Why Benchmark made a rare crypto bet on trading app Fomo with $17M Series A

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories to start your morning

View this email online in your browser  November 06, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 Why Benchmark made a rare crypto bet on trading app Fomo with $17M Series A: The founders of Fomo, a consumer crypto trading app that launched in May, took an unusual route to raising capital. Read More Spotify now lets you see weekly listening stats: Spotify is adding new feature called "Listening stats" that will show users weekly numbers about their listening habits. Read More Inception raises $50 million to build diffusion models for code and text: Diffusion models already power AI image generators, but Inception thinks they can be even more powerful applied in software development. Read More A message from Silicon Valley Bank Scale smarter with SVB by your side. SVB supports you on the journey to Series A and what comes next, with expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Find out why fast-growing startups turn to SVB to build their business beyond Series A. Learn More Morning Must-Reads Apple nears deal to pay Google $1B annually to power new Siri, report says: Apple is turning to Google's technology to help revamp Siri and power a slate of upcoming features for the voice assistant. Read More Cluely's Roy Lee hints that viral hype is not enough: Lee declined to share Cluely's financial metrics just four months after boasting how quickly the startup is growing. Read More Lina Khan to co-chair NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's transition team: Khan's appointment sends a message to the tech industry, whose most powerful players have already been critical of Mamdani, a Democratic socialist. Read More Lucid Motors' chief engineer leaves after 10 years: Eric Bach, who was once the director of engineering at Tesla, is out amid a larger executive shake-up at the company. Read More Perplexity to pay Snap $400M to power search in Snapchat: Snap said today that it has signed a deal with AI-powered search engine Perplexity to power a new chatbot. As part of the deal, Perplexity will pay Snap $400 million in cash and equity. Read More A message from Fidelity Top Venture Capital Trends Startups Should Watch in 2025 Report Startup executives, the VC world is always changing, and it's important to stay updated. As your company grows, you face new challenges & opportunities. The competitive landscape is shifting & you need to stay informed and prepared. Download our guide now to master the VC landscape & set your company up for long-term success. Download Now Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! Last but Not Least Google Maps upgrades navigation in India with Gemini, safety alerts: India becomes the second market after the U.S. to get Gemini-powered navigation on Google Maps. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

Lina Khan to co-chair NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's transition team

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  November 05, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 Lina Khan to co-chair NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's transition team: Khan's appointment sends a message to the tech industry, whose most powerful players have already been critical of Mamdani, a Democratic socialist. Read More Tinder to use AI to get to know users, tap into their Camera Roll photos: Tinder is testing a feature called Chemistry that will get to know users through questions and, with permission, will access Camera Roll photos on their phones to learn more about their interests and personality. Read More Millions to receive free electricity in 2026 thanks to Australia's solar boom: Australia now has so much solar power that the government will require utilities to sell customers free electricity for three hours per day. Read More A message from J.P. Morgan From vision to venture backed J.P. Morgan supports businesses on their journeys from seed to scale. Whether you're in early days or strategizing your exit, J.P. Morgan has tailored tools to provide personalized guidance at every stage of growth. With teams across industries and markets, J.P. Morgan can help founders scale with confidence.    Get Connected Afternoon Must-Reads Google Maps bakes in Gemini to improve navigation and hands-free use: While driving, users can now ask Gemini to answer questions about places of interest on their route, return results about other topics (like sports or news), and even perform tasks like adding events to their calendar. Read More Apple nears deal to pay Google $1B annually to power new Siri, report says: Apple is turning to Google's technology to help revamp Siri and power a slate of upcoming features for the voice assistant. Read More Lucid Motors' chief engineer leaves after 10 years: Eric Bach, who was once the director of engineering at Tesla, is out amid a larger executive shakeup at the company. Read More Google gets the US government's green light to acquire Wiz for $32B: Google announced its intent to acquire cloud security company Wiz in March and the deal is now on track to close in early 2026. Read More Epic Games CEO calls Google's antitrust settlement a win for Android's 'vision as an open platform': The companies on Tuesday reached a settlement that sees the search giant agreeing to Android app store reforms that include lowering fees and enabling more competition. Read More A message from Fidelity Top Venture Capital Trends Startups Should Watch in 2025 Report Startup executives, the VC world is always changing, and it's important to stay updated. As your company grows, you face new challenges and opportunities. The competitive landscape is shifting and you need to stay informed and prepared. Download our guide now to master the VC landscape and set your company up for long-term success. Download Now Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! Last but Not Least Microsoft built a fake marketplace to test AI agents — they failed in surprising ways: The research raises new questions about how well AI agents will perform when working unsupervised — and how quickly AI companies can make good on promises of an agentic future. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107