Yelp pays big bucks for car repair estimates

Top News

• Yelp buys RepairPal for $80M: Yelp is moving beyond restaurant reviews with its acquisition of RepairPal, a car repair estimate site, for $80 million in cash. The deal aligns with Yelp’s push into the home and service provider market, where services ad revenue grew 11% last quarter to a record $228 million. RepairPal’s network, including partners like CarMax and USAA, will support Yelp’s auto services advertising ambitions as it broadens its consumer offerings.

• AI-powered parenting gets a boost from a16z: Andreessen Horowitz is betting on a new frontier: AI co-pilots for parents. Partner Justine Moore shared a new investment focus on X, highlighting a “wave of AI-powered ‘parenting co-pilots’” citing companies like Cradlewise, which uses AI to monitor and rock a baby’s crib, and Nanit, which tracks breathing. Moore says this AI-parenting wave is just beginning—and there’s much more to come.

• Seagrass meets autonomous robots: Seagrass restoration is getting a tech-driven upgrade thanks to Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering. This San Francisco-based startup has built an autonomous robot capable of planting seagrass seeds 100x faster than human volunteers—at a fraction of the cost. Emerging from stealth with $2 million in pre-seed funding led by Lowercarbon Capital, Ulysses aims to expand its mission, from restoring seagrass meadows to revolutionizing ocean management and conservation.

TWiST500

One of our favorite TWiST500 AI models is making headlines today. Anthropic is teaming up with Palantir and AWS to bring Claude AI models to U.S. intelligence and defense agencies, allowing access within Palantir’s high-security Impact Level 6 (IL6) environment. This partnership positions Claude as a tool to enhance data processing, improve intelligence analysis, and boost operational efficiency for defense clients.

With this collaboration, Anthropic is expanding its government client base, following its recent deployment of select models on AWS’ GovCloud. The AI market for government agencies is rapidly growing, with a Brookings analysis reporting a 1,200% increase in AI-related contracts since 2023. Backed by Amazon and rumored to be seeking a $40 billion valuation, Anthropic appears to be positioning itself as a prominent player in defense-related AI solutions—a market that’s certainly ripe for growth.

— Erika and Maddie

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E2040: Jason and Alex sit down with Skydio CEO Adam Bry to explore the future of autonomous drones, from life-saving public safety applications to the challenges of competing with Chinese tech. They tackle Skydio's role as the largest US drone maker, cybersecurity risks, and the powerful impact of drone tech in defense and beyond. The episode rounds out with fresh takes on high-skilled immigration, geopolitical tension, and the evolving landscape of search engines and media.

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