European Startup Duna Secures €30M Series A Funding for Business Identity Verification
Duna, a business identity verification startup founded by Stripe alumni, raised a €30 million Series A funding round, positioning itself as the best-funded European member of the "Stripe mafia," according to TechCrunch. The funding round was led by Alphabet's growth fund CapitalG, which also backed Stripe since co-leading its Series D in 2016.
Based in Germany and the Netherlands, Duna was co-founded by Duco van Lanschot and David Schreiber, both former Stripe employees. The company's customers include Plaid, and it focuses on helping fintech companies with identity verification. The success of Duna highlights a trend of former Stripe employees launching successful startups, with the fintech company becoming a prolific "founder factory," according to TechCrunch.
OpenAI Unveils Frontier Platform for AI Agent Management
OpenAI announced the launch of OpenAI Frontier, a platform designed to help businesses build, deploy, and manage AI agents, even those not created by OpenAI, reported The Verge. The platform aims to provide AI agents with the necessary skills to succeed in a work environment, including shared context, onboarding, hands-on learning with feedback, and clear permissions. OpenAI's description of Frontier suggests it will function similarly to human resources, but for AI.
Spotify Partners with Bookshop.org to Sell Physical Books
Spotify is partnering with Bookshop.org to sell physical copies of audiobooks, starting in the Spring, according to The Verge. The move is part of Spotify's broader strategy to expand its audiobook features and bring in more readers. Terrence O'Brien of The Verge noted that the partnership will also support local retailers.
Mistral AI Releases Open-Source Speech-to-Text Model
Mistral AI, a Paris-based startup, launched Voxtral Transcribe 2, a pair of open-source speech-to-text models that can transcribe audio faster, more accurately, and more cheaply than existing solutions, VentureBeat reported. The models are designed to run entirely on a smartphone or laptop, processing sensitive audio without transmitting it to remote servers. According to Mistral AI, this feature is particularly important for enterprise customers who require secure processing for automated customer service and real-time translation. Michael Nuñez of VentureBeat noted that this announcement marks the latest development in the competitive field of voice AI.
US House Committee Advances Deep Space Program Legislation
A US House committee passed a reauthorization act for NASA, signaling a first step toward creating a "commercial" deep space program, Ars Technica reported. The legislation, which still needs approval from the full House and the Senate, provides a general sense of the direction legislators want NASA to pursue. While distinct from appropriations bills that provide funding, these reauthorization bills play a crucial role in establishing space policy. The legislation contained no major surprises.
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