Weekly DaaS Roundup September 18

Welcome to the latest edition of the World of DaaS Roundup. This week, from ambitious Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) visions and high-stakes lawsuits to acquisitions and strategic investments, read on for the full breakdown.

 📰 NEWS AND READS

The AI Empire and the Power of Belief TechCrunch

• TechCrunch’s Karen Hao explores how AGI evangelists are reshaping the tech landscape, tracing the influence of bold visions, deep convictions, and the societal tradeoffs that come with pursuing intelligence beyond today’s AI systems.

The Only Right Way to Ask for an Intro (Everything Else Is Wrong) Auren Hoffman

• Auren’s new guide shows that when professionals want introductions, whether for jobs, partnerships, or mentorship, being clear on purpose, framing the request properly, and respecting people’s time make the difference.

Strong Data Practices Drive AI Adoption GovTech

• A new reports shows that standardized data governance, modernized architectures, and agile policies help state and local agencies turn data into actionable decisions and scale AI responsibly.

Penske Media Sues Google Over AI Overviews Reuters

• Penske Media alleges Google uses its journalism in AI-generated summaries without permission, reducing site traffic and revenue, marking the first major U.S. publisher lawsuit over AI summaries.

Demis Hassabis Warns AI Will Face a Shortage of High-Quality Data Windows Central

• DeepMind’s CEO cautioned that AI companies must avoid engagement-driven harms seen in social platforms and prepare for an era of dwindling high-quality data, tying business incentives directly to the future of responsible AI development.

🎧 THE LATEST WORLD OF DAAS PODCAST

Why Email Beats Social Media

Tyler Denk is the co-founder and CEO of Beehiiv, a newsletter platform generating over $20M in annual revenue in under four years. He was the second employee at Morning Brew, helping grow it to 3.5M subscribers before its $75M acquisition by Business Insider, and also created Big Desk Energy, a newsletter with 100K+ subscribers.

In this episode of World of DaaS, Tyler and Auren discuss:

• Why email still beats algorithmic platforms

• Building the next major advertising network

• The difference between audiences and communities

• Tech nostalgia and 90s internet culture

🔥 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

M&A Funding Roundup

• Workday- announced the $1.1B acquisition of Sana, an AI-powered learning and search platform, integrating its agentic assistants into Workday’s enterprise applications.

• Groq- The AI chip company raised a $750M growth round led by Disruptive, reaching a $6.9B valuation and expanding its inference-focused hardware platform.

• Irregular- The AI security lab raised $80M in a round led by Sequoia and Redpoint, aiming to strengthen defenses against emerging AI-driven threats.

• Clarity- The agentic AI customer service platform raised $12M in a round led by Prosus Ventures to scale its conversational and voice-first CX technology.

• GridStrong- The AI-driven platform for automating electric grid compliance and operations, raised $10M in a seed round led by Congruent Ventures, aiming to streamline compliance and enhance grid reliability.

• Sphinx- The AI data and analytics startup raised $9.5M in a seed round led by Lightspeed, focusing on building next-generation platforms for enterprise data intelligence.

• CreatorDB- The influencer-marketing platform using data analytics and AI, raised $4.67M in a Series A led by Acorn Pacific Ventures.

💼 WORLD OF DAAS JOB BOARD

Showcasing open roles at companies led by members of our community. A few standout opportunities this week:

• Head of Data at GeoPostcodes

• Senior Digital Media Planner at Moore

• Senior Manager, Digital Subscriptions at Accuweather

Looking to showcase an open role? The World of DaaS job board highlights opportunities from members across our community. Apply to join and get access to exclusive perks including job board postings, curated introductions, private events, and more.

🤖🎨 MACHINE-MADE MASTERPIECE

prompt: WNBA Playoffs

Till next time,

The World of DaaS Team