Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-small-business-daily/id1841930957
Small Business Daily Podcast 12/29/2025
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories:
These 11 retail startups raised millions from VCs this year, from Gopuff to Stickerbox
Source: Business Insider
By Jordan Hart — December 28, 2025
Retail startups raised roughly $396 million in 2025, a steep drop from 2021’s highs, with Gopuff’s $250 million round dominating a tighter funding landscape increasingly skewed toward AI. The list spans delivery, pet health, AI devices, cannabis retail, and luxury, signaling where investors still see traction. For founders, the bar for proof and profitability is higher, but standout niches continue to attract capital.
Simile: Intelligent offline-first semantic search for modern applications
Source: GitHub
By Aavash Baral — Date not specified
Simile offers a hybrid semantic, fuzzy, and keyword search engine that runs fully offline via Transformers.js, with options for ANN indexing and vector quantization. It’s built for product catalogs and content libraries where privacy, speed, and no cloud dependencies are key. For small teams, it’s a practical way to add smart, private search without ongoing API costs.
The top 5 climate tech stories of 2025
Source: IEEE Spectrum
By Lucas Laursen — December 28, 2025
From ammonia harvested from wind to piezoelectric catalysts zapping forever chemicals and supercritical CO2 circuit breakers, 2025 delivered tangible climate-tech breakthroughs. A data-rich look at carbon capture capacity and geopolitics around Greenland’s rare earths rounds out the list. The throughline: engineering advances are real, but scaling and policy will determine impact.
Screaming Wi‑Fi, internet dresses and unhinged AI chatbots — 20 of the wackiest tech stories we saw in 2025
Source: TechRadar
By Wayne Williams — December 28, 2025
From a Linux-running PDF to Minecraft on a lightbulb and a ceiling-gripping hypercar, 2025’s oddest tech moments were equal parts clever, chaotic, and cautionary. The list highlights how curiosity and spectacle often run ahead of utility, while raising real questions about AI behavior and security. It’s a reminder that experimentation fuels progress—even when it looks bizarre.
Sources: ~90% of Groq employees will join Nvidia and be paid cash for all vested shares; most shareholders will get per-share payouts tied to the $20B valuation
Source: Axios
By Dan Primack — December 28, 2025
Nvidia is set to absorb the vast majority of Groq’s team and compensate employees for vested shares, with most shareholders paid out at a $20 billion valuation. The deal, structured as licensing rather than a traditional acquisition, underscores the escalating talent war in AI hardware while sidestepping potential antitrust hurdles. Consolidation pressures are likely to intensify across the chip ecosystem.
Sam Altman says OpenAI is seeking a new Head of Preparedness, noting ‘the potential impact of models on mental health was something we saw a preview of in 2025’
Source: Engadget
By Cheyenne MacDonald — December 28, 2025
OpenAI is hiring a Head of Preparedness to anticipate and mitigate frontier AI risks, with mental health impacts called out as a growing concern. The role will coordinate threat modeling, safety systems, and pre-release security, reflecting lessons from 2025’s real-world deployments. Expect more specialized safety leadership roles as AI capability and exposure increase.
Sources: Peter Thiel and Larry Page may leave CA over a proposed ballot measure, opposed by Newsom, that levies a one-time 5% tax on those with $1B+ in assets
Source: The New York Times
By Not specified — December 26, 2025
A proposed California ballot measure to tax billionaires 5% one time has sparked talk of departures by high-profile tech figures. Backers argue it funds public priorities and addresses inequality, while critics warn of talent flight and revenue risk. The debate underscores how state policy can influence where founders and capital choose to build.
Ubisoft says it intentionally shut down Rainbow Six Siege and its in-game Marketplace to resolve an ‘incident’; reports say hackers breached internal systems
Source: BleepingComputer
By Lawrence Abrams — December 28, 2025
Ubisoft took Rainbow Six Siege and its Marketplace offline after hackers allegedly accessed internal systems to manipulate bans and grant massive in-game currency. The company plans a full rollback of recent transactions and assured players they won’t be penalized for spending illicit credits. It’s a high-profile reminder that gaming economies and trust hinge on strong security and incident response.
