Kirsten Kolosec, Devin Caldway, and Rebecca Beran took to the mic again on the latest episode of Equity to discuss some weird things and at least one cool thing. First off, the crew discussed the least weird thing of the week: It's so great that Cohere co-founder Nick Frost has a band that people really like.
And then there's the weirder stuff. First up, the good kind of weird: a helmet that compresses your head, but for a good reason: to prevent hair loss from chemotherapy. Devin covers Luminate's latest funding and news, and everyone is happy that the money is going to a startup that might actually help people feel better during a tough time. The company also wants to improve at-home care.
Kirsten then explained the strange phenomenon of Flink, the “quick commerce” startup that was only recently rumored to be sold for around $106 million. The company has raised $115 million. This is a big turnaround. But as the team discusses, investors may see that the “era of disruption” in the sector is drawing to an end, and that Flink may have a firm grip on the German market. And yet…
Then things start to get really weird. Rebecca is at the Principled Business Summit, whose purpose is apparently to “reclaim capitalism for itself.” She gets mixed messages from the crowd and the content: a mix of enthusiasm to do the right thing and a fringe tendency to do the other way around.
And, strangest of all, self-driving truck startup TuSimple has pivoted to AI-generated animation and video games. What?! While there is some overlap between simulation and animation/games, it's a bold, unexpected change for the company, and many shareholders aren't happy about it. Apparently, the new division is working on another adaptation of “The Three-Body Problem,” which is good, but what about the $450 million they planned to spend on trucks? That conflict is playing out before our eyes.
Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast produced by Theresa Loconsolo and posts every Wednesday and Friday.
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