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Quick Hits
Bearing fruit: Raspberry Pi goes public.
Space debut: NASA launches Starliner to ISS.
Earthly twin: EU debuts AI climate simulator.
Eco diet: Marine fungus devours plastic.
Psychedelic setback: FDA questions MDMA.
Video vision: Algorithm learns by watching.
Blockchain backer: Ripple invests in Asia.
Higher power: Pope speaks on ethical AI.
Apple’s AI: ChatGPT comes to iPhone.
iProtest: Musk threatens Apple ban.
Chip surge: Nvidia surpasses Apple.
Crypto stall: Currencies dip pre-decision.
Uber loss: Drivers can’t be indy contractors.
Trending Startups
Finally, some good news on layoffs
Layoffs are declining among the 40k tech companies that Carta serves. Layoffs fell under 7k in April, marking a 2-year low, and are down across industries, including SaaS, healthtech, and consumer.
Artists-run Cara amasses following
Artists are flocking to Cara, a new social platform that’s staunchly anti-AI. Users surged from 40k to 650k in a week. “Building a product is a bit like making art,” says founder Jingna Zhang.
Rust shines with developers
Rust is the "most admired" programming language among developers with over 80% saying they’d use it again, according to a Stack Overflow developer survey. “Rust is a language that generates desire to use it once you get to know it,” according to the report.
OpenAI employees want to cash in
With no IPO in sight for OpenAI, former and current employees are raising concerns about the company's control over millions of shares of the company and their ability to cash in—especially if they go to work for a competitor.
AI is a Slop-y writer
The Internet is quickly filling up with “slop,” a new term used to describe sub-optimal writing generated by AI.
Faulty detection?
Universities across the U.S.—including Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Northwestern, and the University of Texas—are considering bans of AI detection software after freelance writers call out errors that they say cost them jobs.
Post of the Week
Recently Funded
- Silicon Valley-based Tomato.ai Raises $2.1M Seed for Voice Clarity
- U.S.-based RetailReady Raises $3.3M for AI Warehouse App
- India's Skye Air Mobility Raises $4M for Drone Delivery
- San Francisco-based InScope Raises $4.3M for Automated Financials
- Wyoming-based Wild Common Raises $5M for Agave Spirits
- NYC-based Linq Raises $6.6M to Simplify Research for Financial Analysts
- San Francisco-based Restate Raises $7M for Workflows-as-Code Platform
- Los Altos, Calif.-based Astrocade AI Raises $12M for AI Social Gaming
- Belgium’s Qargo Raises $14M to Decarbonize Trucking
- Mumbai-based Foxtale Raises $18M for Women’s Skincare
Weekly Pulse
What We’re Reading
Decade of the Battery (Noah Smith)
Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret: Founder Liquidity (Stefan Theard)
Neuralink’s First User Describes Life with Elon Musk’s Brain Chip (Scientific American)
‘We need to go places and touch things’: the people turning away from smartphones (The Guardian)
What '80s movies got right and wrong about living with AI (Fast Company)
Why Startups Can Brighten India’s Economic Landscape – Analysis (Eurasia Review)
Poll of the Week
Podcasts of the Week
AI-Powered Talent Acquisition with Khaled Hussein (HR Superstars)
CEO of TheLi.st Ann Shoket, Discusses Networking and Community for Women Entrepreneurs (Startup of the Year Podcast)
Startups Hiring Now
Hospitable.com: Gifting short-term rental hosts their time back | 4 open roles
Unibui: Map Based AI Student Talent Engagement Platform | 4 open roles
Matterport: Leading spatial data company digitizing and indexing the built world | 18 open roles
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