Musk gets probed, Neuralink searches for recruits, and a look at four synthetic biology startups that are gaining traction

Hello! We had a misfire in last night's email (a link to an old Apple story); apologies. We sincerely have no idea how that happened, though we'll blame Disrupt craziness.

Speaking of which, we had a fun-filled (also busy) afternoon at the show today. In case you couldn't make it, here is what you missed, including our conversation with Reed Jobs, son of Steve Jobs and the founder of Yosemite, a VC firm dedicated to fighting cancer. We learned a thing or two, spending time with him. There's also a lot coming up again tomorrow at the event, including sit-downs with JB Straubel of Redwood Materials and Kyle Vogt of Cruise (whose company has become the talk of San Francisco). Nice to see many of you there today; hope to see you again this week.:)

Microsoft's lawyers accidentally released a torrent of proprietary Xbox information in response to an FTC lawsuit about Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It's the second huge data leak for Microsoft in as many days.

Neuralink announced today that it has begun recruiting candidates for its first-ever human trial. The company is specifically looking for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury.

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe into personal benefits Elon Musk may have received from Tesla dating back to 2017, according to reporting from The WSJ.

If you let it, Google Bard can now comb through your personal information. 🎉

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Cato Networks, an eight-year-old Tel Aviv startup that packages software-defined networking, managed cybersecurity, and global backbone services into a single offering, raised a $238 million round at a $3+ billion valuation. The deal lead was Lightspeed Venture Partners, while Adams Street Partners, SoftBank, Sixty Degree Capital, and Singtel Innov8 also participated. TechCrunch has more here.

Pryon, a six-year-old startup based in Raleigh, N.C., that uses AI to index an enterprise's different stores of content, raised a $100 million Series B round that values the company at between $500 million and $750 million post-money, according to TechCrunch. U.S. Innovative Technology Fund was the deal lead; Aperture Venture Capital, BootstrapLabs, Breyer Capital, Duke Capital Partners, Good Growth Capital, Omnimed Capital, and Revolution Rise of the Rest also participated. The company has raised a total of $137 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Briya, a two-year-old Tel Aviv startup that provides a blockchain-secured platform for hospitals and life sciences companies to share data, raised an $11.5 million Series A round led by Team8, with the George Kaiser Family Foundation as well as previous investors Insight Partners, Amiti Ventures, and Innocare Health Investments also stepping up. More here.

Darrow, a three-year-old Tel Aviv- and New York-based startup that evaluates large amounts of public documents for their potential to support class action lawsuits, raised a $35 million Series B round led by Georgian, with F2 and previous investors Entrée Capital and NFX also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $59 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Flex, a three-year-old Miami startup that offers SMBs an array of financial services (e.g. credit card, expense tracking, banking, and treasury management), raised $20 million in equity and $100 million in debt. Florida Funders was the deal lead on the equity side, with Home Depot Ventures, MS&AD Ventures, and Companyon Ventures also participating. Meanwhile, CIM provided the debt. The company has raised a total of $123 million. Refresh Miami has more here.

HiBob, an Israeli startup whose human resources platform helps organizations accelerate hiring, retain talent, and elevate employee engagement, raised a $150 million round at a $2.7 billion valuation, according to CTech. The deal was led by Farallon Capital,  with Alpha Wave Global and previous investors filling out the round. CTech has more here. 

HiddenLayer, a four-year-old Austin startup that is focused on protecting AI systems from adversarial attacks, raised a $50 million Series A round co-led by M12 and Moore Strategic Ventures, with additional participation from Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Ten Eleven Ventures. The company has raised a total of $56 million. TechCrunch has more here.

HyperJar, a seven-year-old London startup that has created a money management app and debit card featuring brand discount offers, raised a $24 million Series A round led by Susquehanna Private Equity Investments and joined by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. Tech Funding News has more here.

Virtual Incision, a 17-year-old company based in Lincoln, Ne., that develops miniature surgical robots, raised a $30 million Series C extension round. Investors included Arboretum Ventures and InVivium Capital as well as previous investors Bluestem Capital, Endeavour Vision, Baird Capital, Cultivate(MD) Capital Funds, and PrairieGold Venture Partners. The company has raised a total of $146 million. MassDevice has more here.

AIRNA, a startup based in Cambridge, Ma., that specializes in RNA editing therapeutics, raised a $30 million round. Arch Venture Partners was the lead investor, with ND Capital, Fast Track Initiative (FTI), Novalis, and Codon Capital also anteing up. More here.

