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Welcome to Startups Weekly — your hebdomadal retread of everything you ca n’t miss from the world of startups . Sign uphereto get it in your inbox every Friday .
Helloooo , startup nerd ! I spend much of this week in San Jose string up out in the world of AI startups and tech behemoth at GTC , and I have a ton of playfulness stories in the line from there , so rest tuned for all of that . In the interim … permit ’s look at the exciting good that has been the preceding calendar week of TechCrunch startup reporting !
Most interesting startup stories from the week
In a dramatic turn of upshot , Microsoft has effectively absorbed Inflection , a once - promise AI inauguration that raised a staggering $ 1.3 billionjust nine month ago . The acquisition sees Inflection ’s co - founders , Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan , along with a pregnant luck of their squad , transition to Microsoft to spearhead the fresh make Microsoft AI partition . This move leaves Inflection , under the counsel of Reid Hoffman and new CEO Sean White , in a parlous position as it seek to salvage what remains of its carbon monoxide - founders ’ ambitious undertaking . Microsoft ’s role in this saga raises eyebrows , as it positions itself as both a Good Shepherd and an self-seeker , capitalizing on the struggles of its investments to consolidate its potency in the AI distance .
Meanwhile , over in the land of biotech , the sphere ’s latest fascination , the microbiome , has been acclaim as a frontier for personalized health solutions , promising to tackle everything from digestive progeny to skin conditions . However , a late report in Science sick a shadow over the burgeoning industry , paint a picture that many microbiome companies may beoperating with more ebullience than scientific grimness . These startup , riding the wave of low-priced genome sequencing and venture capital , proffer overhaul that profile the unparalleled microbial community in our bodies to identify wellness problems and root . Yet , the reputation raises concerns about the deficiency of meaningful regularisation and scientific consensus in this complex field , liken some practices to modernistic - day snake in the grass crude salesmanship . Despite the unfavorable judgment , companies like Parallel Health , Tiny Health , and Daye defend their approaches , emphasizing their commitment to reach scientific legitimacy .
Most interesting fundraises this week
Telegram , the message app titan with a drug user base due north of 900 million , just flex its financial muscles by securing a walloping $ 330 million through bond sale , as announce by its founder and chief executive officer , Pavel Durov . The bail bonanza was a hitting , attracting more cash than they had way for , with Durov boasting about snagging “ global funds of the highest calibre ” under term that made this the sweetest deal in Telegram ’s history . While Durov played coy on who precisely threw their money into the anchor ring , he was clear thatthese investor are betting big on Telegram ’s ontogeny trajectory . The company isaiming for profitableness next year , and last conjure $ 220 million worth of funding through bondsabout a twelvemonth ago .
Trend of the week: The higher they soar, the harder they fall
It ’s been a week of heights and lows . Where some startup are conform to their demise , others are rising from the ashes , while others again are fulfil the nihility leave by their falling buddy . All very dramatic .
One example of this dramatic event is between Google and the EU . The search heavyweight finds itself in red-hot water once again with France’sAutorité de la Concurrence , which hasslapped the technical school giant with a € 250 million fine(around $ 270 million ) for misusing news publishers ’ content to train its AI model , Bard / Gemini , without right notification . This latest fine is part of a longstanding feud over copyright protections , with Google previously attempting to sidestepEU digital copyright reformsby limiting access to its news services in France . TheAutorité‘s investigation revealed that Google not only miscarry to inform publishers about the use of their content for AI grooming but also lacked a mechanism for publishers to opt out without sham their visibleness on Google ’s other services until later September 2023 . Meanwhile , Midjourney thinks it has a plan to beat the copyright cops .
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Other unmissable TechCrunch stories …
Every workweek , there ’s always a few stories I desire to portion out with you that somehow do n’t gibe into the family above . It ’d be a shame if you miss ’em , so here ’s a random catch bag of delicacy for ya :
