1. Stability AI CEO quits, leaving unicorn startup without permanent CEO
2. Microsoft acquires Inflection AI, including co-founders and staff, for $650 million
3. Trend of the week: Transportation trouble, with Fisker facing financial woes and Canoo acquiring assets from bankrupt Arrival
The week brought significant developments in the startup world. Stability AI saw its CEO, Emad Mostaque, leave to pursue decentralized AI dreams. Microsoft made a bold move by acquiring Inflection AI, including its co-founders and staff, for $650 million. Facebook, now Meta, was caught in a covert operation targeting Snapchat’s encrypted traffic. Robinhood introduced its Gold Card, offering attractive cash-back rewards. Nvidia and Amazon Web Services stumbled upon their core businesses unintentionally, much like a toddler finding hidden cookies.
Transportation troubles hit the industry with the New York Stock Exchange booting EV startup Fisker and Arrival selling leftovers to Canoo. The SEC settled with Steve Burns of Lordstown Motors over misleading investors about demand. Tesla announced a one-month trial of its Full Self-Driving Beta system for U.S. customers. In fundraising news, super{set} secured $90 million for data and AI-driven enterprise startups, while Wase received $10 million for its biogas system.
Blueground made waves in the prop tech sector with its rapid expansion through acquisitions, attracting a $45 million investment in its Series D round. New Summit Investments targeted a $100 million fund for impact investing. Ionobell, a seed-stage startup focusing on silicon material for EV batteries, closed a $3.9 million round. Marissa Mayer’s startup, Sunshine, raised eyebrows by focusing on contact management and photo sharing. AT&T faced a data leak of 73 million customer details, while Apple blocked Beeper’s iMessage for Android. Glassdoor faced criticism for adding real names to users’ profiles, compromising anonymity. Spotify ventured into e-learning, diversifying its offerings beyond music and podcasts.