Aspinity, an eight-year-old Pittsburgh startup that develops technology to allow devices to run AI applications using very little power, raised a $5 million Series B round. Backers included Unitrontech as well as previous investors Anzu Partners, Birchmere Ventures, Mountain State Capital, and Riverfront Ventures. The company has raised a total of $27.8 million. More here.

Awell, a seven-year-old Brussels startup that aims to automate clinical workflows and reduce administrative tasks for clinicians, raised a $5 million seed round. Octopus Ventures led the investment, with S16 also weighing in. Tech.eu has more here.

BioLoomics, a four-year-old Boulder startup that is developing a new type of antibody designed to degrade bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, raised an $8.7 million seed round led by Innovation Endeavors, with additional capital provided by Horizons Ventures, TechU Ventures, Boom Capital Ventures, Hummingbird Nomads Fund, Cooley GC&H, BoxOne Ventures, and Viswa Colluru. The company has raised a total of $10.8 million. More here.

Discern Security, a startup founded this year based in Sunnyvale, Ca., that helps companies visualize and optimize their security configurations, raised a $3 million seed round. BoldCap, WestWave Capital, Cyber Mentor Fund, and Security Syndicate all invested. More here.

Edsoma, a two-year-old startup based in Weatherford, Tex., that has developed an AI-powered reading, education and communication platform for children, raised a $2.5 million seed round at a $14 million post-money valuation. The deal lead was NBA great Shaquille O'Neal. TechCrunch has more here. 

Paxton AI, a startup based in Portland, Or., whose generative AI service can be used to help lawyers with legal research, drafting documents, and creating policies, raised a $6 million seed round led by WVV Capital, with Kyber Knight, 25Madison, AI Fund, and Voyager Capital also pitching in. More here.

Pliable, a San Francisco startup that has built a no-code platform to help companies organize and manage their data, raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Resolute Ventures, with CEAS and Counterview Capital also contributing. More here.

Sidekick, a one-year-old London startup that has developed a browser optimized for the workplace, raised a $4 million round. Investors included Runa Capital, Kleiner Perkins, GIVC, and S16VC. Forbes has more here.

Yotta Energy, a six-year-old Austin startup that is developing solar battery technology for rooftops and EVs, raised an $8 million Series A round led by Evergy Ventures, with BlueScope, Cricetus Felix Ventures, and previous investors Copec WIND Ventures, EDP Ventures, Doral Tech Ventures, and the SWAN Impact Fund also piling on. More here.

Yurts, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that is building generative AI models for enterprises, raised a $16 million Series A round led by Nava Ventures, with XYZ Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Mango Capital, and Essence VC also investing. More here.

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Cortado Ventures, a firm based in Oklahoma City, announced the close of its $80 million second fund, increasing its total assets under management to $100 million. The firm focuses on early-stage tech companies across energy, logistics, life sciences, and future of work sectors.

Cybersecurity behemoth Crowdstrike has officially acquired Bionic.ai, a startup that continuously scans cloud applications for security vulnerabilities. TechCrunch says the price was $350 million, a healthy multiple on the $10 million in ARR that Bionic.ai was reportedly generating.

Bird has acquired Spin for $19 million, uniting two of the biggest players in the scooter wars.

On its first day on Nasdaq, Instacart's share price soared 40% before closing 12% above its opening price.

Shaquille O'Neal revealed his secret for success as an investor: be nice and invest in things that will change peoples' lives.

YouTube has "demonetized" comedian and actor Russell Brand for violating its policies for creators. 

The UK's new Onlne Safety Bill that places strict requirements on social platforms to remove illegal content and verify users' ages raises some difficult questions for encrypted messaging companies like WhatsApp and Signal -- particularly if other countries decide to jump on board.

Doing business in China is becoming so difficult that some companies are buying "burner laptops" for their China-based execs. 

Synthetic biology increasingly is moving from the laboratory to the marketplace.

A new book says it chronicles the rise and fall of Glossier.

How to get on Survivor.

Even though 46% of men sincerely believe they could land a plane if they had to, an airline pilot says "nah."

A lot of people are dreaming about Nicolas Cage in the new Dream Scenario trailer.

What zip code has the most expensive mountain homes in the U.S.? (No, it's not Aspen.)

Foodies are raving about a new Brooklyn eatery that you can only reach via a warehouse freight elevator.

Here's your chance to bag some Harry Styles smells.

James Franco's former houseboat - the James Franco - can be yours for $250,000.

Disrupt — the original startup conference — stays fresh, relevant and focused on founders, investors, and the future of tech year after year. Don't miss the rest of this year's show, which is going on now and features Kevin Systrom, Dario Amodei, Katie Haun, Shaquille O'Neal, Meredith Whittaker, and Reed Jobs, among others. Grab your ticket here!