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Garry Tan leads Y Combinator, a leading startup program. Last week, he made a controversial tweet, expressing anger towards politicians. The tweet has since been deleted, but it stirred up discussion.
However, Tan’s outburst served as a distraction from a wave of tech layoffs, including some at TechCrunch. On the brighter side, let’s dive into what else has been happening in the startup world.
Most interesting startup stories this week
Plex, a media streaming company, secured $40 million in funding. The company is striving for profitability and experimenting with various features, such as ad-supported content and social sharing, to become a major player in the streaming industry.
Apple’s response to regulatory compliance demands has raised eyebrows. The company reluctantly introduced changes required by laws like Europe’s Digital Markets Act, while expressing concerns about the potential risks to users. This approach risks damaging relationships with developers and political goodwill.
Next-level tracking: Visible introduced illness tracking, providing daily reminders of chronic ailments, adding a different dimension to the world of fitness tracking.
Most interesting fundraises this week
A startup called Metronome closed $43 million in Series B funding, aiming to simplify billing for AI companies. Rebellions secured a $124 million Series B funding in the competitive field of AI chips. Chef Robotics received $15 million to promote robot-assisted food assembly in commercial kitchens. Aim Security received $10 million to enhance generative AI security.
This week’s big trend: Layoffs. Again.
Despite past optimism, layoffs are again making headlines. Tech giants like Microsoft and Alphabet are announcing layoffs despite strong profits, while venture capital is being hesitant. This ongoing trend demonstrates that in the tech industry, layoff announcements are all too common.
Cost control: Brex, a spend management startup, has reduced its employee roster by nearly 20% after previously expanding it.
Severe efforts have been made to halt the rampant expenditure of $17 million per month.
Generating funds while reducing employees: Flexport, despite already securing $2.7 billion in funding, is considering another round of staff reductions, indicating that even with substantial resources, they are willing to trim the workforce yet again, shortly after receiving an additional $260 million from Shopify.
Necessary streamlining: PayPal has chosen to reduce its staff once more, this time eliminating 9% of its employees, or about 2,500 individuals. One can assume that the rationale behind this strategy is based on the lesser-known notion that the best way to foster innovation is by having fewer innovators.
Other notable TechCrunch stories . . .
Every week, there are always a few stories that I would like to share with you, which do not quite fit into the aforementioned categories. It would be a pity if you missed them, so here’s a varied selection of interesting tidbits for you:
Returning to productivity, AI style: In a world where even AI can exhibit signs of laziness, OpenAI has decided to lower prices and overhaul the work ethic of its GPT-4 model, ensuring that it no longer evades completing tasks. It seems the AI was quietly embodying a digital form of resigning, but fear not, the latest update promises a more diligent and cost-effective virtual colleague.
India’s initial AI unicorn: Ola founder’s AI venture, Krutrim, attains the title in record time with a substantial $50 million funding round at a valuation exceeding a billion, claiming to be India’s first significant AI player effortlessly.
Stop snooping, X: X’s handling of the Taylor Swift deepfake incident underscored the strikingly low standards for content moderation. This event emphasized the comedic inadequacy of current safeguards, essentially making the internet’s unchecked territory appear as a playground for those lacking digital proficiency.
A departure in reality: Arrival, the commercial EV startup once lauded for its groundbreaking microfactory concept, has plummeted from a $13 billion valuation to potentially being worth very little, proving that not everything that shines in the SPAC world is gold. Now its shares are set to vanish from the Nasdaq.
Throwing in the towel: Amazon’s ambitious plan to dominate the world with robot vacuums encountered a setback, and their $1.4 billion deal with iRobot has turned to dust. Meanwhile, iRobot, facing a future without Amazon’s financial support, begins cutting jobs and envisioning the next big thing in home automation.