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12/22/2023
6 : 4
Apple's AI research, Hyperloop One meets its end, and that ski trial musical is a hit: "Winter in Deer Valley"
View in browser Top News A UK teen who leaked footage of Rockstar Games' upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI and hacked into Nvidia's and British Telecom's servers has been sentenced to spend an
12/21/2023
6 : 44
Tech gifts for enemies, Apple's bad news, and a look at the very hot market for FTX's bankruptcy claims
View in browser Top News Apple just lost its bid to delay an import and sales ban on the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2. In a filing today, the International Trade Commission denied Apple's
12/20/2023
9 : 24
Bird files for bankruptcy, hackers strike Sony once again, and a new generation of startup 'undertakers' gains traction
View in browser Top News The FTC says Rite Aid is misusing facial recognition technology to tag shoppers as shoplifters. The FBI along with law enforcement agencies from the United Kingdom, Denmark,
12/19/2023
7 : 54
Adobe and Figma call it off, Trevor Milton gets sentenced to four years, and Farfetch finds a rescuer, and more!
View in browser Top News The merger between Adobe and Figma is off due to pressure from regulators in the UK and EU. The breakup is particularly bad news for Adobe, according to TechCrunch. Google will
12/16/2023
6 : 54
A customer relationship gone wrong for OpenAI, a jet-setting former COO is now suspected of being a Russian spy, and more!
View in browser Dozens of you emailed us to point out an error in yesterday's newsletter, namely that Apple's market cap crossed the $3 trillion - not billion - mark. It's both comforting
12/15/2023
14 : 4
What Google's loss to Epic Games means for the tech world, the newest Dune, and a crazy plan to build a new city
View in browser Top News Bloomberg is reporting that X is on track to generate $2.5 billion in revenue this year, a marked decrease from 2022, in which the company pulled in approximately $1 billion
12/15/2023
13 : 44
Cruise hits the eject button; Tesla recalls nearly all its cars on U.S. roads; and Circuit City as venture-backed startup?
View in browser Top News Tesla is recalling nearly all 2 million of its cars on US roads due to regulators' concerns about the company's Autopilot feature. The vehicles will be updated over
12/15/2023
13 : 26
Cruise's cuts, TikTok's terms, and Andreessen Horowitz looks to throw its weight around on Capitol Hill
View in browser Top News Thanks to the recent market rally, Apple now boasts a $3 billion market cap. Andreessen Horowitz is looking to throw its weight around on Capitol Hill. "We believe that
12/12/2023
8 : 34
A change-up at Tribe Capital, General Atlantic preps a public offering, and Connecticut tries to rebrand
View in browser Top News Guilty! The jury in Epic v. Google has ruled against Google in a case alleging that the search giant used its control of its Google Play app store to pressure Epic Games into
12/9/2023
7 : 44
Stinky cheese, legendary VCs, and Apple (seemingly) takes the hammer to Beeper Mini
View in browser Vinod Khosla -- the legendary VC who is lately in the headlines for gambling big on OpenAI when it first transitioned to a for-profit company -- is coming to our StrictlyVC event in San
12/8/2023
8 : 44
Startup mortality rates, Apple's ambitions in India, and former OpenAI board member Helen Toner talks. . . but says little
View in browser Top News Approximately 3200 private venture-backed US companies have gone out of business this year, according to data compiled for The New York Times by PitchBook, which says the data
12/7/2023
5 : 44
Everything to know about Gemini, Google's answer to ChatGPT
View in browser Top News Today, Google released Gemini, its answer to GPT-4. Given only a small part of the technology is available now, TechCrunch's Kyle Wigger calls the launch "a bit of a
12/6/2023
7 : 54
The Spotify layoff letter, a new AI model from Alibaba, and a Boston VC firm abruptly shuts down
View in browser Top News Hello! According to an SEC filing, xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, has raised $135 million of a planned $1 billion round from four unnamed investors. How
12/5/2023
8 : 34
Bitcoin's rise, 23andMe's big reveal, and Silicon Valley venture firms reportedly rush to create continuation funds 💵
View in browser Top News On Friday 23andMe said hackers gained access to 14000 accounts. Today, it says the real number is 6.9 million. TechCrunch was first with the news. The price of Bitcoin briefly
12/2/2023
8 : 34
That 23andMe breach gets worse, OpenAI puts a pin in its GPT Store, and a thief steals more "dough" than intended
View in browser I had the pleasure of interviewing Sanna Marin, Finland's former prime minster, at the Slush event earlier this afternoon. (She is clearly as popular as ever!) We'll share
12/1/2023
8 : 24
Tiger Global's paper losses, Shein's low-flying founder, and a tribute to ChatGPT on its first anniversary
View in browser Hei kaikki! Greetings from Helsinki! Also, yesterday, we included a link to Affinity's 2024 Private Capital Investment Predictions Report that didn't work. Here is the correct
11/30/2023
6 : 24
Tesla is expected to deliver the first of its Cybertrucks to customers tomorrow, and the stakes are high
View in browser Top News OpenAI's board officially began work today. Microsoft has a board observer seat, but CEO and cofounder Sam Altman has no seat on the board whatsoever, a key concession he
11/29/2023
6 : 4
The Okta Breach Grows Bigger, Elon Musk Sets X on Fire (Again), and a Roomba for Leaves
View in browser We're en route to Slush! It's not clear how much free time we'll have -- among other things, we're very much looking forward to talking with four of Benchmark's six
11/28/2023
7 : 44
The mess at Meta, Shein's IPO plans, and the perfect gift for après-tee
View in browser Welcome back.:) Quick mention: as we continue putting together our first StrictlyVC event of 2024 in San Francisco in late January at Cloudflare's airy home on Townsend Street, we
11/23/2023
6 : 14
"We're so back": OpenAI shareholders breathe a sigh of relief after company regains its footing
View in browser Happy holidays, all. See you back here Monday.:) (Psst, don't forget to sign up for our San Francisco event, coming in late January. Tell us where we should head next.) Top News Sam