NEW - Meet Peregrine, the little-known startup founded and funded by Palantir alumni, helping supercharge cops' surveillance feeds and databases. It's tripled its business in each of the last three years, gaining 53 contracts across the U.S. forbes.com/sites/thomasbr…

New: 8VC, the VC firm that backs defense contractors like Palantir and Anduril, employs 2 children of sanctioned Russian oligarchs — highlighting foreign ties to Silicon Valley. 8VC's Joe Lonsdale says it has a "strict compliance and legal framework." forbes.com/sites/davidjea…

VC firm 8VC, which has invested in top U.S. defense contractors, employs 2 kids of sanctioned Russian oligarchs at a time when the U.S. gov is increasingly concerned about the proximity of foreign adversaries to Silicon Valley. Great scoop by David Jeans forbes.com/sites/davidjea…

News: Andela, the talent startup last valued at $1.5 billion, has hired former Uber executive Carrol Chang as its new CEO. 10-year-old Andela says its marketplace, which matches tech contractors in Africa and LatAM with U.S. employers, is growing 15%. forbes.com/sites/alexkonr…

Two of Europe’s wealthiest tech billionaires, brothers Igor and Dmitri Bukhman, have quietly set up a charitable foundation The Bukhman Family Foundation intends to bankroll research into a cure for type 1 diabetes, as well as providing funding for science, education & the arts

AI coding startup Cursor has raised $60 million at a $400 million valuation. The company's code editing and autocompletion tools have been popular among engineers at leading AI startups like OpenAI and Midjourney. forbes.com/sites/rashishr…

Last week, we found 67 Facebook Pages, with a collective following of >9M people, with names like We Are America and American Story. All 67 were run by foreigners — many from Macedonia — posing as Americans to farm clicks. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? 1/ forbes.com/sites/emilybak…

New: North Koreans are securing jobs at American companies and sending money back to the DPRK regime — an alarming trend highlighted by recent arrests and disclosures by security companies like Cinder and KnowBe4. forbes.com/sites/davidjea…

"Profits At Mar-a-Lago Have Quadrupled Since Trump Left The White House" me, for @forbes forbes.com/sites/zachever…

New: Y Combinator has entered defense tech with its first weapons startup, Ares, which hopes to make anti-ship missiles smaller and cheaper than Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. YC's partner told Forbes: "The competitors are dinosaurs." forbes.com/sites/davidjea…

As more states pass laws banning or restricting phones at school—and districts institute their own rules—a Silicon Valley startup that makes lockable phone pouches is seeing its business explode. On Yondr, the tech getting tech out of America's classrooms:forbes.com/sites/alexandr…

Scoop! Bolt is threatening legal action against the lead investor in its wild $450m fundraising round, per email from CEO Justin Grooms. Silverbear Capital said it was wrongly named as investor. Bolt says it's ready to "enforce our rights vigorously." forbes.com/sites/iainmart…

Hands down one of the most troubling AI use cases I've ever seen. Hard to read, important child safety story from Thomas Brewster:

Back-to-school looks different this year as tens of thousands of students across America are forced to part with their smartphones. Meet Yondr, the tech getting tech out of America's classrooms — and seeing its business explode a decade after its launch: forbes.com/sites/alexandr…

News: Nichole Wischoff and her VC firm Wischoff Ventures have raised $50 million for her third fund. I spoke to the Nashville investor about her difficult childhood, going viral on social media and how she's backing the "new supply chain" for Forbes. forbes.com/sites/alexkonr…

Scoop: In an email to shareholders, Bolt founder Ryan Breslow thanked a dozen investors for supporting him and the $450 million deal. Only, some of them told Forbes they actually hadn't. Meanwhile, BlackRock & others have filed a restraining order in court to block the round.

One of the most bizarre Silicon Valley stories has taken a new twist. Bolt founder Ryan Breslow wrote to investors earlier this week naming several shareholders who had backed his chaotic attempt to raise $450 million at a $14 billion valuation.

Rest in Peace Lord Vader