The Israel-Hamas war has X drowning in disinformation

Israel was prepared for a different war, observes the WSJ, noting its military’s focus on intelligence, air power and technology left it vulnerable to a low-tech ground assault.

X is having a hard time handling all of the disinformation following the assault by Hamas in lower Israel.

Relatedly, in recent months, X shut down an internal product that could identify when different accounts shared the same or similar media, according to The Information, which notes that such identification is an important part of dealing with coordinated disinformation campaigns.

Discover the Next OpenAI Before Anyone Else! We've uncovered a hidden gem: GitHub! Explore our latest report featuring the Top 20 promising startups identified through GitHub. By monitoring developer activity on open-source projects, GitHub provides early signals into innovative and trending projects poised for explosive growth. Our report highlights the top performers in categories such as Enterprise Infrastructure, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, and more. Get your free copy here

Saronic, a startup developing autonomous ships for defense, has raised $55 million in a Series A round led by Caffeinated Capital with participation from 8VC, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, Cubit Capital and the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund. Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas, a former Navy SEAL, launched the company last year with the goal of building autonomous surface ships for the Navy and U.S.-aligned defense customers, says TechCrunch. 

HarfangLab, a five-year-old Paris startup that offers cloud-agnostic open endpoint detection and response in order to prevent cyberattacks, raised a $26.3 million Series A round round. Crédit Mutuel Innovation was the deal lead, with MassMutual Ventures (CMI) and previous investor Elaia also taking part. Tech.eu has more here.

Lottie, a two-year-old London startup that operates a online marketplace for people seeking home care as well as providers, raised a $21 million Series A round led by Accel, with previous investor General Catalyst also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $31.4 million. TechCrunch has more here.

The Circle, a six-year-old Italian startup that is growing lettuce and herbs through aquaponic production methods, raised a $2.2 million round. Opes Italia and Sparviero Holding were the co-leads. The company has raised a total of $3.8 million. Tech.eu has more here.

Ostium Labs, a one-year-old UK startup that is building a decentralized non-custodial exchange for real-world assets, raised a $3.5 million seed round co-led by General Catalyst and LocalGlobe and including SIG, DeFi Alliance, Vessel Capital, and Balaji Srinivasan. Tech.eu has more here.

Wandafish, a two-year-old Tel Aviv startup that is creating bluefin tuna through cultivating cells to generate animal proteins, raised a $7 million round. Aqua-Spark was the deal lead, while previous investors The Kitchen Hub, Peregrine Ventures, LLC, PICO Venture Partners, MOREVC, and CPT Capital also contributed. The company has raised a total of $10 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Zest Equity, a UAE-based startup that digitizes private market dealings, including inviting investors to fundraising rounds and sharing sensitive information, has raised $3.8 million seed funding led by Middle East Venture Partners, with participation from the Dubai Future District Fund, and DASH Ventures. This latest round brings the total funding raised by the startup to $5.7 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Are you an early-stage founder or an investor looking for accelerated growth performance and board-level metrics? Mir Meridian expert Fractional RevOps and COO services are tailored to drive your business to new heights. Harness the power of strategic revenue operations and operational excellence without the full-time commitment. Our seasoned professionals bring a wealth of experience in scaling startups, optimizing processes, and maximizing revenue streams. StrictlyVC folks get 30% off the first 3 months. Schedule a call or check our free 0 to 10 metrics guide today.

Consumer payments startup Braid, backed by Index and Accel, shuts down.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman talks with Joe Rogan about his "internet troll streak."

Unity CEO John Riccitello is stepping down after his company's new pricing plan drove game developers to distraction.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino has canceled her appearance at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference next week, saying “with the global crisis unfolding, Linda and her team must remain fully focused on X platform safety.”

ChatGPT is collecting only $4.5 million per month in gross revenue from its mobile app, and revenue growth dropped almost 50% from August to September.

It's proving hard for some big tech companies to make money on AI: according to WSJ sources, Microsoft is losing between $20 and $80 per user per month on its GitHub Copilot AI assistant for programmers because of the servers and pricey chips required to power the service.

Whether or not you worked today likely depends on where you live.

Some are predicting that prediction markets are the next big thing (though they have been predicting the same for a while).

Prosecutors say that SBF's lawyers shouldn't be allowed to use his $500 million investment in AI firm Anthropic — which could used to pay back FTX customers — as evidence.

Thanks to a new California law, VC firms that operate in the state will have to report on the diversity of their portfolio companies.

Why the internet isn't fun anymore.

The latest AI trend: yearbook photos.

The latest TikTok trend: moving through the world like an NPC.

The Gaza Strip and its history, explained.

Why wired headphones are fashionable again.

The Washington, D.C., home of the late former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is coming on the market for $4 million. Albright and her husband acquired the 4,000-square-foot Georgetown row house for $100,000 back in 1968.