ContentBuffer
Shivon Zilis, who worked for Musk across Tesla, Neuralink, and OpenAI from 2017, testified under oath that she is the mother of four of Musk's children. Her testimony included revelations about Musk's efforts to gain control over OpenAI through various means, including creating a for-profit arm or integrating it with Tesla. Zilis' role was to find bottlenecks and solve them, working up to 100 hours a week. She kept her pregnancy secret from both her family and the board of OpenAI until forced by court documents.
A solo investor just dropped $20 million into Pronto's Series B round, valuing the home services platform at a cool $200 million. This deal came together lightning fast, within weeks of initial talks. The investor was drawn to Pronto’s vision of revolutionizing domestic labor management in India. Since January, Pronto has scaled from 18,000 daily bookings to over 26,000 and now connects with 6,500 service workers. With the home services market expected to balloon to $15-18 billion by decade's end, this investment signals a major bet on Pronto’s ability to dominate. Let's dive deeper…
In today's ContentBuffer update:
Nintendo Surprises Fans with New Star Fox Game Launching June 25th
OpenAI's Top Dog Under Fire, Media Mogul Stands Firm
Snap Cancels Perplexity Partnership, $400M Deal Off
xAI sells out compute capacity to Anthropic, boosting balance sheet
5 new AI tools & 5 new AI jobs
More tech news
Latest Development
Image source: platform.theverge.com
Summary: Shivon Zilis testified in Elon Musk's court battle over OpenAI, revealing details about Musk's children and his attempts to control the nonprofit through various means. Her testimony includes emails showing plans for a for-profit arm and integrating OpenAI with Tesla.
Key Points:
Zilis worked for Musk across Tesla, Neuralink, and OpenAI from 2017-2019
She testified as the mother of four of Musk's children under oath
In 2017-2018, Zilis documented plans to create a for-profit arm of OpenAI
Zilis kept her pregnancy and paternity secret from family and board until court documents revealed it
She left the OpenAI board in November 2017 after Musk hinted at starting a competitive venture
Why it matters: Shivon Zilis' testimony reveals critical insights into Elon Musk's efforts to control AI projects like OpenAI. Her emails show plans for a for-profit arm and integrating OpenAI with Tesla, impacting the future direction of these initiatives.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: Pronto just snagged an extra $20M in Series B funding, valuing it at $200M. The home services market is heating up with big bets and intense competition.
Key Points:
Pronto's latest round of $20 million extends its Series B funding, pushing the company valuation to $200 million.
The investment was arranged through Paul Hudson’s Glade Brook Capital, which has backed both Pronto and the investor before.
Since January, Pronto has grown from 18,000 daily bookings to over 26,000 in just a month, showing rapid adoption.
Pronto's network of service workers has expanded from 1,440 to 6,500, indicating robust scaling efforts and demand growth.
The domestic labor market in India is projected to reach $15-18 billion by the end of the decade, making this a high-stakes play.
Why it matters: If you're tracking home services startups like Pronto, Snabbit, or Urban Company's InstaHelp, this investment signals a major bet on scaling and market dominance. With demand outpacing supply, companies will need to focus on repeat usage and efficient capacity management.
Image source: platform.theverge.com
Summary: Nintendo dropped a new Star Fox game during a surprise Direct presentation, featuring modern graphics and online multiplayer. Launches June 25th.
Key Points:
New Star Fox game based on Star Fox 64 with redesigned characters; launches June 25th
Features detailed character avatars that mirror players' expressions in online play
Includes a four-on-four dogfighting mode for multiplayer action
Supports mouse controls and the N64 controller for an old-school feel
Nintendo announced other first-party titles like Yoshi, Rhythm Heaven Groove, Splatoon Raiders
Why it matters: If you're a fan of classic gaming or multiplayer action on Switch, this new Star Fox game is a must-watch. With modern graphics and detailed character avatars that mirror players' expressions in online play, it offers a fresh take on the franchise. The four-on-four dogfighting mode adds to the excitement for those who enjoy competitive gameplay.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: OpenAI CEO accused of manipulation; media mogul defends sincerity despite claims. The unpredictability of AGI makes these debates more complex than ever.
Key Points:
CEO faces accusations from former colleagues and board members for alleged manipulative behavior
Media mogul vouches for AI executive's sincerity, highlighting the unpredictable nature of AGI development
Investments in AI research continue to grow despite ethical concerns about AGI outcomes
Guardrails are seen as crucial to mitigate potential risks associated with advanced AI systems
AI developers acknowledge both wonder and uncertainty regarding the future impact of their work
Why it matters: If you're involved in AI development, this debate over trust and unpredictability is critical. The media mogul's stance highlights that AGI's unpredictable nature means traditional measures of leadership integrity may be less relevant. This impacts how teams approach ethical considerations in AI projects.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: Snap cancels $400M deal with Perplexity for AI search integration. Chatbots in messaging apps just got a bit less likely.
