Welcome to Startups Weekly — Every week, we bring you must-sees from the world of startups. sign up here Delivered to your inbox every Friday.
I have a week where I just shake my head very slowly at people. Reading every article on TechCrunch and sitting down to write the Startups Weekly newsletter didn't help things.
Just when you thought the dating scene couldn't get any more exclusive, along comes Score, the app that says “love is in the air.” . . But only if you have the credit score to breathe it. That's right, folks, in a world where swiping right can mean finding your soulmate or the next person to ghost you, the score is at least as high as the chance of them ghosting you because of your bad credit. I guarantee you that you won't. The app, launched by a financial platform (which, of course, reeks of a marketing stunt), is for those who have managed to navigate the treacherous waters of adulthood on half-baked faith. After all, nothing says true love like a solid financial report, right? But wait a minute. This app is not only exclusive, but also temporary. For those who are not successful? Well, they get sent to a financial literacy boot camp. Because nothing heals a wounded self-esteem like being told you're not financially good enough for a relationship.
Dear Americans, ladies and gentlemen.
anyway. other places In the land of unicorns. . .
This week's most interesting startup stories
Image credits: tesla
In the latest episode of “How Not to Win Friends and Influence Government Agencies,” the Dawn Project, a safety advocacy group that has been litigating Tesla for a while, talks about the Super Bowl with an ad that is essentially a call-to-action. decided to boost advertising. Arming yourself against Tesla's fully self-driving software. It was meant to be a mic drop. Instead, it became a facepalm moment where the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said, “Um, sorry, we're not signed up for this.” The NTSB is known for many things, including appearing in Super Bowl ads, but the organization quickly issued an order to the Dawn Project to “unseal us from our homework.” They pointed out that the Dawn Project did not have permission to use the seal and its inclusion falsely implied that the NTSB endorsed the campaign. Dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Ah, but there was even more drama in its origins.
There's smoke and there's mirrors. Boston Dynamics' secret sauce is a blend of advanced robotics and marketing genius, complete with a warning: “Do not try this at home.” But keep in mind that not everything that glitters in robot videos is gold. Many robot demo videos distort the truth to varying degrees.
Everything is fine, the AI promises: In the latest episode of “AI's Musicalchairs,” AI maestro Andrei Karpathy, one of OpenAI's founding members, leaves the company again. No, this isn't some dramatic melodrama or some secret AI rebellion. Kalpathy insists that there is no drama or secret intrigue and everything is smooth sailing.
Close your piehole, AI: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially declared AI voice robocalls the latest public enemy and found them illegal. If you've been looking forward to a fake but personal phone call from a presidential candidate or two, you might want to adjust your expectations. The FCC's message is clear. AI voice clone, you're officially on the naughty list.
This week's most interesting fundraisers
Image credits: Derek Barwin/Getty Images
What's causing a stir in the venture capital world is that Foundry Group, the Boulder-based venture capital firm known for backing hits like Fitbit and Zynga, is raising its investment top hat. After 18 years and nearly $3.5 billion under management, Foundry has decided that its latest $500 million fund, Foundry 2022, will be its swan song. The foundry plans to continue to use the remaining third of its final fund to lead Series A and B financings, but the decision not to raise any more funds raises eyebrows and questions about the future of its portfolio companies. I'm holding you.
The move follows a similar unexpected announcement by Boston-based OpenView late last year. Of course, two closures are not indicative of a trend, but billions to millions of dollar donuts are bet that the TechCrunch team will continue to monitor this closely.
Big pay increases for small business banks: Finom, a European challenger bank focused on small businesses and freelancers, has successfully secured $54 million in a Series B funding round. This funding round highlights the growing demand for specialized financial services for small and medium-sized businesses.
Lettuce collects more money: Indoor farming, once the darling of the startup world with an influx of $3 billion in investment from 2012 to 2022, is facing tough real-world scrutiny. Companies like AppHarvest and Fifth Season have been hit by bankruptcies, and companies like Iron Ox have been forced into layoffs and valuation cuts. Despite these challenges, Hippo Harvest emerged as a beacon of hope, securing him $21 million in Series B funding.
Great job — take a cookie: Performance management startup SocialCrowd has successfully raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Bread & Butter Ventures. Founded in 2020, SocialCrowd offers his SaaS platform, similar to “Fitbit for work,” that allows companies to set and reward goals for their employees.
This week's big trend: hardware
Image credits: Corey Green/Yahoo
Okay, so maybe I'm a little biased — last week I was going to change gears a little and start writing a little more about hardware again (what I cover and how I market myself). is as follows) ). The hardware desk has been punching above its weight, especially in the last week. There's a lot going on in Atom's business.
After enjoying a surge in orders during the pandemic, the industrial robotics sector experienced a significant drop in 2023, with orders dropping by nearly a third, according to the Association for the Advancement of Automation (A3). This 30% decline highlights a cooling period for a once-booming industry, although the decline was not entirely unexpected given record sales over the past few years.
Other hardware startup nuggets:
Technically, all mobile phones are foldable. And now Apple is rumored to want to make something that works. rear you fold them. As opposed to the last time it happened. If you think about it, we've been asking for a foldable iPhone for a while.
Dry powder for large guns: Despite the controversial nature of the firearm, Biofire was successful in attracting support from institutional investors, raising $7 million in funding from prominent investors. The funding track record highlights the changing landscape of venture capital, with deep tech and defense technology startups increasingly attracting attention.
Open this app with your face: Brian has done a great job covering all things Apple Vision Pro. This week he analyzes his favorite apps (so far).
Other must-see TechCrunch articles. . .
Every week, we have a few stories that just don't fit into the categories above, but we'd like to share with you. It would be a shame if you missed it, so I'd like to introduce you to a bag containing random goods.
Dirty money, cleaning fees: Airbnb's recent earnings report revealed a major shift toward more transparent pricing, with approximately 300,000 properties now offering free or reduced cleaning fees. The measure affects nearly 40% of active listings and addresses long-standing customer complaints about unexpected costs at checkout.
It's a concept, but it's a secret: Notion recently expanded its suite with a privacy-focused acquisition by acquiring Skiff, a platform known for end-to-end encrypted file storage, documents, calendar events, and email services.
Mozilla pumps the brakes. Mozilla, the organization known for its Firefox browser, is undergoing an important strategic shift. The company plans to reduce investment in several products, which will result in the layoff of approximately 60 employees.
Quit the LSD, AI: Ah, the wonders of modern technology. Google's Gemini chatbot, formerly known as Bard, and Microsoft's Copilot are now clearly time travelers. Ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl, the bot was capturing statistics and results even before the game started. Oops.
burning rubber. more: Waymo robot taxis have become the target of intense attacks in San Francisco. In this case, the crowd turned to vandalism out of boredom or fear of technology, culminating in a self-driving car bursting into flames. To its credit, it didn't try to protect itself, so I think it does.