Welcome to Startups Weekly — HeyThe weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Friday.
Well guys, it looks like the Techstars drama just took a new twist. CEO Maëlle Gavet is stepping down, leaving co-founder David Cohen to return and save the day — or at least try. Gavet’s three-and-a-half-year tenure has been a rollercoaster, from employee exodus to acceleration programs being shut down faster than you can say “pivot.” Despite an $80 million deal with JPMorgan turning into a Titanic-level disaster and losing $7 million in 2023, he insists he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. As for Cohen? He is excited about his return as CEO.
The most interesting startup stories of the week
Linktree just hit 50 million users, proving that everyone and their grandmother now has a link-in-bio. From a humble 2.7 million in 2019 to this astronomical number, it’s basically the popular kid at school that everyone wants to hang out with. Linktree is launching social commerce features so creators can window shop their pages and earn commissions from big brands like Adidas and Sephora. With over $300 million in monthly sales already flowing through these links, it’s clear they’re not messing around.
- Humane is looking for a home: Humane, the brainchild of former Apple executives and creator of the $700 Ai Pin that no one asked for, is reportedly now looking for a buyer. Apparently, it’s hoping to get anywhere from $750 million to $1 billion, in case someone wants to add a wearable gadget that’s basically a smartphone with tethering issues to its product portfolio.
- Sonos hugs your head: Sonos has finally answered your prayers and retired its “most requested product ever.” No, it’s not a speaker that does your taxes — it’s Ace headphones. For $449, you can soon be flaunting these in-ear beauties.
- Coming soon to a roundabout near you: The UK has officially flown the checkered flag for “driverless cars” — that’s what they call self-driving over there. How picturesque! Through the Automated Vehicles Act, you may find yourself sharing the road with robot cars by 2026.
Trend of the week: AI Drama
Looks like OpenAI’s latest chatbot, Sky, has done her best Scarlett Johansson thing and crashed! The AI voice flirted very closely with ScarJo’s iconic voice. OpenAI swears it wasn’t trying to recreate her sultry tones from “Her,” but the Internet couldn’t help but notice the uncanny resemblance. CEO Sam Altman tweeted “her,” because, really, why didn’t you? Now that Johansson has outlawed it faster than you can say “deepfake,” OpenAI has removed Sky’s voice from its product while the legal machinations scramble to find a solution to this mess.
OpenAI, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to be hurting as much. ChatGPT’s mobile app just hit a revenue jackpot with the launch of GPT-4o. Despite the promise of free web access, OpenAI decided to push mobile users into a $19.99 monthly subscription if they wanted in on the action. Plot twist: People are paying more than their Netflix subscriptions for this. In the first week alone, net income increased by 22%, reaching up to $900,000 per day and totaling $4.2 million from May 13-17.
- Don’t ScarJo, me, bro: Hollywood’s elite can now hide their digital doppelgängers in the CAA’s high-tech “theCAAvault” like it’s a Fort Knox for AI clones.
- The whitest sausage fest in town: Despite years of complaints from women and people of color that they’re being sidelined in the AI realm, Meta has apparently decided that diversity is overrated. So it assembled a team of sister businesses to guide its AI strategy. Cool, cool, cool.
- Hit the road Jack: The latest Expedia news reads like a soap opera script: CTO Rathi Murthy and SVP Sreenivas Rachamadugu were unceremoniously kicked to the curb for violating some mysterious company policy. The travel booking giant is keeping mum on the juicy details, citing confidentiality. Murthy was only touting new AI features days before her sudden exit – talk about bad timing!
The most interesting fundraisers this week
Good morning! In the latest episode of How Much Money Can We Throw at AI, French startup H just won an amazing $220 million in funding. Yes, you read that right – seed funding. With a founding team that boasts more ex-Google DeepMind employees than a Silicon Valley reunion, H aims to revolutionize productivity with “cutting-edge action models.” Translation: They build robots to do our jobs better than we can. Remind me why I’m sitting here typing this newsletter with my actual fingers? What is this, the 1920s?
- The material is less hard: Forget everything you know about hardware engineering, because the Gathering is here. The startup has been lurking in the shadows for three years, quietly raising $5.6 million from big names like Andreessen Horowitz and Thiel Capital.
- Many layers: QuickBooks may be the father of accounting software, but it looks like there’s a new kid on the block: Layer. Fresh off a $2.3 million raise, this startup promises to make accounting less painful for SMBs with its great built-in features.
- We don’t need narrow streets: Forget the robotaxi stuck in city traffic — the latest craze is self-driving vehicles laughing in front of road maps. Overland AI and Potential are leading this off-road autonomy revolution, with support from VCs and Uncle Sam’s DoD.
Other Unmissable TechCrunch Stories…
Welcome to the job market in 2023, where instead of flipping burgers, you could program a robot to do it for you. Brian compiled a list of 81 robotics companies that are hiring faster than you can say “artificial intelligence.” From humanoids that can steal your job (or make your coffee) to drones that make sure your Amazon packages arrive before you even hit ‘order’, there’s never been a more exciting – or terrifying – time to dive into robotics . So go ahead, apply now and secure your place in the brave new world of mechanical overlords 🤖.
- Mo money, mo passengers?: Buckle, Minnesota! Uber and Lyft drivers are getting raises thanks to a new government deal, but don’t get too comfortable in that backseat. From 2025, drivers will earn more money – rates that have left Uber grumbling about higher costs.
- Soz, kid, no bank for you: Fintech startup Copper Banking is having a tough week. Its banking and debt products are complete thanks to the epic collapse of Synapse. The middleware provider crashed and burned in Chapter 11, then went straight into Chapter 7 liquidation.
- You will not be my friend: Bumble, the dating app now feeling cozy because of the broader decline in its core market, has decided to swipe right on Geneva — a community-building platform. Apparently realizing that “Netflix and Chill” doesn’t always translate into lifelong partnerships, Bumble aims to expand its focus from one-on-one hookups to group hugs and friendship bracelets.
- VinFast horror: In a tragic twist that sounds like it was lifted from the script of an automotive horror movie, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating an April accident where a VinFast VF 8 SUV decided to play “hug the oak” in California — resulting in fiery death of a family of four.
- Don’t worry, we already have all your details: Welcome to the digital age, where even your hotel check-in can star in a spyware drama! At least three Wyndham hotels in the US have been caught with pcTattletale, a consumer-grade spyware application that secretly took screenshots of guest details and customer information.
