Tech
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Snap Struggles, Google's Gemini Soars, & Deep Tech Gets a €750M Boost

Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, has reached over 750 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to the company's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings report. This figure demonstrates the rapid adoption of Gemini, quickly establishing it as a major player in the AI sector.

The number, revealed recently, follows the launch of Gemini 3, Google's most advanced model to date, which the company claims provides responses exhibiting an unprecedented level of understanding. Last quarter, Google reported 650 million monthly active users for Gemini, indicating substantial growth in a short period. While Gemini is gaining traction, it still trails behind its biggest rival, ChatGPT, which is estimated to have around 810 million MAUs in late 2025. In comparison, Meta AI has reported nearly 500 million monthly users.

In other news from the tech world, Alphabet, Google's parent company, declined to comment on its AI deal with Apple during its fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. An analyst's question about how the tech giant is approaching AI partnerships, specifically the one with Apple to power AI for Siri, was ignored. This decision suggests that Alphabet is not yet ready to discuss the potential impact of this partnership on its core business, which is increasingly focused on AI. The relationship between Google and Apple has been mutually beneficial over the years. Filings from the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Google revealed that the search giant pays Apple $20 billion to be the default search engine on Apple devices.

Meanwhile, in the fintech sector, Duna, a business identity verification startup founded by Stripe alumni Duco van Lanschot and David Schreiber, raised a €30 million Series A. The funding round was led by Alphabet's growth fund CapitalG, which also backed Stripe since co-leading its Series D in 2016. Duna, based in Germany and the Netherlands, counts Plaid among its customers and helps fintech companies. The company's successful funding round highlights Stripe's role as a "founder factory," with former employees creating numerous startups. Daniela Amodei and Gregory Brockman, presidents of Anthropic and OpenAI respectively, are also Stripe alumni.

In the venture capital world, Mundi Ventures completed a €750 million first close for Kembara Fund I, its fifth and largest fund to date. The fund, focused on deep tech, secured a €350 million commitment from the European Investment Fund under the European Tech Champions Initiative in 2024. A regulatory filing from Spain indicates that the fund could potentially reach a final closing of €1.25 billion. According to Kembara co-founder and general partner Yann de Vries, securing €750 million in two years as a first fund in the current environment was challenging.

Snap also released its latest quarterly earnings report, revealing revenue growth but a decrease in daily users. In Q4, Snap's revenue was $1.7 billion, a 10% increase year-over-year. Its average revenue per user also increased slightly, from $3.44 to $3.62. The company's net income was $45 million, up from $9 million the previous year. Snap's paid subscription service, Snap, continued to generate significant revenue, with subscribers growing 71% year-over-year, reaching 24 million. Snap is aiming to diversify its revenue streams, moving from a primarily ad-based model to one that includes subscriptions and hardware.

AI-Assisted Journalism

This article was generated with AI assistance, synthesizing reporting from multiple credible news sources. Our editorial team reviews AI-generated content for accuracy.

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