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An ex-Apple engineer just raised $14 million for his own defense startup, which borrows a key strategy from Apple and Tesla

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  • Delian Alliance Industries, founded by former Apple engineer Dimitrios Kottas, announced Tuesday it’s raised $14 million in Series A funding to accelerate production of its affordable and autonomous defense systems. Kottas, who spent five years working in Apple’s secretive robotics lab, said he applied many learnings from his time in Silicon Valley to his four-year-old defense startup.

Dimitrios Kottas spent years at Apple working in its secretive “Special Projects Group” (SPG), working on autonomous systems for robots—and, for many years, was the team most closely associated with Project Titan, Apple’s since-canceled car project. But a few months after leaving Apple in 2021, he began work on Delian Alliance Industries, a defense startup designed “to protect Europe and its allies.”

On Tuesday, Kottas wrote a blog post announcing Delian had raised $14 million in a Series A funding round, led by Air Street Capital and Marathon Venture Capital, to “accelerate the production” of affordable and autonomous systems that “defend against invasion and incursion at nation scale.”

Rather than partnering with other defense companies and startups, Delian is borrowing a page from Apple, as well as Tesla, in that it’s choosing vertical integration as its key strategy around production. It makes its own hardware—targeting systems, surveillance towers, drones, and more— as well as the software and systems, which are all “designed to be low cost, deployed in mass, and sovereign,” according to the company’s website

Kottas, who graduated from the University of Minnesota after years of studying computer science and researching machine learning, said Silicon Valley also taught him about the importance of embracing “moonshot” projects, which are ambitious ideas that may result in revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, change. Some of its prototypes reflect this concept, including explosive-laden high-speed boats that launch out of concealed locations to deter attacks by air or by sea. (Kottas told The Financial Times Delian is focused on “the maritime domain,” as airborne drones are a “very saturated market.”)

“Our adversaries are arming themselves with emerging technologies at a rapid industrial scale,” Kottas wrote in a blog post. “We’re in a race against time and should measure deployments in days, not decades. We’ve proven our systems in mission critical environments and will now ramp up production internationally.”

Delian, which has offices in Athens and London, says it’s built to integrate with “Europe’s evolving defense priorities.” The EU is having a defense boom right now: Ever since President Trump signaled that Europe is no longer a security priority for the U.S., several countries have accelerated their own investments as they attempt to reduce their dependency on U.S. support.

At the NATO summit in June, all 32 member countries committed to raising security-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035; separately, 18 EU countries have applied for billions of euros from The Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund, which is a new $173 billion defense program aimed at providing cheap loans for member countries so they can buy military equipment together. As you might imagine, defense companies and startups are reaping the benefits of these policy shifts.

Delian Alliance Industries did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.

Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in America. Explore this year’s list.



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New York City is officially getting 3 Las Vegas-style casinos

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The New York Mets’ ballpark in Queens. A Bronx golf course once operated by President Donald Trump ’s company. A slot parlor on a horse racing track near John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The three disparate sites, located far from the tourist hub of Manhattan, will become the future homes of New York City’s first Las Vegas-style resort casinos.

The state Gaming Commission on Monday awarded the three projects licenses to operate in the lucrative metropolitan-area market during a meeting at a riverside park in upper Manhattan.

The panel approved the licenses with the condition that the companies each appoint an outside monitor that would report regularly to the commission to ensure they meet their financial and legal obligations, as well as the promised investments they made to local communities.

Brian O’Dwyer, the commission’s chair, said the state looked forward to the promise of jobs, infrastructure improvements and gaming revenue being realized.

“You all have an important charge ahead of you, and you can be assured that this commission takes our responsibility to keep your feet to the fire with great respect,” he said to the project representatives in attendance.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement the projects would pump billions of dollars into the state’s transit and education systems and create tens of thousands of jobs.

But a handful of protesters opposed to billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Hard Rock plan vowed to continue their fight in court. They and other casino opponents worry the projects will only increase gambling addiction.

“You picked a billionaire over New Yorkers! Shame on you!” the group shouted as they walked out of the meeting.

Cohen and Hard Rock’s proposal calls for an $8.1 billion casino complex on a parking lot next to the Mets’ Citi Field that would include a performance venue, hotel and retail space.

Bally’s has proposed a roughly $4 billion casino at the Ferry Point golf course in the Bronx that would include a hotel, event center, meeting spaces, restaurants and other amenities.

And Resorts World has proposed investing more than $5 billion to expand its slots parlor at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens into a full casino with a hotel, dining and entertainment options.

The projects bested several other proposals that fell by the wayside during the high-stakes competition.

Among them were three casinos proposed for Manhattan that were rejected by local boards, including a Caesars Palace in the heart of Times Square backed by rapper Jay-Z. A plan for a resort on Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk in Brooklyn was also defeated by local opposition, and MGM abruptly pulled out of the once-crowded sweepstakes, despite local support.

The state gaming commission was authorized to license up to three casinos in the New York City area after voters approved a referendum in 2013 opening the door to casino gambling statewide.

