💰 After $120m Exit, Expensya Duo Launch Thunder Code

Today’s Menu ☕️

💰 After $120m Exit, Expensya Duo Launch Thunder Code and Raise $9m for AI-Powered Testing
💦 Kumulus Water Secures $3.5m to Scale Off-Grid Tech That Pulls Drinking Water from Air
🤖 AI-Washing: When the Intelligence Is Artificial in Name Only
🎥 Microsoft Unveils Bing Video Creator: Turning Text Prompts into AI-Generated Short Films

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💰FUNDING

After $120m Exit, Expensya Duo Launch Thunder Code and Raise $9m for AI-Powered Testing

Just 18 months ago, Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani had crossed the finish line of the startup marathon. Their fintech company, Expensya—an expense management platform born in Tunisia—had been acquired by Swedish software giant Medius in a deal reportedly worth over $120 million. With the sale widely regarded as one of Africa’s largest tech exits, the duo seemingly had every reason to step away from startup life.

But startup life, as it turns out, wasn’t done with them.

Today, Jouini and Othmani are back in the founder’s seat, this time leading a new venture: Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing startup. Headquartered in Paris with an office in Tunis, Thunder Code has already raised $9 million in seed funding, drawing interest from top-tier backers like Silicon Badia, Janngo Capital, Titan Seed Fund, and strategic angels including Station F’s Roxanne Varza and InstaDeep’s Karim Beguir......……continue reading

💦 CLIMATE TECH

Kumulus Water Secures $3.5m to Scale Off-Grid Tech That Pulls Drinking Water from Air

Kumulus Water, a Franco-Tunisian climate tech startup turning air into drinking water, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to accelerate its mission of providing sustainable, decentralized water access to underserved regions. The round was led by Bpifrance (via France 2030 SGPI and the Île-de-France Region), with participation from PlusVC, Khalys Venture, Flat6Labs, Spadel, and several family offices and founders from across Europe and North Africa.

Founded in 2021 by Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid, Kumulus Water has developed atmospheric water generators (AWGs) that extract moisture from the air and convert it into clean, drinkable water. Designed for off-grid use, the compact systems require no infrastructure, making them ideal for remote communities, schools, hotels, and refugee camps in regions where water scarcity and unreliable utilities are a persistent challenge......…continue reading

 🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AI-Washing: When the Intelligence Is Artificial in Name Only

Artificial Intelligence has become the hottest buzzword in the tech industry. From pitch decks to product demos, adding “AI-powered” to a solution often guarantees attention, funding, and inflated valuations. But what happens when the intelligence is artificial in name only?

That’s the cautionary tale of Builder.ai, once a celebrated startup valued at $1.5 billion, now facing the ruins of its own hype machine. The company, which promised to revolutionize software development with generative AI, collapsed after being exposed for faking key parts of its AI capabilities. What was marketed as a futuristic no-code platform turned out to be smoke and mirrors, powered more by human engineers than intelligent algorithms.

And Builder.ai isn’t alone. It’s the latest in a worrying trend where startups exploit the hype around AI to raise capital—without fully understanding the technology or its limitations........…continue reading

🎥 MEDIA

Microsoft Unveils Bing Video Creator: Turning Text Prompts into AI-Generated Short Films

Microsoft has unveiled Bing Video Creator, a new feature within its Bing mobile app that empowers users to generate short videos from text prompts using OpenAI’s Sora model. This tool aims to democratize video creation by making it accessible to a broader audience, including content creators, marketers, educators, and casual users.

Bing Video Creator allows users to input descriptive text prompts, which the AI then transforms into five-second vertical videos in a 9:16 format—ideal for platforms like TikTok and Instagram. For instance, a prompt such as “In a bustling Italian pizzeria, a small otter chef kneads dough with his paws” would result in a short animated clip depicting that scene.

The tool is currently available on the Bing mobile app for iOS and Android users, with plans to expand to desktop and integrate with Copilot Search in the near future. Users can access the feature by selecting “Video Creator” from the app’s menu or by typing prompts directly into the search bar....….…continue reading

OTHER STORIES

• After the Raise: What I Tell Startup Founders Who Think They’ve “Made It”……continue reading

• Why Nigerian Fintechs Are Suddenly Eyeing East Africa……..continue reading

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