Thursday, June 13, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we’ve got some founder inspo, momentum in the humanoid robot space, and more about Apple iOS 18. And, of course, we’re diving into AI-related updates at LinkedIn, Perplexity and OpenAI.

Also, keep an eye out for our coverage of the Tesla shareholder meeting today. Tesla has been hammering Elon Musk’s fans and not-fans alike with pleas to vote in favor of his $56 billion pay package. This vote will be spicy indeed. — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: wenmei Zhou / Getty Images

1. Last-mover advantage: Sometimes, it pays to start late. Cookware company Caraway was last to the trendy pots and pans game, and that hurt the startup when it tried to raise its first round. Still, as founder Jordan Nathan explained on this week’s episode of Found, it helped Caraway fill in the gaps that all the current brands were leaving open. Read More

2. There’s more to Musk’s pay package than meets the eye: Everyone has been wrapped up in the breathless bids from Elon Musk and his army of fans to give the man what he’s apparently owed – a $56 billion pay package. Yet, no one is talking about why a judge struck down that salary package in the first place. Read More

3. Android loses a long-time engineering lead: Dave Burke, VP of engineering at Android, is stepping down after 14 years on the job. He’ll stay on with Alphabet, though, and is exploring other “AI/bio” projects within the company. His departure follows a slew of layoffs and restructuring at the company this year. Read More

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Morning Must Reads

Image Credits: LinkedIn

LinkedIn puts AI to work: LinkedIn has launched a suite of new AI tools, including one that writes applications and cover letters for you. My question on that one is the same as AI writing news articles: If you can’t be bothered to write it, why should I be bothered to read it? That said, applying for jobs is a soulless slog, so maybe it’s for the best. Read More

Apple doesn't want apps to retain access to address books: You know how when you download a new social app and it asks to access your contacts? Well, that will continue to happen with iOS 18, but Apple says it is cracking down on those apps having continued access to your address book in the future. Read More

Forget self-driving cars: What about humanoid robots that can drive cars for you?! That’s the thesis of some researchers at the University of Tokyo, who have developed and trained a robot named Musashi to drive a small electric car through a test track. You really should watch this cute robot make the world’s slowest turn. Read More

AccountsIQ raises $65 million: Bear markets are always a good time to be helping businesses do things cheaper and faster. And that’s probably what helped this Dublin-founded accounting tech company with its latest raise, led by Axion Equity. AccountsIQ aims to build “the finance function of the future” for mid-sized companies. Read More

Taking recycling to the next level: Battery factories produce a lot of wastewater, which threatens to halt their construction due to environmental concerns. Aepnus, a startup that just raised a $8 million seed round, wants to start a small circular economy by salvaging the materials from that sludge and making batteries out of it. Read More

Byju’s can’t catch a break: An Indian court is blocking Byju’s latest attempt to raise money via a second rights issue, following allegations of mismanagement and oppression from shareholders. Read More

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Around the Web

Elon Musk preemptively declares victory: “Both Tesla shareholder resolutions are currently passing by wide margins!” he tweeted. Since the vote is yet to happen, this entire declaration is giving “Trump declaring a victory and then continuing to say he won after he didn’t” vibes. But, hey, Elon might actually win this thing, which will mean one thing: More legal fights down the road. Read More

Perplexity's signing deals with publishers: The AI search startup recently came under fire from Forbes for allegedly misusing its content. Apparently, in the middle of that, the startup was already working with top-tier publishers on revenue-sharing deals, reports Semafor. Read More

Influencing regulation takes people on the ground, and OpenAI knows it. The company’s global affairs team has grown from three at the start of 2023 to 35 today, and the goal is to hit 50 by the end of 2024, according to the Financial Times. The company will station staff in Belgium, the U.K., Ireland, France, Singapore, India, Brazil and the United States. Read More

Before You Go

Image Credits: MIT

Can't wait for robots to do my laundry so I can write: Generative AI has the scary ability to do jobs that require human thought, while robotics is still far from being able to do housework. But combine the two, and you can get one step closer to humanoid robots that are fit for “general purpose,” TC’s Brian Heater writes. Read More