Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

It appears the Trump administration has imposed new export controls on chip design software as it seeks to further undermine China’s ability to make and use advanced AI chips. Siemens EDA, Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys all confirmed that they have received notices from the U.S. Commerce Department about new export controls on electronic automation…

Grammarly has secured a $1 billion commitment from General Catalyst. The 14-year-old writing assistant startup will use the new funds for its sales and marketing efforts, freeing up existing capital to make strategic acquisitions. Unlike a traditional venture round, General Catalyst will not receive an equity stake in the company in return for the investment.…

The Innovation of the Year Award celebrates the boldest and most visionary startups exhibiting at VivaTech 2025. Open to all exhibiting companies, the award honors those pushing boundaries and redefining industries. Startups were scored on Innovation & Creativity, Market Disruption, and Scalability. From hundreds of applicants, 30 made the short list. The top five will…

As Kevin Malone from “The Office” once said, “Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?”  For Julia LeStage and Lisa Le, the creators of a new dating app called LoveJack, finding love online doesn’t have to feel like filling out a mountain of paperwork. Sometimes, all you need are a few…

Tech mogul and billionaire Elon Musk confirmed on Wednesday that he’s ending his stint as a U.S. special government employee, a move that implies he’ll also step down as the de-facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a body that seeks to drastically slash U.S. government spending. Thanking U.S. President Donald Trump “for…

Sahil Lavingia has published a diary recounting his time as a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE workforce. It’s a short read — Lavingia’s DOGE stint lasted just 55 days — but it is does provide new details on the temporary government organization formed by President Trump’s executive order. Lavingia is a well-known name in Silicon…

Horizon3.ai, a cybersecurity startup that provides tools like autonomous penetration testing, is seeking to raise $100 million in a new funding round and has locked down at least $73 million, the company revealed in an SEC filing this week. NEA led the round, according to two people familiar with the deal. One person said that…

Elon Musk’s brain implant startup, Neuralink, has raised $600 million in a funding round that values the company at $9 billion pre-money, Semafor reported, citing anonymous sources. Semafor did not mention the investors involved in the round. Neuralink last raised $43 million in venture capital, in November 2023, and was valued at about $5 billion…

Opera on Tuesday revealed a new browser, called Opera Neon, that will focus on AI workflows and performing tasks on your behalf, like shopping, filling out forms, and coding. The browser is currently behind a waitlist, but the company said users would have to subscribe to use it once it releases. Pricing details were not…