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☆ Here are the dozen brands that have paused ads on X amid ongoing crisis for Elon Musk’s platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —At least a dozen major brands have halted ad spending on X, formerly Twitter, since its latest advertiser exodus began last week over concerns about antisemitism and hate speech on Elon Musk’s social media platform. The ongoing exit of advertisers marks a deepening crisis for X, which was already struggling to woo brands back to the platform following Musk’s takeover last year. IBM’s decision also came after Musk had publicly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory in a post on X earlier in the week. X also said it had made the pro-Nazi accounts identified by Media Matters ineligible for monetization, meaning ads can no longer be run on their pages. (Media Matters has vowed to fight the lawsuit from X and says it stands by its reporting.)

Persons: Axios, they’d, Musk, Apple, Linda Yaccarino, Richard Spencer, —, CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Liam Reilly, Brian Fung Organizations: New, New York CNN, Elon, Fox Sports, Ubisoft, TechCrunch, Paris, CNN, White, IBM, Media, Disney, Paramount, Comcast, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros, Media Matters, University of Michigan, D.C, National Football League Locations: New York, Washington

☆ Who are OpenAI's new board members as Sam Altman returns?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Acquire Licensing RightsNov 22 (Reuters) - ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Tuesday said it reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster, and also agreed in principle to partly reconstitute the board of directors that had dismissed him. Bret Taylor, formerly co-CEO of Salesforce and Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, along with Quora CEO and current director Adam D'Angelo will be part of the board, OpenAI said. Here's what we know about them:* Taylor, 43, is an American computer programmer and entrepreneur, who is also a board member at Shopify (SHOP.TO). Taylor will chair the OpenAI board* Summers, 68, is an American economist who has served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001* A professor at Charles W Eliot University, Summers is also President Emeritus at Harvard* Summers is also on the board of Jack Dorsey's Block Inc (SQ.N) and Skillsoft Corp (SKIL.N)* D'Angelo, 39, is an American internet entrepreneur, best known as founder of California-based social question-and-answer website and online knowledge market Quora* A Computer Science graduate, D'Angelo was previously CTO of Facebook for nearly two years till June 2008(Sources: TechCrunch, Reuters reporting and LinkedIn)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sam Altman, Carlos Barria, OpenAI, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D'Angelo, Taylor, Charles, Summers, Jack Dorsey's, D'Angelo, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, U.S . Treasury, Quora, Treasury, Charles W Eliot University, Harvard, Skillsoft Corp, Science, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, American, Shopify, California, Bengaluru

☆ A former venture capitalist known as Silicon Valley's 'party animal' has been convicted in a $19 million fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Michael Rothenberg became known for his rapid rise to success with his VC firm, Rothenberg Ventures. But this week he became yet another Silicon Valley star to be convicted of fraud. AdvertisementA once high-flying Silicon Valley venture capitalist, whose partying lifestyle inspired an HBO show, has been convicted of committing fraud amounting to $18.8 million. Rothenberg first rose to prominence in 2013 after raising $5 million for his venture capital management fund, Rothenberg Ventures, aged just 27. But in 2016, Rothenberg Ventures collapsed after admitting to investors it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Persons: Michael Rothenberg, Rothenberg, —, Chace Crawford's, Vox Organizations: Rothenberg Ventures, Service, HBO, US, Office, Northern, Northern District of California, Bloomberg, Rothenbergs Ventures, Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, Golden Globes, TechCrunch, Rothenberg's, T, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Wired, River Studios, Coldplay, Valley Bank Locations: Silicon, California, Northern District, Napa Valley, Hollywood, San Francisco

☆ Here are six important questions as Elon Musk faces an ever-deepening crisis over his unhinged behavior
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Elon Musk has an ever-deepening crisis on his hands. Days after the billionaire conspiracy theorist endorsed an antisemitic post on his hate-drenched platform, X, there is mounting pressure for others to take additional action against the unhinged businessman. Here are six questions about the calamity besieging X:What is Musk doing with his lawsuit against Media Matters? Earlier this year, the NFL expressed concern when a Media Matters report found its ads were appearing next to accounts belonging to racists. But it has not said a word since, even as X continued placing ads for NFL teams onto VDARE’s account.

