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This is the best thing that’s happened this year… That’s right, we’re back with all the must-see companies from the current group of Y Combinator startups. Not surprisingly, AI was the top theme, with 86 out of 247 companies calling themselves AI startups, but given that 187 mentioned AI in their pitches, it’s in bubble territory. is reaching. We’ve rounded up some of his favorites, including the 18 most interesting and his TechCrunch staff favorites.
In the meantime, I wrote an in-depth interview with the founder of hot mug company Ember and how (among other things) he split the company in half so he could attract MedTech and life science investors. I talked about what I did.
This week’s most interesting startup stories
Image credits: PM image (Opens in new window) / Getty Images
There’s nothing new about startups losing money, but this week Devin summarized why President Trump’s “Truth Social” is different in several key ways. In short, the whole thing plays out like a bad reality show, with the plot revolving around a big money leak, and the suspense being whether the money will run out before viewers change the channel. ing. The finances of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which debuted on the Nasdaq as $DJT thanks to a merger with the financial world’s hopeless darling SPAC, are unveiled, earning $58 million on revenue of just $4 million. The dollar loss was revealed. This isn’t the typical Silicon Valley story of “burn cash now, reap the benefits later.” It’s more of a “burn the cash now and be done with it” kind of story. Unlike startups that disrupt industries and grow with the life support of VCs, TMTG’s lifeline is fraying, there is no explosive user growth, there is no VC sugar daddy, and it is likely to repel advertisers. They are in the unenviable position of juggling a business model while being publicly accountable. It’s made of antimatter. As the stock price continues to lackluster, the reality begins to dawn that TMTG’s story may be less about digital media exploration and more about how it loses friends and alienates advertisers, while its credits continue to decline. It plays on what could be the most expensive episode of “The Apprentice.” ever produced.
- IPOs are gaining momentum…maybe?: Cybersecurity darling Rubrik, which has been gobbling up venture capital like an anachronism, has decided it’s time to take a bold stab at the public markets and file for an IPO. With a history of shedding millions of dollars, Rubrik’s story is one of modest revenue growth, eye-watering losses, and a pivot to a subscription model that has brought software-as-a-service to the tech world. It’s as groundbreaking as deciding to sell.
- Axel rethinks India: Accel, the venture capital firm that collects Indian unicorns like they’re going out of fashion, is facing a bit of an existential crisis with its Atoms accelerator program, with all venture capital funding in the eyes of its founders. I’m noticing that it’s starting to look like it’s worth it. Is the same. It’s just a pile of cash with strings attached.
- Crypto is back?: If the crypto venture landscape in 2023 is a pot of ice-cold water, the first quarter of 2024 will be when bubbles begin to form just before the water boils, says Dragonfly Capital. Partner Tom Schmidt told TechCrunch in Jacqueline’s brief. Expansion of VC investment space for virtual currencies.
Disruption in the world of auto startups
Tesla’s Cybertruck still exists. That’s the best our friendly correspondent can say about this monster of design. Image credits: Darrell Etherington/Getty
Inclement weather continues to be a theme for promoters and change-makers in the startup world: transportation.
Canoo’s 2023 earnings report reads like a tragicomedy. Star of the show? CEO Tony Aquila’s private jet has doubled the company’s annual revenue. Canoo just delivered 22 vehicles and in just one year he collected $890,000, at the same time he shelled out $1.7 million to make the Aquila jet-set in style. In the fast-paced world of electric vehicles, perhaps nothing speaks to “financial responsibility” more than a private jet tab clouding sales while the company cleanses the bones of failed competitors.
Meanwhile, back in Fisker’s land, the company temporarily misplaced customer payments in a frantic effort to rebuild its business model. This hide-and-seek financial game highlights the company’s rather casual approach to tracking transactions, diverting key resources from sales to detectives and, in some cases, handing over vehicles on an honor system. Fisker’s attempts to catch up on paperwork not only soured its relationship with PwC during the preparation of its annual report, but also left it in the dark about its actual earnings as it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. . So, if you’ve ever had the bad experience of losing your car keys, you can at least take comfort in knowing that you didn’t lose an SUV’s worth of stuffed dollar bills, or you’ll find that your car door is locked. Let’s investigate why it won’t open. The one you manufactured won’t open.
