What could be scarier than Friday the 13th? What if we discovered that an AI is still in its awkward adolescent stage? At least, that's what TC Equity pod crew hosts Devin Caldway and Kirsten Kolosec and TC reporters Tim De Chant and Dominique Madri-Davis were there to help us this week.
AI is a common topic on Equity, and this week was no exception. AI seems to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Take Apple, for example. As Coldewey pointed out on the show, Apple isn't dabbling in AI. The tech giant touts its AI capabilities, but for now, it's all future promise and not a fully mature product. (Did you get the teenager reference?)
As Kirsten and Devin discussed, it's not all bad in the world of AI. Take Someone Somewhere, a Mexico City-based startup that adds handcraft to clothing and accessories, working with rural artisans in seven of Mexico's poorest states to create “high-quality, trendy products.” The startup used AI, specifically Stable Diffusion's text-to-image model, to show companies what some of their most iconic products would look like if made by artisans in another region. Let's just say this initiative got the company a lot of attention.
See, AI can be used for good!
Equity also saw a number of non-AI deals and discussions, including the remarkable pivot at venture-based self-driving car delivery startup Nuro and Oura's recent acquisition of metabolic health startup Veri.
Later in the show, De Chant joined us to provide insight and expertise on some interesting trends surrounding climate tech startups. Hint: it's about hardware. Davis helped close out the equity round by discussing important updates on the Fearless Fund and the trickle-down effect of legal settlements and the closure of the controversial Strivers Grant program.
Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast produced by Theresa Loconsolo and posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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