Persons: CNN — Elon Musk, It’s, Musk, Ted Boutrous, X, ” Angelo Carusone, Will Linda Yaccarino, Lou Paskalis, Clare Duffy, Elon Musk, ” Paskalis, she’s, ‘, ” Yaccarino, Axios, TechCrunch, I’m, newsrooms, Casey Newton, ” Newton Organizations: CNN, Media Matters, Media, Hamas, AJL Advisory, NFL, The Washington Post, Financial Times, New York Times Locations: Israel

☆ Inflection AI's Mustafa Suleyman tells OpenAI staff 'come run with us' after 'utterly insane' weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mustafa Suleyman told OpenAI staff "come run with us" after a "utterly insane" weekend. The Inflection AI cofounder and CEO used an X post to promote his own firm and its progress. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe cofounder of Inflection AI weighed in on the "utterly insane" weekend experienced by its rival OpenAI and told workers to "come run with us." It's now the 2nd best LLM in the world ... & we're scaling MUCH further," Suleyman said in an X post .

Persons: Mustafa Suleyman, OpenAI, —, who's, It's, Suleyman, — Mustafa Suleyman, @mustafasuleyman, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Sam Altman, reinstates Altman, Kelsey Laymon, Marc Benioff, Eric Schmidt, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, DeepMind Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Nvidia, Forbes, TechCrunch, Paypal, Google, Business

☆ Microsoft CEO Nadella 'made all the right chess moves' with OpenAI, says DA Davidson's Gil Luria
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMicrosoft CEO Nadella 'made all the right chess moves' with OpenAI, says DA Davidson's Gil LuriaConnie Loizos, TechCrunch general manager and editor-in-chief, and Gil Luria, DA Davidson, join 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk the abrupt departure of Sam Altman from OpenAI, Microsoft's response, and what this means for the AI space as a whole.

Persons: Nadella, OpenAI, Davidson's Gil Luria Connie Loizos, Gil Luria, DA Davidson, Sam Altman Organizations: Microsoft, TechCrunch Locations: OpenAI

☆ Layoffs keep hitting Amazon, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, and more entertainment companies — here's the list of those with recent cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | Alison Brower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Netflix missed their numbers, and Wall Street woke up," said Paul Hardart, director of NYU Stern's entertainment, media and technology program. A wide range of companies and employees were impacted, from entertainment giants to independent production companies to Hollywood talent agencies. More consolidation among the legacy media companies and independent production companies is widely expected, which often entails job cuts. Entertainment companies will get back to staffing up, but the jobs will be in stronger growth areas like gaming, streaming, and advertising, more than in filmed entertainment programming. Here are the Hollywood companies, listed alphabetically, that have made layoffs since the summer.

Persons: Paul Hardart, Bob Iger, Joanna Sucherman, Fox, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Nadia Sinh, Companywide, Rami Malek, Mr, Dawn Olmstead, Heather McCauley, YANNIS DRAKOULIDIS, Oscar, Severance, Roku, Alison Levin, NBCUniversal, Curtis Brown, James, Jennifer Coolidge Organizations: Netflix, Disney, Business, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, NYU, Warner Bros, NBC, JLS Media, Entertainment, Hollywood, Amazon Studios, Studios, Talent, Variety, CAA, ICM Partners, DreamWorks Animation, Apple, NETFLIX, Nasdaq, TechCrunch, Starz, CNBC, Lionsgate, LIonsgate, UTA, Hollywood Reporter, Fletcher & Company, Co, HBO Locations: Hollywood, Australia

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

☆ Billionaire hedge fund boss Ken Griffin says remote working makes it easier for companies to fire people
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ken Griffin said that remote working was weakening the "social contract" of companies. Major US firms are pushing back against remote working and telling workers to return to the office. AdvertisementKen Griffin has warned that working from home will make it easier for companies to fire people. Griffin also warned that remote working was having a negative impact on corporate culture, pointing to the stories of so-called "Zoom firings" that became notorious during the pandemic. "We have all read about companies that are firing thousands of people on Zoom calls," Griffin said.

