Content Buffer

Welcome, Tech Leaders.

Theseus, a San Francisco-based company, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to develop its drone technology, which calculates GPS coordinates without relying on traditional signals.

Ramp, an expense management startup, sees its valuation rise to $13 billion following a secondary share sale. The company is also in the running for a charge card pilot program with the US government's General Services Administration. Letโ€™s dive deeperโ€ฆ

In today's ContentBuffer update:

  • Theseus raises $4.3M for drone tech, combatting GPS jamming

  • Ramp's valuation nearly doubles to $13 billion after secondary share sale.

  • OpenAI's Flex processing for non-critical workloads

  • Trump's Tariffs Fuel Geopolitical Tensions

  • US consumers flock to DHgate and Taobao amid trade war

  • Google publishes sparse report on Gemini 2.5 Pro AI model

  • 5 new AI tools & 5 new AI jobs

  • More tech news

Latest Development

Gps Jamming Combat Drone Tech

Image source: TechCrunch

Summary: Theseus has developed a drone technology that uses camera and Google Maps to calculate GPS coordinates. The startup has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to further develop its tech and expand its team. Theseus' tech could combat GPS jamming concerns, particularly in Ukraine where drones rely on high-tech goggles for navigation.

Key Points:

  • Theseus' drone technology uses camera and Google Maps to calculate GPS coordinates without relying on traditional signals

  • The startup has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to further develop its tech and expand its team

  • Theseus' tech could combat GPS jamming concerns, particularly in Ukraine where drones rely on high-tech goggles for navigation

Why it matters: Theseus' innovative drone technology could significantly impact the military industry, providing a reliable alternative to traditional GPS signals.

Digital Payments

Image source: TechCrunch

Summary: Ramp, an expense management startup, sees its valuation rise to $13 billion following a secondary share sale. The company is also in the running for a charge card pilot program with the US government's General Services Administration. Ramp's technology has prevented billions of dollars in wasted spend across the economy.

Key Points:

  • Ramp's valuation nearly doubles to $13 billion after a $150 million secondary share sale.

  • The company is competing in a standard procurement process for a SmartPay pilot program based on the strength of its solution.

  • Ramp has raised over $1 billion in equity financing and $700 million in committed debt funding since its 2019 inception.

Why it matters: Ramp's success highlights the growing importance of fintech startups in the financial industry, as well as their potential to revolutionize the way people manage their expenses.

Artificial Intelligence

Image source: TechCrunch

Summary: OpenAI launches Flex Processing, a cost-effective API option for non-critical workloads. This new pricing tier reduces API costs by half for lower-priority tasks. It's aimed at developers who need to perform model evaluations, data enrichment, and other asynchronous workloads.

Key Points:

  • Flex Processing is available in beta for OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini reasoning models.

  • The new pricing tier reduces API costs by exactly half for these models.

  • OpenAI aims Flex Processing at developers who need to perform non-production tasks like model evaluations, data enrichment, and asynchronous workloads.

Why it matters: This development matters as it provides a cost-effective solution for developers working on lower-priority projects, making AI more accessible to a broader range of users.

Global Economy

Image source: TechCrunch

Summary: The article discusses how President Trump's tariffs have created a situation of 'tariff wars' between the US and other countries, leading to economic instability and uncertainty. It highlights the impact on global trade and economies, as well as the potential consequences for businesses and consumers.

Key Points:

  • President Trump's tariffs aim to protect US industries, but have sparked retaliatory measures from other countries.

  • Global trade has been disrupted by the tariffs, leading to economic instability and uncertainty.

  • The impact on global economies is significant, with businesses and consumers affected by the changes.

Why it matters: The article matters because it highlights the far-reaching consequences of President Trump's tariffs on global trade and economies. Understanding these risks can help businesses and individuals prepare for the potential impacts and make informed decisions.

Digital Commerce

Image source: TechCrunch

Summary: US consumers turn to DHgate and Taobao amid trade war; DHgate becomes No. 2 free iPhone app in the US; Taobao enters Top Overall ranks on iOS App Store.

Key Points:

  • DHgate, which is now the No. 2 free iPhone app in the US, has seen a significant increase in downloads due to the tariff-fueled surge in popularity.

  • Taobao has also entered the Top Overall ranks on the iOS App Store, with estimated downloads totaling approximately 185,000 - a 514% increase from last month.

  • The growth is attributed to consumers seeking alternatives to luxury brands and direct access to manufacturers, bypassing huge markups.

Why it matters: The rise of DHgate and Taobao highlights the impact of tariffs on consumer behavior and the importance of e-commerce platforms in adapting to changing market conditions.

Artificial Intelligence Safety

Image source: TechCrunch

Summary: Google releases technical report on Gemini 2.5 Pro AI model with minimal information. Report sparks concerns about the safety of AI models. Google faces criticism for lack of transparency in safety evaluations.

Key Points:

  • The report provides little information about the model's internal safety evaluations, making it difficult to assess potential risks.

  • Google has faced criticism for not providing timely and transparent safety evaluations for its AI models.

  • Experts are calling for more detailed reports and regular updates on AI safety evaluations.

Why it matters: The lack of transparency in AI model safety evaluations raises concerns about the potential risks they pose to society.

New Tools & Job

  • Patchstack - Senior Backend Developer (PHP/Laravel)

  • WebPunch - Mid-Senior Rails Systems Monitoring & Quality Assurance

  • SimplyAnalytics - Senior Data Engineer

  • Aurora Payments - Senior Financial Data Engineer (EU/UK/LatAm/UAE)

  • ZipChat - AI RAG engineer, Ruby on Rails | Earn equity

QUICK HITS

  • ๐Ÿšจ China has banned the use of 'autonomous driving' and other similar terms in vehicle advertisements, citing concerns over safety.

  • ๐Ÿค– Chatbot Arena, a benchmarking project for AI models, is forming a company called Arena Intelligence Inc.

  • ๐Ÿšซ Florida lawmakers approve draft bill requiring social media companies to decrypt end-to-end encryption when law enforcement obtains a subpoena.

  • ๐Ÿ“น Instagram introduces 'Blend', a feature that allows users to create custom, personalized reels feeds with friends.

  • ๐Ÿ’ธ Uber drops mention of diversity from latest annual report, joins other big tech companies in cutting back on diversity and inclusion efforts.

Read more news here โ†’

THATโ€™S A WRAP

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