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☆ ChatGPT and generative AI look like tech's next boom. They could be the next bubble.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Generative AI is the catchall term for artificial intelligence that can create something new — text or images for example — from existing data, when given prompts. OpenAI's generative AI tools can seemingly do anything from write poetry and code to producing frame-worthy art, triggering huge excitement in the space. How generative AI generates revenue is unclearAll of this might be justifiable if there was a clear path for AI firms to make money. Some of the hype around generative AI may be justified and the technology feels genuinely exciting. But to avoid another bubble, investors would do well to quiz the fundamentals of generative AI businesses, before handing out hefty valuations.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

☆ This year's blockbuster IPO is between a rock and a hard place: listing in New York or London won't change Arm's fortunes in brutal downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

ARM is preparing for an IPO in 2023 that couldn't come at a more tricky time. This pushed SoftBank to reposition Arm for the public markets as the Japanese firm seeks to generate profits from assets that can offset losses in its venture capital business. Figures from EY suggest that after a record year of listings in 2021, last year's IPO market went into reverse mode. SpaceX is another big company around which IPO talks have been swirling, the rocket company led by Elon Musk. Chip sector in turmoilArm's other challenge with going public in 2023 lies in the state of the chip sector: it's down.

☆ Microsoft's investment into ChatGPT's creator may be the smartest $1 billion ever spent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Microsoft's $1 billion investment into OpenAI may be one of the shrewdest bets in tech history. OpenAI released AI bot ChatGPT and is in discussions to raise capital at a $30 billion valuation. "We believe Microsoft's investment in OpenAI will translate to significant underappreciated upside," Luria wrote. Investors may be souring on speculative tech but AI looks resilientThere is speculation that Microsoft may look to buy OpenAI. That suggests investors will still look to pile into the hottest AI companies, cementing the value of Microsoft's deal.

☆ The Microsoft-Activision deal gives Lina Khan a $69 billion problem in 2023. Defeating it will set the tone on Big Tech deals for years to come.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The FTC has a $69 billion headache to deal with in 2023 in the form of Microsoft's Activision buyout. Chair Lina Khan wants to rein in Big Tech but will be tested by one a Silicon Valley veteran. The outcome of the deal will have ramifications beyond Microsoft: the rest of Silicon Valley lies in wait before making their next big moves, as any decision will set the tone for Big Tech deals in years to come. That said, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision will prove even tougher to tackle than anything Amazon has thrown up for the FTC chief to date. Failure will likely embolden Big Tech to test the waters further.

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☆ Indian maker of cough syrup linked to Uzbekistan deaths halts production
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Indian maker of a cough syrup that was linked to the death of 19 children in Uzbekistan said on Friday that it had halted production of all medicines after an inspection by the drug regulator. Indian media reported that the inspectors had found deviation from rules on manufacturing at one of Marion Biotech's units. Uzbekistan's health ministry said at least 18 children died in Samarkand city after consuming Marion Biotech's Dok-1 Max syrup. Hasan Harris, Marion Biotech's legal head, told Reuters partner ANI, "We await the reports, the factory was inspected. The Uzbekistan case follows deaths of at least 70 children in Gambia that had been linked to cough and cold syrups manufactured by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

☆ White House condemns Texas governor after migrants were dropped off outside Kamala Harris' house: 'Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Greg Abbott after busloads of migrants arrived in Washington, DC. Busloads of migrants arrived on Christmas Eve outside of Vice President Kamala Harris' home. The move comes as the future of an immigration policy known as Title 42 remains uncertain. "Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities," White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement. Abbott previously sent migrants to Harris' home in September to pressure the administration to take further action.

☆ Texas Governor Abbott endangered lives with Christmas Eve migrant drop -White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The White House on Monday accused Texas Governor Greg Abbott of endangering lives after busloads of migrants from the southwest border in Texas were dropped near Vice President Kamala Harris' home in Washington, D.C., on a cold Christmas Eve. "Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities," White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan said in a statement. The Republican Abbott, a vocal critic of Biden administration immigration policies, has not acknowledged the Christmas Eve drop and his office has not claimed responsibility. Abbott has said previously his state was purposefully busing migrants to sanctuary cities, where law enforcement is discouraged from deporting immigrants. Hasan said the Biden administration was willing to work with Democrats and Republicans on solutions to the migrant issue.

Three buses coming from Texas dropped off about 140 recent migrants — including babies and young children — near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C. in historically frigid temperatures on Saturday evening. But immigration activists said Saturday’s incident was particularly cruel because of the freezing temperatures in Washington, D.C., and because of the fact that it occurred on Christmas Eve. Madhvi Bahl, an organizer with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, confirmed the arrival of the migrants on Saturday to NBC News. The buses dropped the migrants near Harris’ residence at the Naval Observatory. There have been several instances of migrants being dropped off outside, or near, Harris’ residence.