Persons: Ken Griffin, —, Griffin, Vishal Garg, Garg, Jane Organizations: Citadel, Bloomberg, Major, Service, Meta, TechCrunch Locations: America

☆ OpenAI recruiters are trying to lure Google AI employees with $10 million pay packets, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OpenAI wants to lure Google researchers with $10 million pay packets, The Information reported. OpenAI is in talks for another employee share sale this year that could value it at $86 billion. OpenAI is exploring options for an employee share sale that values the company at $86 billion , Bloomberg reported last month. If its recruiters are successful in enticing top Google AI researchers, they could benefit from compensation packages of between $5 million and $10 million after the latest share sale, according to The Information. Five former Google researchers were listed in the acknowledgments section of OpenAI's blog post announcing the launch of ChatGPT last November.

Persons: OpenAI, —, ChatGPT, OpenAI's, Jan Leike, Leiki, OpenAI didn't Organizations: Google, Service, Bloomberg, Meta

☆ How Whitney Wolfe Herd's fateful deal with a Russian mogul deprived early Bumble employees of a stock windfall when she became a billionaire
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

I'm fucking done," she told a reporter at Time, who described Wolfe Herd as "blinking back tears" during the interview. "My hands are tied," Wolfe Herd told the audience, according to several people who were in the room. Wolfe Herd once called him her biggest mentor, saying, "He's become my family and one of my best friends." Some early employees said they only found out about the shadow-equity program, and who received it, years later. Based on the current share price, Wolfe Herd is no longer a billionaire, though her fortune still sits at an estimated $627 million.

Persons: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Andrey Andreev, Wolfe Herd, Bumble, Whitney Wolfe, Wolfe, Bumble wasn't, Charley Gallay, I've, Robbie McKay, McKay, Jerod Harris, Sarah Mick, Bumble's, That's, Mick, Justin Mateen, Tinder, Antoine Antoniol, Andreev, What's, He's, —, Jody Thelander, Alexandra Williamson, Samantha Fulgham, Chelsea Maclin, Caroline Ellis Roche, Michael Herd, they'd, Taylor, they're, Vivien Killilea, didn't, Charles Elson, Elson, Blackstone, Forbes, Ben Bergman Organizations: Worldwide Vision, Nasdaq, Carlton, Getty, Fortune, Andreev's, TechCrunch, Southwest, telltale, Founders, Chelsea, Austin, Ritz, Mailchimp, Intuit, University of Delaware, Twitter Locations: Russian, Austin, Los Angeles , California, Bumble, Northern California, Deer Valley , Utah, Punta Mita , Mexico, Tinder, London, Bermuda, WVL, San Francisco, Texas, Positano, Italy, Bay, Atlanta, MagicLab, Badoo, bbergman@insider.com

☆ One of Tesla's top Chinese competitors reportedly expected to lay off employees as it eyes the US market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Reorganization at Nio comes as the company eyes the US market. AdvertisementAdvertisementBig changes are in store for Chinese electric car company Nio, one of Tesla's biggest rivals in the world's largest vehicle market. News of layoffs and reorganization at Nio come as the Shanghai-based company eyes US EV sales by 2025 . Chinese car companies have often eyed the US market, but none have yet made a big splash in the highly competitive market. Years of growth in the US EV market is showing signs of slowing, and US manufacturers are pulling back on big electric vehicle production promises.

Persons: —, Elon, Nio, Tesla, haven't, Martin French Organizations: TechCrunch, Service, US, EV, US EV, Shanghai, Ford, GM Locations: Shanghai, Nio

☆ Ford buys EV charging startup in bid to help rescue its electric dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ford has bought an electric charging startup called AMP, TechCrunch reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementFord is buying an electric charging startup as it tries to reinvigorate its flagging EV push. The auto giant is purchasing Auto Motive Power (AMP), an electric charging startup that makes battery management software, as it seeks to overhaul its charging technology and reduce the cost of its electric vehicles. A Ford representative told TechCrunch that the deal aimed to accelerate its efforts to encourage EV adoption and improve its charging technology. Other car makers have taken a similarly cautious approach to electric vehicles in recent months, with several ditching ambitious targets amid slowing demand.

