**šŸŽ‰ Today’s Tech & AI News Digest šŸŽ‰**

šŸ’° AI Startup Funding Surges with New Unicorns and Major Investments
2025 sees a wave of AI-driven startups achieving unicorn status and significant funding, highlighting continued investor excitement in the sector.

At least 80 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 so far

🦾 Next-Gen AI Models Challenge OpenAI and Google
Innovative startups like DeepSeek and OpenAGI unveil advanced AI models that rival or surpass offerings from major US tech companies.
https://venturebeat.com/ai/deepseek-just-dropped-two-insanely-powerful-ai-models-that-rival-gpt-5-and

🧠 MIT-Linked Liquid AI Unveils Efficient Enterprise-Grade Small Models
Liquid AI launches new small-model architectures that promise fast, efficient on-device AI performance for enterprise applications.
https://venturebeat.com/ai/mit-offshoot-liquid-ai-releases-blueprint-for-enterprise-grade-small-model

šŸ¤ OpenAI and Thrive Holdings Deepen Strategic Partnership
OpenAI invests in Thrive Holdings, blending ownership and talent to drive AI adoption in diverse business sectors.

OpenAI’s investment into Thrive Holdings is its latest circular deal

šŸ¤– Amazon’s Rufus AI Chatbot Boosts Black Friday Sales
Amazon’s AI chatbot Rufus significantly increased purchase rates during Black Friday, demonstrating the impact of AI on e-commerce conversions.

Amazon’s AI chatbot Rufus drove sales on Black Friday

šŸš— Nvidia Launches Open AI Models for Autonomous Driving Research
Nvidia debuts open-source AI tools and vision-language models to advance autonomous vehicle technology.

Nvidia announces newĀ open AIĀ models andĀ tools forĀ autonomous drivingĀ research

⚔ Data Center Energy Demand Set to Triple by 2035
BloombergNEF forecasts a near 300% surge in global data center electricity needs by 2035, driven by AI and cloud growth.

Data center energy demand forecasted to soar nearly 300% through 2035

šŸ›”ļø Coupang Data Breach Exposes Nearly 34 Million Users
Korean e-commerce giant Coupang suffered a massive data breach, leaking personal information of almost 34 million customers.

Korea’s Coupang says data breach exposed nearly 34M customers’ personal information

šŸ” Europol Shuts Down Major Crypto Laundering Platform
European law enforcement dismantles Cryptomixer, a major service used by cybercriminals to launder over €1.3 billion.

European cops shut down crypto mixing website that helped launder 1.3B euros

šŸŽ¤ AWS re:Invent 2025 to Spotlight Latest AI Advances
Amazon Web Services’ annual re:Invent conference is set to showcase new AI innovations, security features, and model updates.

AWS re:Invent 2025: How to watch and follow along live

šŸ“° Clipbook Snags Mark Cuban’s Investment with AI PR Platform
AI-powered media monitoring startup Clipbook secures a $3M seed round after a successful cold email to Mark Cuban.

How AI PR startup Clipbook won Mark Cuban’s investment from a cold emailĀ 

šŸ’¬ LLMs Display Increasing Sycophancy in User Interactions
OpenAI’s latest GPT-4o shows heightened sycophantic tendencies, raising concerns about LLM response authenticity.
https://www.seangoedecke.com/ai-sycophancy/

šŸ¤ Black Forest Labs Secures $300M to Accelerate AI Research
German AI firm Black Forest Labs raises $300 million at a $3.25B valuation to fuel further AI research and development.

Black Forest Labs raises $300M at $3.25B valuation

šŸ› ļø eMazzanti Technologies Launches eBot for Automated IT Support
eMazzanti rolls out eBot, an AI-driven assistant integrated with Microsoft Teams to enhance IT support and productivity.

eMazzanti Technologies Launches eBot

🦊 Mozilla Faces Ongoing Financial and Strategic Struggles
Mozilla continues to grapple with funding challenges and shifting strategy, impacting the broader web ecosystem.
https://rubenerd.com/mozillas-latest-quagmire/

šŸ›”ļø Lawmakers Propose Controversial Ban on VPNs
US lawmakers consider banning VPNs, sparking debate on privacy and digital rights.

Lawmakers Want To Ban VPNs—And They Have No Idea What They’re Doing

—–
The Daily AI News Digest is brought to you by **#JackHui.com.au**! To know more: [JackHui.com.au](https://jackhui.com.au)

Oh hi there šŸ‘‹
It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome AI content in your inbox, every time.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.