Technet: AI strikes hot at Y Combinator Demo Day

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Sunday, April 07, 2024

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This past week, Y Combinator hosted its newest Demo Day. We won't get into the companies that presented (you can read about those here and here). We will tell you we caught up with tens of investors at a related reception in San Francisco last Wednesday night, and, in the aggregate, they were illuminating conversations! Mostly, we were surprised by how terrified a lot of the investors seem to be of the choices they're expected to make right now. While nearly everyone we spoke with talked excitedly about AI, they also admitted to having plenty of questions about the whole wave of startups that are pounding their doors down. Between us (shh), it's not crystal clear to many of them how long anyone has a competitive advantage here — on any front — other than the biggest companies. A couple of VCs told us that while some startups are growing at unprecedented speeds fueled by advances in AI, it's not entirely clear where these startups are headed, given that their ideal acquirers — the so-called magnificent seven — can't acquire much right now because of antitrust concerns and the fact that the IPO is still pretty much shut.

One VC said he's so overwhelmed at the moment that he's starting to just shut down mentally when a startup begins its pitch with, "We are an AI company." Said the VC, "I just say stop. I don't want to hear about AI. Start over and tell me what your company does." — Connie Loizos

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Snap backtracks on a subscription feature that reportedly stresses out teen users

Less than a week after the WSJ reported on how a Snapchat feature dubbed "solar system" was adding to teens' anxiety, the company has responded by adjusting how the feature works. A ranking system shows someone how close he or she is to their Snapchat friends by displaying his/her position in their “solar system.” The feature will appear off by default, but Snapchat+ subscribers can turn the option on if they choose. (We suspect this is just Snapchat saving face on a feature that will eventually be sunset, given this kind of ranking system is pretty most kids’ worst nightmare, but we’ll see!) Sarah has the story here.

Image Credits: Snap (modified by TechCrunch)

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Mahbod Moghadam, who rose to fame as the co-founder of Genius, has died

Sad news in the sprawling world of startups.

Mahbod Moghadam, the controversial, never-boring co-founder of Genius and Everipedia and angel investor, passed away last month at age 41 owing to "complications from a recurring brain tumor," according to a post attributed to his family and published on Genius. Various founders, investors and other industry insiders appear to have caught wind of his passing just this weekend, with numerous tributes springing up on the X platform, including by former TechCrunch writer-turned-investor Josh Constine, who once interviewed Moghadam and his founders at Genius when the company was still in its relative infancy and called Rap Genius. Wrote Constine: "RIP to Mahbod. A complex, edgy, and at times problematic guy, but also genuinely funny, brilliant, and always unique." We have more here.

Mahbod Moghadam, who rose to fame as the co-founder of Genius, has died image

Image Credits: TechCrunch

A startup is now offering millions of dollars for tools to hack iPhones, Android devices, WhatsApp, and iMessage

Tools that allow government hackers to break into iPhones and Android phones, popular software like the Chrome and Safari browsers, and chat apps like WhatsApp and iMessage are now worth millions of dollars — and their price has multiplied in the last few years as these products get harder to hack. Lorenzo reports on the current price list.

Image Credits: Lino Mirgele / Getty Images

From HubSpot to Klaviyo, success in Boston is leading to more success

In Boston, there is a “shortage of affordable housing,” writes Ron. Further, the “public transit system is crumbling. Traffic is awful. Bars close at 2 a.m., and the city, with its Yankee modesty, is not good at promoting itself.” It makes it up in brainpower, he observes. More here on an American city where a generation of wealthy founders is making it far easier for the next generation to do the same. Read more here.