Persons: —, Ford, it's, Bill Ford, Harald Wilhelm, Elon, carmaker Organizations: Ford, TechCrunch, Service, Auto Motive, The New York Times, Benz, EV, GM, Subaru Locations: California, Kentucky

☆ 'They're not reaching out to us': How the Israel-Hamas war demolished Gaza's struggling tech economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Palestinian tech workers in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are struggling to operate in the crossfire. AdvertisementAdvertisementPalestinian tech workers have comparatively fewer resources (namely internet connectivity and cash) at their disposal and tend to be reliant on outsourced work. This affects remote workers, freelancers, tech workers, and students who "won't be able to pursue their duties," Shtaya added. It was already difficult to import hardware and other equipment, the West Bank consultant said. Nvidia hired 100 engineers in the West Bank, and Apple also has a presence, TechCrunch reported.

Persons: —, Ryan Sturgill, TechCrunch, Avi Hasson, Israel, Mona Shtaya, Shtaya, PayPal doesn't Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, Service, Aqsa University, Google, Microsoft, TechCrunch, Mercy Corps, Israel Innovation Authority, Nation Central, Gaza Health Ministry, Gaza, Institute, Middle East, Bank, Israel, Wired, PayPal, Tech, Nvidia, Apple Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, Al, Israel, Hamas, Egypt, Europe, Persian

☆ Spora Health's founder painted a rosy portrait of his healthcare startup. The reality is more complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The way Dan Miller told it, his startup Spora Health was crushing it, providing high-quality care to "thousands" of people online. The startup had secured at least one big contract, with Apple, according to three former Spora employees and another source close to Spora. Four of them told Insider they either no longer worked with Spora or hadn't seen Spora patients in a year. Two doctors listed on Spora's website as "featured Spora providers" also told Insider that they no longer worked for the startup. Another former clinician said she only ever treated a handful of Spora patients.

Persons: Dan Miller, Miller, Spora, it's, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna didn't, paychecks, hadn't, he's, It's, —, we've, " Miller, Shelby Livingston, Rob Price, Emmalyse Brownstein, Ryan Pickrell, Gloria Dawson, Stephanie Hallett, Alcynna Lloyd, Hayley Peterson Organizations: Company, TechCrunch, Spora, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple, Aetna, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Human Ventures, MaC Venture, SEC Locations: Spora, Level's, slivingston@insider.com

☆ GoStudent, the $3 billion edtech darling, scaled fast and partied hard. The result was a mess.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

These people were employees of GoStudent, an Austria-based online-tutoring startup that had quickly become the darling of the European tech scene. But 28 current and former GoStudent employees and tutors said they experienced a poorly run organization with clumsy management. Edtech companies "rarely have any major competitive advantage other than scale," a European venture capitalist who's not affiliated with GoStudent said. A GoStudent employee threatened to track down the petition's author using tutors' IP addresses, according to the German publication Handelsblatt. According to public documents updated in December 2022, GoStudent had shrunk to 15 markets and 1,500 employees, including its acquisitions.

Persons: Felix Ohswald, Gregor Müller, GoStudent, who'd, I'm, Heinz, Peter Meidinger, cofounders, Ferdinand von Hagen, Prada, GoStudent's, Dave Benett, Müller, —, Ohswald, Anthony Canavan, Canavan, Brutkasten, Norbert Wess, Harry Murphy, Duncan McIntyre, McIntyre, Neel Gupta, Anna Tuchy, Patrick Nadler, Nadler, Sarah Heuberger, Ross Slater Organizations: German Teachers ' Association, Employees, GoStudent, Conseil, prud'hommes, DBS, Safety Officers, Web, Getty, JP Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, TechCrunch, Organisation for Economic Cooperation Locations: Vienna, Austria, Silicon Valley, North America, South America, Europe, London, France, Soho , London, Dock, DACH, Germany, Switzerland, Spanish, Sweden, Swedish, GoStudent, Ukraine, Ibiza, GoStudent's, Deliveroo

☆ How this 'AI whisperer' made $500,000 in 11 months selling courses and memberships using unicorn startup Kajabi
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That means Kajabi creators have earned an additional $1 billion since March, when the company announced creators had earned $5 billion. One of those creators is Rob Lennon, a self-described "AI whisperer" and entrepreneur, who uses Kajabi to host his courses and manage his paywalled membership called "Lennon Labs." Within the first 11 months of launching his Kajabi offerings, Lennon has earned about $500,000, according to Kajabi and Lennon. He earned about $200,000 in the first two months of selling his courses, per Kajabi. Building a course and membership businessRunning courses and a subscription service accounts for about 95% of Lennon's income, he said.

