Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> to get it in your inbox every Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n Borrowing has become more expensive, and profits are harder to come by, which means that 2023 has been a savage year in startup land. PitchBook data suggests that around 3,200 startups \u2014 representing a total of $27.2 billion in venture funding \u2014 have gone under, with a significant number of startups being in zombie mode: Unable to grow, unable to raise money, but just about limping by well enough to avoid shutdown. Layoffs are happening <\/a>\u2014 also in December \u2014 and over the next couple of weeks, a bunch more startups will shut down, so as to not drag out the inevitable into a new tax year. I\u2019ll be looking into this more deeply over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n Also: I was supposed to be writing this newsletter but instead ended up playing the TechCrunch pub quiz for way too long<\/a>. My score was . . . embarrassingly poor, considering that I\u2019ve literally read every story on the site for the past year to write this newsletter. Still, it was fun \u2014 give it a whirl!<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Devin Coldewey \/ TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I love it when my colleagues are going super deep into nerd land. That\u2019s definitely one of the hallmarks of Devin\u2019s work from time to time; in this case, he talks about how \u201cStar Trek: Deep Space Nine\u201d fans are using AI to make the old show look better because there\u2019s no official high-quality version. They\u2019re using AI to add details to the original episodes, which is tough and takes a lot of effort \u2014 but it\u2019s showing a bunch of promise. Devin concludes that the tech could be a cool way for companies to upgrade old shows, but there are some legal and technical hurdles to figure out. Don\u2019t miss his 3,000-word ode to de-grainification<\/a>.<\/p>\n The other AI-related nerd-out this week comes courtesy of Ron, who dug into the continued relevance of traditional AI models in enterprises<\/a>, despite the rise of large language models (LLMs). That makes sense: LLMs are kind of the Leatherman of AI tools: They sort of do everything. I never leave the house without my Leatherman, and it has helped me out of many a knotty situation, but if I\u2019m building a house or repairing a car, I break out the more specialized tool kit.<\/p>\n More startuppy AI news this week:<\/p>\n This really moved me: <\/strong>Just when you thought your online photos were safe, here comes Animate Anyone turning them into eerily lifelike, video deepfakes \u2014 because regular old photo fakes weren\u2019t unsettling enough<\/a>.<\/p>\n G-oops-le: <\/strong>Google\u2019s new AI model Gemini isn\u2019t exactly hitting it out of the park, with early users finding more bloopers than brilliance in its answers<\/a>. Turns out, even Google can have an \u201coops\u201d moment in the AI world.<\/p>\n The Pok\u00e9mon approach to startups: <\/strong>Elon Musk, seemingly never tired of starting new ventures, is now chasing a cool $1 billion for his latest AI escapade<\/a> \u2014 xAI \u2014 because why settle for running just a few companies when you can add another AI startup to your collection?<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> CARINA JOHANSEN\/NTB\/AFP \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Look, I\u2019m as bored of Elon Musk as everyone else, but gotta give the guy credit for one thing: He doesn\u2019t half attract some attention. Rarely for good reasons, recently, it must be said.<\/p>\n Darrell summarizes the situation in his piece \u201cThe end of Elon,\u201d<\/a> where he \u2014 tongue firmly planted in cheek and with the snark meter turned to 11 \u2014 dissects the Tesla Cybertruck launch<\/a> (spoiler: It was a bit of a nothingburger; there\u2019s still much unknown about the truck) and Musk\u2019s, er, unique approach to managing his various ventures \u2014 including telling X (formerly Twitter) advertisers to go do something anatomically improbable<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of course, there was (much) more Musk-related news this week, and if you want it all, give our Elon Musk tag a quick scroll<\/a>.<\/p>\n What goes up .\u00a0.\u00a0. :\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>SpaceX drops $2.2 million on a parachute company, because apparently making parachutes that don\u2019t buckle in space is harder than rocket science<\/a>.<\/p>\n Keep on truckin\u2019: <\/strong>The Tesla Cyberbeast<\/a>: Heavy, quick, and falling a bit short in towing compared to its high-priced electric rivals \u2014 but hey, who\u2019s counting when you\u2019re driving an angular beast?<\/p>\n Show me the money: <\/strong>\u00a0X has scored licenses for payment processing in 12 U.S. states, inching closer to Musk\u2019s vision of turning the platform into an \u201ceverything app.\u201d With recent advertiser exits and controversies, it seems there\u2019s more drama than dollars in Musk\u2019s grand plan<\/a> \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Bryce Durbin (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n After the heyday of 2021, a bunch of startups are crashing to the ground after failing to meet their goals. Let\u2019s have a moment of silence for some of our fallen-from-grace brethren:<\/p>\n To its final zesting place: <\/strong>Going from a zesty $450 million valuation to shutting down<\/a>,\u00a0even Goldman Sachs\u2019 backing couldn\u2019t spice up ZestMoney\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n So close: <\/strong>Edtech company Doubtnut learns the hard way that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, selling for $10 million after passing up a $150 million deal<\/a> from Byju\u2019s.<\/p>\n Now, not so fab: <\/strong>From unicorn to extinct: Prefab home builder Veev proves<\/a> that soaring to billion-dollar status doesn\u2019t guarantee a sturdy foundation.<\/p>\n That not enough for ya? Fine, here\u2019s a collection of the most-loved, most-read articles from the past week:<\/p>\n Is it a bird? Is it a plane?: <\/strong>Anduril\u2019s new fighter jet weapon, Roadrunner, lands with the grace of a Falcon 9<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pour me another one: <\/strong>MIT spinoff Liquid AI thinks it\u2019s time for a change in the AI game with their new \u201cliquid neural network,\u201d because who needs another GPT clone<\/a> when you can have AI inspired by worm brains and run on a Raspberry Pi\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.<\/p>\n Yeah, but will it wear a beanie hat?: <\/strong>Ex-SpaceX engineers are now saving the planet with a \u201cvegetarian rocket engine,\u201d<\/a> because apparently shooting stuff into space wasn\u2019t cool enough. Also, were previous rockets full of bacon? I\u2019m confused.<\/p>\n It\u2019s electrifying: <\/strong>GM and Toyota, welcome to the Oops, We Missed the EV Bus club<\/a>!<\/p>\n Breaking kneecaps, and YouTube records:<\/strong>\u00a0Grand Theft Auto VI just stole MrBeast\u2019s YouTube crown, racking up more views in a day<\/a> than a money-giving philanthropist could dream of.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhen the AIs come marching in<\/h2>\n
This week in Elon Times<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nShutdown City<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nTop reads on TechCrunch this week<\/h2>\n