Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje‘s weekly recap of all the things you’ll be able to’t miss from the world of startups. Join here to get it in your inbox every Friday.
I just got here off recording an episode of Equity, where I learned in regards to the newest wave of stupidity. The tech industry’s DEI allergy has hit a brand new low, as Silicon Valley leaders are once more waving their “meritocracy” banners high and wide. Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang has decided that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are passé — and replaced them together with his shiny recent acronym MEI: merit, excellence, and intelligence. I cringed so hard I’m going to want a chiropractor.
I’d invite him — and people supporting them — to fuck all the way in which off. You misunderstand me. You thought I wanted you to fuck only partially the way in which off. Please, read my lips. I used to be perfectly clear: Off you fuck. All the way in which. Remove head from ignorant ass, then fuck all the way in which off.
In fact, the ignorance inspired enthusiastic applause from tech titans like Elon Musk on X, while LinkedIn’s startup crowd rolled their eyes so hard they were practically doing backflips.
Critics argue that Wang’s post misses the mark (no shit!) by ignoring systemic barriers and reducing complex social dynamics to a simplistic — and dangerously naive — ideal of meritocratic purity. Meanwhile, back at Scale AI’s headquarters, annotators in economically depressed regions toil away for pay that wouldn’t cover a good brunch in Silicon Valley. But sure, let’s discuss how “objective” hiring practices will save us all from the tyranny of fairness and inclusion.
Yours truly,
Haje
(@Haje on X. Be happy to not message me about your thoughts on the above. Also: The above thoughts are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the stance of TechCrunch or any of the opposite writers, and all the same old blah-blah people say once they write an enraged op-ed.)
Most interesting startup stories from the week
Ever wonder what keeps a top-tier enterprise capitalist up at night? Spoiler alert: It’s not his hefty investment portfolio or his packed schedules. Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the brains behind Khosla Ventures, recently revealed his biggest worry — and it’s not what you’d expect from someone with a $50 million bet on OpenAI that paid off big-time. I loved Connie’s candid chat with Khosla about AI’s future, regulation woes, and why Europe’s tech scene could be snoozing while the remainder of the world races ahead. Buckle up; it’s an enlightening (and surprisingly entertaining) ride!
- It puts the lotion within the basket: In a bid to show your nice dreams into vivid nightmares, scientists have developed a robot with actual living skin that may stretch and be manipulated. Think Terminator T-1000 but with a slightly higher skincare routine.
- Rirelgvat vf svar, ubarfgyl*: In a recent interview that raised more eyebrows than a botched Botox job, Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov revealed that the messaging giant operates with just “about 30 engineers” and no dedicated product managers — unless you count Durov himself. While he boasted about efficiency from his Dubai-based lair, security experts collectively face-palmed, calling this a serious red flag for user safety.
- Hey, Butch, you did buy return tickets, right?: Boeing’s Starliner capsule has finally made it to space, but its homecoming is fashionably late. Originally scheduled to return on June 14, the two-person crew will now extend their space vacation until June 26 resulting from some stubborn technical hiccups.
Most interesting fundraises this week
Volkswagen is taking a leap of religion (and money) into the electrical future by investing as much as $5 billion in Rivian’s software development, starting with an initial billion-dollar infusion. This partnership looks as if a win-win: Rivian gets the financial boost it must navigate its ambitious path forward, and VW finally has a shot at brushing up its somewhat rusty software skills. Of their recent bromance, these two auto giants will share tech secrets like school kids trading lunch snacks — VW even gets access to Rivian’s sleek electrical architecture. The collaboration could infuse some much-needed pizzazz into Volkswagen’s lineup while giving Rivian a European flair — in a deal that kinda began from the 2 corporations nerding out about constructing cars in Georgia (the state, not the country).
Imagine spending your summer break not behind the bike sheds smoking weed (or regardless of the yout’ are doing nowadays), but in a VC office negotiating half 1,000,000 dollars. Feels like the plot of a teen drama, right? Well, for Christopher Fitzgerald and Nicholas Van Landschoot, that is real life. As a substitute of perfecting their cannonballs or binge-watching Netflix, these two 18-year-olds have convinced seasoned investors to back their AI-powered API startup with $500,000.
- Coming in hot: In a world where fast gratification apparently knows no bounds, Zepto just nabbed a whopping $665 million to make sure you never need to wait greater than 10 minutes in your groceries — or your electronic gadgets. Investors are tripping over themselves as in the event that they’ve never seen a grocery app before!
- Much CRM. Such smart: Forget all the things you understand about CRMs being glorified, soul-sucking spreadsheets. Christopher O’Donnell, the previous HubSpot exec who helped put that company on the map, is back with a vengeance — and this time he’s armed with AI.
- The $50 million buy-now button: Ever feel like online shopping is akin to trying to find a needle in a digital haystack? Well, Daydream seems to think so, too, and has decided to tackle this conundrum head-on. Armed with a whopping $50 million seed funding and an arsenal of AI-powered tools, it’s getting down to make e-commerce searches as effortless as finding cat videos online. Meow, indeed.
Other unmissable TechCrunch stories …
Every week, there’s at all times a couple of stories I need to share with you that just don’t fit into the categories above. It’d be a shame for those who missed ’em, so here’s a random grab bag of goodies for ya:
- Stop, collaborate, and listen*: OpenAI is on a mission to change into the Swiss Army knife of tech. Fresh off acquiring database firm Rockset, they’ve now snapped up Multi, a startup that’s essentially Zoom with bells and whistles.
- Simply? The perfect!*: Anthropic has launched Claude 3.5 Sonnet, their recent and improved AI model. While it’s being touted as the perfect yet, it’s more of a mild nudge forward than an enormous leap for AI-kind. The brand new model excels in text and image evaluation, but don’t expect it to crack jokes any higher than its predecessors — AI humor remains to be an unsolved mystery. But that’s why you’ve me, right? I’m hilarious. Everyone says so.
- Boulevard of Broken Dreams*: The courtroom drama surrounding Fisker’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy is heating up faster than a lawyer chasing billable hours. With accusations of “suspect activity” and heated exchanges that belong more on daytime TV than in bankruptcy court, the fight over Fisker’s assets is popping into an all-out legal brawl.
- Come and keep your comrade warm*: Just whenever you thought your antivirus software was the least of your worries, the U.S. government begs to differ: Kaspersky is now off-limits! Citing national security concerns and potential data weaponization by Russia, Uncle Sam has declared a “first of its kind” ban on the favored antivirus provider.
- All the things’s waiting for you*: In a world where enterprise capital for Black women is as rare as a hen’s dentist, Fearless Fund co-founder Ayana Parsons has decided to swap boardrooms for beach views. Announcing her resignation on LinkedIn, Parsons will not function general partner and COO but will as a substitute be “having fun with island life” together with her family. While this legal drama plays out, it’s disappointing that big names in tech haven’t rallied behind Fearless Fund.