- Autonomous driving…to the abyss: Ghost Autonomy, a startup that once dreamed of making highways safer with self-driving software, has ghosted the auto industry, despite a roughly $220 million wooing with investors. Business has ceased.
- Fascinating reading from Rivian: Rivian’s latest report card reads more like a cry for help than a victory lap. EV underdogs started 2024 by building fewer cars and delivering even fewer. With each EV sold last quarter costing him as much as a luxury sedan, Rivian’s path to profitability looks…interesting.
- Tesla plummets: Tesla’s latest delivery results are so-so, but the company blames its first year-on-year sales decline in three years on everything from arsonists seeking revenge on a German factory to maritime disturbances by Houthi rebels. I’m blaming it for everything. As if moving to a new Model 3 wasn’t enough of a speed-up, Tesla is running production of the Cybertruck and a mysterious low-cost EV in parallel, all while trying to invent an innovative manufacturing process on the fly. Masu.
This week’s most interesting fundraisers
Kidsy’s catalog attracted investor interest. Image credits: kids
Kidsy is the latest brainchild to emerge from startup nurseries. The company is essentially the TJ Maxx of baby products, overstocking items that were once destined for landfills at discounted prices and offering gently used items to help save the economics of raising a family. They are swooping in to save their parents from the black hole. Founded by a former business journalist and software engineer, Kidsy managed to attract investors to an “oversubscribed” pre-seed funding round faster than a toddler can throw a tantrum, and quickly became a circular economy superpower for baby products. I became a hero.
- A truly tenacious startup: Payments giant Stripe has fallen in love with a four-person startup named Spaglue (previously known as SuperGrain) in a classic takeover romance tale. Supaglue somehow caught Stripe’s attention. Perhaps through the technological equivalent of an aphrodisiac mixed with mutual acquaintances and chance encounters.
- Google donates $20 million to nonprofits: Google.org is investing $20 million in nonprofits to act as fairy godmothers to its AI dreams. Twenty-one lucky nonprofits will be guinea pigs in his six-month tech boot camp, along with an AI coach and her Google employee henchmen. All in the name of making the world a better place, one automated task at a time.
- blah, blah, car: From its humble beginnings as an online hitchhiking platform to becoming a bus-prone unicorn who has amassed millions, BlaBlaCar has been quite successful. Now, armed with a $108 million line of credit and a newfound sense of profitability, he’s going on a buying spree in small and medium-sized businesses.
Other must-see TechCrunch articles…
Every week, we have a few stories that just don’t fit into the categories above, but we’d like to share with you. It would be a shame if you missed it, so I’d like to introduce you to a bag containing random goods.
- No account required: In a move that screams “data is the new gold,” OpenAI now allows anyone to chat with ChatGPT without an account, ensuring that even grandma’s questions about knitting patterns can help train the AI. I am. Our content policy is crystal clear.
- I’m just messing around: Bumble, once the beauty of the IPO ball, now faces the modern dating dilemma of being ghosted by TikTok users looking for a love story. New CEO Lydiaan Jones is on a mission to rekindle the fire by rethinking women’s first behavior beliefs and playing with AI, while trying to make dating fun again without significantly changing the swipe right culture. We are working on this.
- Hey, that’s a good impression.: OpenAI is basically saying, “Hold your beer,” as it dives headlong into the ethical quagmire of voice cloning with its new speech engine. The company claims it’s all about responsible innovation, while also opening up Pandora’s box to see how it can be used and abused. I can’t think of a single drawback. …
- Vinix AI: Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” has only been released for a few days. But midway through the press release for “Cowboy Carter,” the singer made an unexpected statement about the growing presence of AI in music.
