Figure raises $70M to build humanoid robot, Spotify building AI tools for host-read ads

Figure, a startup building a humanoid robot, raised a $70M Series A led by Parkway; the company has not publicly revealed the look or a demo of its robot - Link

Spotify is working on tools to generate ads with AI versions of hosts’ voices, according to Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer, a Spotify-owned property - Link

Go, a Tokyo-based taxi-hailing service, raised a $72M funding round led by Goldman Sachs at a ~$1B valuation; after launching in 2020, Go currently has ~70% of Japan’s ride-share market - Link

Insider, an Istanbul-based AI-powered marketing platform, raised $105M at a ~$2B valuation; the company serves 1200+ customers globally and has raised $274M so far - Link

Crowdbotics. Great ideas can change the world, and Crowdbotics is the fastest way to turn those ideas into code. Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist.

Jason hosts another pitch competition featuring two startups from our Founder University program! Apply for Founder University: https://course.founder.university⁠ - Link

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew confirmed that Oracle has started reviewing the company’s source code to host and manage all US user data, aiming to resolve concerns over national security and data privacy - Link

Episode Six, an ATX-based startup building enterprise infrastructure for payments processing and digital lending, raised a $48M Series C; the company has ~150 employees and plans to scale to 200 by EOY - Link

BandLab Technologies, a Singapore-based startup offering a social music generation platform, raised a $25M Series B1 at a $425M valuation; the company has >60M registered users - Link

This Week in Startups

E1748: Startup pitch competition: Jason invests $25K

E1747: Demoing Google’s MusicLM, AssemblyAI, and other AI tools with Sunny Madra

E1746: Fireside chat with Jason Calacanis & Brad Gerstner hosted by Mubadala’s Ibrahim Ajami

E1745: Viral fundraising tactics with Rewind AI’s Dan Siroker + How to build a strong brand

E1744: Magic.dev CEO Eric Steinberger on making developers bionic

LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit

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