Dear startup community,
We have some exciting news — we’ve changed our name! Tribume is now The Top Voices — same mission to support startups and product expertise worldwide, now with more channels and broader reach.
We’ve just launched The Top Voices YouTube channel and expanded our website with a new Venture News section and a dedicated space for community updates.
Stay tuned for stories from the independent builders shaping tomorrow.
Warmly,
Anna
Co-founder & Newsletter Editor, The Top Voices
Hey Founder, here are the latest tech news and insights:
- OpenAI may launch social network
- Figma plans IPO after Adobe deal fails
- Canva adds AI image and coding tools
- Yahoo sells TechCrunch to Regent
- UK startups eye US amid funding drop
- Musk merges xAI with X
- Growth Playbook Insights from C.C. Gong
OPENAI MAY LAUNCH ITS OWN SOCIAL NETWORK
OpenAI is quietly testing an X‑style social feed that lets people share AI‑generated images straight from ChatGPT, sources tell The Verge. CEO Sam Altman has been showing the prototype to friends for feedback, but no one knows yet if it will break out as its own app or just appear as a new tab inside ChatGPT.
Shipping it would put OpenAI directly in competition with Elon Musk’s X and Meta’s upcoming AI social play. It would also give Altman a valuable firehose of real‑time posts to train future models — exactly the data Musk and Mark Zuckerberg already enjoy. The project is early and may never launch, but the ambition is clear for now.
FIGMA PLANS IPO AFTER FAILED ADOBE DEAL
Figma plans to go public, Reuters reports. The popular design tool previously tried selling itself to Adobe for $20 billion, but EU and UK regulators blocked the deal in December 2023. Now, Figma is turning to an IPO instead, even though it's not the best time for tech companies due to trade tensions caused by Trump — Sweden’s Klarna recently delayed its own IPO. But Figma might really need the money. The company was last valued at $12.5 billion when employees sold their shares last year.
CANVA LAUNCHES AI IMAGE CREATION, CODING TOOLS, AND MORE
Despite ongoing concerns from artists about AI's impact on creative work, design platforms are increasingly turning to AI to enhance their products. Canva is the latest to join the trend, launching several new AI-powered features, including an AI assistant, prompt-based app creation, spreadsheet support, and advanced editing tools. The move highlights how design software companies see AI integration as essential — even amidst continued debate among creators.
YAHOO SELLS TECHCRUNCH TO REGENT AMID TECH MEDIA RESHUFFLE
Yahoo has sold TechCrunch to investment firm Regent. TechCrunch, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, was previously part of Verizon Communications’ media assets, which also included Yahoo.
In 2021, private equity firm Apollo Global Management acquired these media assets for $5 billion, consolidating them under the Yahoo brand.
Regent has been actively expanding its tech-media portfolio, recently acquiring Foundry, owner of prominent publications including PCWorld, Macworld, InfoWorld, CIO, and TechAdvisor.
Yahoo decided to sell TechCrunch because its focus and approach differ from the rest of Yahoo’s portfolio, which includes Yahoo Sports, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Finance. Despite the sale, Yahoo retains a small stake in TechCrunch and plans to continue collaborating with Regent on audience growth and content development.
UK START-UPS CONSIDER SWITCH TO US AS FUNDING FALLS TO POST-PANDEMIC LOW
UK start-ups are increasingly considering relocating or incorporating in the United States due to a significant decline in domestic funding, which has fallen to its lowest level since the pandemic. In 2024, UK tech startups raised just £16.2 billion ($21.1 billion), the weakest since 2020, while US tech startups secured over £65 billion, marking a 71% increase from the previous year.
Several UK start-up CEOs have reported setting up as US corporations, particularly in Delaware, to attract American venture capital, which remains the dominant funding source globally. For example, ElevenLabs, an AI company valued at $3.3 billion, incorporated in Delaware to appeal to US investors despite being based in London. This trend is reflected in the fact that nearly 20% of UK-founded, venture-backed tech startups now based in the US incorporated there after 2020.
ELON MUSK MERGES XAI WITH X TO INFLATE EVALUATION
Elon Musk announced that one of his companies, the AI startup xAI, has acquired another — his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The all-stock deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt).
The transaction effectively inflates xAI’s valuation to $80 billion — significantly higher than its $50 billion valuation from a December funding round — by shifting assets within Musk's own corporate family, without exchanging actual cash. As a result, xAI now surpasses competitors like Anthropic in valuation. Musk had previously set the stage for this move by purchasing X shares at the same valuation, highlighting his flair for strategic corporate maneuvers.
EARLY-STAGE ROUNDS
Kenzo Security Raises $4.5M to Launch Security Platform; Nyobolt Secures $30M to Scale Ultra-Fast Charging Technologies; Ideem Raises $2.4M to Redefine 2FA and Mobile Payments; ConductorAI Raises $15M to Streamline Government Approvals with AI; Okeiro Raises €10M to Transform Transplant Care with AI; Artisan Secures $25M to Revolutionize AI-Powered Work; Springtail Secures $2.5M to Simplify and Enhance Postgres Scaling; Qevlar AI Gains $10M to Accelerate Autonomous Cybersecurity Solutions; Tremau Secures €3M to Boost AI-Powered Trust and Safety; UniteLabs Raises €2.77M to Advance Lab Automation and AI; Fiberdom Secures €3.5M to Scale Plastic-Free Supermaterial Innovation; Tomorro Secures €25M to Lead AI Contract Management in Europe; Phlux Technology Secures £9M To Advance Infrared Sensing; Plural Raises $6M for AI-Powered Kubernetes Management; AmberSearch Secures €2.1M to Advance AI Automation for SMEs; Styx Intelligence Secures $2.7M Improve Risk Protection; Rain Secures$24.5M to Expand Stablecoin Card Issuance; Catchwise Raises €1.25M for AI-Powered Sustainable Fishing; SkySpecs Raises $20M for Renewable Energy Innovation; Kaiko Systems Raises €6M to Boost AI Maritime Intelligence; Gradial Secures $13M to Reshape Marketing Operations with AI.
EU-LAC DIGITAL ACCELERATOR
Apply until Apr 30
The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator supports partnerships between corporates and startups or SMEs through a 6-month program focused on digital transformation. Participants get expert mentorship, support with joint roadmaps, and access to a cross-regional innovation network.
A16Z SPEEDRUN
Apply until May 11
a16z Speedrun backs founders pushing the boundaries of tech and entertainment. The program supports global startups building the future of AI, creative tools, gaming, XR, streaming, and next-gen entertainment. With up to $1M in funding, expert guidance, and access to an exclusive community, participants showcase their innovations at Demo Day during SF Tech Week. SR005 will take place in Los Angeles from July 28 to October 10, 2025.
TIME TO REWRITE YOUR GROWTH PLAYBOOK
C.C. Gong from Menlo Ventures recently attended a CMO dinner hosted by Nasdaq and shared her most insightful takeaways: growth today demands experimentation, automation, and channel diversity — all backed by clear ROI and a human touch.
- Retail media is exploding: CMOs are fleeing Meta/Google and reallocating up to 60% of spend to alternative channels. Instacart, DoorDash, Uber, Walmart, Amazon, etc. are now major media platforms - there is lot of intent you can target. For example, on Uber you can serve ads to those heading to the Four Seasons vs Costco differently - their geotargeted ads are seeing 4x ROI. Amazon Media alone drove $56B+ in ad revenue last year.
- Podcast spend is surging and starting to take up significant portions of budget. More companies are starting their own podcasts like Shopify to have owned media. Authenticity > attribution.
- SEO agencies have mostly been scams - beware. AI is replacing SEO teams with custom GPTs trained on top-performing content.
- Google’s shift to product carousels (not blue links) is forcing brands to re-index entire catalogs. Query lengths are up 50%.
- LLM-optimized SEO is the next wave. Inbound leads from ChatGPT & Perplexity are doubling month over month. AI visibility tools like Profound, Evertune AI, and Bluefish AI are becoming essential — but unless they become ad platforms, they risk going the way of SEO agencies.
- AI tools like Decagon are taking over customer support — with CSAT scores exceeding top reps.
- Tools like Clay are automating outbound, replacing manual enrichment and entire sales teams.
- Some B2B brands are even creating influencers — for example by backing rising CFO voices on LinkedIn and Substack.
- And IRL is back: some enterprise CMOs are allocating 50%+ of budget to events because they have the highest conversion.
- DTC warning: many consumer startups are hitting the “CAC Valley of Death” — where paid channels no longer scale profitably post-PMF.
Q&A WITH DENIS KALYSHKIN
Lana Glygalo, co-founder of The Top Voices, spoke with Denis Kalyshkin — venture investor at I2BF Global Ventures, co-founder of YouStar, and former rocket scientist — to discuss the realities of building startups.
With over ten years of experience in deep tech and space, Denis now dedicates his time to supporting early-stage founders through various initiatives. In this conversation, he answered some of the most common questions aspiring entrepreneurs ask online: Why do so many startups fail? When is the right time to start charging customers? And how can you validate an MVP without spending months on development?
Check out the full episode
Written by Anna Lebedeva, the co-founder at The Top Voices