Welcome to Startups Weekly, an in-depth look at this week’s startup news and trends by top stock reporters and co-hosts Natasha Mascarenhas. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.
Maybe it’s the fact that Succession is back next week, or maybe it’s the fact that Silicon Valley has just experienced its first banking crisis, but I want to talk about the streak of decline in startups.
As I write in my last post:
Silicon Valley’s bank is a good reminder that startups, often entrenched in a world of risk and deception, sometimes forget to consider the obvious: individual points of failure. But just as it makes sense to rely on a community-friendly bank, so does entrusting one person with leading your business to success. Now that we’ve seen that the former doesn’t really work, maybe it’s time to rethink the latter.
To fully learn about the new concern founders have to consider, read: “Banking is not the ‘single point of failure’ that entrepreneurs need to rethink.”
For more, read about Coding CornerAnd The latest glimpse into the feeling of the founder, Impact on black founders And This timeline contains all that has been revealed this dimension. This is where SVB coverage ends for this newsletter writer’s purposes to keep her safe and remember that there is a world beyond banking moats.
In the rest of this newsletter, we’ll touch on buried news this week and GPT-4. As always, you can follow me Twitter or Instagram to continue the conversation. You can also send me tips at natasha.m@techcrunch.com or on Refer to the number +1925271 0912. No playgrounds, please.
GPT-4 This is not written
On Equity this week, Alex and I talk about the future of AI above, but most interestingly. We talk about the impact of technology on the smart people who write the books, context, and general technological exuberance. We need it, and I’m not just saying that because I live a stone’s throw from Brain Valley.
Here’s why it matters: GPT-4 launched this week From the team behind OpenAI. Our Kyle Wiggers reports, “GPT-4 can generate text and accept image and text input—an improvement over GPT-3.5, its predecessor, which only accepts text—and performs on a ‘human level’ on various professional and academic standards. For example, it passes A GPT-4 simulated strip exam with a score near the top 10% of test takers; in contrast, a GPT-3.5 score was around the bottom 10%.” Companies like Stripe, Duolingo, and Khan Academy were among the beta testers.
Image credits: Microsoft
news that buried
Where there is obvious spirituality, the news is often buried – intentionally or unintentionally. As a result, over the past week, there has been a lot of news that deserves more attention – both good and bad. list include Launching House concludes current operations layoffs, So is Claviyo And Cycle Hero conducts company-wide layoffs for the first time.
Here’s what else I missed sharing my two cents on:
etc., etc.
- throwback sabbath: If you missed Startups Weekly last week, find my latest issue here: “The Risks of Highly Biased Brands in Venture Capital.”
- Let’s hang out on campus? Techcrunch is coming to Boston on April 20th. I’ll be there with my favorite colleagues to meet the top experts at a one-day Founders Summit. Reserve your ticket as soon as possible! Include speakers Techstars’ Curti LevyAnd Construct Capital Dina Grayson And James Currier from NFX.
- Big shout out to All the sources that have spoken to me, both formally and informally, in the past week to help me make sense of Silicon Valley’s first real banking crisis. There is more we need to learn and many more questions lie ahead, so keep the confidence and tips coming.
- Programming note: If you’re reading this on a browser, get it in your inbox too! Participate here and share it with your friends.
Seen on Techcrunch
At Virgin Orbit, you shouldn’t have come on vacation for employees
Pornhub owner MindGeek has been sold to the private equity firm
The anonymous app Sidechat is picking up on its rival, Yik Yak…and users aren’t happy
Seen on TechCrunch+
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Silicon Valley has been through a grueling stretch, and that’s saying a lot given that COVID-19 is still an ongoing pandemic and downturns are still hurdles. If you’ve made it to the end, thank you, but also, take a nap. We’ll be here on Monday. You deserve some rest. I’d probably have some kind words for how technology can pull together during a time of massive stress, but for now, sleep.
Chat soon – and let me know if you’d like to live tweet “Caliphate” with me next week?
