Developer & Business Tech Summary

Phoebe Gates' artificial intelligence shopping startup, Phia, has successfully raised $30 million in its latest funding round, bringing the company's valuation to $180 million. Bill Gates, her father, has stated he won't invest in the venture but has been supportive of its development.

In related news, Simular, which focuses on building AI agents for Mac and Windows PCs, has secured a $21.5 million Series A funding led by Felicis, with its 1.0 version now released for macOS. Additionally, PermitFlow, known for its AI-powered workflow software for construction permitting, has raised $54 million in Series B funding led by Accel, achieving an estimated valuation of around $500 million.

Meanwhile, several companies, including Airtable and Opendoor, have announced they are 'refounding' their startups in an effort to integrate new AI features into their offerings. An article by Wired questions the relevance of Ruby as a programming language, suggesting that the programming community has moved on to other languages.

This discourse highlights the ongoing evolution and competitive landscape of development tools and languages in the tech industry.