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☆ Tesla's earnings report was worse than expected, but Elon Musk has a plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at Tesla's earnings report and what comes next for the EV maker. The big storyTesla's turnaround planJADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng; BIBad news: Tesla's earnings report was worse than expected. AdvertisementPerhaps that's why Musk spent so much of the earnings call discussing autonomy and the progress made with Tesla's Full Self-Driving software . Musk told analysts on the earnings call that Tesla is the majority of his work . If investors vote against the package at Tesla's annual meeting in June, who knows where Musk — and his AI ambitions — will end up .

Persons: —, Chelsea Jia Feng, Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, hasn't, Insider's Linette Lopez, Matt Anderson, Tyler Le, JPMorgan's Marko Kolanovic, Kolanovic, Cathie, Stocks, Goldman Sachs, Gerard Julien, Elon Musk's, Carl Godfrey, Joe Biden, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Getty Images, Tesla, Getty, EV, Musk's, Intel, Micron Technology, Microsoft, BI America, Amazon, Boeing, Meta, IBM, US Locations: Delaware, Outflows, United States, China, Idaho, New York, London

☆ Exclusive: Navan is targeting an April 2025 IPO as it projects to end next year with around $1 billion in annual revenue
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Navan is a travel and expense platform backed by a16z that was last valued at $9.2 billion. The company is targeting an April 2025 IPO, according to a source with direct knowledge. It is projecting to end 2025 with ARR in the billion dollar range, according to the source. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementNavan, a travel and expense platform last valued at $9.2 billion, is targeting an April 2025 initial public offering, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter not authorized to speak publicly.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Navan, EBITA

☆ Drone startup Zipline hits 1 million deliveries, looks to restaurants as it continues to grow
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Kate Rogers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Autonomous delivery drone startup Zipline said Friday that it hit its 1 millionth delivery to customers and that it's eyeing restaurant partnerships in its next phase of growth. The San Francisco-based startup designs, builds and operates autonomous delivery drones, working with clients that range from more than 4,700 hospitals including the Cleveland Clinic to major brands such as Walmart and GNC. The company said its zero-emission drones have now flown more than 70 million autonomous commercial miles across four continents and delivered more than 10 million products. The push into restaurant partnerships marks an "obvious transition" he said, due to the continuing growth in interest in instant food delivery. Zipline deliveries for some Panera locations in Seattle are expected to begin next year, the Panera franchisee's chief operating officer Ron Bellamy told CNBC.

Persons: It's, Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Rinaudo Cliffton, Ron Bellamy, I'm, Bellamy Organizations: Cleveland Clinic, Walmart, Sequoia Capital, a16z, Google Ventures, CNBC, Memorial Hermann Health Locations: San Francisco, Ghana, Seattle, Houston, Detroit

☆ One of the largest FTX creditors is trying to recoup millions for victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Bruch is one of the largest individual FTX creditors and has been tapped by the US Department of Justice to serve as one of nine on the FTX Creditors’ Committee, where he is working to recoup the funds lost by customers. DOJ-appointed creditor committees ordinarily consist of people and companies who hold the seven largest unsecured claims against the debtor (in this case, FTX), according to the agency. Before the Bell spoke with Bruch about Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, MyPrize and the future of crypto. I feel for all of the creditors and am doing everything I can to help recoup what was taken from us. I’ve worked at some of the largest crypto trading desks in the world and then also started trading my own book of capital and grew to become one of the largest individual crypto traders.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Zach Bruch, Bruch, MyPrize, Bell, Sam Bankman Fried, —, ”, Sam Bankman Fried’s, Bitcoin, I’ve, Elisabeth Buchwald, Jerome Powell wasn’t, ” Powell, Powell, Christopher Waller, Evan Gershkovich, Evan Gershkovich’s, Radina Gigova, Anna Chernova, Antonina Favorskaya, Alexey Navalny, Favorskaya, Gershkovich Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, US Department of Justice, ’, DOJ, Arrington Capital, Department of Justice, Federal, Commerce Department, San Francisco Fed, ” Fed, CNN, Wall Street Locations: New York, Russia, Yekaterinburg

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBitcoin prices recover after retreating from new record: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Chris Dixon, founder and managing partner of a16z crypto, discusses his new book on blockchain technology, blockchain use cases and Ethereum's next big upgrade from ETHDenver.

