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Loans have become more expensive and profits harder to come by, meaning 2023 has been a wild year in the startup space. PitchBook data suggests that around 3,200 startups, representing a total of $27.2 billion in venture funding, have gone under, and a significant number of startups are in zombie mode: unable to grow, unable to raise money, but barely surviving well enough to avoid shutdown. Layoffs are happening, also in December, and over the next two weeks, a lot of new companies will close, so as not to drag out the inevitable into a new fiscal year. I'll be looking into this more in depth over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.
Also: I was supposed to write this newsletter, but I ended up playing the TechCrunch pub quiz for too long. My score was. . . Embarrassingly poor, considering I literally read every story on the site over the past year to write this newsletter. Still, it was fun – give it a try!
When AIs come marching in
Image credits: Devin Coldewey/TechCrunch
I love when my colleagues delve deep into nerd land. That's definitely one of the distinguishing features of Devin's work from time to time; In this case, he talks about how “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” fans are using artificial intelligence to make the old show look better because there is no official high-quality version. They are using ai to add details to the original episodes, which is difficult and requires a lot of effort, but is very promising. Devin concludes that the technology could be a good way for companies to update old programs, but there are some legal and technical obstacles to overcome. Don't miss his 3,000-word ode to degranification.
This week's other ai nerd comes courtesy of Ron, who delved into the continued relevance of traditional ai models in enterprises, despite the rise of large language models (LLMs). That makes sense: LLMs are kind of the Leatherman of ai tools: they sort of do everything. I never leave the house without my Leatherman, and it has gotten me out of many sticky situations, but if I'm building a house or repairing a car, I pull out the more specialized tool kit.
More ai news from startups this week:
This really touched me: Just when you thought your online photos were safe, here comes Animate Everyone, turning them into disturbingly realistic video deepfakes, because regular old photo fakes weren't disturbing enough.
Oops-le: Google's new artificial intelligence model, Gemini, is not exactly a success, with early adopters finding more errors than brilliance in its answers. Turns out, even Google can have an “oops” moment in the world of ai.
The Pokémon approach for startups: Elon Musk, who seemingly never tires of starting new companies, is now chasing a whopping $1 billion for his latest ai venture, xAI, because why settle for running just a few companies when you can add another ai startup to your collection?
This week in Elon Times
Image credits: CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP / Getty Images
Look, I'm as bored with Elon Musk as everyone else, but I have to give this guy credit for one thing: he doesn't get half the attention. Rarely for good reasons, lately, it must be said.
Darrell summarizes the situation in his article “The End of Elon”, where, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek and with the sarcastic meter at 11, he analyzes the launch of the Tesla Cybertruck (spoiler: it was a kind of burger with nothing; still There's a lot unknown about the truck) and Musk's unique approach to running his various companies, including telling X (formerly Twitter) advertisers to do something anatomically improbable.
Of course, there was (a lot) more Musk-related news this week, and if you want it all, take a quick look at our Elon Musk tag.
What goes up . . : SpaceX spends $2.2 million on a parachute company, because apparently making parachutes that don't bend in space is harder than rocket science.
Keep trucking: The Tesla Cyberbeast: heavy, fast and a little short on tow compared to its expensive electric rivals, but hey, who's counting when you're driving an angular beast?
Show me the money: X has obtained payment processing licenses in 12 US states, moving closer to Musk's vision of turning the platform into an “app for everything.” With recent advertiser departures and controversies, it seems there's more drama than dollars in Musk's big plan, for now.
closed city
Image credits: Bryce Durbin (Opens in a new window)
After the peak of 2021, a group of startups are collapsing after failing to achieve their goals. Let us have a moment of silence for some of our fallen brothers:
To its final grating place: Going from a glowing $450 million valuation at closing, not even the backing of Goldman Sachs could boost ZestMoney's survival.
So close: edtech company Doubtnut learns the hard way that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and sells itself for $10 million after passing up a $150 million deal with Byju's.
Now, not so fabulous: From unicorn to extinct: Prefab builder Veev proves that hitting the billion-dollar mark doesn't guarantee a solid foundation.
Top Reads on TechCrunch This Week
Is that not enough for you? Well, here's a collection of the most loved and read articles from the past week:
It is a bird? It is a plane?: Anduril's new combat weapon, Roadrunner, lands with the grace of a Falcon 9.
Serve me another: MIT spinoff Liquid ai thinks it's time for a change in the ai game with its new “liquid neural network,” because who needs another GPT clone when you can have ai inspired by worm brains and run it on a Raspberry Pi? . .
Yes, but will he be wearing a hat?: Former SpaceX engineers are now saving the planet with a “vegetarian rocket engine,” because apparently shooting things into space wasn't cool enough. Also, were the previous rockets filled with bacon? I'm confused.
It's electrifying: GM and Toyota, welcome to the club Oops, we missed the electric bus!
Breaking kneecaps and YouTube records: Grand Theft Auto VI just stole the YouTube crown from MrBeast, racking up more views in a day than a philanthropist money-giver could ever dream of.
