Dominion Dynamics raises CA$139M for Arctic defence tech

Queue raises $12.6M for its autonomous robotic pharmacy

Queue, a Silicon Valley startup, has emerged from stealth with a $12.6M seed round led by AlleyCorp, bringing its total funding to $18.6M. The company has built what it claims is the world's first fully autonomous robotic pharmacy — a self-contained machine that accepts sealed wholesale bottles and dispenses filled, verified prescription vials in under 60 seconds with zero human involvement. It can dispense up to 600 pills per minute across 250 medications and claims a 96% reduction in dispensing costs. The startup targets the growing US 'pharmacy desert' problem, where one in three pharmacies has closed. Regulatory hurdles remain, as most US states require a licensed pharmacist to authorize prescriptions, and Queue has yet to demonstrate the system at scale across multiple sites.

Writer Ian Bogost says ‘The Small Stuff’ can help us reclaim our lives from dematerialization

Tác giả Ian Bogost cho rằng công nghệ tiện ích hiện đại đã gây ra "dematerialization" – sự xa rời trải nghiệm vật lý và giác quan trong cuộc sống hàng ngày. Ông khuyến khích mọi người tìm thấy niềm vui trong những khoảnh khắc giác quan nhỏ nhặt thay vì theo đuổi hiệu quả và tự động hóa quá mức, đồng thời nhấn mạnh tầm quan trọng của trải nghiệm thực tế thay vì kết quả.

Bài viết giúp lập trình viên hiểu cách thiết kế giao diện và hệ thống không chỉ tối ưu hóa hiệu suất mà còn giữ lại những trải nghiệm vật lý và cảm giác thực tế, từ đó tạo ra sản phẩm có giá trị sâu sắc hơn trong cuộc sống con người.

Pocket raises $11M in bet on rising demand for AI note-taking devices

Pocket, a Y Combinator-backed startup, has raised $11M from Accel, YC, and ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski. The company sells a $129 credit card-shaped puck that attaches to the back of a phone to record and transcribe conversations offline, with no subscription required for basic use. Having sold over 130,000 units since launch, Pocket targets professionals like lawyers, doctors, and salespeople who need real-world (not just online meeting) transcription. A $200/year plan unlocks unlimited AI summaries and assistant queries. Enterprise features include webhook support, integrations with Google Calendar, Obsidian, Claude, Cursor, and an MCP server. The company competes with both software players like Otter and Fireflies and hardware rivals like Plaud.

"I literally built an investment firm that wouldn't have funded my own pitch" – Why the money isn't reaching the games that need it

A workshop at Madeira Games Summit revealed a fundamental disconnect between how game developers pitch and how investors evaluate opportunities. When participants were asked to design investment funds with $1 million, almost none allocated capital to traditional game content — favoring tools, infrastructure, and platforms like Roblox instead. Key insights include a language gap (developers lead with creative vision; investors demand return structures), the importance of sequencing pitches strategically over 9-12 months, and the need to explicitly address return expectations and timelines upfront. Recommendations include researching fund remits before pitching, talking directly with fund managers, and advocating for game-specific fund structures like revenue-share models and three-game deal structures.

Designing for the Wrong User

Thiết kế UX thường nhắm đến người dùng bình tĩnh, nhưng căng thẳng là trạng thái phổ biến chứ không phải ngoại lệ. Bài viết đề xuất giao diện nên thích ứng bằng cách thu hẹp các yếu tố không cần thiết (giảm độ bão hòa màu, tăng độ mờ nội dung phụ, loại bỏ tùy chọn) và sử dụng modals khi tải nhận thức tăng cao, dựa trên nghiên cứu thực tế với cảnh sát Úc.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách thiết kế giao diện phù hợp với những tình huống căng thẳng, giúp cải thiện trải nghiệm thực tế của người dùng trong môi trường làm việc áp lực cao.

Former Microsoft Quantum CTO’s New Chinese-Based Startup Lands Pre-A Funding

Taiyi Quantum, a six-month-old Shanghai-based startup, has raised 300 million yuan (~$44M USD) in a Pre-A funding round led by Gaorong Venture Capital and IDG Capital. The company is led by Liu Hongbin, a former Microsoft Azure Quantum Principal Architect who worked on Microsoft's neutral-atom initiative with Atom Computing. Taiyi is developing a ytterbium-based neutral-atom quantum computer, leveraging laser-trapped atoms as qubits. Ytterbium offers advantages including stable nuclear-spin qubit states, precise laser control, and reduced noise compared to alkali atoms like rubidium or cesium. The large raise for such a young startup signals growing investor confidence in China's quantum computing sector.

AI video startup Higgsfield eyes a $5bn valuation

Higgsfield AI, founded in March 2025, is in talks to raise $300M–$500M at a $5bn valuation — four times its January 2025 valuation of $1.3bn. The company has hit a $500M annualized revenue run rate, up from $200M at end of 2025, with roughly 70% coming from enterprise customers. DST Global is among potential investors. Higgsfield's tools generate ~4.5 million video clips daily and power marketing agents for hundreds of Fortune 500 brands on Nvidia hardware. A notable milestone: a 15-person team used Higgsfield to produce a 95-minute feature film in 14 days for under $500K. The company competes with Kling, Runway, Google's Veo, and OpenAI's Sora. Risks include the round not yet closing, potential revenue volatility, and a crowded market where cheaper rivals could erode its position.