Tune in to a jam-packed episode of Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast about the business of startups! This week, co-hosts Mary Ann Azevedo and Haje Kamps are joined by the insightful Kirsten Korosec to dive into the latest happenings in the startup world. If you're looking for sharp analysis, witty commentary, and startup quip, this episode has it all.
First, the host outlined the three biggest deals of the week.
First up, there's Waabi, a self-driving truck startup that just raised $200 million in a Series B round. Kirsten spoke at length about how Waabi's AI-first approach sets it apart in the crowded self-driving vehicle space, and why investors are willing to take a big bet on the space, despite the market's ups and downs.
Next is an interesting story from Gynger, a fintech company that recently raised $20 million. Mary Ann explained how Gynger is revolutionizing the way startups purchase technology with its “buy now, pay later” model, working with both buyers and sellers to offer flexible payment terms. Kirsten and Hage shared their thoughts on the potential risks and benefits of this unique business model, especially in today's volatile economic environment.
The third deal (unsurprisingly) was about artificial intelligence. Haje spoke about Safe Superintelligence, a new venture from OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever that aims to develop general-purpose AI with a focus on safety. The hosts discussed the startup's ambitious goals and the difficulty of balancing rapid progress with the ethical considerations of creating a superintelligent AI.
Circling the drain — and not
The conversation then turned to a more sobering topic: the wave of bankruptcies that will hit the startup world in 2024. Kirsten focused on high-profile cases like EV startup Fisker and fintech service Synapse, analyzing the factors that lead to these collapses. The moderator then discussed common pitfalls that led to the downfall of these companies and lessons other startups can learn.
But it wasn't all doom and gloom. The episode ends with a thought-provoking discussion of the future: Voodoo's acquisition of social media startup BeReal for $537 million. Mary Ann delves into the reasons behind this bold move, Voodoo's plans to integrate advertising into BeReal's platform, and what this means for social media broadly. Kirsten and Hage then discuss the potential success of this strategy and its broader impact on user engagement and trust in the age of digital advertising.
Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo and posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and allcasts.
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