Techmeme: Distinct Possibility, a gaming studio launched by EverQuest co-creator to build a web3 shooter on Etherlink, a Layer 2 network built on Tezos, raised $30.5M (RT Watson/The Block)

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July 5, 2025, 2:25 AM

Top News

KBKG:

President Trump signs the One Big Beautiful Bill, which allows immediate deduction of US software labor; foreign R&D still must be amortized over 15 years — Today, the House passed the Senate's version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), marking a significant overhaul to federal tax policy.

More: Supply Chain Dive, Axios, Bloomberg, ABC, Fortune, and NBC News

Bluesky: @eva.computer, @eva.computer, @unormal, and @ianlandsman.com

X: @sprice, @indian_bronson, @ankurnagpal, @patrickfianagan, @deedydas, @einarvollset, @whitehouse, @newatlantissun, @michaelminard13, @patrickfianagan, @nominalthoughts, @gkedzierski, and @ericadyork. Forums: Hacker News

Ben Geman / Axios:

Emerald AI, whose software lets AI data centers flexibly adjust power consumption, raised a $24.5M seed led by Radical Ventures, with NVentures participating — AI giant Nvidia and boldface names in tech and finance are backing a new startup that aims to transform data centers into flexible grid assets instead of liabilities.

More: NVIDIA, arXiv.org, E&E News, VC News Daily, Emerald AI, Pulse 2.0, FinSMEs, RCR Wireless News, and Latitude Media. LinkedIn: Varun Sivaram

Joshua Nevett / BBC:

UK minister instructs the Turing AI institute, which has lately focused on responsible AI and ethics, to prioritize national security and defense instead — Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has written to the UK's national institute for artificial intelligence (AI) to tell its bosses to refocus on defence and security.

More: The Guardian. X: @ersatzben. Forums: Slashdot

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Doc: UK's Independent Publishers Alliance files an antitrust complaint with EU and the UK CMA against Google, alleging misuse of web content for AI Overviews — Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google has been hit by an EU antitrust complaint over its AI Overviews from a group of independent publishers …

More: Benzinga, SiliconANGLE, PYMNTS.com, The Verge, iPhone in Canada, MarketWatch, New York Post, Press Gazette, Cryptopolitan, Android Headlines, WinBuzzer, The Decoder, Nairametrics, and MediaPost

Bluesky: @fabiochiusi. Mastodon: @1br0wn@eupolicy.social. LinkedIn: Chris Dicker, Angela Mills Wade, and Alix Dunn

Murad Hemmadi / The Logic:

Sources: Nvidia's deal to buy CentML, which offers tools to optimize the running of AI models on chips, could exceed $400M; CentML raised a $27M seed in 2023 — TORONTO — Nvidia's deal to acquire Canadian AI startup CentML could exceed US$400 million in value, The Logic has learned. — Exclusive

More: The Logic and Yahoo Finance. X: @muradhem

RT Watson / The Block:

Distinct Possibility, a gaming studio launched by EverQuest co-creator to build a web3 shooter on Etherlink, a Layer 2 network built on Tezos, raised $30.5M — - Bitkfraft Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital co-led a $30.5 million funding round in Distinct Possibility Studios, the new gaming firm from EverQuest co-creator John Smedley.

More: NFTgators, Cryptopolitan, CryptoPotato, and Cointelegraph

Kate Park / TechCrunch:

Tailor, which offers a headless ERP system for retail businesses that separates the frontend and backend, raised a $22M Series A from ANRI, NEA, YC, and others — Tailor, a San Francisco- and Tokyo-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform, has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round.

More: Business Wire, PYMNTS.com, FinSMEs, VC News Daily, and Pulse 2.0

Anna Heim / TechCrunch:

Tel Aviv-based Qedma, which is developing an error mitigation software called QESEM for quantum computers, raised a $26M Series A led by Glilot Capital Partners — Despite their imposing presence, quantum computers are delicate beasts, and their errors are among the main bottlenecks …

More: HPCwire, SiliconANGLE, Verdict, FinSMEs, The Quantum Insider, and Globes. LinkedIn: Asif Sinay

Reuters:

LumApps, which makes intranet software, agrees to merge with frontline staff communication app Beekeeper in a deal valuing the combined entity at about $1.1B — A merger between French business software provider LumApps and its Swiss peer Beekeeper will create a new unicorn worth about $1.1 billion, the two companies said.

More: TNW, Business Wire, LumApps, Axios, Forrester, and FinSMEs. LinkedIn: LumApps

Dan Primack / Axios:

PitchBook: AI startups received 53% of all global VC dollars invested in H1 2025, rising to 64% in the US, and accounted for 29% of all global startups funded — Artificial intelligence is eating venture capital. Or at least its dollars. … - That percentage jumps to 64% in the U.S.

More: The French Tech Journal, VCCircle, and PitchBook

Ryan Gould / Bloomberg:

Blackstone acquires Vista Equity Partners' minority stake in event software company Cvent, sources say for $1.3B; Blackstone acquired Cvent for $4.6B in 2023 — Blackstone is acquiring Vista's stake in Cvent for $1.3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter …

More: Washington Business Journal and Verdict

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

The European Commission says it won't pause the rollout of its AI Act, after Alphabet, Meta, Mistral, ASML, and others urged the EU to delay the rules by years — The European Union's landmark rules on artificial intelligence will be implemented according to the timeline agreed by legislators …

More: Reuters, PYMNTS.com, Cryptopolitan, WinBuzzer, SiliconANGLE, Neowin, Wall Street Journal, The Decoder, Bloomberg, and implicator.ai

Bluesky: @eighthdayarts. X: @zachweinberg

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:

Sam Altman says he believes in “techno-capitalism” and is “politically homeless” as Democrats no longer encourage a “culture of innovation and entrepreneurship” — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X Friday, saying he finds himself “politically homeless” …

More: The Economic Times, Benzinga, Gizmodo, Business Insider, and Fox Business

Bluesky: @tandasmas, @martinsfp, @nagler, @quinnypig.com, @poticha, @nightwriter, @telecom-terrorist.com, @marypcbuk, @rachelle82, @gobsmacked, @carnage4life, @andrewmceo, @charlesmire, @scott.ganyo.com, @anildash.com, and @tgf6anth

X: @sama, @sturgeons_law, @gioblaze0069, @tunguz, @andyparackal, @matthiasellis, and @mattyglesias

Forums: r/politics and r/ChatGPT

Mackenzie Hawkins / Bloomberg:

Sources: the Trump administration plans to curb AI chip shipments to Malaysia and Thailand, as part of an effort to crack down on suspected smuggling into China — President Donald Trump's administration plans to restrict shipments of AI chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. to Malaysia and Thailand …

More: TechWire Asia, Financial Express, Malay Mail, The American Bazaar, Cryptopolitan, and Reuters. Forums: Slashdot

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The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Kelcee Griffis / Bloomberg:

Comcast reports Peacock revenue up 54% YoY to $1.9B and its adjusted EBITDA of $189M, its first-ever quarterly profit; film revenue rose 25% YoY to $3.04B

Todd Spangler / Variety:

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says ABC's decision to not carry Trump's July 16 speech about elections live will be part of its review for ABC-owned station licenses

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

TelevisaUnivision reports Q2 revenue up 10% to $1.3B due to FIFA rights in Mexico, US ad revenue down 29% to $323.3M, subscription and licensing up 40% to $621M

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More News

Gian Volpicelli / Bloomberg:

Sources: Google plans to propose a price comparison box at the top of search results in the EU, featuring ranked options from competitors, to avoid DMA fines

More: Fox News, Livemint, and Search Engine Roundtable

Yang Jie / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: TSMC delays the construction of its second plant in Japan, initially slated for early 2025, to invest in US expansion ahead of potential Trump tariffs

More: SiliconANGLE, Travel And Tour World, Reuters, Proactive, Barron's Online, The Information, Morningstar, Inc., The Economic Times, and Nikkei Asia

Bluesky: @scottlincicome. LinkedIn: Martijn Rasser and Bolaji Ojo

Matt Levine / Bloomberg:

As companies like SpaceX, Stripe, and OpenAI stay private longer, tokenized stocks on blockchains offer a way for the public to access lucrative private markets

More: Investopedia, This Week in Fintech, and TheStreet

Bluesky: @keubiko. X: @marcb_xyz, @alexh_johnson, and @thestalwart. LinkedIn: Esther Dyson

Wired:

A look at Scattered Spider, a group of mostly young UK and US hackers using targeted social engineering to gain access to company networks and deploy ransomware

More: ITPro and Sydney Morning Herald

Bluesky: @andyjabbour and @couts

Brian O'Donovan / RTÉ:

Meta says it backs proposals for an EU-wide age of digital adulthood, below which minors would need parental consent to use social media, calling it “effective”

More: Meta Newsroom, TechIssuesToday.com, iPhone in Canada, Biometric Update, MLex, WinBuzzer, Digit, The Register, Neowin, and ELMUNDOAMERICA

Bluesky: @gateklons. X: @simonharristd. LinkedIn: Marco Pancini, Markus Reinisch, and Simon Harris

Earlier Picks

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

FOIA docs: the Trump administration claimed broad authority to nullify laws in letters to tech firms releasing them of legal liability related to the TikTok ban

More: 9to5Mac, The Economic Times, Engadget, PhoneArena, The Mac Observer, Wired, The Verge, Tech Times, Lawfare, Raw Story, Executive Functions, and Pixel Envy

Bluesky: @jwmueller-pu, @deanbaker13, @kimlanelaw, @justinhendrix, @quinnypig.com, @socialmedialab.ca, @judah-grunstein, @mickiedances, @erichluepke, @reckless, @reckless, @nero-wolfe, @chrisgeidner, @chrisgeidner, @henrythedog, and @texanokie07. Mastodon: @jschauma@mstdn.social

X: @megangra, @speechboy71, @arozenshtein, @ddayen, and @jacklgoldsmith

Forums: Hacker News, r/politics, r/politics, r/law, r/law, r/neoliberal, and r/politics

Kyt Dotson / SiliconANGLE:

London-based Hived, which offers an AI-based logistics and parcel delivery service purpose-built for ecommerce, raised a $42M Series B led by NordicNinja

More: FinSMEs, Axios, and Reuters

Will Oremus / Washington Post:

An interview with X VP of Product Keith Coleman about plans to let developers program AI agents to propose Community Notes, humans doing the rating, and more

More: The Guardian, Indicator, MEDIANAMA, Tech Xplore, mrcfreespeechamerica.org, The Wrap, and MeidasTouch News

Bluesky: @jonmladd, @mantzarlis.com, @mantzarlis.com, and @mantzarlis.com

X: @johnstoll1977 and @garymarcus