Founders•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
Core DAO Launches $5M Fund for African Web3 Builders
Core DAO's new African Innovation Fund aims to boost local Web3 projects with capital and crucial network access.
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THE DAILY RIFT
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- •Emerging patterns before the hype
- •Direct action steps for builders & founders
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Today's Intelligence
HardwareAug 28
Sapphire Surface Modification Yields Wafer-Scale 2D Semiconductor Crystals
Peking University researchers developed a method to grow high-quality 2D semiconductor crystals on sapphire substrates, paving the way for large-scale production.
●Builder Action:Developers can anticipate new possibilities for building high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices using wafer-scale 2D semiconductors. The ability to grow WS2 and MoS2 on modified sapphire substrates means more uniform and defect-free materials, enabling higher transistor speeds and improved sensor performance. This research potentially simplifies integration pathways for 2D materials into larger systems, moving beyond small-flake research to manufacturable components.
Data ScienceAug 28
AI Data Agents: Beyond SQL Generation to Real-World Trust
Vendors demo impressive query generation, but real-world AI data agent success hinges on data quality and output validation.
●Builder Action:Developers must shift focus from writing explicit SQL queries to building and managing the data quality, governance, and validation layers that AI agents rely on. Expect to build tooling for anomaly detection, data lineage tracking, and automated output review workflows to ensure AI-generated insights are trustworthy.
CreatorsAug 28
MP4 to GIF: A Frame-First Workflow for Optimized Output
Transforming MP4 clips into usable GIFs is an editing challenge, not just a format conversion.
●Builder Action:Developers building media conversion tools should expose intermediate editing steps rather than offering a monolithic 'convert' button. Prioritize user control over trimming, frame selection, and timing parameters to enable optimized GIF creation. Consider implementing variable frame sampling and intelligent palette reduction for finer control over output quality and file size.
Original Deep Intelligence
RIFT REPORTDEEP INTELLIGENCE
Weekly Rift: AI Agents Mature, GPU Costs Soar, and Security Lapses Persist
AI agents are moving beyond simple tasks to complex workflows, while GPU shortages continue to drive up costs, and persistent security vulnerabilities plague the tech landscape.
2 minread time
Updated:24 Aug 2026
Funding Radar
Seed and Venture CapitalEnterprise Ireland
EUR15.0MRolling
Start-up FundingEnterprise Ireland
EUR50kRolling
IRAP Youth Employment ProgramIRAP Canada
CAD60kRolling
Innovation Assistance Program (IAP)IRAP Canada
CAD500kRolling
GBP0Rolling
Tool Radar
Enter ProAn AI-native platform for building and scaling applications.
paidDiscovered
GitNexusAn open-source kernel for coding agents, enabling AI-driven software development.
freeDiscovered
IQ RoutingTrajectory-aware LLM routing to reduce agent costs.
paidDiscovered
GLM-5.3-FlashThe first natively multimodal model in the GLM-5 series, offering advanced capabilities.
paidDiscovered
TracciaTraccia is a vendor-neutral AI Agent Control Plane for managing AI agents.
paidDiscovered
Latest Feed
Cybersecurity•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
Microsoft Device ID Can Track Users, Hacker Arrest Reveals
A recent arrest highlights how Microsoft's device ID can be used to track Windows users, raising privacy concerns.
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Founders•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
US Autonomous Ground Vehicles Now Operational in Ukraine
Forterra confirms deployment of over 100 unmanned ground vehicles to support Ukrainian forces.
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AI Models•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
Tamamon: The Desktop Pet That Grows With Your Claude Code
A new desktop companion, Tamamon, visually represents your coding progress with Anthropic's Claude Code.
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Developers•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
ResilixForge: New Python Async Toolkit for System Resilience
An open-source Python library offers composable policies for retries, circuit breakers, and rate limiting in async services.
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Developers•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
Rethinking System Tools: Four Design Assumptions Under Scrutiny
Function shapes form, but how we interact with system tools profoundly impacts user experience. Levashov challenges core design assumptions.
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Developers•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
GitHub Actions vs GitLab CI vs Jenkins: Real-World CI/CD Testing Pipeline Comparison
Evaluating GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Jenkins for automated testing management in CI/CD with identical real-world pipelines.
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Creators•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
AI Shifts Work Stress: From Creation to Critical Judgment
AI tools eliminate the blank page, but amplify the burden of verification and trust.
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Founders•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
Jack Selby's Copper Sky Capital Targets $300M for Second Fund
Thiel Capital partner Jack Selby is backing startups like Etched via his VC firm, Copper Sky Capital, which is raising a substantial second fund.
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Developers•Jul 8, 10:37 PM
Entra Extension Changes Are Control Plane Events: A Monitoring Contract
Every modification to a Microsoft Entra extension now functions as a control plane event, establishing a critical monitoring contract.
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