Elliptic: ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 surpassed $100B in transactions in under a year, but demand cooled and daily volume fell from a peak of $1.5B+ to ~$500M — The ruble-backed stablecoin created to circumvent sanctions on Russia has surpassed $100 billion in transactions in less …
Counterpoint: India smartphone shipments were flat YoY at ~153M; Apple shipped 14M iPhones, raising its share of shipments to a record 9%, up from 7% in 2024 — Apple's iPhone is gaining ground fast in India, shipping about 14 million units in 2025, based on market data shared exclusively with TechCrunch.
How Chinese tech companies navigate geopolitical tensions: TikTok and Manus adopted a “China shedding” strategy, while Shein and Meituan seek non-US growth — Chinese firms must contend with geopolitical tensions and mistrust to do business in the United States.
Sources: UBS plans to make cryptocurrency investing available for some private banking clients in Switzerland, starting with bitcoin and ether — UBS Group AG plans to make cryptocurrency investing available for some private banking clients, in what could become a significant move …
Malaysia lifted its temporary ban on Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot after xAI added safety measures; Grok remains subject to continuous monitoring by authorities — Malaysia lifted its temporary ban on Elon Musk's Grok artificial intelligence chatbot after the company behind it added safety measures …
Israeli startup Claroty, which makes security tech for hospitals, manufacturing, and industrial systems, raised a $150M Series F, sources say at a $3B valuation — Israeli cybersecurity firm cites rising attacks on hospitals and industrial systems. — Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Claroty …
South Korea's Kospi stock index breaks through the record 5,000 level, driven by chip stocks, led by Samsung, up ~3X, and SK Hynix, up ~4x, in the past year — Kospi is up almost 20% in 2026 as reforms to woo investors spur market — South Korea's Kospi benchmark has broken through …
US colleges like Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are using AI to streamline admissions; Virginia Tech says AI that scores essay questions saved ~8,000 hours — Some schools have even used AI to guard against AI. — Thousands of students will get their college decisions faster this year because of artificial intelligence.
PE firm Everstone combines India's Wingify, which helps A/B test sites, and France's AB Tasty, which improves e-commerce UX; Everstone bought Wingify for $200M — Private equity firm Everstone Capital is bringing together India's Wingify — a company that helps businesses test different versions …
French accounting software startup Pennylane raised $204M led by TCV, a source says at a ~$4.25B valuation, with participation from Blackstone, DST, and others — Pennylane, a French startup that sells accounting software, has raised €175 million ($204 million) in a funding round led by growth equity investor TCV.
Sources: after five Thinking Machines staff left, investors are rattled, potentially impacting fundraising; two researchers quit via Slack during an all-hands — The timing couldn't have been more awkward for Thinking Machines Lab. — On Wednesday, during an all-hands meeting at the AI startup …
Sources: political appointees at the US CISA blocked Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala's attempt to oust the agency's Chief Information Officer Robert Costello — The personnel spat began late last Thursday afternoon after Costello was given a so-called management-directed reassignment …
RunPod, an AI app hosting service launched four years ago that raised a $20M seed in May 2024, says it has reached a $120M annual revenue run rate — Runpod, an AI app hosting platform that launched four years ago, has hit a $120 million annual revenue run rate, founders Zhen Lu and Pardeep Singh tell TechCrunch.
Sources: Sequoia is planning a big investment in Anthropic, joining a round led by GIC and Coatue, which are investing $1.5B each; Anthropic aims to raise $25B+ — Silicon Valley investor to write first cheque for AI start-up after recent leadership overhaul
Q&A with SiFive co-founder Krste Asanović, who was part of the original team that developed RISC-V, on creating a company that builds IP around RISC-V, and more — Update: SiFive just announced today that it has partnered with NVIDIA for NVLink Fusion on RISC-V. It's a big step, and we'll be covering that separately.
Financial Times : Russian cryptocurrency payment network A7 expands to Africa, as Moscow builds an alternative payments system amid weste...
