Language learning app Speak nets $20M, doubles valuation

A company that claims its tech can “revolutionize” emergency calls has raised $27 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company, Prepared, enables 911 dispatchers to get a caller’s real-time GPS location if their phone supports it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japan has always been a strong market for bringing technology into the experience of consuming food, and now one of the startups leading on this idea is attracting investors from across the ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Digital transformation — upgrading a company’s legacy apps and processes with new tech — has long been a buzzy and lucrative business. But the pandemic supercharged the market. Covid pandemic lockdowns and the widespread move to work-from-home spurred brands relying on old technology to modernize their organizations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radian Aerospace has moved one step closer to achieving the “holy grail” of spaceflight: a reusable space plane that can take-off from an airfield and land on a runway like a conventional airplane. The startup just announced completion of a series of ground tests in Abu Dhabi earlier this summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mortgage fintech Mesa has emerged from stealth on Tuesday with $9.2 million in seed capital and a novel idea for homeowners. It’s offering cash back and rewards on all spending done on the home, including the mortgage itself.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the volume of cyberattacks grows, there’s increasing interest from the corporate sector in tech to help automate responses to breaches. Per a 2023 survey from analytics firm Devo, 80% of security leaders expected expanded investments in security automation technology this year; most cited the tech’s potential to support cyber threat mitigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jump offers full-time contracts to freelancers looking for some stability and the benefits involved with a full-time job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James McGinniss has been obsessed with decarbonization and the energy grid since he was a high schooler over a decade ago. Now, his startup David Energy has a lofty goal: getting the energy grid to run entirely on clean energy in the next 10 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new FTC report on how social media and streaming sites collect and monetize their hoards of user data doesn’t really feature a lot of surprises for anyone who’s followed the space Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Belfius is leading Alan’s Series F funding round of €173 million (around $193 million at current exchange rates). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices