CEO invites customers to management team meetings for candid feedback; meeting is attended by 40 leaders; aims to gather more constructive input from customers.
Key Points:
The bi-weekly meetings are an opportunity for Stripe to gather more candid feedback from its customers, which can lead to new thoughts and investigations.
Stripe's existing customer feedback mechanisms include regular customer join sessions for the first 30 minutes of each meeting.
The company has grown significantly, with payment volumes reaching $1.4 trillion in 2024, a 38% increase from the previous year.
Stripe is now used by half of the Fortune 100 companies, solidifying its position as a major enterprise player.
Why it matters: This approach highlights Stripe's commitment to customer-centricity and willingness to listen to feedback, which can lead to improved products and services.
Robotics In Food Industry
Image source: TechCrunch
Summary: Chef Robotics, a food robotics startup, faced potential death but received $43 million in series A funding. The startup will use the funds to deploy AI-enabled robots in the food industry.
Key Points:
The company secured funding from Avataar Venture Partners, Construct Capital, and other investors.
The funds will be used to scale the deployment of AI-enabled robots in the food industry.
Chef Robotics aims to serve fast-casual restaurants with its robots.
Why it matters: The success of Chef Robotics demonstrates the potential for AI-powered robots to transform industries such as food manufacturing, and highlights the importance of innovation and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Tech Scandal
Image source: TechCrunch
Summary: The US Department of Justice charged Albert Saniger with defrauding investors in an AI shopping app called Nate. The app claimed to use AI for checkout, but actually relied on human contractors. Saniger raised millions in venture funding by making false claims about the app's capabilities.
Key Points:
Nate claimed to be an AI-powered shopping app
The app actually relied on human contractors for purchases
Saniger was charged with defrauding investors
The US Department of Justice investigated the company
Why it matters: This case highlights the importance of transparency and accuracy in marketing claims, especially in the tech industry.
Technology Policy
Image source: TechCrunch
Summary: Yahoo removes DEI policies from its corporate website. Changes made between December 2024 and January 2025. Previous version of Yahoo's leadership page touted language mentioning diversity and inclusion but does not appear on current website.
Key Points:
The removal of DEI policies is part of a planned redesign to focus on streamlining navigation and spotlighting advertising and business solutions.
The changes were made between December 2024 and January 2025, according to historical copies of Yahoo's website hosted on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
This move follows similar actions by other US companies, including Google, OpenAI, Meta, Amazon, and UnitedHealth, which have also scaled back their public statements about DEI amid ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on DEI policies.
Why it matters: The removal of DEI policies from Yahoo's corporate website reflects a larger trend in the US tech industry, where companies are scaling back their commitments to diversity and inclusion amidst political pressure.
Reproductive Health
Image source: TechCrunch
Summary: Cofertility offers no-cost egg freezing, reducing financial burden on women; program allows donors to freeze their own eggs and donate half; startup raises $7.25 million in Series A funding
Key Points:
The company's 'Split' program matches young women who wish to preserve their fertility with people who need a donor egg.
Cofertility has hundreds of donors available at any given time, increasing the chances of matching intended parents with suitable donors.
Intended parents cover the egg retrieval costs and Cofertility's coordination fee, but do not have to compensate the donor.
Why it matters: This innovative approach aims to remove the taboo surrounding egg donation and make it more accessible for women who want to preserve their fertility while also helping others build families.
Artificial Intelligence
Image source: TechCrunch
Summary: Thinking Machines Lab, a new AI startup, is seeking to close a $2 billion seed round, valuing the company at $10 billion. The startup has dozens of high-profile AI researchers on board and intends to create more widely understood, customizable, and capable AI systems than those currently available.
Key Points:
The startup has doubled its initial target for the seed funding round to $2 billion.
Thinking Machines Lab intends to create AI systems that are more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable than those currently available.
The company has attracted high-profile AI researchers as advisers, including Bob McGrew, previously OpenAI's chief research officer, and Alec Radford, a former OpenAI researcher.
Why it matters: This significant funding round highlights the growing interest in AI technology and its potential to revolutionize various industries.
New Tools & Job
Codibot 🤖 - AI-powered assistant for boosting productivity.
ChatMentor 💬 - Sophisticated AI chat application with enhanced features.
Goalfocus 📊 - Task management app prioritizing daily tasks for goal achievement.
CardFactory 🎄 - Create custom AI-designed Christmas cards with personalized greetings.
Dogfood 🐕 - Multimodal AI agents for comprehensive product testing and feedback.
SimplyAnalytics - Senior Data Engineer
Aurora Payments - Senior Financial Data Engineer (EU/UK/LatAm/UAE)
ZipChat - AI RAG engineer, Ruby on Rails | Earn equity
Walter - Mid/Senior Backend Developer
Semaphore - Senior Software Engineer
QUICK HITS
💡 Bluesky sees 17x increase in moderation reports, hires more moderators to meet demands.
🤖 AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others are being used to assist with programming tasks but struggle to debug code.
🚚 Slate Auto, backed by Jeff Bezos, has revealed its low-cost electric pickup truck, with a price tag of around $25,000.
📚 US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon talks about the impact of AI on learning at ASU+GSV Summit.
🎮 Netflix premieres its new mobile game 'Thronglets' connected to its episode 'Plaything'.
THAT’S A WRAP
Partner with Us
Showcase your product to our engaged community of Tech enthusiasts
Our newsletter reaches a diverse audience of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business leaders worldwide. Get in touch today.
Latest Issues