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The startup train continues to roar on the track, and I’m back with “What’s Happening in the Entrepreneurship World This Week.”
What Glowforge is doing with laser cutting, Cricut is doing with vinyl cutting, and RepRap and Ultimaker are doing with 3D printing are starting to be applied to more “serious” prototyping and manufacturing. A new generation of startups is working to make building parts from plastic and metal accessible to the masses – I wrote three stories about interesting “maker tech” companies I saw at CES – two new CNC milling machines ( One from Makera and one for the Coast Runner and a first look at the CNC lathe. These technologies have been available in high-end studios for years, but they’re often out of the price range of maker spaces and serious hobbyists. As a Maker fan, I couldn’t be happier.
What else happened? I’ll tell you what else happened. . .
The most interesting startup stories of the week
Image Source: Kirsten Korosek at TechCrunch
CES 2024 is like a futuristic carnival for transportation geeks, showcasing a range of electric products – from cars and bikes to scooters and planes. In this electric extravaganza, where artificial intelligence is at work in everything from smart scooters to chatty cars, hydrogen-powered cars are quietly reminding us that they’re still in the game. This event is less about traditional car showcases and more about showcasing the technology that can make our rides smarter, safer, and more sci-fi. Kerstin sums up this year’s must-sees in the transportation industry, while I point out that there was little sex tech to discover during our annual consumer tech pilgrimage to Las Vegas.
Of course, AI is everywhere, and Cody has written a review detailing how AI technology is showing up in good, bad, and weird ways.
Moore:
to infinity and beyond: Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander remains in orbit, and the company said there is “increasing optimism” that the spacecraft may survive in space for longer than current estimates.
Cupertino Fury: The saga between Apple and Beeper seems not to be over yet. Now, Apple customers using the Beeper app are reporting that they have been blocked from using iMessage on their Mac.
Similar to Airbnb, but more consistent: Rather than acting as a marketplace that matches travelers with vacation rental owners, Overmoon actually owns the homes and therefore has more control over their quality and maintenance.
The most interesting fundraisers of the week
Image Source: like
After a challenging 2023 and a sharp decline in public offerings, technology startups and high-growth companies are once again turning their sights to initial public offerings (IPOs). Major players in healthcare payments such as Waystar, cybersecurity startup Rubrik and micro-mobility company Lime are rumored to be considering IPOs. This trend can also be seen in the field of artificial intelligence startups, which continue to attract the attention of the venture capital community. Despite renewed interest, the road to a successful IPO remains challenging. Gary Klintworth writes for us at TechCrunch+ outlining what you need to pay attention to if you have IPO ambitions.
more:
Like and subscribe. . . To this car: Munich-based car subscription startup Finn has revved up its engines with a massive $109 million funding round, valuing it at $658 million. The move accelerates their environmental ambitions to achieve an 80% electric fleet by 2028.
Fintech slowdown in Africa: In a classic tale of biting off more than one can chew, African neobank Kuda found itself 3 million short of its expected user milestone. It hoped to double its user base to 10 million by the end of 2023, but reality had other plans.
Lock AI: Vicarius is riding the AI cybersecurity wave, attracting investors to pay $30 million for its AI-powered vulnerability detection tool. Founded by three people who noticed cyber attackers using system APIs to play the same old tune, Vicarius now claims to be able to automate the tedious work of finding and fixing security vulnerabilities. The company also raised $24 million a few years ago.
Big trend of the week: Moar AI (of course…)
Image Source: MF3d/Getty Images
I know the “trending of the week” seems to be artificial intelligence every week, but what can I say. These are everyone’s two favorite vowels right now!
Here are three must-read stories from this week at the intersection of artificial intelligence and startups:
The sky is couscous: Researchers at Anthropic found that artificial intelligence models — like moody teenagers — can be trained to deceive. They found that by tweaking their models with specific trigger phrases, teams could go from offering help to secretly writing vulnerable code to throwing out digital tantrums.
CTRL+ALT+Start: In a bold move that may make developers question their career choices, Singapore-based Locofy has launched “Lightning,” a one-click magic tool that converts Figma and AdobeXD designs into code. This technological marvel promises to automate nearly 80% of front-end development.
What’s in Naim? : A great name won’t save a mediocre AI, but combine a trendy name with top-notch technology and you’ve got a winner. Just don’t rush into naming your artificially intelligent toddler, writes branding and naming expert Aaron Hall on TC+.
Other TechCrunch stories you can’t miss. . .
Every week, I’ll share with you a few stories that don’t fall into the above categories. It would be a shame if you missed it, so here are some random goodies for you:
Away game: NASA and Lockheed Martin have finally unveiled the X-59, a supersonic jet that has been in development for years and is designed to hurtle through the sky at supersonic speeds while simultaneously Maintain the “thump” sound of the sonic boom.
Last call: Just three years after the acquisition, Uber said goodbye to its $1.1 billion baby Drizly and decided that integrating alcohol delivery into Uber Eats would be a better topic.
Apple tax continues: In a classic “one inch, one mile” scenario, Apple’s latest response to the court ruling has caused quite a stir in the app world. Despite being asked to provide developers with alternative payment methods, Apple insists on taking a 27% commission from sales outside its system.
