Our weekly tech newsletter. Subscribe today on our blog.
Quick Hits
Wanted: ‘New collar’ workers with tech skills.
Mouse meme: Mickey enters public domain.
Good vibes: MIT engineers weight-loss pill.
Enemy lines: Copilot joins iOS.
Copyright clash: NYT sues OpenAI.
Crypto kits: Puma backs web3.
Scoot skid: Bird files bankruptcy.
Fortnite lite: Epic embraces cozy gaming.
Lunar lift: NASA tests SpaceX elevator.
Remote rule: Atlassian hires by time zone.
Judicial AI: Supreme Court mulls tech’s role.
‘Reversible glue’: Adhesive innovates recycling.
Brit bots: U.K. readies for self-driving.
Priming the pump: Bezos bets on hydrogen.
Clean cabs: California pushes electric trucks.
Cyber crime: Police probe VR assault.
Rental rubble: Frontdesk lays off staff.
Trending Startups
Content creators raid copyright vaults
Mickey Mouse is 2024’s first viral meme. Developers released "Mickey-1928," an AI model that churns out new cartoons based on the newly public domain version of Steamboat Willie. It’s a sign of things to come as content creators raid copyright vaults to reimagine old icons. They’ll have to wait another year to regenerate Popeye for modern audiences.
The year of climate tech?
Many across the climate tech world believe 2024 will continue to see a flood of investment, excitement, and innovation. Generative AI, IoT sensors, and advancing hardware are expected to advance everything from curbing emissions and waste to clean energy to carbon removal and fusion.
Weekly Pulse
Report: AI widens pay gap between tech and non-tech
Companies are expected to create more than 131k AI-related jobs in the U.S. alone this year, according to research from Bizreport. AI is boosting salaries across the U.S., leading to a 36% widening in the pay gap between tech and non-tech workers. “The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the American job market,” the report notes.
Poll results - the holiday rush...for new jobs
Recently Funded
- Formless Raises $2.2M in Pre-Seed Funding
- Intrinsic Raises $3.1M in Seed Funding
- Skyline Robotics Secures $9.8M for AI Window Cleaning
- PaintJet Raises $10M in Series A Funding
- BotBuilt Raises $12.4M for Robotic Homebuilding
- Heranova Raises $13.5M in Seed and Seed+ Funding
- Medallion Raises $13.7M to Connect Artists with Fans
- ImpriMed Raises $23M in Series A Funding
- Unnatural Products Raises $32M in Series A Funding
Post of the Week
What We’re Reading
Spying on Beavers From Space Could Help Save California (Wired)
How AI alters middle managers' work (Phys.org)
Nintendo’s design guru Shigeru Miyamoto: ‘I wanted to make something weird’ (The Guardian)
AI expert warns against telling your secrets to chatbots such as ChatGPT (The Guardian)
Why 2024 will be the year of ‘augmented mentality’ (VentureBeat)
A New Year’s resolution for tech companies: knock it off with the CAPTCHAs (The Verge)
Podcasts of the Week
Startups Hiring Now
Netskope: Redefining cloud, network, and data security | Open roles
Turo: Book unforgettable cars from trusted hosts around the world | 30 open roles
Classy.org: Gives you the power to raise more money online | 31 open roles
Help us spread the word: we'll pay you $200 for every friend you get hired through Wellfound!