Good morning ☀️, leader of the next gen.

The future belongs to you. Let’s make conscious leadership the norm and embrace innovation as the driving force for positive change 🌍✨

WHAT’S AT STAKE TODAY ⚡

• 💰🚀 Musk's xAI Holdings is reportedly raising the second-largest private funding round ever. Elon's AI baby gets a massive allowance!
• ⚡💻 Penn engineers first to train AI at lightspeed. Academic research breaks the silicon speed barrier!
• 👨‍💼✨ Steve AI enters the AI tool spotlight. Another helper wants your creative attention!
• 📈🔍 Google's AI search numbers are growing, and that's by design. Search giant's strategy bearing fruit!
• 🛂😢 An OpenAI researcher who worked on GPT-4.5 had their green card denied. Immigration drama hits AI talent!
• 🇬🇧🪧 Google's DeepMind UK team reportedly seeks to unionize. AI researchers want worker protections!
• 🏢💬 Welcome to Chat Haus, the coworking space for AI chatbots. Digital assistants get physical office space!
• 🌍📊 LinkedIn reveals AI adoption by region and business type. Corporate AI usage gets mapped!
• 🏥📹 AI video analysis tool helps clinicians assess Parkinson's symptoms. Medical diagnostics gets digital boost!

⚡ Latest in AI

Elon Musk’s xAI Holdings Targets $20B Raise, Eyes $120B Valuation

xAI Holdings seeks to raise one of the largest AI funding rounds ever

Elon Musk's xAI Holdings is reportedly seeking to raise $20 billion, valuing the company at over $120 billion. If successful, this would mark the second-largest private funding round in history, behind only OpenAI’s recent $40 billion raise.

Addressing Financial Pressures

X (formerly Twitter) faces approximately $200 million in monthly debt payments. Fresh capital could help stabilize the social media side while accelerating xAI's AI development plans.

Strategic Timing Amid AI Boom

The fundraising push comes during record-breaking AI investment cycles and follows Musk’s appointment to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. His political influence could further boost xAI’s prospects.

The Evolution of xAI Holdings

After merging xAI and X earlier this year, Musk aims to create an "everything app" powered by AI, with Grok as the flagship product. xAI Holdings now uses X’s social platform as a user base and training data engine.

Familiar Funding Sources

Musk is reportedly seeking backing from long-time allies like Antonio Gracias (Valor Equity) and Luke Nosek (Gigafund), reinforcing the tight link between his political and business ventures.

Industry Implications

A successful $20 billion raise would make xAI the second most valuable private AI company, significantly intensifying competition with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. It could also fuel rapid AI deployment across Musk's platforms.

Looking Ahead

Talks are still early, and it’s uncertain if the full target will be met. However, the ambition signals Musk’s determination to make xAI a dominant force in the next wave of AI innovation and infrastructure.

⚡ The companies of the future

Penn engineers first to train AI at lightspeed

Penn Photonic AI Chip

University of Pennsylvania engineers have developed the first programmable photonic chip that can train nonlinear neural networks using light instead of electricity. This breakthrough, described in Nature Photonics, could dramatically speed up AI training while reducing energy consumption.

Led by Professor Liang Feng, the research team overcame the challenge of representing nonlinear functions—essential for AI neural networks—using only light. The technology works by using a special semiconductor material that responds to light, with a "signal" beam carrying input data passing through while a secondary "pump" beam shines from above to adjust how the material reacts.

By controlling the shape and intensity of the pump beam, researchers can program the chip to perform different nonlinear functions without changing its physical structure, essentially using light itself to create patterns that reshape how light moves through the material.

Why it matters: Training AI models with light could revolutionize speed and efficiency, unlocking greener, faster computing for the next generation of deep learning breakthroughs.

⚡ Stay Ahead of Competitors with AI-Driven Intelligence

Steve AI is an AI-powered competitive intelligence platform that monitors competitors, analyzes market trends, and delivers real-time insights. It automatically tracks strategy shifts, pricing updates, and new offerings, while keeping a centralized knowledge base complete with battle cards and primary source links.

Integrated with tools like Salesforce and Slack, Steve helps sales, marketing, and strategy teams stay proactive, save time, and win more deals.

⚡ More AI Bites

1. 🔎📈 Google's AI search numbers are growing, and that's by design. Search giant's strategy bearing fruit!
2. 🛂🧠 An OpenAI researcher who worked on GPT-4.5 had their green card denied. Immigration drama hits AI talent!
3. 🧑‍💻⚖️ Google's DeepMind UK team reportedly seeks to unionize. AI researchers want worker protections!
4. 🏢🤖 Welcome to Chat Haus, the coworking space for AI chatbots. Digital assistants get physical office space!
5. 🗺️🏢 LinkedIn reveals AI adoption by region and business type. Corporate AI usage gets mapped!
6. 🧠🎥 AI video analysis tool helps clinicians assess Parkinson's symptoms. Medical diagnostics gets digital boost!

