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Imagine being a tech reporter returning from a few blissful days at Disney World with the family, only to discover that the entire startup ecosystem is in turmoil after a major bank collapse. Anyway, what we say is welcome back, Christine! We missed you!
Apropos SVB — the bank’s customers received a surprising email in their inboxes late Monday evening, Natasha M reports. It was from the bank’s new CEO, Tim Mayopoulos, who stated that the institution was not only open, but operating as usual. Who had That on their bingo cards?
Let’s jump straight to the Tuesday Crunch. — Christine And Hey
The ukbusinessupdates.com Top 3
- More Meta layoffs: We had heard a rumor that Meta was going to get some layoffs, and now Manic And Paul confirm that the company will cut another 10,000 jobs. In addition, the company will not fill thousands of open positions and will cancel “low priority projects”. More on Zuck’s thoughts on remote working in the Big Tech section.
- All-out battle for generative AI: If you enjoyed the updated features in Google Workspace, here are a few more: Google goes all in to bring AI to Workspace, Frederick reports. More Google news below.
- OpenAI will not lag behind: Like you saw this meme today, pretty much sums up what happened with dueling AI announcements (see above). Following Google’s news, OpenAI dropped GPT-4, a multimodal AI that it claims is state-of-the-art. Kyle writes. Meanwhile, Devin reports that GPT-4’s first app is a “virtual volunteer” for the visually impaired.
Startups and VC
Caught in the wake of the shocking collapse of former rival Silicon Valley Bank, shares of First Republic fell 62% yesterday. Well, that stock seems to be recovering a bit today as investors seem a little more confident that we’ve averted the banking apocalypse, Alex reports.
Flat6Labs is one of the most active VCs in Africa and has invested in over 100 startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to date. Annie reports that the Egypt-based early stage accelerator is hitting the road after 11 years through a new $95 million fund to support startups in East and West Africa.
And we have five more for you:
3 investors predict the future of startups and VC after the demise of SVB
Image Credits: Dimitri Otis (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Silicon Valley Bank was more than just a preferred choice for managing payroll and investor money: it also provided asset management services and below-market home loans and helped coordinate private equity sales.
So where does this bank’s collapse leave the tech industry? Who is most vulnerable, who benefits, and what are some of the long-term implications for VC? To find out more, Karan Bhasin and Ram Iyer interviewed:
- Maelle Gavet, CEO, Techstars
- Niko Bonatsos, General Manager, General Catalyst
- Colin Beirne, Partner, Two Sigma Ventures
“We will probably see consolidation in the VC class,” said Gavet.
“It was already underway, but this is likely to accelerate it, as the SVB was also a leading provider of loans for GPs to gauge their capital investments.”
Three more from the TC+ team:
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Big Tech Inc.
If you’re dying to buy Apple’s new “banana phone” but want to know if the shade is more “sunshine” or “dandelion,” the consumer products giant is offering a live concierge that can answer that and any other question you may have. Sara reports that this new way to shop online for an iPhone includes a live shopping feature with your own specialist for that high-touch customer experience without having to queue for hours.
Now to bring you all things Google:
Here are five more that have nothing to do with Google:
