Raises

• Startup TextWeave mengamankan pendanaan seed sebesar $10 juta bulan lalu untuk memanfaatkan LLM dalam menghasilkan copy pemasaran bagi toko-toko kecil. • Platform ini menjawab kebutuhan ceruk dalam pembuatan konten, menunjukkan bagaimana solusi AI khusus mendorong pertumbuhan startup. • Pendanaan ini selaras dengan tren adopsi perusahaan, di mana AI generatif mendominasi berita startup teknologi untuk tugas-tugas seperti penulisan otomatis.

Reform leader went public after approach from Guardian, but does his claim stack up that money was for his security?Nigel Farage was given undisclosed £5m by crypto billionaire in 2024Nigel Farage has admitted he received a personal gift of £5m from the Reform UK mega-donor Christopher Harborne shortly before the general election in 2024.He did not disclose that gift at the time. And he made no mention of it in the year since. That is, until Wednesday morning, when the Daily Telegraph published a story in which Farage admitted receiving the money from Harborne – saying it was for his personal security. Continue reading...

Leader mentions for first time lengths to which troops go to avoid falling into enemy hands while fighting for RussiaKim Jong-un has praised North Korean soldiers who blew themselves up with grenades in order to avoid capture while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia’s western Kursk region, confirming the existence of the extreme battlefield policy.Mounting evidence, including from intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated North Korean soldiers are explicitly told to resort to self-detonation or other forms of suicide to avoid falling into enemy hands. Continue reading...

Remarks marking 250th anniversary of American independence tell US lawmakers: ‘The actions of this great nation matter’King Charles has extolled the importance of Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States in a speech to US Congress that made pointed reference to the importance of Nato, the defence of Ukraine and the climate crisis.In a speech that will be read as a veiled plea to Donald Trump to return to the United States’ traditional European alliances and restore his country’s role as a defender of liberal values, Charles said: “America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence. The actions of this great nation matter even more.” Continue reading...

Nuclear submarine mentioned in part of king’s speech that emphasised defence ties. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.Consumer price data coming out today is expected to show the sharp shock that the US-Iran war has dealt to our economy (and our wallets). Continue reading...

Motorists are forced to queue up to six hours for fuel or pay more on the black market, while farmers lack fuel to operate machinery and harvest crops.

• Blocks, an AI startup, secured $20 million in Series A funding led by Entrée Capital to develop autonomous digital workforces. • The funding will support deployment of AI agents capable of handling complex tasks independently. • This investment highlights growing VC interest in agentic AI technologies amid enterprise automation demands.

Sarah Mullally hails Leo for addressing the ‘many injustices in our world’ after private meeting with pope in RomeThe archbishop of Canterbury praised Pope Leo on Monday for speaking “powerfully about the many injustices” in the world, in an apparent reference to the pontiff becoming more outspoken in recent weeks, particularly in his criticism of the US-Israeli war on Iran.Sarah Mullally, who in March became the first woman to lead the Anglican church, arrived in Rome on Saturday for a visit aimed at reinforcing relations with the Vatican. Mullally had a private meeting with Leo, the first US-born leader of the Catholic church, at the Apostolic Palace, the pope’s official residence. Continue reading...

Musician Chris Martin, tennis star Iga Świątek and footballer Robert Lewandowski join Piotr Garkowski in epic fundraiserA Polish social media influencer has raised more than £50m after a nine-day, non-stop online stream during which he was joined by a parade of celebrity guests to help a charity supporting children battling cancer.Streaming from a studio flat in right-bank Warsaw, social media influencer Piotr Garkowski, 23, nicknamed Łatwogang, listened to a charity song dedicated to children battling cancer on loop for nine days straight, filling time with entertaining dares and celebrity appearances. Continue reading...

Secret Service director says security succeeded in stopping shooter before he could do further harm but others disagreeThe shooting in the White House correspondents’ gala has prompted questions over security with some asking how a shooter was able to get close to where Donald Trump and many other senior administration officials were gathered and many others praising the actions of law enforcement that swiftly stopped the attack.As details about the shooting at the Washington Hilton continued to surface, the alleged shooter Cole Tomas Allen, 31, mocked an “insane” lack of security at the Washington dinner in a manifesto reportedly send to his family 10 minutes before his assault started. Continue reading...

• Elon Musk's xAI closed a $6 billion Series C on April 25, 2026, backed by Sequoia and a16z, to build a 100,000-GPU supercluster in Memphis, Tennessee. • Funding supports Grok-3 development, targeting 5x faster inference than GPT-5, with first phase online by December 2026. • Initiative aims to repatriate AI compute to US soil, creating 1,200 high-tech jobs amid national security concerns over overseas data centers.

• AcuityMD announced $80 million in new funding to advance its platform with sophisticated AI features for medical device insights. • The investment accelerates AI integration to improve market intelligence for US healthcare and medtech firms. • This capital infusion positions AcuityMD to dominate AI-powered analytics in the growing $500B+ medical device sector.

Sacked Foreign Office chief tells MPs he was briefed that UKSV considered Mandelson ‘a borderline case’UK politics live – latest updatesAn account of Peter Mandelson’s vetting process given by the former top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins has raised new questions about whether Robbins was misled about the findings of the agency responsible for vetting.Robbins, who was sacked from his role of permanent secretary at the Foreign Office last week after revelations in the Guardian, gave testimony about the process to a select committee. Continue reading...

• Silicon Valley-based Resolve AI secured $40M in Series A extension funding, boosting its valuation to $1.5B to establish Resolve AI Labs focused on AI models optimized for production environments. • The funding supports development of reliable AI systems tailored for enterprise-scale deployment in US tech sectors. • This round highlights investor confidence in Resolve AI's infrastructure for bridging research-to-production AI gaps amid booming demand.

• Elon Musk's xAI announced a $6 billion Series C funding round on April 19, 2026, led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the startup at $24 billion post-money. • Funds will expand the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, to 300,000 Nvidia GPUs for Grok AI training. • Investment accelerates US AI infrastructure race, countering China's advances and supporting domestic chip production.

• Expo, developer of the React Native framework for cross-platform apps, secured $45 million in Series B funding led by Georgian. • The investment supports cloud services and open-source tools used by developers building mobile applications. • This funding bolsters Expo's position in the competitive cross-platform development market amid rising demand for efficient app building.

• Sequoia Capital announced a $7 billion expansion fund under new leadership specifically targeting late-stage AI startups across the U.S. and Europe. • The fund aims to accelerate growth for mature AI companies navigating scaling challenges in competitive markets. • This massive capital injection underscores surging investor confidence in AI's long-term potential amid rapid technological advancements.

• Factory, a three-year-old startup, raised $150 million led by Khosla Ventures, achieving a $1.5 billion valuation on April 17, 2026. • The funding targets AI coding tools that automate software development for enterprises, freeing developers for complex tasks. • This round reflects booming investor interest in AI automation amid US tech sector's push for efficiency.

• InsightFinder secured $15 million in Series B funding led by Yu Galaxy, bringing total funding to $35 million, expanding its AI-powered IT reliability platform. • The company is adding autonomous incident response capabilities to compete with established players like Datadog in the enterprise reliability market. • The funding positions InsightFinder to address growing enterprise demand for AI-driven solutions to detect and resolve infrastructure failures automatically.

• Business banking startup Slash Financial announced $100 million in Series C funding at a $1.4 billion valuation, led by Ribbit Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Goodwater Capital. • The funds will accelerate development of its AI-driven back office for small and midsized online businesses. • Founded in 2020, Slash provides an autonomous finance platform, positioning it as a key player in fintech automation.

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested after reporting on friendly fire incident during US conflict with IranMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesThe detention of a prize-winning international journalist over his reporting of a friendly fire incident in Kuwait is raising questions about the crackdown on freedom of speech across the Middle East as a result of the US-Israel war with Iran, the Committee to Protect Journalists has warned.Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, born in the US and a Kuwaiti national, was arrested on 3 March during a brief visit to Kuwait. He published footage of a US air force F- 15 E Strike Eagle crashing in al Jahra west of Kuwait city. On his Substack he said the pilot and weapons officer had successfully ejected and survived. He added that video circulating online showed local residents assisting one of the crew in a civilian truck. Continue reading...

As Persian Gulf carriers reduce routes, the Australian airline is also feeling the impact of rising fuel costsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQantas has lifted fares and cut domestic flights amid a surge in travel demand away from airlines that transit through the troubled Middle East.The Australian airline says it has redeployed capacity from its US and domestic network to take advantage of the strong interest in Europe-bound travel – in particular to Paris and Rome – according to a market update released on Tuesday. Continue reading...

• Dropzone AI, a Seattle-based startup, secured $16.8 million in funding to develop autonomous AI agents for cybersecurity operations. • The company is a finalist for GeekWire Awards' AI Innovation of the Year, competing with firms transforming HR, retail, biotech, and more. • Investors back the platform amid surging demand for AI-driven threat detection and response in US enterprises.

• Nava, an AI infrastructure startup, raised $22 million in funding led by Greenoaks Capital to expand its GPU cloud and data center capabilities. • The investment targets growing US demand for high-performance computing to train and deploy advanced AI models. • Nava's platform supports AI developers with scalable resources amid chip shortages and cloud competition.

• Anthropic secured $8 billion in its Series E funding round on April 9, 2026, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from US-based investors including Amazon and Google. • The funds will accelerate development of Claude 4 AI models and expand enterprise AI infrastructure in US data centers. • This round values Anthropic at $61.5 billion post-money, solidifying its position as a leading US AI challenger to OpenAI amid intensifying competition.

• Defense aviation startup Hermeus secured $350 million in funding on April 7, 2026, to develop autonomous hypersonic fighters following supersonic flight demonstrations. • The investment supports advancement toward operational hypersonic aircraft, targeting U.S. military applications in next-generation aviation. • This funding underscores surging interest in hypersonic tech amid geopolitical tensions, positioning Hermeus as a key player in defense innovation.

• Artificial intelligence-native startup Modus Audit Inc. announced an $85 million funding round on April 7, 2026, to accelerate its product development and partnerships in audit technology. • The investment targets expansion of AI tools designed to streamline accounting processes for enterprises, positioning Modus as a leader in the sector. • This funding underscores growing investor confidence in AI applications for financial services amid rising demand for automation in compliance-heavy industries.

• Linx Security secured $50 million in funding to expand its artificial intelligence-driven identity platform amid rising identity-based attacks on enterprises. • The investment targets enhancements in AI capabilities as companies face intensified threats from identity exploitation in cybersecurity incidents. • This funding round underscores growing demand for advanced identity security solutions in the US tech sector, enabling scalable protection for enterprise environments.