Persons: explainers, Chris Dixon Organizations: CNBC Crypto, CNBC Locations: ETHDenver

☆ Why 7 prominent VCs are investing millions in new social startups like Diem, Lex, and 222
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Mervana Parekh is a principal at Acrew and has invested in social startups like Diem, Afterparty, and Anything World. Best Nights VC. Nichols is a founding managing partner at MaC, which recently invested in social startups like Spill and Swsh. Boyce has backed a slew of new social startups, including Diem, Lex, Koodos Labs, and Swsh, alongside associate Rhian Horton. In 2024, Best Nights is looking to invest in companies that facilitate travel experiences after hearing people say their best nights have happened during trips or vacations, said de Silva.

Persons: —, Connie Chan, Mervana Parekh, Peter Boyce II, Marlon Nichols, Catalyst, Web3, Peter, Diem, Afterparty, Lorrain de Silva, Andrew Kahn, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Kahn, Aaron Matusow, Dan Kruchkow, Nichols, Elizabeth Weil, Kevin Weil, John Smothers, Boyce, Lex, Rhian Horton, Lorrain, Silva, BestNights, Aaron Leithäuser, Gen Z, Peter Boyce, de Silva, Acrew Organizations: Service, Business, Acrew, Stellation, MaC Venture, VCs, Stanford University, Startup, Pudgy Penguins, Crush Ventures, VC, Crush, MaC Venture Capital, MaC, Catalyst, Koodos Labs, Big Tech Locations: 1kx, San Francisco , New York, Lisbon, Acrew, San Francisco, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York, Los Angeles, New York, Rythm

☆ Former Disney star Bridgit Mendler is now the CEO of a space startup. Here's what she has been up to since 'Good Luck Charlie' ended.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Ayomikun Adekaiyero | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Disney star Bridgit Mendler is now the CEO and cofounder of a space satellite startup, to the surprise of some of her fans. Mendler is best known for playing Teddy Duncan in all four seasons of the Disney show "Good Luck Charlie," but has recently moved away from performing. On Monday, CNBC exclusively reported that Mendler is launching the startup Northwood Space with business partner Shaurya Luthra and her husband, Griffin Cleverly. Northwood Space aims to mass-produce ground stations and antennas that connect to satellites, making them more accessible for space companies, CNBC reported. In 2017, Mendler started working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Media Lab.

Persons: —, Mendler, Teddy Duncan, Charlie, Shaurya Luthra, Griffin, @foundersfund, Barbie, lace", endler, egan Organizations: Service, Disney, CNBC, Space, Northwood, ince Locations: @NorthwoodSpace, ath

Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube Listen and follow ‘Hard Fork’Layoffs are hitting newsrooms and publishers again, as tech platforms, ad markets and artificial intelligence reshape the internet. Kevin Roose and Casey Newton have ideas for solutions. Then, one of the most influential investors in crypto companies lays out where the industry went wrong, and why he still thinks blockchains are the future. And finally, a round of HatGPT with the week’s tech headlines, including a spicy LinkedIn post and an A.I. test that disturbs Kevin and Casey’s sense of reality.

Persons: Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, Kevin Organizations: Apple, Spotify, YouTube

☆ Has the LA scene fizzled? SoCal has fallen further behind the Bay Area, NYC and Boston for startup funding: 'People deep in AI are just not in LA'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But last year, the LA tech scene stalled, according to Carta data. Startup funding plummeted everywhere, but nowhere experienced a steeper decline than LA, where funding declined 65% from 2022. CartaLA's startup funding dropped 65% last year, a steeper decline than the Bay Area, New York or Boston. "They're very deep AI companies, but they're being applied to a vertical, which is one of the strengths of LA," Ingersoll said. Bird goes bust and Snap snaps backThere was more bad news for LA's startup scene in 2023 than just the dismal funding numbers.

