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By Rebecca Bellan

Monday, June 3, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! We’re starting this morning with some concern over the state of social media — X is now officially OK with porn, TikTok is increasingly being used to spread misinformation, and Trump has joined the fray on the short video app. In other news, we’ve got insights into the success behind VCs and startups, why AI shares are selling like hotcakes, and a vetoed crypto bill. To work!  — Rebecca

Image Credits: Wesley Chan

1. The road to VC isn’t always smooth: Wesley Chan is popularly known as the co-founder and managing partner of FPV Ventures, and for investing in over 20 unicorns. But few know of his life growing up in an immigrant family, working 3 jobs in high school, and how that experience ultimately helped him become someone who could spot a diamond in the rough. TechCrunch has the inside story right here. Read More

2. X officially lets you post porn: In this week’s episode of Late Stage Capitalist Hellscape, feat. Elon Musk, X has formally changed its rules to let users post adult and graphic content on the platform, as long as it’s “consensually produced” – something that’s really hard to prove — and labeled prominently. Read More

3. GenZ is hungry for nostalgia: French startup ten ten is taking off among teenagers in France thanks to its walkie-talkie app that lets you send voice memos to your friends even when their phone is locked. Anna Heim has the details on why this app is so hot among GenZ. Read More

A MESSAGE FROM FINANCIAL TIMES

Get a glimpse of the future job market across industries by reading Future of AI, a complimentary Financial Times report examining artificial intelligence's impact on businesses around the world.

Image Credits: Brian Heater

Inside Apple’s recycling facility: TechCrunch’s Brian Heater took a trip down to Austin to meet Daisy, Apple’s new recycling robot that can disassemble 1.2 million iPhones per year and extract valuable materials for reuse. Now if only Apple would make it easier for people who own iPhones to disassemble and repair their own stuff. Read More

The wild market of AI shares: VCs are willing to sell their first-borns to get stakes in hot AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, but it’s a hard market to break into. Small, unknown investors, however, appear to be faring better: They’re banding together to use special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, to buy stakes in all the sexy AI companies right now. Read More

Unity’s co-founder is gaming the climate crisis: David Helgason, co-founder of game engine Unity, has moved into the early-stage climate tech space. His firm, Transition Ventures, is fueled by his philosophy that legacy industries will be outpaced by more sustainable solutions. Read More  

Biden vetoes crypto bill: U.S. president Joe Biden has vetoed a bill that would have overturned the SEC’s current approach to banks and crypto, which is for banks to treat crypto assets as liabilities. Banks say this makes it prohibitively expensive for them to handle crypto, but regulators say it’s necessary to protect investors. Read More

Ashby brings AI to recruiting: Ashby wants to take the tedium out of recruiting by letting AI do all the boring work. The startup automates repetitive steps like creating job listings, sourcing candidates and sending calendar invites for interviews. Read More

Explain AI like I’m 5: WTF even is AI?! And what about machine learning? What are LLMs? TechCrunch is here to help with this non-technical guide for understanding how and why today’s AI works. Read More

Spotify hikes subscription price in U.S.: Nevermind the fact that Spotify is crushing it with record-breaking profits, its users in the U.S. will now have to shell out more cash for access to the music-streaming service. I would hope some of that money is going back to musicians. Read More

Kobo’s new e-readers are OK: TechCrunch’s Devin Coldewey reports that Kobo’s new e-readers, which feature color e-paper displays, are cool, but sadly aren’t vibrant enough to really get into those comics. Read More

(Re)vive is a solution for fast fashion: Fast fashion dumped 9.5 billion pounds of returned items in landfill in 2022 alone. New York-based (Re)vive, which grew 10x last year, is taking on that problem to help companies find a better ending for their returned items. Read More

The chip accelerator space is heating up: Nvidia plans to upgrade its AI accelerators every year, reports Bloomberg. Methinks Nvidia is racing to maintain its top spot, especially as AI companies come together to build their own accelerators and reduce reliance on the chip giant. Read More

FTX offloads remaining Anthropic shares: FTX sold its remaining 15 million Anthropic shares for about $30 each, bringing in over $450 million in proceeds — money that will have to go towards bankruptcy costs, reports The Block. VC fund G Squared was the top buyer. Read More

TikTok is a misinformation vehicle now: And teens are apparently hopping on the wagon. In a report, BBC found that young people on TikTok are being exposed to misleading and divisive content around elections, and they’re sharing it far and wide. Yet another reason media literacy should be taught in schools. Read More

Image Credits: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

Trump is on TikTok now: The former U.S. president who was recently convicted in a hush money trial has garnered a following on TikTok, the app he once tried to ban. Tapping into his testosterone-fueled fanbase, Trump’s first post is a video of UFC CEO Dana White declaring that the “The President is now on TikTok.” Read More

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