Four full casinos, all upstate, now offer table games. The state also runs nine gambling halls without live table games, many of them also miles away from Manhattan.

Monday’s decision, in some ways, was largely a formality. Millions of dollars in gambling revenues are already factored into the state budget.

A state panel charged with vetting the proposals for the commission also recommended awarding a license to all three remaining proposals earlier this month.

The Gaming Facility Location Board, in its written decision, argued that the region’s dense and relatively affluent population, combined with high tourism, would be able to support all three plans, despite their relative proximity to each other.

The panel said its consultants conservatively estimated the casinos would generate a combined $7 billion in gambling tax revenues from 2027 to 2036, plus $1.5 billion in licensing fees and nearly $6 billion in state and local taxes.

Monday’s decision also means Trump could stand to claim a substantial prize. When Bally’s purchased operating rights for the city-owned Ferry Point golf course from the Trump Organization in 2023, it agreed to pony up an additional $115 million if it won a casino license.

Spokespersons for the Trump Organization didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Monday on the expected windfall.



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Cadillac returns as sponsor for PGA tour event at Trump National Doral

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Cadillac is returning as the title sponsor of a lucrative PGA Tour event held at Trump National Doral, which will hold one of the $20 million signature events in 2026.

The Cadillac Championship will be held the first weekend in May on the course once dubbed the “Blue Monster.” Doral first became part of the PGA Tour schedule in 1962, and it was held each year through 2016 until becoming a World Golf Championship under various names.

Brian Rolapp, the CEO of the PGA Tour, referred to Trump National Doral as a “legacy venue on our schedule.”

“We appreciate the support of Cadillac as we bring a new era of the PGA Tour to our fans in Miami,” Rolapp said in a statement.

Cadillac was the title sponsor of the WGC at Trump National Doral from 2011 through 2016. But the automaker chose not to renew its contract, the PGA Tour could not find a replacement sponsor for Doral in 2016 when President Donald Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee and the WGC event was moved to Mexico City.

Doral is among eight courses that has held a regular PGA Tour event for at least 50 years — the others are Riviera, Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines in California; Colonial (Texas), Waialae (Hawaii), Harbour Town (South Caroline) and Muirfield Village (Ohio).

It returned to the golf landscape in 2022 by hosting a LIV Golf event each of the last four years until returning to the PGA Tour schedule for 2026. The tour designated Trump National Doral a signature event before it signed Cadillac as the title sponsor.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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Rob Reiner’s 32-year-old son in jail after fatal stabbing at Los Angeles home

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Rob Reiner’s younger son, Nick Reiner, was in jail Monday after being booked for what investigators believe was the fatal stabbing of the director-actor and his wife at their Los Angeles home a day earlier, authorities said.

It was not immediately clear what charges Nick Reiner, 32, would face. A police statement said he was being held without bail and the case will be presented to the district attorney’s office on Tuesday.

Representatives for the Reiner family did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it wasn’t immediately clear if Nick Reiner had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Nick Reiner has spoken publicly of his struggles with addiction. By 18, he had cycled in and out of treatment facilities with bouts of homelessness and relapses in between. Rob and Nick Reiner explored their difficult relationship and Nick Reiner’s struggles with drugs in a semi-autobiographical 2016 film, “ Being Charlie.”

Rob and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead Sunday afternoon at their home in Los Angeles, and investigators believe they were stabbed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official, who was briefed on the investigation, could not publicly discuss the details and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Nick Reiner was arrested Sunday around 9:15 p.m., police said.

Reiner was long one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work included some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including “This is Spinal Tap,” “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Princess Bride.”

His role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic in Norman Lear’s 1970s TV classic “All in the Family” as a liberal foil to Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker catapulted him to fame and won him two Emmy Awards.

The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner married photographer Michele Singer Reiner in 1989. The two met while he was directing “When Harry Met Sally.” They had three children together: Nick, Jake and Romy.

Reiner told The New York Times in 1989 that the cinematographer on “When Harry Met Sally,” Barry Sonnenfeld, predicted he would marry her. “I look over and I see this girl, and whoo! I was attracted immediately,” Reiner said.

Michele Singer Reiner was a producer for “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” “God & Country,” “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” and “Shock and Awe,” according to IMDB. Earlier in her career, she photographed the cover image of President Donald Trump’s 1987 bestseller “The Art of the Deal.”

Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to the president for the actor-director’s killing, delivering the unsubstantiated claim in a social media post that seemed intent on decrying his opponents even in the face of a tragedy.

Relatives of Lear, the legendary producer who died in 2023, said the Reiners’ deaths left them bereft.

“Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world,” a Lear family statement said. “Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the deaths a devastating loss for the city.

“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said in a statement. “An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”

Reiner was previously married to actor-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. He adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Carl Reiner died in 2020 at age 98 and Marshall died in 2018.

Killings are rare in the Brentwood neighborhood. The scene is about a mile from the home where O.J. Simpson’s wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994.

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Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed.



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