🐎 Volkswagen puts horsepower behind a paywall

VW is testing a subscription model in the UK that locks part of the ID.3’s power output unless drivers pay extra.

🖱 Base ID.3 Pro S shows 201 hp, with full 228 hp unlocked for £16.50/month, £165/year, or £649 lifetime
🖱 Comes with a one-month free trial for buyers
🖱 Move echoes Mercedes’ “Acceleration Increase” and BMW’s failed heated-seat subscription
🖱 Critics call it nickel-and-diming on a $50K car, while VW says it offers flexibility for lease customers

It’s another sign that when cars become software, ownership doesn’t mean what it used to.

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📦🚀 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙡'𝙚𝙭𝙥é𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣

Gmail introduces a new “Purchases” tab that centralizes all your orders and package tracking in one place.
No more searching through dozens of confirmation emails: with one click, you have an overview of your deliveries.

💡 𝘿𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 to 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧?
• A direct response to the rise of e-commerce and the overload of mailboxes.
Source: https://nlab.cg/RpJlh

#Innovation #SaaS #Google #Ecommerce #Productivity #Growth

💳🔥 𝘿𝙟𝙖𝙢𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 : l’agrément microfinance est enfin décroché 🚀

Après 3 ans d’efforts, Djamo devient officiellement une institution de microfinance en Côte d’Ivoire, validée par le Ministère de l’Économie et la BCEAO.

👉🏾 Une étape majeure pour l’inclusion financière dans la zone UEMOA.

Voici les 5 points clés :

👉 https://go.nzoko.com/DxwIU

#Fintech #Innovation #AfricaTech #Microfinance

👉 https://go.nzoko.com/geMiH

🤖 Albania appoints world’s first AI-made minister

Albania has introduced Diella, an artificial intelligence–powered virtual minister, tasked with overseeing all public procurement. Prime Minister Edi Rama presented her as part of his new cabinet reshuffle.

🔸 Diella’s name means “sunshine” in Albanian, and she appears as a digital avatar in traditional clothing
🔸 She will manage tenders, evaluate bids, and even “hire talent globally”
🔸 Rama says the goal is to make public procurement “100% incorruptible and legible”
🔸 Diella already powers the government’s e-Albania platform, which offers digital services to citizens
🔸 The EU has long flagged corruption in Albania’s public procurement system

By shifting procurement decisions to an AI minister, Albania is betting on technology to combat corruption and accelerate its path toward EU membership.

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Vibe coding has turned senior devs into ‘AI babysitters,’ but they say it’s worth it

https://go.nzoko.com/sGWIf

Groww, backed by Satya Nadella, set to become first Indian startup to go public after U.S.-to-India move

👉 https://go.nzoko.com/wVMfI

📹 Vimeo sold in $1.38B deal

Vimeo will be acquired by European app giant Bending Spoons in an all-cash transaction worth $1.38B, with the deal set to close in Q4 2025. Once finalized, Vimeo will be delisted from public markets.

🖱 Bending Spoons says it will invest heavily in Vimeo’s U.S. and global offerings, focusing on enterprise, streaming, and creator tools
🖱 The company has a record of aggressive cost-cutting — after buying Evernote and WeTransfer, it slashed staff and restricted free features
🖱 Vimeo, spun out of IAC in 2021, has since lost nearly 90% of its market value

The acquisition could bring Vimeo fresh resources, but given Bending Spoons’ history, many creators will be watching closely to see if the platform thrives — or gets hollowed out.

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Notion launches agents for data analysis and task automation

👉 https://go.nzoko.com/USYjQ

⚡️ AI tools reshape venture investing in 2025

Venture capital is drowning in data and deal flow, AI is becoming the must-have copilot for funds and angels.

