Kanye agrees to buy Parler, Elon Musk reportedly plans mass layoffs at Twitter and Netflix joins cloud gaming TechCrunch
Hey guys! Welcome back Reviewed week, where every Saturday we recap some of TechCrunch’s top stories from the past seven days. Want it in your inbox? Get it here!
This week marks the return of TechCrunch Disrupt live, with our team bringing the show back to the real world after two years of being completely virtual. It was a helluva gig, with the likes of tennis legends (turned investors) coming in. Serena Williamscomedian (also turned investor!) Kevin HartCo-Founder of Lyft John Zimmerand CEO Figma Dylan’s Field. Congratulations Minerva Lithium for Victory in the Startup Battlefield race, contest!
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Google’s Ping-Pong RobotDevin writes: “As if it weren’t enough for AI to tan the human skin (figuratively until now) in every board game in existence,” Devin writes, “Google’s AI has one that works, too. to destroy us all at Ping-Pong.”
Elon expects massive layoffs on Twitter: Musk is said to want to cut up to 75% of Twitter’s workforce – about 5,600 jobs – if/when his company’s acquisition goes through. That number seems pretty ridiculous. Even much smaller layoffs have a dual impact on things like team morale and productivity – just imagine the amount of knowledge/insights that would disappear if majority of a given company.
Kanye West buys Parler: Well, that’s the title I never expected. Manish wrote: “Kanye West, rapper aka Ye, has reached an agreement to buy the ‘priceless free speech platform’ Parler. [the involved parties say] will help individuals freely express their conservative opinions”.
Stabilizing AI raises 101 million dollars: The company behind the AI-powered image generator Stable diffusion and music creation system Diffusion Dancing raised $101 million at a reported valuation of $1 billion.
Netflix explores cloud gaming: Same as Google give up on your cloud gaming endeavorsNetflix is participating. At Disrupt this week, Netflix’s Vice President of Gaming said the company was “seriously exploring the cloud gaming service,” saying Google’s shutdown attempt was a “technical success” with “problems with the business model.”
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Here’s what’s happening in CTV podcast land this week:
- Equity was direct and direct! After years in pandemic mode, the Equity team (Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann) started Disrupt by recording a live show. first.
- Above FindDarrell and Jordan encounter Jerrica Kirkley and Matthew Wetschler and learn the story of Plume, their teleworking company focused on transgender care.
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What do TC+ members read the most behind the fee wall? Here is a brief overview:
Predictions for 2023 VC: After a few wild years of ups and downs, what will venture capital look like in 2023? Eric Tarczynski, founder of the Contrast fund, is very interested in this issue.
Ron discovers Celonis and its $13 billion valuation: Celonis may not be a name everyone recognizes… but this 11-year-old data processing company has raised billions of dollars in just the past few years. Are they doing that right? Ron Miller takes us on a deep dive.