☆ Rahul hails 'phenomenal' Iyer as Shakib rues missed chances
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA, Dec 25 (Reuters) - India's stand-in captain KL Rahul heaped praise on middle order batsman Shreyas Iyer after their thrilling victory in the second test against Bangladesh while home captain Shakib Al Hasan was left to rue missed opportunities. However, Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin then forged an unbroken 71-run stand to frustrate Bangladesh and pull off a thrilling victory for the tourists. Mehidy Hasan (5-63) and Shakib (2-50) wreaked havoc with the ball, but Iyer gave a spin masterclass to secure India's victory. That proved a costly mistake in the end, but the hosts had also missed four chances in India's first innings. "It is slightly disappointing, as other teams don't miss the chances that we are missing," said Bangladesh captain Shakib.

☆ Tesla's cratering share price goes beyond Musk's preoccupation with Twitter. The entire EV market is slowing down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla's share price has been cut in half and a distracted CEO isn't the only issue. The wider EV market is facing a tough mix of challenges. At the time of writing, its share price sits at $126.31, down 60% since the beginning of the year. Tesla's woes are symptomatic of wider issues plaguing the EV market. Tesla's stock market value slid below ExxonMobil this week for the first time since 2020, falling to $435 billion on Tuesday-compared with the oil and gas company's $439 billion market value, according to the Financial Times.

☆ The VC dream machine pumped out one dumb startup after another. 2023 should put an end to that.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

2023 should curtail the current flow of bad startup ideas. The way it roughly works is to bet millions across lots of startups in the hope one of them blows up and returns that cash. 'Fewer insane ideas'We are no longer in a low-interest-rate market, meaning startup investors who could once rely on generous backers will have to be more cautious about how they spend their money. They do have lots of money, with an estimated $290 billion of capital available to them in October, according to Pitchbook data. But Kniaz senses a shift in motion: "This next year will show which emperor has clothes on or not.

☆ Elon had to choose between Twitter and Tesla. He's choosing Tesla.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk has been forced to make a tough choice: Tesla or Twitter. He's picking Tesla, which represents nearly half his $156 billion in estimated wealth, and the Twitter poll gave him a handy escape pod. That red ink wasn't as much of a problem when interest rates were low, and Tesla's shares were soaring. But as the Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked interest rates to curb inflation, using Tesla stock to pay off the debt on the Twitter buyout is a problem for Tesla. "Tesla is so much an Elon stock, it stands or falls because of him," Beauchamp said.

☆ Netflix has lost its golden touch. Here's why the streamer is so boring now.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Finance has long ranked employees, but it's been out of fashion in tech for nearly a decade. Netflix once made an explicit choice to invest in underrepresented communities, Paris Marx writes. Shows like "Orange is the New Black" and "GLOW" gave spotlights to women, queer people, people of color, and non-Americans. But, according to Marx, the company stopped prioritizing stories from underrepresented communities, and new players were throwing their hats into the streaming wars. Now, Marx writes that Netflix is filled with bland shows, half-assed reality TV, and hopelessly derivative movies.

☆ The only victim in Elon's beef with journalists is Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Twitter itself knows news and journalists are major drivers of user engagement on its platform. By barring journalists, Musk is openly demonstrating his resentment towards one of Twitter's most active and important userbases, hurting the platform further. Journalists depend on Twitter, and Twitter depends on them tooBy Twitter's own estimates, journalists count for a lot on its platform. Users "regularly follow news-related Twitter accounts, and around 4 in 5 young journalists rely on the platform for their jobs. Journalists use Twitter more than any other social media platform, according to research from Pew in June, treating it as a real-time source of information.

☆ Survived the tech layoffs? Congrats, but you're not out of the woods yet.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tech workers who survived layoffs this year will likely face tougher performance reviews next year. From Meta to Salesforce, tech firms across the board are looking to tighten their belts further in 2023 using a tactic unpopular with workers: stack ranking. Buckley noted that scenarios like this make it easier for companies to offer increasingly vague notions of what counts as low performance. Last week, Insider reported that the number of people finding themselves in the lowest-performance categories come annual performance reviews in January will roughly double. Buckley said those who remain will likely have to meet higher expectations — Salesforce teams, for example, have been given higher sales targets.

Schumer, a New York Democrat who has long pressed the administration to terminate Title 42, is far from alone. Since March 2020, when the authority was invoked, border officials have turned away migrants at the US-Mexico border more than two million times. But just days away from the anticipated end of Title 42, plans are still being sorted out. The Biden administration is also asking Congress for more than $3 billion as it prepares for the end of Title 42, according to a source familiar with the ask. It is not specific to the end of Title 42, the source said.