🖱 Splore: automates sourcing and portfolio tracking, adds generative startup analytics.
🖱 PitchBook AI: forecasts valuations and market trends using the largest industry dataset.
🖱 Kruncher: builds dynamic startup watchlists, tracking deals, team shifts, and metrics in real time.
🖱 Hebbia: due diligence via conversational search, ask a question, get sourced answers.
🖱 Xapien: runs automated risk and compliance checks across media, databases, and online records.

AI isn’t replacing investors, it’s amplifying them. The funds that master these tools will spot winners faster and leave manual workflows behind.

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👓 Meta unveils Ray-Ban Display AR glasses

Meta has revealed Ray-Ban Display, its first AR glasses with a built-in 600×600 pixel lens display that stays nearly invisible to others.

🔸 Classic Wayfarer design, but right lens doubles as a private screen.
🔸 Functions: messages, social feeds, calls, music, maps, Meta AI assistant.
🔸 Gesture bracelet reads muscle signals, finger bend to select, double move to hide.
🔸 Battery: 6h glasses (30h with case), 18h bracelet.
🔸 Price: $799, US launch late September; Canada, France, Italy & UK in early 2026.

Meta is betting on stylish, everyday AR, but the question is whether a single-eye micro-display can win mass adoption.

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🚀 AI Tools for Productivity in 2025.

🔎 1. Research
• ChatGPT • Claude • DeepSeek • R1 • Gemini • Abacus • Perplexity

🎨 2. Image
• Midjourney • Dall·E 3 • Flux • Stability AI • Grok

✍🏾 3. Copywriting
• Rytr • Copy AI • Writesonic • Adcreative AI • Otio

📝 4. Writing
• Jasper • HIX AI • Jenny AI • Textblaze • Quillbot

🌐 5. Website
• 10Web • Durable • Framer • Style AI • Landingsite

🎬 6. Video
• Sora • Luma • Kling • Pika • InVideo • HeyGen • Runway • ImgCreator AI • Morphstudio.xyz

📅 7. Meeting
• Tldv • Otter • Noty AI • Fireflies

📈 8. SEO
• VidIQ • Seona AI • BlogSEO • Keywrds AI • Seona

🤖 9. Chatbot
• Droxy • Chatbase • Mutual Info • Chatsimple

📊 10. Presentation
• Decktopus • Slides AI • Gamma AI • Designs AI • Beautiful AI • PopAi

⚙️ 11. Automation
• Make • Zapier • Xembly • Bardeen

🎨 12. UI/UX
• Figma • Uizard • UiMagic • Photoshop

🖌️ 13. Design
• Canva • Flair AI • Clipdrop • Autodraw • Magician Design

🔖 14. Logo Generator
• Looka • Designs AI • Brandmark • Stockimg AI • Namecheap

🎧 15. Audio
• Lovo AI • ElevenLabs • Songburst AI • Adobe Podcast

🚀 16. Startup
• Tome • Ideas AI • Namelix • Pitchgrade • Validator AI

📂 17. Productivity
• Merlin • Tinywow • Notion AI • Adobe Sensei • Personal AI

📱 18. Social Media Management
• Taplio • Typefully • Hypefury • TweetHunter • RewriteAI


#AI #Productivity #SaaS #Innovation #FutureOfWork

⚡️ Nvidia buys $5B stake in Intel for AI chip pact

Nvidia is taking a 4% stake in Intel, investing $5 billion to anchor a partnership on next-gen AI and PC chips.

🖱 Data centers: Intel will design custom x86 CPUs tuned for Nvidia’s AI infrastructure.
🖱 PCs: new “x86 RTX SoCs” will embed Nvidia GPU chiplets directly into Intel processors, targeting AMD’s CPU-GPU edge.
🖱 Architecture: Nvidia’s NVLink will be built into Intel systems, enabling faster CPU-GPU communication than PCIe.
🖱 Rollout: first products expected across data center and consumer lines in the coming years.

This is more than a financial move, it’s an architectural alliance. If Intel executes, Nvidia gains tighter integration and performance control, while Intel finally gets a credible GPU boost against AMD.

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⚡️ DeepSeek claims $294K training cost for AI model

China’s DeepSeek says it trained its reasoning-focused R1 model for just $294,000, using 512 Nvidia H800 chips over 80 hours, a fraction of the hundreds of millions U.S. players report spending.

🖱 Hardware: trained mainly on H800s (export-restricted chips), with some A100 use in early stages.
🖱 Claim: training cost under $300K, far below OpenAI’s “$100M+” models.
🖱 Scrutiny: questions over whether OpenAI outputs in the dataset amount to “distillation” or unlicensed use.
🖱 Implication: if true, the cost curve for building frontier AI models may be collapsing fast.

If DeepSeek’s numbers hold up, the moat around expensive AI training could shrink dramatically, turning efficiency, not scale, into the real competitive edge.

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📈 Early-stage startups snapped up in record M&A wave

In H1 2025, M&A deals among Carta companies rose 18%, with all the growth concentrated in Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A, up 30% YoY.

🖱 Buyers: Big Tech, private equity, and even peer startups are driving the surge.
🖱 Motive: AI-native teams and products are the hottest assets, letting acquirers shortcut R&D and talent gaps.
🖱 Advantage: early-stage founders avoid the inflated 2021 valuations that made exits painful, so deals are cleaner and more rewarding for teams.

This wave shows how AI-driven capabilities, not late-stage scale, are becoming the most valuable acquisition currency.

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🔔 Oura Ring nears $11B valuation with fresh $875M raise

Bloomberg reports Oura Health, maker of the Oura Ring, is raising about $875M, doubling its valuation to $11B less than a year after its last round.

🖱 Impact on product: Funds will fuel R&D and new features in sleep, fitness, and women’s health tracking, while scaling hardware production.
🖱 Impact on market: Positions Oura as a heavyweight in wearables, taking on Apple and Samsung as it expands globally.
🖱 Impact on users: With 5.5M rings sold and $1B in projected 2025 sales, expect more personalized health insights and faster global rollout.

Oura’s surge shows how niche hardware can carve out a dominant space in consumer health tech, if it can outpace big-tech rivals.

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⚡️ Google’s $5 AI Plus goes global

Google rolled out AI Plus in 40 countries, bundling Gemini 2.5 Pro, 200 GB cloud, and creative tools (Flow for images, Whisk, Veo 3 Fast for video).

🖱 Smarter tools: Gemini 2.5 Pro brings advanced AI chat + reasoning at consumer pricing.
🖱 Global rollout: Expansion across Asia, Africa, LatAm, plus Ukraine and Central Asia, targets underserved regions.
🖱 Price war brewing: OpenAI fires back with a $4.5 plan in India & Indonesia.

Cheap AI is no longer U.S.-first, it’s going frontier.

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🗣 Sam Altman: “If your product has any retention at all, you’re actually in really good shape”

Sam reflects on the first group of users that tested ChatGPT:

“This was back when the model was really bad. Very few of the users actually stuck with it. Retention was atrocious. But for the users that did retain, their usage increased over time.”

He admits that OpenAI almost didn’t even launch ChatGPT because of how atrocious early retention was. But after reflection, he believes this is a really important learning for startup founders:

“If you have a product that has any retention at all, you’re actually in really good shape. If it’s 5%, that can be totally fine. The default is almost all the way down in a straight line to zero. But I didn’t quite understand that as intuitively at the time.”

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✅ Viral app Neon goes dark after massive data leak

Neon, the call-recording app that shot up the App Store charts, has been pulled offline after exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts.

🔸 A security flaw let users access other people’s private calls and data with ease.
🔸 TechCrunch verified the bug, which revealed full transcripts and direct audio links.
🔸 The founder shut down servers, promising “extra security,” but didn’t admit a breach.

Recording calls for cash sounded edgy, until privacy blew up. Would you ever trust an app like this with your conversations?

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