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Tech News
A tech newsletter roundup covers preparations for an extreme El Niño event, new developments in jet-powered drone warfare, the emergence of credit cards designed for AI agents to make purchases, and a GLP-1 drug manufacturer partnering with Anthropic's Claude to accelerate medicine development.
Thatch, a startup that lets employers give workers a fixed healthcare budget to shop individual insurance plans, raised $108 million at a $1 billion valuation. That figure is more than double its $410 million valuation from 17 months ago, driven by roughly sevenfold growth in annual recurring revenue. The company uses an employer-funded model, recently rebranded CHOICE, that lets employees pick from various health, dental and vision plans and keep unused funds for other medical costs.
Health benefits startup Thatch has raised $108 million in new funding at a $1 billion valuation, backed by existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, and The General Partnership. The round comes just 17 months after Thatch was valued at $410 million, with CEO Chris Ellis saying annual recurring revenue grew roughly sevenfold in that span.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used AI to analyze over 400,000 Reddit posts from nearly 70,000 users discussing GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. The analysis, published in Nature Health, surfaced patient-reported symptoms—particularly menstrual changes and temperature issues like chills and hot flashes—that appear underrepresented in clinical trials and regulatory data. The team stresses this doesn't prove the drugs cause these effects, but flags them as signals worth further study.
The Guardian gathered reader accounts describing how GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro have reshaped family dynamics, with many users hiding their use out of shame. Several described feeling they had 'cheated' at weight loss, straining relationships with partners, children and friends who didn't know about the medication.
A growing number of children and teenagers with obesity or type 2 diabetes are being prescribed GLP-1 medications, drugs originally developed for adults. Physicians and researchers say long-term safety and developmental effects of these treatments in younger patients remain largely unstudied.
New research points to GLP-1 medications, including Ozempic, being associated with fewer or less severe cases of certain infections, among them tuberculosis. Two separate studies form the basis of these findings, suggesting a potential secondary health benefit beyond the drugs' established use in diabetes and weight management.
Researchers publishing in Nature on September 2 found that older female mice given a GLP-1 obesity drug lived longer than untreated mice and showed slower onset of several biological markers linked to aging. The finding builds on earlier mouse studies suggesting GLP-1 medications, typically used for obesity and type 2 diabetes, may have broader anti-aging effects beyond weight loss.
Counterfeit versions of retatrutide, an experimental Eli Lilly weight-loss drug not yet submitted for FDA approval, are being sold at spas and on social media despite lacking any regulatory clearance. The drug targets three hormone receptors to suppress appetite and boost calorie burn, with early trial data suggesting significant weight loss, but no legitimate US provider is authorized to prescribe it. ABC Australia reported a case where a counterfeit vial of the drug caused severe liver damage.
US-based Berry Street has combined with Khosla Ventures-backed Indian startup Healthify, forming a single company that will operate as Berry Street in the US and Healthify elsewhere, including India. Terms were not disclosed. Founders Noah Kotlove and Tushar Vashisht will serve as co-CEOs, uniting Berry Street's insurance-covered GLP-1 clinic network with Healthify's AI-driven coaching platform.