Persons: Ethan Aldrich, Aldrich, there's, Andreessen Horowitz, a16z, Katia Ameri, Ameri, VCs, Nikita Bier, Bier, Mark Suster, Suster, LA's, we're, Palmer Luckey, Minnie Ingersoll, Ingersoll, Bird, Zillow, Spencer Rascoff, Evan Spiegel ERIC PIERMONT, Ishan Singh, Singh Organizations: Stanford, Business, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue Management, LA Tech, LA, Carta, Honest Company, New, Boston, Microsoft, Clark, SpaceX Locations: Santa Monica, Southern California, LA, Santa, Hayes, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, New York, Boston, Carta, San Diego, Seattle, Hawthorne , CA, Costa, Bay

☆ Today's GenAI models are cost and energy pigs. Quantum tech could fix that.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Zapata, a startup spun out of Harvard, uses quantum physics math to train GenAI models with less data. AI models must be regularly fed. AI models also require hefty, energy-consuming GPU chips. Since founding that year, Zapata has 18 patents and patents pending on its AI tech, it says. And quantum tech could be among the alternatives.

Persons: Zapata, Andretti, —, Guido Appenzeller, Christopher Savoie, Mario, Michael Andretti's SPAC, it's, GenAI Zapata, OpenAI, hasn't Organizations: Andretti Racing, Service, America, Intel's Data, CNBC, Nvidia, Andretti Global, Andretti, Corp, Zapata, BMW, Computer, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Comcast Ventures, Ventures, Bloomberg Locations: Harvard, Zapata, Savoie

☆ Marc Andreessen says student loan forgiveness is a 'bailout.' Ben Horowitz thinks college is mostly 'a scam.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marc Andreessen thinks student loan borrowers who received loan forgiveness are akin to companies and banks that got government bailouts rescuing them from bankruptcy. In a two-hour podcast titled "Crisis in Higher Ed & Why Universities Still Matter," published by his firm Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen took issue with people having some or all of their outstanding student debt erased in actions by the Biden administration. Andreessen Horowitz is a major SVB customer, and the bank also invested billions in the firm's funds. The Biden Administration also had a broader student debt relief plan struck down by the US Supreme Court last year, and it has moved forward with targeted relief programs based on specific borrower criteria. In response to Andreessen's issue with student loan forgiveness, A16z cofounder Ben Horowitz responded with the argument that, although the action provides relief for some, it does not address "the real issue."

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen, Biden, they've, wouldn't, Ben Horowitz, Horowitz, they'll, That's, A16z Organizations: Service, Business, Legal, Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Biden Administration, US

☆ Yieldstreet is raising cash to shore up two Nashville deals it owns with Adam Neumann's new a16z-backed startup
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Publicly launched in 2022 but built with assets from Neumann's own family office, Flow received the largest check Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweight A16z has ever written. Yieldstreet, a crowdfunding platform that has facilitated over $4 billion in alternative investments as of the end of 2023, has already pumped tens of millions of crowdfunded cash into the Nashville deals as the majority equity owner. These two properties are facing the same squeeze as many others in commercial real estate amid sky-high interest rates and inflationary pressures. The latest fundraising effort provides a rare look at how commercial real estate investors are dealing with the challenging environment. "Both partners are funding as the JV agreement calls for and as happens in every standard real estate JV deal."

Persons: Adam Neumann, he's, Flow, A16z, Neumann Organizations: Business, Publicly, Flow, Nashville, Facebook, Twitter, BI, JV Locations: WeWork, Nashville , Tennessee, Nashville

☆ 16 VCs that are funding the future of entertainment by backing generative AI and other disruptive tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementAfter a period of "wild west" investing in AI, Blank believes activity will favor AI companies that respect artists' consent and compensation. It recently co-led a $1 million seed round in Conduiit, which centralizes entertainment companies' production finance operations. Endeavor Venture InvestmentsEndeavor Venture Investments is the venture arm of entertainment and sports behemoth Endeavor. SWaN & LegendThe Virginia-based VC firm has a broad consumer portfolio that includes a number of entertainment investments. With Hollywood in contraction, SWaN has largely hit pause on new entertainment investments to get its portfolio companies on a strong footing.

