Amazon Is Losing Billions

Plus: X has launched a pilot test on the web-based version of its platform

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In Today’s Edition 

  • Why technical cofounders reject you

  • Alexa Is in Millions of Households—and Amazon Is Losing Billions 

  • Elon Musk says that Tesla will have genuinely useful robots

  • Krispy Kreme is ditching cookies to double down on doughnuts,

  • Elon Musk's xAI activates “most powerful AI training cluster in the world” with 100k Nvidia H100 GPUs

  • Iceland Taking Charge In The Future Of Geothermal Energy

🚀Startups Nuts

There are many reasons technical cofounders will reject a startup. This article discusses some of these factors, such as unrealistic expectations from founders, putting too much value on an idea, or a lack of understanding of the market. Building a compelling case for a technical cofounder to want to join a founder involves providing proof that the idea or product will work and that the founder is able to bring the idea to life. Founders need to prove that they will be successful and that the train is departing.

Other News

  • Cohere, an SF- and Toronto developer of large language models for the enterprise, raised $500m in Series at a $5.5b valuation

  • Monarch Tractor, a Livermore, Calif., electric autonomous tractor startup, raised $133m in Series C funding at a valuation over $500m valuation

  • Headway, a N.Y. startup linking people with in-network mental health providers, raised $100m in Series D funding at a $2.3b valuation

  • Linx, an Israeli identity management startup, raised $27m in funding

🏭Business Nuts 

While hundreds of millions of customers own Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon's bet that people would spend meaningful amounts of money to buy goods on its platform by talking to the voice assistant hasn't paid off. Customers mostly use Alexa to set alarms and check the weather. Amazon has lost tens of billions of dollars on its devices business. The company will launch a paid tier for Alexa as soon as this month as part of the plan to reverse these losses.

Other News

  • Elon Musk says that Tesla will have genuinely useful robots in low production for internal use next year.

  • Sketchers is suing LL Bean for allegedly infringing on its patented “heel cup” design. Sketchers has settled other infringement cases against Hermes, Steve Madden, Reebok, and Fila.

  • Krispy Kreme is ditching cookies to double down on doughnuts, selling its majority stake in Insomnia Cookies to two private equity firms for $172.4m.

  • Goodyear is selling its off-the-road tire business to Japanese competitor Yokohama for $905m in cash. Goodyear’s OTR division produces tires for mining and construction machinery.

  • Boeing to sell up to 50 planes to Korean Air, including 20 777Xs; the 777X model is Boeing's largest commercial aircraft and has yet to be certified for flying. 

📱Tech Nuts

xAI has activated a supercomputer cluster comprised of 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs in Memphis, Tennessee. It is effectively the most powerful AI training cluster in the market today. The supercomputer is expected to be used to train Grok, the company's large language model. xAI is estimated to have spent about $3 billion to $4 billion on the project. xAI also recently announced that it is hiring to increase its human talent advantage.

Other News

  • Google is introducing additional privacy controls into Chrome such as IP Protection in Incognito mode.

  • Google has approached Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica about putting its Gemini assistant on future smart glasses.

  • X has launched a pilot test on the web-based version of its platform that allows users to request Community Notes to clarify problematic posts.

  • AMD claims that its new Ryzen chip exceeds the performance of the MacBook Air in multitasking, image processing, 3D rendering, and gaming.

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🎁Miscellaneous

Iceland is pioneering research to unlock the power of volcanoes and superhot rock formations. This endeavor could potentially yield an almost limitless source of clean energy. A prime example is the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), which aims to access reservoirs of superhot fluid, potentially generating far more power than traditional geothermal wells.While technical hurdles remain, these cutting-edge efforts show immense potential. They could revolutionize geothermal technology, significantly cut carbon emissions, and provide a sustainable energy solution for millions worldwide. Iceland's groundbreaking work may pave the way for a cleaner, more energy-efficient future on a global scale.

💡What else are we reading and seeing?

😎Fun Fact

On this day: In 1996, the US women’s gymnastics team took home its first-ever gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta

🔥 Few tools many people are finding useful

  • Vozo - Transform viral videos into new stories with prompts

  • Orch - Rust framework for LLM orchestration

  • Gobi - A new way of wellbeing

  • Airy - Reflection journal that grows with you

  • Study Map - Learn any skill with the power of AI

  • ChartFast - Get your own AI data analyst to do your data work

🐦Joke of the Day

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