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Topline A lunar lander built by Intuitive Machines is scheduled to descend to the moon’s surface today, potentially marking the second landing by a private company on the moon in the last week, roughly a year after the aerospace firm completed the first lunar landing by an American spacecraft in decades. The spacecraft traveled for about a week before approaching the moon’s south pole. Intuitive Machines Key Facts Intuitive Machines expects its Athena lander to touch down on the moon’s surface at about 12:32 p.m. EST on Thursday. A livestream of the event—cohosted by NASA and Intuitive Machines—will start around…

iCapital, a global FinTech platform specialising in alternative investments for the wealth and asset management industries, has formed a strategic partnership with Aviva Investors to expand access to private market investments through its climate transition strategy.The collaboration will see iCapital develop a Luxembourg-based feeder fund aimed at private wealth investors. This fund will leverage iCapital’s distribution capabilities via iCapital Marketplace, a platform designed to connect wealth managers, financial advisers, and their clients with a broad selection of alternative investment opportunities from leading asset managers worldwide.As one of Europe’s largest asset managers, Aviva Investors manages over £234bn in assets, as of…

Zocks, a privacy-first AI platform focused on enhancing client intelligence for financial advisors, has secured $13.8m in its Series A funding round.The investment was led by Motive Ventures, with additional backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Expanse Venture Partners, Entrée Capital, and 14Peaks.The WealthTech firm, established in 2022, specialises in leveraging AI to capture, analyse, and process client interactions, delivering insights and automating workflows for advisory firms. Since its official launch in early 2024, Zocks has rapidly gained traction, onboarding more than 1,000 advisory firms to its platform.With the fresh capital, Zocks plans to accelerate its product development, expand its team,…

Outmarket AI, a newly launched intelligence platform designed to transform the commercial insurance sector, has raised $4.7m in a seed funding round.The investment was led by Fika Ventures, with additional participation from TTV and Dash Fund.The capital injection is expected to accelerate Outmarket AI’s product development, grow its team, and strengthen strategic partnerships with leading brokers and insurance carriers.The company, which was founded by experts in both InsurTech and artificial intelligence, has created a platform that directly integrates into the existing workflows of brokers and carriers. By embedding AI-powered automation and real-time insights into these processes, Outmarket AI aims to…

Caddi, a professional services automation platform, has raised $5m in seed funding to advance its innovative “record-to-code” technology.The seed round was led by Ubiquity Ventures, with participation from Founders’ Co-op and the AI2 Incubator.Caddi is focused on transforming the way professional services firms — including law firms, financial advisors, accountants, and consultants — handle repetitive administrative tasks. The company’s platform allows firms to automate their workflows.At the core of Caddi’s offering is its “record-to-code” approach, which enables professionals to turn basic screen recordings into fully functional, API-driven automations. This allows firms to automate processes such as client intake, document management,…

Episode Six, a global provider of ledger and card infrastructure solutions, has secured a strategic investment from Japan Airlines, a long-time partner of the company since 2017.The investment amount has not been disclosed.Episode Six specialises in providing enterprise-grade payments technology, offering flexible and adaptable ledger and card infrastructure designed for financial institutions, FinTech firms, and consumer-facing brands.The new capital injection will allow Episode Six to enhance its product offering and further support Japan Airlines’ financial services strategy. This includes the continued development of JAL Pay, Japan Airlines’ core payments solution, which is already integrated into its wider customer ecosystem.The partnership…

PARIS (AP) — To a futuristic backdrop of interlocking squares — like an intergalactic Super Bowl — designer Ib Kamara delivered a fierce, urban-feeling collection at Paris Fashion Week. Off-White’s signature fusion of utility, streetwear, and high concept was on full display, this time exploring uniforms as both a symbol of unity and individuality. The brand’s name itself — coined by founder Virgil Abloh — was meant to represent the space between black and white, a metaphor for the blurred lines between luxury and streetwear, exclusivity and accessibility.Structured shoulders, a Kamara staple, gave both men’s and women’s looks a sense…

LinkedIn posts nobody reads? Fix these 5 mistakes to get noticed getty Average posts just don’t cut it anymore on LinkedIn. In 2011 you could post how you were “delighted to announce” something or how it was “amazing to meet” someone and your contacts would hit “like.” Not in 2025. You have to entertain. You have to educate. You have to share pictures, videos and carousels. If you’re not playing the game, you’re losing. I more than quadrupled my LinkedIn following from 7k to 30k in 2024 by following a clear system. My AI for Coaches newsletter gained 8,000 subscribers…

There seems to be a new, more impressive AI model every week. Given the rapid pace, how can founders best position themselves to build on top of this technology? At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley, we’ll host a panel on “How Founders Can Build on Existing Foundational Models” to answer some existential questions facing AI startups. We’re thrilled to have leaders from Google DeepMind, Cohere, and Twelve Labs — three companies at the forefront of AI model development — to help us answer some of these questions. Attendees can hear straight from the…

PayBright, a merchant services provider, has announced a strategic investment in Figure, a point-of-sale (POS) software solutions provider.The deal sees PayBright become Figure’s largest investor and its exclusive payment processing partner going forward.The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, but PayBright confirmed that the partnership will significantly expand Figure’s reach by tapping into PayBright’s national network of more than 800 merchant services agents, independent sales organisations (ISOs), and brokers. This network is expected to play a pivotal role in driving Figure’s growth and market presence.Figure offers a cloud-based POS platform designed to streamline operations for restaurants and small…