More top reads Now you can wear your favorite Spotify artist: The entertainment streaming service is launching a personalized in-app Merch Hub. Check it out. It's an AI kind of day: Creative Force closes on $8.9 million to give e-commerce workflows an AI treatment. Marketing just got a little easier. Seeding rounds: Startup valuations may be coming down, but Alex notes that seed investments are going the other way, leading him to ask: Will seed deals ever stop getting more expensive? (TC+) X meets a fine: Australia fines X for failing to provide information about child abuse content. X left some questions blank. More AI: YouTube gets new AI-powered ads that let brands target special cultural moments. Get to know Spotlight Moments. All the tools in the palm of your hand: Live commerce startup TalkShopLive launches a new app for sellers to broadcast on mobile. See why this feature was a consistent ask by users. Seeing is believing: Xpanceo, a deep tech startup, raises $40 million to focus on smart contact lenses. It's a computer, but in your eye. This company is actually full of hot air: Urban Sky closes on a $9.75 million Series A to scale Earth-imaging operations using reusable balloons. Check out the view from up there. Compliance is complex: Leucine, now with $7 million in new funding, is out to make drug manufacturing compliance less onerous. Here's how. ByteDance means business: ByteDance's video editor CapCut targets businesses with AI ad scripts and AI-generated presenters. Meet CapCut for Business. Data data everywhere: Observability startup Pantomath lands $14 million to automate data pipelines. Read more. Weekend warriors you may have missed: Where's the innovation in induction kitchens? (TC+) How founders can cut through the noise and find events that are actually worth it (TC+) How roboticists are thinking about generative AI How generative AI is creeping into EV battery development |