Key Points:
Snap ends partnership with Perplexity, halting $400 million payout over one year
Perplexity's AI engine was set to integrate into Snapchat’s 'Chat' feature but never rolled out widely
Snap's Q1 daily active users grew by 5% to reach 483 million
Snap laid off roughly 16% of its workforce, impacting around 1,000 full-time employees
Snap will share more about its AI and eyewear plans at AWE on June 16th
Why it matters: If you're developing conversational AI for messaging apps, Snap's decision to cancel the Perplexity deal means less competition from a major player. However, it also signals potential challenges in monetizing such integrations. For Snapchat users, this means no immediate access to advanced AI search within Chat.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: xAI is now selling compute capacity to Anthropic at its Colossus 1 data center, raising usage limits and adding green to xAI’s balance sheet. Why you should care: It signals a shift from consumer to provider of AI infrastructure.
Key Points:
xAI's partnership with Anthropic allows for immediate increase in Anthropic's compute capacity.
xAI was valued at $230 billion in its January funding round, making this deal financially significant.
CoreWeave, a similar player in the market, is worth less than a third of xAI’s valuation.
xAI plans to build its own chips at Terafab, reducing reliance on Nvidia for pricing power.
The partnership suggests that xAI's business model may be more about building data centers than training AI models.
Why it matters: If you're involved in AI infrastructure or planning a large-scale AI project, this deal changes the economics of compute resources. Anthropic’s ability to scale up quickly due to guaranteed capacity at Colossus 1 could set new standards for future partnerships and pricing strategies.
New Tools & Job
Articos - Articos is an AI user research platform that turns ideas, landing page designs, and messaging into structured audience conversations using synthetic personas. Personas are built on Big Five personality science, cognitive bias mapping, and enforced stance diversity, then interviewed blind to your hypotheses. Captures 86% of what expert research teams find—in under 30 minutes instead of months. Validated across 200+ studies with 40 product teams, showing 85% correlation with real user interviews.
SoBrief - SoBrief is an AI-powered book summary platform with 73,500+ titles—fiction and non-fiction—condensed into 10-minute reads. Each summary comes with audio narration in 39 languages and downloadable PDF/EPUB formats. Built for busy readers who want to absorb the core ideas of books without committing to the full text.
PurEdge.AI - PurEdge.AI is the first AI trading journal grounded in real trading psychology frameworks. It logs your trades and decisions, then uses AI to surface behavioral patterns—revenge trades, overtrading, FOMO entries, premature exits—before they erode your edge. EdgeMind, its core engine, helps swing and day traders separate skill from emotion through structured journaling and pattern detection.
GeoFide.AI - GeoFide.AI is a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform built for the AI-search era. It audits your URLs and text for LLM-readiness, scoring how cite-worthy your content is to AI search engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Provides actionable recommendations to improve content structure, factuality cues, and entity coverage so your brand surfaces in AI-generated answers.
Knowly AI - Knowly is a proactive AI agent that combines an LLM Wiki with NotebookLM-style understanding. Save articles, videos, and ideas from anywhere; Knowly automatically clusters them into topics, builds interlinked pages, and surfaces what to read next. Unlike traditional RAG tools, Knowly maintains a persistent, self-updating wiki that grows with your interests. Currently in early access.
Software Engineer, Trust - Notion is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to build authentication and security features, ensuring the platform remains safe and trusted by millions of users. The role involves developing scalable systems to detect and mitigate risks, shaping AI safety controls, and collaborating across teams to embed trust and security into Notion's growth. The position requires 5-8 years of experience in trust, safety, authentication, or security.
Firmware Engineer - The Firmware Engineer will work on firmware development for embedded processors, troubleshooting hardware-software integration issues, and supporting product development cycles. The role requires expertise in C/C++, ARM processors, FPGAs, and embedded Linux, with a preference for FPGA device experience and real-time systems.
Embedded Software Engineer - The Embedded Software Engineer will design firmware for embedded hardware, from concept to functional prototype, and system-level integration. This role involves writing C/C++ for ARM processors in FPGAs and SoCs, troubleshooting hardware-software boundary issues, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver fully functional products for defense technology systems.
Engineering Intern - The Engineering Intern will support software development, tool development, and vehicle application for active safety and electronic brake control systems. The role involves assisting experienced software engineers with AI-driven tools, including evaluating the vehicle test catalog (VTC), and requires strong programming skills in Python, C++, or Java.
Supplier Development Engineer, Mechanical Metrology (starlink) - The Supplier Development Engineer, Mechanical Metrology will drive supplier development and metrology strategy for high-precision mechanical components in SpaceX's Starlink User Terminal business. This role involves supplier selection, process engineering, AI-enabled measurement systems, and ensuring high-volume manufacturing scalability through robust metrology processes and supplier performance improvement.
Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (starship) - As a Software Engineer on the Starship Continuous Integration team at SpaceX, you will design, maintain, and scale systems that enable hundreds of engineers to integrate software changes continuously for Starship vehicles and launch pads. This role involves hands-on integration, troubleshooting, and collaborating with teams to improve development workflows for the world’s first fully reusable rocket.
Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (starship) - As a Software Engineer on the Starship Continuous Integration team at SpaceX, you will design, maintain, and scale systems that enable hundreds of engineers to integrate software changes and deliver reliable updates to Starship vehicles and launch pads. This role focuses on creating tools and processes to accelerate software development while ensuring correctness and reliability in a high-stakes aerospace environment.
Principal Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (starship) - As a Principal Software Engineer on the Starship Continuous Integration team, you will design, maintain, and scale the systems that enable hundreds of engineers to integrate their changes and deliver reliable software to Starship vehicles and launch pads. This role involves inventing tools and processes for fast and correct software development while collaborating with teams to improve compute infrastructure.
Principal Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (starship) - As a Principal Software Engineer on the Starship Continuous Integration team at SpaceX, you will design, maintain, and scale systems that enable hundreds of engineers to integrate software changes reliably for Starship vehicles and launch pads. This role involves hands-on development, troubleshooting, and collaboration to improve CI/CD pipelines and on-premises compute infrastructure critical to SpaceX's mission of making life multiplanetary.
Sr. Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (starship) - As a Senior Software Engineer on the Starship Continuous Integration team, you will design, maintain, and scale systems enabling hundreds of engineers to integrate software changes reliably for Starship vehicles and launch pads. This role involves hands-on integration, troubleshooting, and collaborating with teams to improve the software development lifecycle for SpaceX’s reusable rocket program.
Sr. Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (starship) - As a Senior Software Engineer on the Starship Continuous Integration team, you will design, maintain, and scale systems that enable hundreds of engineers to integrate software changes reliably for Starship vehicles and launch pads. This role involves hands-on development, troubleshooting, and collaboration to improve software development workflows critical to SpaceX’s mission of making life multiplanetary.
Senior Security Engineer, AI Vulnerability Management - Senior Security Engineer, AI Vulnerability Management at Robinhood — sourced from greenhouse:robinhood on 2026-05-01.
Senior Product Manager, Security AI - Senior Product Manager, Security AI at Robinhood — sourced from greenhouse:robinhood on 2026-05-01.
Senior Solutions Architect - AI & Platforms SME - Senior Solutions Architect - AI & Platforms SME at GitLab — sourced from greenhouse:gitlab on 2026-05-01.
Senior Professional Services, Technical Architect - AI - Senior Professional Services, Technical Architect - AI at GitLab — sourced from greenhouse:gitlab on 2026-05-01.
Staff Technical Program Manager, ML/AI Platform - Staff Technical Program Manager, ML/AI Platform at Pinterest — sourced from greenhouse:pinterest on 2026-05-01.
Sr. Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Content Quality - Sr. Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Content Quality at Pinterest — sourced from greenhouse:pinterest on 2026-05-01.
Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, tvScientific - Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, tvScientific at Pinterest — sourced from greenhouse:pinterest on 2026-05-01.
Sr. Software Engineer, ML Platform, tvScientific - Sr. Software Engineer, ML Platform, tvScientific at Pinterest — sourced from greenhouse:pinterest on 2026-05-01.
Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Content Quality Signals - Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Content Quality Signals at Pinterest — sourced from greenhouse:pinterest on 2026-05-01.
QUICK HITS
DeepSeek Seeks $45B Valuation in VC Talks - DeepSeek is eyeing a $45B valuation in VC talks, aiming to rival U.S. AI giants with less compute power and cost. Watch for implications on global tech dependency.
Native Instruments Unveils Komplete 26 With Six Bundles - Native Instruments expands its Komplete lineup with six new bundles ranging from $99 to $1,949. The Ultimate edition at $1,249 includes over 60 additions like Absynth 6 and Claire.
Nutribullet Chill Ice Cream Maker Smaller Than Ninja Creami - Nutribullet unveiled the Chill ice cream maker at $199.99 — smaller than rivals like Ninja's Creami but with dual-direction blades for efficient blending. Worth checking out if you're short on counter space or love frozen treats.
Chrome on Android Adds Approximate Location Sharing - Google introduces approximate location sharing in Chrome on Android, giving users more control over privacy and data sharing.
Google Adds Forum Context to Search Results - Google is adding forum context to its AI Overviews to provide more diverse sources for search queries. This could lead to mixed results due to the complexity of web forums and the potential for misinformation.
Genesis AI Unveils GENE-26.5 With Human-Like Robotic Hands - Genesis AI just dropped GENE-26.5, a robotic hand model that mimics human dexterity and is trained on internet videos for diverse tasks. Big deal for anyone in robotics or automation.
THAT'S A WRAP
Our newsletter reaches a diverse audience of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business leaders worldwide. Get in touch today.
Be the first to comment
Get the daily edition delivered free every morning.
Pronto, a startup connecting households with domestic workers, secured an additional $20 million in Series B funding. The investment values the company at $200 million and highlights its rapid growth.
The Trump administration reversed Biden's AI safety executive order, lifting export controls on advanced chips and pushing back against state-level AI laws. This shift impacts national security and international regulations.
ASML's machines that make AI chips cost $200M-$400M each. Demand is soaring, but supply can't keep up, leading to a bottleneck in chip manufacturing.