Persons: Michael Blank, Blank, Jon Miller, Miller, Slack, Garnet Heraman, BDMI, Urs Cete, Michael, TMRW, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Elysian Park Ventures Jay Adya, Grant Lamos, Tom Brady, Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, Jay Adya, Morgan, Kushaan Ahuja, Drew Glover, Glover, Alex Harris, they've, Noah Doyle, Payback India, Jed Katz, Rich Greenfield, Rich, Ilya Pozin, Jamie Seltzer, LightShed, Steve Cohen's, it's, Sri Chandrasekar, Tripp Shriner, Ishan Sinha, That's, Wondery, Ian Doody, Raine, Gordon Rubenstein, Joe Ravitch, Jeff Sine, ‐, Fred Schaufeld, SWaN, that's, Oscar, Jose, Schaufeld, Sam Wick, Alex J, Investcorp, Paul Yoo, Edgar Bronfman Jr, Daniel Leff, Waverley, Leff Organizations: Service, Creative Artists, Connect Ventures, Business, Hollywood, Veteran, TPG, Integrated Media Co, Advancit, CAA, Bertelsmann, Waverley, Octopus Ventures, Accel, Facebook, Venture, Aperture Venture, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Fremantle, Connect, CAA Connect Ventures, New Enterprises Associates, TMRW Sports, Disney, Universal, Elysian Park Ventures, Elysian, Sports, Endeavor Venture, Endeavor Venture Investments, behemoth Endeavor, Dapper Labs, Fiat Ventures, Fiat Ventures Fiat Ventures, Fiat, Payback, Rent, LightShed, Rich Greenfield Influential, LightShed Ventures, Pluto, Apple, Octopus Ventures Octopus Ventures, Investments, Corp, Etsy, Re, Point72 Ventures New York Mets, Range Media Partners, Point72 Ventures, Sri, Powerhouse, Athletic, The New York Times Co, Evolution Media, Creative Artists Agency, Astro, Rave Digital Media, Accel Entertainment, Jose Andrés Media, Berliner, UTA Talent, UTA, UTA Ventures, Ventures, VR, Amazon, PFL Locations: blockchain, —, Conduiit, fintech, London, Australia, Papercup, Los Angeles, Virginia, UTA.VC

☆ The CEO of an A16z-backed healthcare startup is pitching a better way to save money on obesity care
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-29 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Boyarsky Pratt said about 35% of Knownwell's patients come for primary care, while the rest see the company's providers for their metabolic health. They can prescribe GLP-1 drugs, but they're just one tool the company uses to treat obesity, Boyarsky Pratt said. It's also planning to partner with more health systems to help them expand access to weight care. It partners with one large system in Massachusetts now, but Boyarsky Pratt declined to disclose which one. "The data shows that the earlier patients get into a comprehensive treatment, the better for the long-term course of the disease," Boyarsky Pratt said.

Persons: —, Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, Andreessen Horowitz, Boyarsky Pratt, Knownwell, Angela Fitch, Berkadia, Fitch, Needham, Boyarsky Platt, they'd, Michael Siluk, It's Organizations: Service, Business, GLP, BMI, Medicare, Obesity Medicine Association . Obesity Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Business School, Berkshire Hathaway, Obesity Medicine Association, Weight, Flare Capital Partners, Staff, Getty, American Academy of Pediatrics Locations: Boston, GLP, Massachusetts, Knownwell, Needham , Massachusetts, telehealth

☆ Binance might be peak for U.S. crypto enforcement cases, says CFTC official
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in front of displayed Binance logo in this illustration taken November 10, 2022. U.S. regulators have brought several cases against crypto firms such as Binance, helping to establish "guardrails" to bring "order and structure" to the market, CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson told an FT crypto and digital assets summit. She urged crypto firms to study the Binance settlement to see what sort of governance regulators look for at crypto firms. The CFTC will also be "deeply thoughtful" on requiring better disclosures at crypto firms that are vertically integrated, combining different activities under one roof. In the meantime, crypto firms are setting up shop in Britain to build an ecosystem that can service the rest of the world and benefit from "nuanced" regulators, Quintenz said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kristin Johnson, Johnson, Brian Quintenz, Quintenz, Xiao, Xiao Zhu, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, Justice Department, European Union, CFTC, KKR, Thomson Locations: U.S, Binance's, Britain

☆ Bitcoin is back (sort of)
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The big storyCrypto comebackSOPA Images / GettyThe ink is barely dry on Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction, and bitcoin is already rising like a fresh divorcee. It marked the highest price for the cryptocurrency since early May 2022, adding to what has quietly been a strong year for bitcoin, writes Insider's Phil Rosen. After a dreadful 2022 culminating in the downfall of FTX and the aforementioned SBF, bitcoin has been on the up. While there was plenty of fallout from FTX's bankruptcy, the price of bitcoin has steadily climbed this year. The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City.

