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Good morning VC enthusiasts. Our Beehiiv launch went better than expected and we just hit our highest open rate ever! Thank you for the strong support and for being active in the emails. From now on you will get Inside/VC twice a week (MON & THU) so you always stay up to date. Our “Data Thursday” edition will also include free data, tools and deeper analysis to deliver even more value every week. Let’s jump in:
In today’s Inside/VC edition:
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Deepgram raises $130M at $1.3B valuation and buys a YC AI startup
ElevenLabs CEO says the voice AI startup crossed $330M ARR last year
Microsoft reveals global AI adoption gap
Developers have made $550B on Apple’s App Store since 2008
AI RESEARCH
Image Source: Microsoft AI Economy Institute
The Inside: Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute just released a new global report showing that AI adoption reached 16.3% by the end of 2025, while quietly exposing a widening divide between rich and developing countries and the rapid spread of China’s DeepSeek model across underserved markets.
The details:
The UAE now leads the world, with 64% of its working age population actively using AI, while the United States has fallen to 24th place despite dominating global model development and AI infrastructure.
Developed “Global North” economies are adopting AI at nearly twice the pace of developing nations, pushing the adoption gap to 10.6 percentage points and hardening a two speed AI world.
DeepSeek has emerged as the surprise winner across Africa and other underserved regions, with usage rates two to four times higher than in Western markets, driven by Huawei distribution and its free, open source model.
Why it matters: The AI race is no longer just about who builds the best models, but who gets them into the hands of real people. The US may lead in chips and research, but it is losing the mass adoption game. At the same time, DeepSeek is quietly becoming the default AI layer for much of the developing world, showing that accessibility and distribution now matter as much as raw capability.
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APPLE DATA
Image Source: Ritchie B. Tongo
The Inside: Apple just posted a record year across its services business, revealing that developers have earned a combined $550B (!) through the App Store since its launch in 2008, as payments, media, and engagement all continue to scale globally.
The details:
The App Store now reaches 850M weekly users and processed more than $100B in Apple Pay merchant sales during 2025.
Apple Music and Apple TV both hit all time highs in engagement and new subscribers, with Apple TV alone seeing a 36% jump in monthly viewing.
Apple confirmed developer payouts have more than doubled since 2021, highlighting how fast its digital marketplace is still expanding.
Why it matters: Apple’s services business is no longer a side bet to hardware. With hundreds of billions flowing through the App Store and user engagement still rising, Apple has become one of the most powerful gatekeepers in the global software and media economy.
SHORTS
Everything else in VC Today
Type One Energy raised $87M in a convertible note as it works toward closing a $250M Series B at a $900M pre money valuation to commercialize fusion power.
Google rolled out a Gemini beta called Personal Intelligence that lets the AI reason across your Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube history to deliver proactive, highly personalized responses.
ElevenLabs crossed $330M in annual recurring revenue last year, with its voice AI now being used by both Fortune 500 companies and startups to run tens of thousands of automated customer calls each month.
Deepgram raised $130M in a Series C at a $1.3B valuation and acquired YC backed OfOne to expand its voice AI products for enterprises and restaurant ordering.
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That's it for today!
See you soon,
Jannis & Felix — the humans behind Inside/VC