FavFeeds: Curating Tech and Marketing Media for Independent Developer

1.

The biggest flops and fizzles in 2024 transportation, from Apple Car to Fisker

December 22, 2024 17:40:00

Autonomous vehicle technology and electrification startups were once the darlings of the VC and corporate world. The two technologies promised billions of dollars in revenue — and a new pathway for automakers to make money beyond building and selling cars. Those VC-money-printing days have been over for AVs for a while now, with a few […]

2.

OpenAI’s GPT-5 reportedly falling short of expectations

December 21, 2024 18:30:32

OpenAI’s efforts to develop its next major model, GPT-5, are running behind schedule, with results that don’t yet justify the enormous costs, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. This echoes an earlier report in The Information suggesting that OpenAI is looking to new strategies as GPT-5 might not represent as big […]

3.

Meet Skyseed, a VC fund and incubator backing the Bluesky and AT Protocol ecosystem

December 21, 2024 14:00:00

On November 15, Peter Wang posted a message requesting ideas for a new incubator and fund to support experimental projects built on the burgeoning Bluesky/AT Protocol ecosystem. Four weeks later, Skyseed emerged with an initial commitment of $1 million. This turnaround, a speed underscored by the fact that the fund doesn’t even have a website […]

4.

After causing outrage on the first day of Y Combinator, AI code editor PearAI lands $1M seed

December 20, 2024 21:34:50

On the first day of Y Combinator the founders of PearAI got “cancelled." They used the hate to launch a new product, raise $1 million.

5.

VCs pledge not to take money from Russia or China, and Databricks raises a humongous round

December 20, 2024 20:05:00

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. This week was full of news, likely because it is also the last “real” week of 2024. Which is another way for us to say goodbye for […]

6.

Nvidia clears regulatory hurdle to acquire Run:ai

December 20, 2024 18:54:53

Chip company Nvidia gets the green light from the European Union to complete its acquisition of Run:ai. The EU came to a unanimous decision today that Nvidia could go ahead with its acquisition of Israeli GPU orchestration platform Run:ai, according to reporting from Bloomberg. The European Commission determined that if the merger went through, other […]

7.

Here’s the full list of 49 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2024

December 20, 2024 18:12:45

In the first half of 2024 alone, more than $35.5 billion was invested into AI startups globally.

8.

Are AI companies just defense tech now?

December 20, 2024 16:27:25

AI is everywhere. And increasingly it’s being described as defense tech. This week, the Equity pod gang — which included newcomer Max Zeff, Margaux MacColl, and Kirsten Korosec — noticed an emerging trend: The worlds of AI and defense tech are colliding. And that matters, for a few reasons. For one, venture money is flowing […]

9.

British university spinoff Mindgard protects companies from AI threats

December 20, 2024 08:01:00

AI creates a dilemma for companies: Don’t implement it yet, and you might miss out on productivity gains and other potential benefits, but do it wrong, and you might expose your business and clients to unmitigated risks. This is where a new wave of “security for AI” startups comes in, with the premise that these […]

10.

Perplexity has reportedly closed a $500M funding round

December 19, 2024 22:18:29

AI-powered search engine Perplexity has reportedly closed a $500 million funding round, valuing the startup at $9 billion. Bloomberg, citing sources familiar, reports that the round was led by Institutional Venture Partners and that it closed earlier in December. In an email to TechCrunch, a Perplexity spokesperson declined to comment. The mammoth tranche comes as […]

11.

A bad experience with an accounting firm spurred this founder to start Aiwyn

December 19, 2024 21:34:56

Accounting firms are struggling to adopt high-tech solutions. That’s according to a survey earlier this year from Rightsworks, which found that, while 88% of firms believe tech has had a positive impact on their efficiency, 60% are suffering from disconnected systems, inconsistent processes, and a lack of standardized workflows. Startups like Aiwyn are trying to […]

12.

Ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear is founding an AI startup backed by a16z

December 19, 2024 20:33:30

Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, is launching a new AI startup, TechCrunch has learned. The startup, called Stem AI, is currently in stealth. But public documents show it was incorporated in June 2023, and filed for a trademark in August 2023. Shear is listed as CEO on an incorporation document filed with the […]

13.

In just 4 months, AI coding assistant Cursor raised another $100M at a $2.5B valuation led by Thrive, sources say

December 19, 2024 19:15:03

Anysphere, the developer of AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, raised $100 million Series B at a post-money valuation of $2.6 billion, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. The round is being led by returning investor Thrive Capital, the person said. This new funding comes just four months after Anysphere raised its $60 million Series […]

14.

Backed by a16z and NEA, Backflip raises $30M Series A to turn text into AI-generated designs

December 19, 2024 19:06:55

Led by Markforged veterans and backed by a16z, Backlip has raised $30M to democratize product design thanks to AI.

15.

$25 billion valuation Chime takes another step toward an IPO

December 19, 2024 17:17:49

Digital bank Chime has reportedly filed its confidential IPO paperwork with the SEC, with an eye toward a 2025 debut.

16.

Decart nabs $32M at $500M+ valuation to build AI tech and ‘open world’ apps

December 19, 2024 14:40:05

A young startup that emerged from stealth less than two months ago with big-name backers and bigger ambitions is returning to the spotlight. Decart is building what its CEO and co-founder Dean Leitersdorf (pictured above, right) describes as “a fully vertically integrated AI research lab,” alongside enterprise and consumer products based on the lab’s work. […]

17.

With Neverless, former Revolut execs want to make meme coins easy to buy

December 19, 2024 13:33:56

There’s an ocean of meme coins beyond Dogecoin, and a new startup called Neverless wants to make it easier to get started with trading crypto, with a particular focus on providing access to small-cap tokens. This is an interesting new crypto startup, founded by three former executives at Revolut, the London-based fintech juggernaut. Phuc To […]

18.

Indian startups raised 32% fewer rounds in 2024 as VCs got selective

December 19, 2024 07:19:00

Indian startups raised 32% fewer funding rounds in 2024 compared to last year, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn, signaling that investors are being more selective when striking deals. The number of startup funding rounds fell to 1,448 compared to 2,114 last year, but overall funding rose 6% to $11.3 billion ($10.7 billion in 2023) […]

19.

Sustainable Ocean Alliance marks 10 years with ocean-friendly startup label and a new batch of ‘ecopreneurs’

December 18, 2024 17:01:00

Over the last decade, the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) has graduated from dorm room activism to a thousands-strong global network of experts, investors, and “ecopreneurs” — all of whom believe the best way to save the ailing oceans is to embrace innovation. Founder Daniela Fernandez has steered the ship the whole time, and the SOA […]

20.

Hauler Hero wants to bring waste-management software into the 21st century

December 18, 2024 17:00:00

After nearly four years of working in sales at tradesperson software company ServiceTitan, Mark Hoadley (pictured above) was looking for a change and to potentially start something of his own in a similar industry. Hoadley’s brother-in-law and now co-founder, Ben Sikma, was working on M&A in the waste-management space at the time. Sikma discovered how […]

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