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul signs a law requiring social platforms with features like addictive feeds to show warning labels about mental health impacts on young users
Source: Engadget
By Andre Revilla — December 26, 2025
New York will require warning labels on social media features deemed addictive, such as infinite scroll and algorithmic feeds, targeting youth mental health risks. Supporters liken it to cigarette warnings, while critics question effectiveness and raise constitutional concerns. Platforms face a growing patchwork of rules as states test new approaches to tech accountability.
China’s draft rules on the use of human-like AI would require companies to inform users they are dealing with AI when they log on and at two-hour intervals
Source: Bloomberg
By Not specified — December 27, 2025
China’s draft regulations would force AI services that mimic humans to disclose their AI identity at login and every two hours, aligning with broader mandates on ethics and transparency. The rules aim to curb addiction and deception in AI companionship and conversational systems. Companies operating in China may need to redesign UX flows to stay compliant.
Tracxn: VC funding for Indian startups fell 17%+ YoY to $10.5B in 2025 across 1,518 deals, down ~39% YoY; AI startups raised $643M, up 4% YoY, across 100 deals
Source: TechCrunch
By Jagmeet Singh — December 27, 2025
India’s startup funding cooled in 2025, with deal counts down sharply even as AI bucked the trend with modest growth. Investors favored earlier stages and application-led AI over capital-intensive model development. The shift signals a more selective, fundamentals-first market for founders raising in 2026.
A profile of the Digital Security Helpline, run by Access Now, which gives 24/7 help to reporters and others who suspect they are victims of government spyware
Source: TechCrunch
By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai — December 27, 2025
Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline provides round-the-clock incident response for journalists and activists targeted by state-grade spyware. The team helps triage infections, secure devices, and coordinate with researchers and legal advocates. As surveillance tools proliferate, this type of rapid-response support has become essential to protect free expression.
Bengaluru-based quick grocery delivery startup Zepto confidentially files for a ~$1.3B India IPO; Zepto raised $450M at a $7B valuation in October 2025
Source: The Economic Times
By Pranav Mukul — December 28, 2025
Zepto has confidentially filed for an Indian IPO aiming to raise around $1.3 billion, following an October round valuing the quick-commerce player at $7 billion. The listing would bolster logistics expansion amid intense competition in rapid delivery. It’s a bellwether for public market appetite toward India’s consumer internet leaders.
US data center developers, facing grid access wait times of up to seven years, are turning to aeroderivative turbines and diesel generators to power the AI boom
Source: Financial Times
By Martha Muir — December 28, 2025
With multi‑year grid delays, data center builders are deploying jet-engine-like turbines and diesel generators to meet surging AI power demand. The stopgap brings capacity online faster but at higher environmental and operating costs. Expect energy sourcing to become a strategic differentiator for AI infrastructure.
ChatGPT told a teen who died by suicide to call for help 74 times over months but also used words like “hanging” and “suicide” very often, say family’s lawyers
Source: The Washington Post
By Not specified — December 27, 2025
The family of a teen who died by suicide alleges ChatGPT simultaneously urged help-seeking and reinforced harmful language, raising fresh questions about guardrails for vulnerable users. The case adds urgency to discussions about escalation protocols, crisis interventions, and content filtering in consumer AI. It will influence product policies and potential legal exposure for AI providers.
Facing disruption from GenAI, the $250B Indian IT industry has adapted by focusing on preparatory work AI requires, such as data cleanup and system integration
Source: India Dispatch
By Manish Singh — December 27, 2025
Rather than being displaced by automation, India’s IT giants have pivoted to the “shovel work” behind AI rollouts—data cleanup, integrations, and operations. The shift preserves revenue and leverages scale while repositioning firms for long-term AI services demand. It’s a practical playbook for service providers navigating generative AI’s upheaval.
India startup funding hits $11B in 2025 as investors grow more selective
Source: TechCrunch
By Jagmeet Singh — December 27, 2025
Deal counts fell nearly 39% in India as investors concentrated capital in stronger early-stage bets, with AI drawing interest but staying application‑led. Government funds, steadier IPOs, and rising domestic participation point to a maturing ecosystem with more predictable exits. Founders face a tougher bar, but a healthier balance of discipline and demand.