⚡ Whether you're a creator, agency, freelancer, or solo operator —

This is the foundation that drives all revenue: AI-powered lead generation systems built to book calls and collect cash.

Come join the live webinar and see:
→ How we generate leads using Chatbots, Voice AI & Smart Pages
→ What systems you need to stop chasing clients and start attracting them

🎟️ Register Free Now »
Use code: SUPERCHARGED at checkout to unlock your ticket.

Seats are limited. Replays won’t be public.

Come in, guessing.
Leave with scalable tools.

⚡ Trends for the Future

Craif Secures $22M to Expand AI-Driven Cancer Detection to the U.S.

miSignal: Craif's early cancer detection test

The details:

Craif, a Japanese startup developing AI-powered early cancer detection technology, has secured $22 million in Series C funding to expand into the U.S. market and enhance its research and development efforts. The company, which spun off from Nagoya University in 2018, has now raised a total of $57 million and is valued at just under $100 million.

The funding round was led by existing investor X&KSK, with participation from U.S.-based Unreasonable Group (marking its first investment in a Japanese startup), TAUNS Laboratories, Daiwa House Industry, and Aozora Bank Group.

Founded by Ryuichi Onose and Takao Yasui after both experienced cancer's impact on their families, Craif focuses on using microRNA (miRNA) as biomarkers for cancer detection. The company's approach differs from competitors like Grail, Freenome, and DELFI Diagnostics, which typically use cell-free DNA for testing.

Craif's flagship product, miSignal, is a non-invasive urine test that currently screens for seven types of cancer: pancreatic, colorectal, lung, stomach, esophagus, breast, and ovarian. The test is designed to detect cancer even at Stage 1 and can be conducted from home.

Craif has established partnerships with over 1,000 medical institutions and approximately 600 pharmacies in Japan, serving around 20,000 users. Its revenue model includes both single tests and subscription packages, with the company reporting $5 million in revenue for 2024 and targeting $15 million by year-end 2025.

The company plans to expand miSignal's capabilities to ten cancer types this year and is preparing to apply its technology to non-cancerous conditions like neurodegenerative disorders. It maintains an R&D lab in Irvine, California, and will soon open a business office in San Diego.

The new funding will support Craif's U.S. expansion, with plans to complete trials around 2029 and seek FDA approval. Sample collection efforts for pancreatic cancer are already underway across 15 U.S. states.

⚡ Whether you're a creator, agency, freelancer, or solo operator —

This is the foundation that drives all revenue: AI-powered lead generation systems built to book calls and collect cash.

Come join the live webinar and see:
→ How we generate leads using Chatbots, Voice AI & Smart Pages
→ What systems you need to stop chasing clients and start attracting them

🎟️ Register Free Now »
Use code: SUPERCHARGED at checkout to unlock your ticket.

Seats are limited. Replays won’t be public.

Come in, guessing.
Leave with scalable tools.

Do you have a business problem keeping you up at night?

Here’s your chance to get it solved! Share your most staggering challenges with us, and I’ll use the power of AI to find solutions tailored just for you. I’ll feature the answers in one of our upcoming Supercharged issues—let’s tackle it together!

✍️ AI Playground: Elevate Your Writing ✍️

🔧 This Week’s Tool: Grammarly 🔧

Overview: Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that enhances your writing by providing real-time suggestions for grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, and tone. It helps users communicate more effectively across emails, documents, social media, and more. ✨

Why Is It Better Than Other Tools? 🚀

• 🧠 Context-Aware Corrections: Understands your sentence structure and suggests smarter edits.
• 🎯 Real-Time Tone Detection: Helps match your writing to the right emotion and formality.
• 🔗 Multi-Platform Support: Works inside Gmail, Docs, social media, and more!
• 🌍 Plagiarism Checker: Ensures your content is original and professional.

What Does It Do Best? 🌟

• 📝 Grammar & Spelling: Catch mistakes instantly.
• 🖋️ Style Improvements: Make your writing clear, confident, and effective.
• 💬 Tone Adjustments: Tune your message for friendliness, professionalism, or urgency.
• 📚 Clarity and Conciseness: Remove wordiness and improve flow.

Applications 💼:

• 📧 Email: Write faster and clearer business emails.
• 📚 Academia: Improve essays and research papers.
• 💼 Professional Writing: Create better reports, proposals, and resumes.
• 📢 Content Creation: Enhance blogs, posts, and marketing materials.

Follow This Simple Guide to Get Started with Grammarly:

1. 🌐 Visit: Go to grammarly.com and sign up for free.
2. 📥 Install: Add the browser extension or download the app.
3. ✍️ Start Typing: Watch Grammarly assist you across your emails, documents, and web forms.
4. 🚀 Upgrade: Access premium suggestions and plagiarism checks by upgrading your account.

Grammarly helps you bring out your best writing, wherever you write. It's like having a personal editor working 24/7! 🔥

💡 Challenge: Use Grammarly to polish an important email or document this week. Track how much clearer and more confident you feel hitting "Send"! 📨