Persons: Rob Lennon, Lennon, hadn't, ChatGPT, He's, Kajabi, there's, —, Kajabi — Lennon Organizations: Lennon Labs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Mighty Networks Locations: Kajabi, Patreon, Substack

☆ X just ditched a tool that enabled users to flag fake news about elections, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's X appears to have removed a feature letting users report electoral misinformation. AdvertisementAdvertisementElon Musk's X — formerly known as Twitter — appears to have removed a feature that allows users to report misinformation about elections, according to research from a major Australian think tank . It could also impact users' ability to report fake electoral news in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential elections. The letter points out that reporting categories on the social media platform no longer have the option to report electoral misinformation. Previously Australian users could select 'It's misleading' about 'Politics' category.

Persons: Elon Musk's, —, Elon, Angus Keene —, didn't, X, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: Service, Twitter, TechCrunch, European Union, Reuters Locations: Australian, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Spain

☆ Insider Today: The fight for remote jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Remote workers are doing anything but work in the afternoons. Elena Noviello/Getty ImagesThere are few topics in corporate America as polarizing as remote work. AdvertisementAdvertisementLengthy, expensive office leases might also discourage companies from embracing remote work. As Aki's story points out, that type of rationale from larger companies has created an opportunity for those willing to support remote work. A company's commitment to remote work might not be forever, even if employees view it that way.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, we've, I'm, Chelsea Jia Feng, Insider's Aki Ito, Aki, What's, Elena Noviello, Goldman Sachs, Leonardo Munoz, Rebecca Szkutak, Dominic, Madori Davis, Snyder, Mark Reinertson, Anthropic, Lindsey Nicholson, Jacob Boomsma, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, NFL, nab, TechCrunch, Thistle Technologies, Getty, Employees, Costco, Google, Netflix, Cintas Corp Locations: America, Amazon's, Sioux Falls , South Dakota, Jefferson City , Missouri, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ 20-year-old Quddus Pativada built one of the hottest AI study tools while he was still in high school. He's now launching it for schools.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At 17 years old, Quddus Pativada was determined to do something about inequality in education. Now, three years later, the 20-year-old Pativada has turned his high school vision into a full-fledged startup, with 8 employees globally working on his AI educational assistant ASI, formerly known as Digest.ai. Pativada set out to create a new AI-powered studying assistant nearly a year before ChatGPT debuted on the world stage. After more interactions, the AI tutoring bot can pick up on what a student is good at and where they may need more help, to further personalize the experience for that learner's needs. Pativada's grand vision for ASI is still to offer personalized tutoring for individual students, but to also market the learning tool to governments and businesses for quick, personalized employee upskilling.

Persons: Quddus Pativada, Pativada, Mark Cuban, Deborah Quazzo, ChatGPT, Khan Organizations: TechCrunch, ASI Locations: Dubai, Ghana

☆ Here are the best and most daring looks from TechCrunch Disrupt 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Each year, droves of tech founders, funders, and dreamers descend on TechCrunch Disrupt. And for years the event was regarded as a kind of fashion wasteland. Back in 2015, GQ felt compelled to write an entire tribute to the "one well-dressed man" at the conference. AdvertisementAdvertisementBut as the curtains rose on the startup world's big tent at the Moscone Center in San Francisco last week, the fashion transformation was undeniable. Well-heeled venture capitalists shed their puffy vests for tailored suits and cashmere, and stilettos were almost as commonplace as sneakers.