Persons: —, NYU Langone, Sam Bankman, Bitcoin, bitcoin, Phil Rosen, FTX, hasn't, It's, Roubini, Doom, Noah Sheildlower, Gary Gensler, it's, Ken Griffin, Goldman Sachs, Paul Sakuma Andreessen Horowitz, Maryna, Peter Thiel, Trump, couldn't, Thiel, he's, Diplo —, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, NYU, BlackRock, Atlas, SEC, JPMorgan, Hudson Global, Today Locations: Delaware, India, Japan, Soho, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Andreessen Horowitz is in the midst of a reshuffle to sharpen its focus on AI, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Ben Bergman | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Andreessen Horowitz is reshuffling parts of its investment organization to sharpen its focus on artificial intelligence, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The changes will center the venture capital firm on two main themes: AI applications and AI infrastructure, the people said. The AI applications group is being headed by general partner Alex Rampell, according to the sources. General partner Martin Casado, who focuses on enterprise deals, will oversee another group investing in AI infrastructure, the people said. Do you have information about A16z or another venture firm?

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Alex Rampell, Rampell, Martin Casado, Margit Wennmachers, Casado, Jeff Jordan, Databricks, A16z, Pretzels, Vinod Khosla, Khosla, Ben Bergman, Melia Russell, mrussell@insider.com Organizations: US, A16z, VMware Locations: Silicon Valley, Airbnb, bbergman@insider.com

☆ Why 3 ex-Discord staffers are building a new app aimed at IRL experiences for couples and friends
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"During the pandemic, I realized how I was taking IRL experiences for granted and working remotely, spending less time with friends, I just felt extremely isolated," Loar said. "It was really centered around helping you and your friends make IRL plans to build stronger relationships." Now, Whatever's team is pivoting its focus to couples and how best to use technology to help couples plan dates and spend meaningful time together. "Couples will be able to bookmark plans from the discovery feed and turn them directly into date plans," Loar added. Whatever is focusing on helping couples plan dates.

Persons: Mallory, Loar, Vivek Murthy, Kevin Wilson, Zack Zapasnik, Stanislav Vishnevskiy, Matthew Prince, it's Organizations: Twitch, Facebook

☆ Andreessen Horowitz is not at all 'techno-optimistic' about this particular AI scenario
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The famed VC firm is fighting alongside Big Tech against potential copyright rules on AI. a16z sees any requirement to pay for copyrighted AI training data as detrimental to its investments. Using copyrighted data for free is the basis of "enormous investment" in AI, the VC firm said. National security"Those expectations have been a critical factor in the enormous investment of private capital into US-based AI companies," a16z said. Instead of spending time on making new laws that would explicitly address AI, the VC firm said the USCO should "embrace it wholeheartedly."

Persons: a16z, —, Andreessen Horowitz, A16z, Marc Andreessen Organizations: Big Tech, Service, US Locations: United States, LLMs

☆ Firms like Meta and A16z admit having to pay billions for training data would ruin their generative-AI plans as they fight new copyright rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Generative AI models need not only a massive quantity of content, but also a large diversity of content," Meta wrote in its comment. But those kinds of deals would provide AI developers with the rights to only a minuscule fraction of the data they need to train their models. And it would be impossible for AI developers to license the rights to other critical categories of works." None of the companies denied using copyrighted material without authorization from rights holders. Instead, they generally argued that putting copyrighted material on the internet makes it "publicly available" and therefore fair game for use.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Google's Bard, OpenAI's, Meta, OpenAI, Bard, A16z, Vince Gilligan, doesn't, Kali Hays Organizations: US, Meta, Microsoft, Google, Apple, News Corp, Getty Locations: khays@insider.com

