The United States Senate is poised to vote on legislation this week that, for the next two years at least, could dramatically expand the number of businesses that the US government can force to eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant. Some of the nation's top legal experts on a controversial US spy program argue that the legislation, known as the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), would enhance the US government's spy powers, forcing a variety of new businesses to secretly eavesdrop on Americans' overseas calls, texts, and email messages. The Section 702 program, authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, was established more than a decade ago to legalize the government's practice of forcing major telecommunications companies to eavesdrop on overseas calls in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On the one hand, the government claims that the program is designed to exclusively target foreign citizens who are physically located abroad; on the other, the government has fiercely defended its ability to access wiretaps of Americans' emails and phone conversations, often years after the fact and in cases unrelated to the reasons the wiretaps were ordered in the first place....

While Microsoft investing big in AI is nothing new ' see OpenAI ' the deal with G42, an AI holding company, comes with other entanglements that likely needed to be cleared before the announcement of the deal. In a release, Microsoft says the partnership is backed by assurances to both U.S. and UAE governments in a first-of-its-kind agreement to apply best practices to ensure the secure and responsible development of AI. It was also reported the deal followed negotiations between the U.S. and G42 to divest from China and pivot to American technology. Earlier this year, the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter urging the Department of Commerce to investigate G42. The investment further illustrates Microsoft's market assault to become the dominant tech power in AI. It is the third-largest investment by Microsoft into an AI company ' behind only OpenAi and Cruise ' per Crunchbase data. Santa Clara, California-based chip startup Rivos raised more than $250 million in a Series A-3 funding led by Matrix Capital Management. The company develops power optimized chips targeting the data analytics and generative AI markets....

Though the last few years have been marked by a downturn in the general venture market, a number of firms have raised eye-popping sums to back climate tech founders. SOSV announced on Tuesday a $306 million deep tech fund that will be 70% focused on climate. New Summit Investments is raising a $100 million impact fund. And Congruent Ventures raised a $275 million fund in 2023, turning down $325 million in additional LP interest. The difference, though, is that those are all relatively established firms. Bay Bridge Ventures is new, having been founded in 2022 with a focus on ESG more broadly and sustainability in particular. Though the firm participated in a $10 million round for SailPlan in 2022, according to PitchBook, it doesn't appear to have any other investments or funds on record, based on a search of SEC filings and PitchBook data. Still, that doesn't mean Bay Bridge lacks experience. General partner Andrew Karsh left pension fund CalPERS to co-found the firm. His co-founders Joe Blair and Kim Kolt aren't new to the scene, either. Blair previously worked at Cota Capital and Obvious Ventures and currently hosts the Epic Human Podcast. Kolt founded For Good Ventures and previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank....

' Hey, Linas here! Welcome back to a ' weekly free edition ' of my daily newsletter. Each day I focus on 3 stories that are making a difference in the financial technology space. Coupled with things worth watching & most important money movements, it's the only newsletter you need for all things when Finance meets Tech. Apple Card Savings account rate dips for first time since launch ' [what it means for Apple & why it's brilliant news for Robinhood + a deeper dive into the stock trading FinTech giant & a holistic look at the Apple Card over the last 5 years] As for today, here are the 2 fascinating FinTech stories that were reshaping the world of financial technology as we know it. This is one of the most interesting and rewarding weeks this year thus far, so make sure to check all the above stories. Following the money ' After a challenging year for startups in 2023, the first quarter of 2024 showed some signs of improvement in the venture capital market, although investors still remain cautious....