Startups Weekly: Drama at Techstars. Drama in AI. Drama everywhere. | TechCrunch

Welcome to Startups Weekly — HajA weekly roundup of everything in the startup world. Sign up Here to get it in your inbox every Friday.

Well, friends, it seems The Techstars Drama Just a new plot twist. CEO Maile Gavet to step downCo-founder David Cohen was forced to return to salvage the situation — or at least try. Gavet’s three-and-a-half-year tenure was marred by controversy, from an exodus of employees to a variety of problems. Stopping the accelerator program before you can even say “pivot.” In-spite of this $80 million deal with JP Morgan Despite turning into a Titanic-level disaster and losing $7 million in 2023, she insists she wouldn’t change this experience for anything. What about Cohen? He’s excited about his return as CEO.

The most interesting startup stories of the week

Linktree’s user base reaches 50 millionProving that everyone and their grandmother now has a link-in-bio. From 2.7 million in 2019 to this astronomical number, they’re basically the popular kids in school that everyone wants to sit with. Linktree is rolling out social commerce features so creators can put storefronts on their pages and earn commissions from big brands like Adidas and Sephora. With over $300 million in monthly sales already coming in through those links, it’s clear they’re not messing around.

• In search of a humane home: Humane, the brainchild of former Apple executives and maker of the $700 AI pin that no one asked for, is now reportedly looking for a buyer. Apparently, It is expected to gross between $750 million and $1 billionIf someone wants to add a wearable gadget to their product portfolio that is essentially a smartphone, but with commitment issues.
• Sonos hugs your head: Sonos has finally answered your prayers and launched its “most requested product ever.” No, it’s not a speaker that pays your taxes—it’s Ace HeadphonesFor a cool price of $449, you’ll be able to show off these over-ear beauties soon.
• Coming soon to a crossroads near you: Britain has officially waved the checkered flag for “driverless cars” — that’s what they call self-driving over there. How bizarre! Through the Automated Vehicles Act, you could find yourself Sharing the road with robot cars by 2026,

Trend of the week: AI drama

OpenAI’s latest chatbot, Skye, seems to have done the best imitation of Scarlett Johansson and got caught a lot! The AI’s voice bore a striking resemblance to ScarJo’s famous voice. OpenAI swore it wasn’t trying to recreate her sensual voice with “Her,” but the internet couldn’t stop itself from noticing the uncanny resemblance. CEO Sam Altman even tweeted “Her” because, well, why wouldn’t you, really? Now that Johansson has already turned to lawyers to call it a “deepfake,” OpenAI has removed Skye’s voice from its product while legal wrangling continues to find a solution to this mess.

Meanwhile, OpenAI doesn’t seem to be hurting much. ChatGPT’s mobile app has seen a massive increase in revenue since the launch of GPT-4o. Despite promising free access on the web, OpenAI decided to push mobile users to a $19.99 monthly subscription if they want to get in on the action. The twist: People are spending more money on this than their Netflix subscriptionNet revenue increased by 22% in the first week alone, reaching $900,000 per day and a total of $4.2 million between May 13 and 17.

• Don’t scare me, brotherHollywood elite now Hide your digital duplicates CAA’s high-tech “theCAAvault” feels like it’s Fort Knox for AI clones.
• The whitest sausage-fest in town: Despite years of complaints about women and people of color being marginalized in the AI ​​field, Meta apparently decided that diversity was overrated. So it built a team The Team of Business Brothers To guide your AI strategy. Great, great, great.
• GoThe latest news from Expedia reads like a soap opera script: CTO Rathi Murthy and SVP Srinivas Rachamadugu have been fired. brutally thrown out on the street For violating some mysterious policies of the company. The travel booking giant is avoiding giving any information about this citing confidentiality. Murthy Promoting only new AI features A few days before he suddenly leaves – talk about bad timing!

This week’s most interesting fundraising campaigns

Bonjour! In the latest episode of “How much money can we spend on AI?”, French startup H just revealed Received $220 million in seed funding. Yes, you read that right – seed funding. With a founding team that boasts more ex-Google DeepMind employees than a Silicon Valley reunion, H is aiming to revolutionize productivity with its “Frontier Action Model.” Translation: They’re building robots to do our jobs better than we can. Remind me why I’m sitting here typing this newsletter with my actual fingers? What is this, the 1920s?

• Hardware is less rigidForget everything you know about hardware engineering because Rollup is here. This startup has been hidden in the dark for three years, Quietly raised $5.6 million From big names like Andreessen Horowitz and Thiel Capital.
• several layersQuickBooks may be the daddy of accounting software, but it looks like there’s a new name in the field: Layar. After raising $2.3 million, this startup looks promising for the future. Making accounting less painful With its very attractive embedded features for small and medium sized businesses.
• We don’t need any steel roadsForget robotaxis stuck in city traffic – the latest craze is Self-propelled vehicles Those who laugh in the face of road maps. Overland AI and Potential are leading this off-road autonomy revolution, backed by VCs and Uncle Sam’s Department of Defense.

Other unforgettable TechCrunch stories…

Welcome to the job market in 2023, where instead of making burgers, you can program a robot to do it for you. Brian has compiled a list 81 robotics companies are hiring Faster than you can say “artificial intelligence.” From humanoid robots that take your job (or make your coffee) to drones that deliver your Amazon packages before you even click “order,” there’s never been a more exciting — or terrifying — time to dive into robotics. So go ahead, apply now and secure your place in the brave new world of mechanical overlords 🤖.

• More money, more passengers?Buckle up, Minnesota! Uber and Lyft drivers are getting a pay raise But don’t get too comfortable in that back seat, thanks to a new state agreement. Starting in 2025, drivers will earn more money — rates that have left Uber complaining about high costs.
• Hey son, no bank for you.: Teen fintech startup Copper Banking has had a tough week. Its banking and debit products have been shut down due to the debacle of Synapse, a middleware provider crashed and burned into Chapter 11, then straight into Chapter 7 liquidation.
• Won’t you be my friend?Bumble, the dating app that’s now stuck in the friend-zone due to widespread decline in its core market, has decided to swipe right on Geneva – A community building platformApparently realizing that “Netflix and chill” doesn’t always translate into a lifelong partnership, Bumble aims to expand its focus from one-on-one connections to group hugs and friendship bracelets.
• VinFast HorrorIn a tragic twist that sounds like it was taken straight from the script of an automotive horror movie, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The accident, which happened in April, is being investigated Where a VinFast VF8 SUV in California decided to “hug an oak tree” – resulting in the burning to death of a family of four.
• Don’t worry, we already have all your informationWelcome to the digital age, where even your hotel check-in can fall victim to a spyware drama! At least three Wyndham hotels in the US have been spied upon. Caught red handed with pctattletaleThere is a consumer-grade spyware app that is secretly taking screenshots of guest details and customer information.