Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> to get it in your inbox every Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n You shouldn\u2019t compare apples to oranges, but similarly, comparing iPhones to Androids is a fool\u2019s errand as well.<\/p>\n Now that Apple is finally phasing out the Lightning<\/a> connector after 11 years in favor of the more universal standard USB-C (across a ton<\/em> of products<\/a>), the conversation has reignited about silos versus open standards. Apple has long attracted the ire of Android users who are locked out of the iMessage standard, and every now and again a workaround comes and goes. Most recently, an app called Beeper enabled Android users to send iMessages to iPhone users. To the surprise of exactly nobody, Apple quickly locked that down<\/a>, drawing side-eye from all angles, not least the Senate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of course, neither Apple nor Android are startups, so what is this doing as a headline in Startups Weekly? Well, I think it serves as a really good reminder that products like Beeper can explode onto the scene, before being scrubbed from existence again just as fast.<\/p>\n Whether you are building on Apple\u2019s ecosystem or on ChatGPT<\/a>, or whether your company relies heavily on another service altogether, it\u2019s worth not fully locking your success to the whims of a company<\/a> you have little or no control over.<\/p>\n With that little soapbox speech out of the way . . . let\u2019s see what else happened in the world of startups as we hit the halfway mark of December.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Diane Keough (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In an epic plot twist, Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm founded by eBay\u2019s Pierre Omidyar, is waving goodbye to India after 13 years. Despite recent investments and public engagements, they\u2019re pulling the plug<\/a>, citing a \u201csignificant change in context\u201d and the rise of local philanthropy and venture capital. While they boast about catalyzing impact, their abrupt exit following a rough year (think fire sales of backed startups) has left many in the Indian startup scene scratching their heads.<\/p>\n Analysts are worrying this is part of a broader trend: Manish reported that Indian startups have raised about $7 billion this year<\/a>, down from about $25 billion in 2022 and $37 billion in 2021. Woof.<\/p>\n More venture and fundraising news:<\/p>\n Shark fintech soup: <\/strong>SumUp, the fintech darling catering to small businesses, is throwing \u20ac285 million into its survival kit to brave the fintech tempest. While it\u2019s planting flags in new markets and adding shiny features to its payment arsenal, the funding landscape looks as inviting as a shark tank. Despite boasting a sunnier EBITDA outlook, their customer tally hasn\u2019t budged in two years. Fintech\u2019s a tough gig<\/a>, folks.<\/p>\n OpenAI invests in India: <\/strong>In a bold move, OpenAI is cozying up to India\u2019s AI scene by enlisting Rishi Jaitly<\/a>, Twitter India\u2019s ex-chief, to be their local eyes on the ground. They\u2019re reportedly moving toward a team setup in India but don\u2019t have an official presence yet \u2014 just a freshly minted trademark. Jaitly is helping OpenAI navigate India\u2019s complex policy landscape.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s some rocket fuel: <\/strong>In the latest \u201cslow and steady doesn\u2019t win the race\u201d move, Paris-based startup studio Hexa, fresh from a $22 million fundraising spree, introduces Hexa Scale. This program targets B2B companies stuck in the doldrums<\/a> of linear growth, offering them a lifeline back to the sexier world of exponential growth.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> mathisworks \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Meet Sarvam AI, the Indian startup that\u2019s just a baby at five months old but is already flexing its financial muscles with a whopping $41 million in funding. Who said startups need to crawl before they walk? Sarvam AI, with its eyes on building full-stack generative AI offerings, is skipping the baby steps and leaping straight into the AI playground<\/a>. They\u2019re not just playing with language models; they\u2019re reimagining them with a focus on Indian languages and voice interfaces. It\u2019s like watching a superhero origin story, but for AI startups.<\/p>\n If a $41 million round to Sarvam didn\u2019t sufficiently remind you that AI continues to be smolderingly hot, consider Mistral AI, a Parisian startup, just said \u201cau revoir\u201d to mediocrity by closing a whopping $415 million funding round. The company is busy shaping the future of AI with a distinctly European flair<\/a>. Romain digs into why Silicon Valley might need to watch its back. Bonne lecture<\/em>!