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In Today’s Edition
A New Book Of The Startup Bible
Reddit considers search ads, paywalled content for the future
The launch of GPT-4o sent ChatGPT's revenue soaring
Lyft is testing Price Lock, a subscription that caps price
Meta and Google secretly targeted minors on YouTube with Instagram ads
Humane has faced considerable challenges with the AI Pin
NASA Says Boeing Starliner Astronauts May Fly Home on SpaceX in 2025
🚀Startups Nuts
Successful startups often pivot from their original idea. A new book called "Pattern Breakers" proposes a theory called "inflection theory" to explain why this happens. According to inflection theory, startups succeed by identifying and timing significant changes in the world, such as technological or cultural shifts, and then harnessing these changes to create a new product or service. The book's authors argue that this approach is more effective than traditional methods, such as the lean startup methodology, and provide case studies and examples to support their claims.
Other News
Palmer Luckey's startup Anduril raises $1.5 billion to build a Tesla-style weapons factory
CloudPay, a British provider of payroll and payment solutions, raised $120m
Stori, a Mexican fintech serving the underbanked, raised $105m in equity funding (plus $107m in debt)
Octane, a fintech for recreational purchases, raised $50m in Series E funding
Cents, a provider of business management software for the garment care industry, raised $40m in Series B funding
Anjuna, a Palo Alto, Calif., confidential computing platform, raised $25m in Series B2 funding
Datch, an industrial AI solution for frontline manufacturing, energy, and utilities, raised $15m in Series A funding
🏭Business Nuts
Reddit's plans for making more money from the platform include showing ads in more places and possibly putting some content behind a paywall. The company, which has never been profitable, lost $10.1 million during Q2 2024, down from Q2 2023's $41.1 million loss. It recently blocked all search engines besides Google, OpenAI, and approved education/research instances from showing its content in search results. Reddit seems to be trying to capitalize on how people use its name as a filter for search results.
Other News
The launch of GPT-4o sent ChatGPT's revenue soaring - it pulled in $28 million in net revenue from the App Store and Google Play in July. The app grossed $39.9 million before paying in-app purchase fees.
Intel and OpenAI discussed several investment options but the deal was scuttled because Intel's CEO didn't see AI models hitting the broad market anymore soon.
Disney’s streaming business actually made money last quarter, bringing in a $47m profit. Less than two years ago, it was regularly losing $1B per quarter.
Lyft is testing Price Lock, a subscription that caps prices for specific routes and times. CEO David Risher said it will “open up a can of whoop ass” on surge pricing. It will cost less than $5/month when it officially rolls out in the US next month.
Shopify shares surged 20%+ Wednesday morning after the ecommerce company reported that gross merchandise volume rose 22% in Q2 to $67.2B.
Beauty company Madison Reed is partnering with the University of Connecticut on a deal that includes court-naming rights and name, image, and likeness deals for players on the UConn women’s basketball team.
📱Tech Nuts
The Financial Times reports that Meta and Google ran a hidden campaign targeting 13 to 17-year-olds with Instagram ads on YouTube, despite Google's own rules against advertising to children. Google allegedly used a loophole by directing ads to users in the “unknown” demographic, which often included younger audiences, to extend ad reach and bypass their policies. The illicit campaign, executed in Canada and tested in the US, aimed to boost revenue as Google's ad earnings declined and Meta's young users shifted to platforms like TikTok, but has since been canceled following an investigation.
Other News
Humane has faced considerable challenges with the AI Pin, seeing more returns than purchases between May and August, with current customer holdings near 7,000 units.
Meta has closed its game development studio, Ready at Dawn, known for creating the Echo VR series, effective immediately. This closure comes nearly 18 months after Meta acquired Ready at Dawn, aligning with its plan to cut Reality Labs' budget by 20 percent by 2026.
Nudge is building an ultrasound headset to enhance the human experience. It will allow users to push a button to shift their brain state. Research progress with ultrasound neuromodulation has accelerated in the last few years and has begun to produce promising results.
Google announced the end of Chromecast on Tuesday, introducing the Google TV Streamer as its successor, marking the closure of an 11-year era that revolutionized home entertainment streaming.
🎁Miscellaneous
NASA has downplayed the problems experienced by Boeing's Starliner since it took two astronauts to the International Space Station in June. Officials finally admitted on Wednesday that the issues may be more serious than first thought and that the astronauts might not return on Starliner. The agency is exploring a backup option for the astronauts. The astronauts were meant to stay for around eight days, but that could be extended into next year.
💡What else are we reading and seeing?
Don't pivot into AI research
Google Is a Very Strange Monopolist
Jamie Dimon still sees a recession ahead
Stocks closed lower as the market’s comeback fizzled
Inside the company that gathers ‘human data' for every major AI company
5 strategies for overcoming summer-time procrastination
What moral philosophy has to say about leading a business
🔥 Few tools many people are finding useful
Flowith - AI for deep work
MinusX - AI data scientist for Jupyter and Metabase
Kypso - Manage your team’s workflows with AI agents
Another Wrapper - Build another GPT wrapper in seconds
AI skits by Captions - Generate conversations between two AI creators
🐦Joke of the Day
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