Persons: GQ Organizations: TechCrunch, Moscone Center Locations: San Francisco

☆ Robinhood is cutting jobs, reorganizing teams, and focusing on credit cards to solve a shrinking user base, insiders say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Robinhood is laying off more employees and reorganizing teams as part of a new focus on credit cards as the company tries to mitigate a shrinking user base, insiders say. In June, Robinhood announced plans to acquire no-fee credit card startup X1 for $95 million. Credit cards are much higher-margin products than stock-trading and generally less exposed to volatile markets. X1 and Robinhood's future in credit cards were the focus of the company's last all-employee meeting, the person said. The layoff was widely reported, but audio of an all-hands meeting reviewed by Insider recently showed ongoing cuts have been deeper .

Persons: Robinhood, we've, Vlad Tenev, Tenev Organizations: Robinhood, JPMorgan, Menlo, Say Technologies, TechCrunch Locations: , California

☆ 37-year-old quit Amazon and started 20 companies before coming up with Instacart—now he's worth $1.1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mehta is the 37-year-old co-founder of Instacart, the online grocery delivery startup that went public on Tuesday and now boasts a market value of $8.8 billion. As Instacart's largest individual shareholder, Mehta is now worth a reported $1.1 billion after selling 700,000 shares of the company he launched in San Francisco in 2012. He quit his job and moved to San Francisco with a desire to build his own successful startup but no clear plan, he said. "The reason why I quit my job at Amazon was because I wanted to become an entrepreneur," Mehta said. Y Combinator helped Mehta land $2.3 million in venture capital funding within a few months, and Instacart quickly spread beyond San Francisco.

Persons: Apoorva Mehta, Mehta, CNBC's, Instacart, Y, Combinator Organizations: Instacart, Amazon, Kroger, Costco, SEC, CNBC Locations: San Francisco, Seattle, North America

☆ As Instacart goes public, it's no victory lap for founder Apoorva Mehta
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mehta was replaced as CEO of Instacart in July 2021 following a messy dispute with some of the company's largest investors. Instacart Founder Apoorva Mehta in his 2003 yearbook photo from Westdale Secondary School. The app started gaining momentum and Mehta put out ads on Craigslist for shoppers to do the grocery runs for him. Whole Foods reportedly broke the news to Mehta and a fellow Instacart executive on an early morning call. In a sworn affidavit, Mehta denies that he misappropriated any trade secrets and says he's since cut ties with Singh.

Persons: Apoorva Mehta, Mehta, Safeway Mehta, Hamilton Public Library Mehta, Bing Gordon, Kleiner Perkins, Gordon, he'd, Garry Tan, Tan, Garry, Andreessen Horowitz, catapulting Mehta, Forbes, Instacart, Mike Moritz, Fidji Simo, Simo, That's, Mehta's, he's, Tejasvi, Singh, Sam Bankman, NextMed, it's Organizations: Instacart, Safeway, Westdale Secondary, Hamilton Public Library, The University of Waterloo, Amazon, NPR, Electronic Arts, YC, TechCrunch, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Forbes, Foods, Costco, Kroger, Facebook, Sunrise Locations: India, Libya, Hamilton , Ontario, Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco, wallowing, Sequoia, Mehta's, Marin County

☆ Getir emerged as a tentative winner in Europe's pandemic-fueled rapid-delivery sector. But it still faces sizable threats.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In March 2022, Nazım Salur invited thousands of Getir employees to a Zoom meeting to celebrate its newfound "decacorn" status. However, as soaring inflation and rising interest rates began to hobble the tech sector, investors became far less forgiving of businesses that had oriented themselves more toward growth than sustainability. In December 2021, The Guardian reported that Getir had offered customers a deal where they could get £15 off if they spent £16. About 21 rapid-delivery startups were operating across Europe in 2021, with Getir joined by the German outfits Gorillas and Flink, as well as the British startup Zapp. Getir tentatively emerged as the winner in the rapid-delivery sector when it bought its main competitor, Gorillas , in a heavily discounted deal for $1.2 billion in December.

Persons: Nazım Salur, Nazım, Getir, Blok, London's, Alexi Rosenfeld, they've, Adam Neumann, Michael Moritz Organizations: Tiger Global, Mubadala, Financial Times, Getir, TechCrunch, Guardian, DST Global, Gorillas, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Google, PayPal Locations: Spanish, Berlin, Turkey, Turkish, Germany, Netherlands, Istanbul, Turkey's, Europe, British, Abu Dhabi

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