☆ Even Elon and Zuck don't have the juice to make an all-in-one 'super app' happen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel harbor super app ambitions; Microsoft reportedly wants to build its take on a super app that would rival Google. At Facebook's parent company Meta, "super app" is a taboo word precisely because it's too abstract, Insider's Kali Hays reported last month. A newcomer super app has a tougher sell accessing this sophisticated, less trusting type of user. Silicon Valley's gatekeepers stand in the way of the super app dreamUS tech firms harboring super app ambitions will need to fend off their own regulators, overseas regulators, and Apple's App Store. As the CPP Investments white paper notes, super apps "can be thought of as operating platforms for mobile devices."

☆ El Paso faced a ‘major surge in illegal crossings’ over the weekend, senior border official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —More than 2,400 migrants crossed into the United States near El Paso, Texas, daily over the weekend, according to a senior Border Patrol official, marking what he described as a “major surge in illegal crossings” in the region. “Over the weekend, the El Paso Sector experienced a major surge in illegal crossings, with a 3-day average of 2,460 daily encounters, primarily through the downtown area of El Paso. We will continue to keep the public informed as the situation evolves,” said acting Chief Patrol Agent Peter Jaquez of the El Paso Sector in a tweet. El Paso city has been monitoring the situation and is in ongoing discussions with federal, state and local partners, according to Laura Cruz Acosta, strategic communications director for the city. The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it had deployed additional agents to El Paso amid the surge, claiming that criminal smuggling organizations are behind the influx.

CNN —The US killed two ISIS officials in a helicopter raid early Sunday morning in eastern Syria, US Central Command said in a statement. One of the officials killed was “Anas,” a regional ISIS leader who was involved in planning operations in eastern Syria. “The death of these ISIS officials will disrupt the terrorist organization’s ability to further plot and carry out destabilizing attacks in the Middle East,” said Central Command spokesman Col. Joe Buccino. Two weeks ago, the US welcomed news of the death of ISIS leader Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al- Qurayshi. He was not killed in a US operation, unlike the previous leader, Hajji Abdullah, who was killed in a US raid in February.

New Delhi CNN —Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka on Saturday calling for the dissolution of parliament to make way for new elections, and demand the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Saturday’s protest comes amid a flurry of demonstrations in Bangladesh calling on Hasina to step down and demanding new elections. The Bangladesh Election Commission has not announced a date for the next general election, which is due by the end of 2023. Supporters of Bangladesh's opposition party protest against the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on December 10, 2022. “Concerned governments should publicly call on the prime minister to allow Bangladeshis to freely engage in peaceful political activities,” she said.

Jewish and anti-hate organizations are urging social media influencers and tech platforms to stop hosting interviews with Ye, the rapper and artist formerly known as Kanye West, as he’s continued to make antisemitic statements and criticize Jewish people in his recent public appearances. Ross, a popular Twitch streamer with 7 million followers, is Jewish and said that he was going to “stand up for the Jews” in the interview. On Dec. 5, political streamer Hasan Piker said in a Twitch stream that he may participate in the interview. Rez said that even if Ross planned to challenge Ye, she would be concerned that the interview would stoke antisemitic violence. Ross has been silent on the topic of the Ye interview since the call with Fuentes was published.

☆ Trevor Noah celebrates his last episode hosting ‘The Daily Show’ after 7 years behind the desk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Elizabeth Wolfe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Noah noted the strong influence American political parties hold, encouraging his audience to consider issues outside the lens of democrat or republican ideals. From my mom, my gran, my aunt – all these Black women in my life,” the host said. “If you truly want to learn about America, talk to Black women,” he continued. Noah took over the program in 2015 from long-time host Jon Stewart whose 16-year run of the show shaped it into a late-night staple. He kicks off his “Trevor Noah: Off The Record” tour in Atlanta on January 20.

☆ Inside SoftBank Vision Fund's awful, terrible, really bad year. How the venture fund tumbled, according to former employees, investors and rival VCs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Ben Bergman | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund just experienced one of its most dismal years in its history. SoftBank's Vision Fund was once a power broker, having raised a jaw-dropping $100 billion in 2017, followed by plans to raise $108 billion for Vision Fund 2 in 2019 — two of the largest venture-investing vehicles ever established. But insiders are now questioning if it will ever regain influence, according to 11 ex-Vision Fund investors, former employees, VCs, and industry analysts who weighed in on the future of the Vision Fund. One ex-Vision Fund investor described Son, now taking the reins of Vision Fund 2, as someone who is "not a manager." Given its investing performance so far, the obvious question is what happens once Vision Fund 2 has reached full investment.

☆ European startups are on course to raise $85 billion this year – over $18 billion short of 2021's record, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

European startups are on track to raise $85 billion this year, a new report has stated. We've analysed the key highlights from the industry-wide report on Europe's tech sector. European startups are on course to raise $85 billion by the end of 2022, which would leave it 17% – or $18.6 billion – short of last year's record dealmaking, according to Atomico's State of European Tech 22 report. Investment in European startups was up 52% in the first quarter of 2022 to $29.2 billion. In theory, this comes down to a cooling off of what Wehmeier described as "capital markets becoming overheated through cheap available capital."

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