🚀 This week was absolutely UNHINGED. Meta said "hold my beer" and dropped $10B on Google Cloud, Anthropic is about to secure a bag so big it'll make your NFT losses look cute, and AI is literally changing how your mouth moves when you talk.
This digest is about to hit harder than your favorite TikTok sound going viral. Let's dive in.
Industry Moves
- Meta signs a $10B cloud deal with Google. This deal comes as Meta plans to invest between $66 billion and $72 billion in capital expenditures this year, literally throwing around more money than most countries see. For Google Cloud, securing Meta as a client is the ultimate flex against AWS and Microsoft Azure.
- Anthropic said "double or nothing" and investors said BET. The Claude creators went from a $5B target to potentially $10B because apparently that's just how we do funding rounds in 2025. Going from a $61.5B to $170B valuation is giving lottery winner energy. When your AI startup is worth more than most Fortune 500 companies, you know we're in a simulation.
- Interhuman AI secures €2M to help AI read the room. To create the first social intelligence layer for AI, the startup has secured a €2 million pre-seed round led by PSV Tech, with backing from EIFO, Antler, The Yope Foundation and angels linked to Ada Ventures.
- Dutch Axelera AI eyes €150M+ raise as Europe bets big on chip sovereignty. Axelera AI funding talks are underway as the Dutch chip startup seeks to raise more than €150M. The company, backed by Samsung and the European Union, aims to close the round by year-end. A spokesperson confirmed the raise and said the team was "very pleased" with progress, while declining to share details. The new valuation was not disclosed.
- Crusoe nears $10B valuation as it scales clean power data centres. Denver-based Crusoe Energy Systems is in talks to raise over $1 billion at a valuation of around $10 billion. Last year, this clean energy startup was valued at $2.8 billion after raising a $600 million funding round, backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Nvidia, Fidelity, and others.
Product Reality Check
- Meta x Midjourney collaboration just dropped, and it's about to eat OpenAI's lunch. Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang announced this partnership on Threads like it was casual Tuesday news, but this is actually massive. When the biggest social platform teams up with the AI art king, every other AI image generator is about to be in their flop era.
- Adobe said "2D? We don't know her" and launched Turntable. This AI feature literally takes your flat illustrations and makes them spin like they're on a lazy Susan. Perfect for when you need your character designs to serve looks from every angle. Adobe really said "let's make 3D accessible to everyone" and honestly, we love to see it.
- Meta's AI translation just made deepfakes look basic. The new "Meta AI Translations" feature changes your mouth movements to match the new language. Your lips sync perfectly, like you actually speak fluent Korean. This is either incredibly cool or slightly terrifying, and honestly both vibes are valid.
- Google's AI Mode expands globally, adds new agentic features. Google is launching a global expansion of AI Mode, its feature that allows users to ask complex questions and follow-ups to dig deeper on a topic directly within Search, the company announced on Thursday.
- Google makes it easier to edit Drive videos with a new Vids shortcut button. Google announced that it's enhancing the editing experience for Drive videos with a new shortcut button for Vids, the tech giant's AI-powered video-creation tool.
Design Wins That Work
- Lazarev.agency enabled a leading FinTech company to enhance developer engagement and accelerate product adoption. Quantillium, a leading financial data infrastructure company, offers real-time access to global stock exchange filings via a unified API. To enhance clarity, Quantillium collaborated with Lazarev.agency to develop a user experience that makes financial data accessible and trustworthy.
- Good Sh*t, a carbonated drink design that's good for your gut. Carbonated drinks are often perceived as unhealthy. However, Good Sh*t, a startup brand born in New Zealand, has taken the opposite approach. They've gone beyond simply being "low-sugar" and positioned their drinks as something that promotes gut health.
- Solflare cryptocurrency wallet brand design. This rebranding was achieved in collaboration with London-based branding agency Ragged Edge. They define Solflare as a "Stronghold of the Free," creating a space that provides users with stability and autonomy in a turbulent market.
- Mrs&Mr gives King's Hawaiian a joyful new look for its 75th anniversary. The beloved bakery brand has unveiled a refreshed identity by New York studio Mrs&Mr, reimagining its crown, wordmark, and packaging while staying true to its Hawaiian roots.
- Fold7Design brands the inaugural Freedom Games to rally global action against modern slavery. Working with STOP THE TRAFFIK and Justice & Care, Fold7Design has created a captivating identity for the first Freedom Games, which aims to unite businesses and individuals to take a stand against human trafficking.
- Lantern rebrands 'sustainable travel' for Europe, turning duty into desire. The European Travel Commission and Visit Europe have unveiled a strategic repositioning by Lantern, swapping "sustainable" for "responsible" travel and flipping the script from guilt to upgrade.
Events To Monitor
- Next Generation IoT Expo (August 24–26, 2025, Saudi Arabia). This expo brings together AI and the Internet of Things (IoT). If your company works in smart infrastructure, smart cities, or connected systems, there's a lot to explore here.
- Smart Data & AI Summit (August 27–28, 2025, Saudi Arabia). 500+ AI and data professionals expected Part of Saudi Arabia's big push in AI and digital innovation. This event gives you direct access to local projects, regional partners, and insights into AI strategy under Vision 2030.
This Week's Reality Check
What does effective media content UX/UI design look like in 2025?
Effective website content design guides users through mixed media (text, video, events) without cognitive noise. Pattern-rich navigation and smart filters raise time-on-page and cut bounce paths. Clear, reusable design systems let editorial teams launch new verticals fast. Persona-driven decisions keep the interface evolving with user expectations.
Emotion and Design: Designing for Emotional User Experience
Emotional design is a powerful approach that considers the emotional response of users as a key component of user experience (UX). It moves beyond the traditional goal of usability to make people feel good, create a positive emotional response, and evoke emotions that lead to a memorable experience. A product that makes people feel good can transcend functionality, creating a bond with the user that is both deep and enduring. At the emotional level, design can transform a user's interaction from mere satisfaction to one of delight and even joy.
🔥 Next week: More wins, fewer buzzwords.