<\/p>\n Lots of AI news coming out of Google over the past week or so. The search giant launched Gemini, which is powering a lot of its AI efforts. It released AI Studio<\/a>, designed to build applications on Gemini easily, but criticism quickly surfaced. For one thing, it wasn\u2019t the generative AI Hail Mary<\/a> that Google needed (and the rest of us desired), and the early impressions of the platform<\/a> were a bit meh. Google also announced AlphaCode 2<\/a>, based on the tech, along with a huge update to the chatbot platform Bard<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest news was that Google\u2019s Pixel 8 Pro, powered by the brainiac AI model Gemini, is making other phones look like they\u2019re still playing Snake. This genius phone features an AI summarizer in its Recorder app and a Smart Reply in Gboard for those who can\u2019t be bothered to text back. Plus, it even works on-device (i.e., without Wi-Fi or a signal, you still have an AI at your fingertips), so now you can be AI-enhanced in the middle of nowhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n Moar AI goodness:<\/strong><\/p>\n X gettin\u2019 sassy with AI: <\/strong>Now rolling out to subscribers, Grok promises to add a dash of unpredictability to your daily digital interactions<\/a>. So, if you\u2019re tired of the same old AI small talk and crave something with a bit more sass and spunk, Grok is your go-to. It\u2019s currently being rolled out to all premium subscribers<\/a>, followed by all English-language users, then Japanese-language users.<\/p>\n Say hello to my little friend: <\/strong>Relevance AI is swooping in with its low-code platform, promising to be the fairy godmother for businesses of all sizes<\/a>. They\u2019re dishing out custom AI agents faster than you can say \u201cautomation,\u201d and with a cool $13.2 million in the bank.<\/p>\n The EU flexes its AI muscles: <\/strong>After marathon \u201cfinal\u201d talks that stretched to almost three days, European Union lawmakers clinched a political deal on a risk-based framework for regulating artificial intelligence<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Cattallina (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a> \/ Shutterstock (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Numbers indicate that early-stage startups are throwing a party<\/a> with better valuations and more cash flow, defying the gloomy 2023 narratives, Alex and Anna write on TC+. Meanwhile, their older siblings, the scale-ups and unicorns, are taking swimming lessons as they find themselves in deeper waters. Carta\u2019s data suggests the startup world isn\u2019t uniformly bleak; it\u2019s just picky, favoring the young and sprightly. This raises a toast to the idea of sprinting toward an IPO, rather than marinating in private equity. Who knew age could be more than just a number in the startup game?<\/p>\n Fintechs still dominated November\u2019s new billion-dollar babies. Stripe, Brex, and others got haircuts in valuations, but don\u2019t despair, there\u2019s hope: New unicorns like Tabby and Enable are emerging. Also, Simply Homes is making waves by tackling affordable housing. Christine and Mary Ann wink at 2024, predicting more fintech unicorns, because who doesn\u2019t love a good comeback story<\/a>?<\/p>\n Also in startup land:<\/strong><\/p>\n Operations are table stakes: <\/strong>Josh Claman, CEO of Accelsius, writes a TC+ piece reminding us that while tech advancements are dazzling, it\u2019s the operational side \u2014\u00a0efficiently managing the nuts and bolts <\/a>\u2014 that truly gives companies an edge.<\/p>\n Fundraising season is coming: <\/strong>Yeah, it\u2019s pretty dead right now, but come January, the VCs are coming back from their extended December breaks and will be ready to dispense cash again. Are you ready<\/a>?<\/p>\n Turning their backs on Texas?: <\/strong>Once hailed as the tech world\u2019s darling, it seems Austin might be losing a bit of its sparkle<\/a>. Techstars is hitting the pause button on its Austin chapter, signaling a potential shift in the city\u2019s tech allure. Reasons? Well, Austin\u2019s not as cheap as it once seemed, especially with housing prices acting like they\u2019re on a caffeine high.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got the highlights above, but as I\u2019m looking at our most read stories, it turns out I missed a couple. Here\u2019s the best of the rest:<\/p>\n RIP, podcasting: <\/strong>It seems like the writing is on the soundproofed wall: The podcast boom is over, and this week\u2019s news is evidence<\/a>. Spotify laid off 17% of the company \u2014 its third round of layoffs this year \u2014 and canceled two highly acclaimed shows, including a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting.<\/p>\n Pedal to the metal: <\/strong>Lucid\u2019s chief financial officer<\/a> Sherry House is leaving the company to \u201cpursue other opportunities,\u201d the automaker told investors on Monday.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all fun and games until everyone gets fired: <\/strong>Hasbro is laying off 1,100 employees<\/a>, after it already laid off 800 employees in January. While some employees will find out about the fate of their jobs on Tuesday, others will be cut in the coming year. By 2025, Hasbro told shareholders, the company hopes to save about $350 million to $400 million in costs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nRocky oceans in the startup ecosystems<\/h2>\n
The motion of the AI<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nCalm before the storm?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nTop reads on TechCrunch this week<\/h2>\n