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Quick Hits
Robo-thumb: Scientists introduce third thumb.
Space stride: Astronauts spacewalk 8.5 hours.
Code conquest: Mistral unveils Codestral.
Electric India: EV charging expands.
Solid state: China invests in batteries.
Search secrecy: Google algorithm revealed.
Asian study: Stanford launches new center.
Flu flight: mRNA bird flu vaccine arrives.
AI resale: PwC offers OpenAI products.
New act: Opera features Google Gemini.
Telegram bot: Microsoft adds AI to chat.
Pay-for-play: OpenAI partners with Vox.
Talent poach: Ex-OpenAI leader joins Anthropic.
Musk’s revenge: xAI raises $6B to rival OpenAI.
Location layoffs: Foursquare axes 105 employees.
Trending Startups
Who’s using ChatGPT?
Americans use AI far more than people in France, England, or Japan, according to an Oxford study. About 7% of Americans use AI daily, compared to just 2% of Europeans and 1% of those in Japan. Over half of 18-to-24-year-olds say they have used ChatGPT at least once, compared to 16% of those over 54.
China produces mobile gaming hit
Tencent's Dungeon & Fighter generated over $140M in player spending in its first week in China and was the second top-selling application last week, falling just short of TikTok.
Fighting drought with 'Star Wars' tech
Startups in drought-stricken areas are coming up with new tech to fight a problem affecting half the world's population. In India, Uravu Labs' Star Wars-inspired system converts 2k liters of water daily from the air, while Majik Water performs similar feats in Kenya.
GenAI hits a chord
Discord's server for Viggle, a text-to-video AI tool, exploded to 3M members, making it a hotspot for creating viral memes and animations. "We’re focusing on building what we call the controllable video generation model,” says founder Hang Chu.
$3M crypto wallet cracked
Thanks to a flaw in a decade-old version of the RoboForm password manager and a bit of luck, researchers cracked the password to an 11-year-old crypto wallet, reclaiming $3M.
Is ‘memetech’ the next big thing?
Founder Alex Taub predicts "memetech" is tech’s next big category and building communities around classic memes at Meme Depot. "Memes are culture, and culture is entertainment," Taub says.
Recently Funded
- London-based Memeinator Raises $7.7M for Viral Meme Coin
- Utah’s Videra Health Raises $5.6M for Mental Health Assessment
- Denver’s Posterity Health Raises $6M for Reproductive Health
- Nevada’s Play AI Raises $4.3M for Hyper-Personalized Gaming
- Prague’s Product Fruits Raises $1.6M AI-driven Digital Adoption
- Nashville-based Ducky Raises $2.7M for AI-Powered Support Platform
- Chicago’s Coinflow Labs Closes $2.25M for Instant Settlements
- Indiana’s Wavelogix Raises $3M for IoT Sensing
- Miami-based Switchboard Raises $7.5M for Custom Oracle Networks
Weekly Pulse
What We’re Reading
Tech Workers Retool for Artificial-Intelligence Boom (WSJ)
AI Trust Fall (Venture Capital at Theory)
Milei Pitches Argentina to Silicon Valley After Setbacks at Home (Bloomberg Technology)
Why today’s CTO needs to be a Composable Technology Officer (The Next Web)
What to Know About the Open Versus Closed Software Debate (NYT)
Hi, AI: Our Thesis on AI Voice Agents (a16z)
Poll of the Week
Podcasts of the Week
Scarlett Johansson vs OpenAI, Nvidia's trillion-dollar problem, the "vibecession", plastic in our balls (All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks, & Friedberg)
S9 Bonus: Nic Beique, Helcim (Code Story)
Startups Hiring Now
11:47: Find venues with people your age | 3 open roles
CareMessage: Patient activation designed for underserved populations | 2 open roles
Sana: Honest pricing. Amazing employee benefits. Powered by people who care | 5 open roles
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