☆ Marc Andreessen is getting raked over the coals for calling social responsibility the 'enemy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VC Marc Andreessen wrote a lengthy missive this week, titled "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto." AdvertisementAdvertisementIt wouldn't be a Marc Andreessen essay if the internet didn't lose its mind over it. Rather, technology, he wrote, can solve for "any material problem" under the sun and herald a new era of "abundance for everyone." The backlash to Andreessen's essay was swift. He runs one of the biggest venture capital firms by assets and perceived importance.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, —, Kara Swisher, Andreessen, Ben Collins, Andreessen's missive, Dorothea Baur, Cameron Moll, he's, Gary Marcus, Marcus, what's, Aravind Srinivas, A16z, Collins, Andreessen Horowitz, Del, Johnson Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook, Backstage Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Venture Locations: Silicon Valley, Del Johnson, Silicon

☆ Slowing down on AI will cause preventable deaths — and that's a form of murder, says Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen posted a mammoth 5000-word techno-optimist manifesto on Monday. Deaths that were preventable by the AI that was prevented from existing is a form of murder," wrote Andreessen. Deaths that were preventable by the AI that was prevented from existing is a form of murder," wrote Marc Andreessen. "Our enemies are not bad people – but rather bad ideas, "Andreessen wrote. Andreessen and Andreessen Horowitz did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, —, Andreessen, Elon Musk, Sam Altman —, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Service, Forbes

☆ Atlassian to buy video messaging provider Loom for nearly $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Atlassian (TEAM.O) said on Thursday it had agreed to acquire privately held video messaging platform Loom for about $975 million, beefing up its team collaboration tools to tap into resilient demand fueled by the adoption of hybrid work. Integration of Loom's technology into Atlassian software such as collaboration tools Jira and Confluence will help users use video in their workflows. The acquisition of Loom, which has more than 25 million users globally, will enable customers communicate and collaborate more effectively, Atlassian said. Loom, which counts Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and a16z among its investors, makes tools that help users record their screens, camera and microphone to make and share videos. The deal is expected to close in the quarter-ending March 2024 and will be funded with existing cash balances, Atlassian said.

Persons: Atlassian, Kleiner Perkins, Akash Sriram, Shailesh Kuber Organizations: Thomson Locations: Australia, Bengaluru

☆ This AI company wants to help you control your dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's a tech startup building what the company calls the "world's first wearable device for stabilizing lucid dreams." Lucid dreams occur when a person sleeping becomes aware they're dreaming and may be able to control parts of the dream. Humane AI, a company founded in 2017 by former Apple employees, debuted its wearable — the AI Pin — on the runway last week at Paris Fashion Week. And famed iPhone designer Jony Ive and OpenAI's Sam Altman are also reportedly discussing an AI hardware project. The co-founders have the type of lofty dreams typical of a modern-era tech startup, with Wollberg comparing the company to OpenAI.

Persons: Eric Wollberg, Wesley Berry, Wollberg, Berry, Grimes, BoxGroup, Card79, Jony, Sam Altman, Prometheus Organizations: a16z's Scout Fund, Plaid, Elon, Apple, Paris Fashion, Donders Institute for Brain, Radboud University Locations: Netherlands

☆ The former head of Meta's failed stablecoin project admits he was too 'idealistic.' Now David Marcus's new startup plans to work within the system.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With an ultimate goal to be the go-to currency for the global financial system, it was, in hindsight, too ambitious, Marcus admits now. "If you're dependent on one centralized stablecoin to do global payments, it's a problem as we've experienced firsthand," he said. Why Meta's crypto project failedIn 2019 Meta unveiled plans to create a digital currency pegged to hard currencies including the US dollar. With his new startup, Lightspark, Marcus plans to hypercharge the global payments system is simpler, or at least less grandiose. Users will swap their local currency for bitcoin and then have it converted to the local currency of whichever country the capital is needed in.

Persons: David Marcus, Meta's, Libra, Diem, Marcus, Meta, that's, Mark Zuckerberg, he's, Christian Catalini, Marcus's, Catalini Organizations: PayPal, Visa, Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta, bitcoin, Facebook, JPMorgan, Bloomberg Locations: Manhattan, Los Angeles, Bahrain

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