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Well folks, it looks like the Techstars drama just got a recent twist. CEO Maëlle Gavet is leaving, leaving co-founder David Cohen to come back back and save the day — or at least try. Gavet’s three-and-a-half-year tenure has been a rollercoaster of controversy, from worker exodus to shutting down accelerator programs faster than you possibly can say “turnover.” Even though an $80 million deal with JPMorgan turned into a Titanic-level disaster and a $7 million loss in 2023, she insists she would not trade the experience for anything. What about Cohen? He is excited to return as CEO.
The most interesting startup stories of the week
Linktree just hit 50 million users, proving that everybody and their grandma now has a link in their bio. From a modest 2.7 million in 2019 to this astronomical number, they are mainly the popular kids in school that everybody wants to sit down with. Linktree is rolling out social commerce features that may allow creators to embed storefronts on their sites and earn commissions from big brands like Adidas and Sephora. Considering that over $300 million in monthly sales already flows through these links, it’s clear they don’t seem to be beating around the bush.
- Humanitarian looking for a home: Humane, the brainchild of former Apple executives and the creator of the $700 Ai Pin that no one asked for, is now reportedly looking for a buyer. It apparently hopes to achieve somewhere between $750 million and $1 billion in case someone wants so as to add a wearable gadget to its product portfolio, which is mainly a smartphone with engagement issues.
- Sonos hugs your head: Sonos has finally answered your prayers and released the “most requested product of all time.” No, it is not the speaker that deducts your taxes – it’s the Ace headphones. For a cool $449, you possibly can soon exhibit these on-ear beauties.
- Coming soon to a roundabout near you: The UK has officially waved the checkered flag for “autonomous cars” – that is what autonomous driving is called there. How interesting! Thanks to the Automated Vehicles Act, you might be sharing the road with robot cars by 2026.
Trend of the week: AI drama
Looks like OpenAI’s newest chatbot, Sky, did its best Scarlett Johansson impression and got rattling caught! The AI voice flirted too closely with ScarJo’s iconic voice. OpenAI swears it wasn’t attempting to recreate her sultry tones from “Her,” but the web couldn’t help but notice the uncanny resemblance. CEO Sam Altman even tweeted “her” because why would not you? Now that Johansson has qualified as a lawyer faster than you possibly can say “deepfake,” OpenAI has stripped Sky of its product while legal machinations swirl around trying to search out a solution to this mess.
Meanwhile, OpenAI doesn’t appear to do that much harm. The ChatGPT mobile app has just achieved huge success with the launch of GPT-4o. Despite the promise of free Internet access, OpenAI decided to push mobile users to a $19.99 monthly subscription if they wanted in on the motion. Plot twist: people are spending more on this than their Netflix subscriptions. In the first week alone, net revenues increased by 22%, reaching as much as $900,000 per day and a total of as much as $4.2 million from May 13-17.
- Don’t do ScarJo, me bro: Hollywood’s elite can now store their digital doppelgangers in CAA’s advanced “theCAAvault” technology, like Fort Knox for AI clones.
- The whitest sausage festival in town: Despite years of complaints from women and people of color about being marginalized in the field of AI, Meta has apparently decided that diversity is overrated. So she assembled a team of business brothers to steer her AI strategy. Cool, cool, cool.
- Hit the road, Jack: Expedia’s latest news reads like a soap opera script: CTO Rathi Murthy and senior vice chairman Sreenivas Rachamadugu were unceremoniously kicked to the curb for violating some arcane company policy. The travel booking giant is not disclosing drastic details, citing confidentiality. Murthy had just touted recent AI features just days before her sudden departure – talk about bad timing!
The most interesting collections this week
Bonjour! In the latest episode of How Much Money Can We Throw at Artificial Intelligence, French startup H just landed a cool $220 million in funding. Yes, you read that right – . With a founding team that boasts more former Google DeepMind employees than a Silicon Valley convention, H goals to revolutionize productivity with “frontier operating models.” Translation: They build robots to do our jobs higher than we do. Remind me why I’m sitting here writing this article literally with my fingers? What is this, the Twenties?
- Hardware is more easy: Forget every part you know about hardware engineering because the rollup is here. The startup lurked in the shadows for three years, quietly raising $5.6 million from big names like Andreessen Horowitz and Thiel Capital.
- Many layers: QuickBooks could also be the father of accounting software, but it looks like there’s a recent kid on the block: Layer. Fresh off a $2.3 million raise, this startup guarantees to make accounting less painful for small and medium-sized businesses with its incredibly fancy built-in features.
- We don’t need winding roads: Forget about robots stuck in city traffic – the latest trend is autonomous vehicles that laugh at road maps. Overland AI and Potential are leading this field autonomy revolution, backed by VC and Uncle Sam’s Department of Defense.
Other stories you possibly can’t miss on TechCrunch…
Welcome to the job market in 2023, where as a substitute of flipping burgers, you possibly can program a robot to do it for you. Brian compiled a list of 81 robotics firms that are hiring faster than you possibly can say “artificial intelligence.” From humanoids that may steal your work (or make you coffee) to drones that ensure your Amazon packages are delivered before you even click “order,” there’s never been a more exciting—or scary—time to dive into robotics. So go ahead, apply now and secure your home in the brave recent world of mechanical overlords 🤖.
- More money, more passengers?: Buckle up, Minnesota! Uber and Lyft drivers are getting a raise because of a recent state contract, but they don’t seem to be feeling very comfortable in the backseat. From 2025, drivers will earn more – rates that have caused Uber to complain about higher costs.
- Soz, kid, there is not any bank for you: Teen fintech startup Copper Banking is having a rough week. Its banking and debit products are ready because of Synapse’s epic implosion. The middleware vendor crashed and burned in Chapter 11 and then fell straight into Chapter 7 liquidation.
- Won’t you be my friend?: Bumble, the dating app currently friendzoned attributable to a broader decline in its core market, has decided to maneuver right to Geneva, a community-building platform. Apparently realizing that “Netflix and chill” doesn’t all the time translate into a lifelong partnership, Bumble is trying to expand from one-on-one connections to group hugs and friendship bracelets.
- VinFast horror: In a tragic incident that seems like it was ripped from the script of a automobile horror movie, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating an April crash in which a VinFast VF 8 SUV decided to play “hug the oak tree” in California – resulting in in the fiery death of a family of 4.
- Don’t worry, we already have all of your details: Welcome to the digital age where even checking into a hotel can witness a spyware drama! At least three Wyndham hotels in the US have been caught red-handed with pcTattletale, a consumer spying app that sneakily takes screenshots of guest and customer information.