Hiya, people, welcome to Week in Overview (WiR), TechCrunch’s e-newsletter overlaying noteworthy happenings within the tech business.
This week, funding agency KKR introduced that it will purchase VMware’s end-user computing enterprise from Broadcom for $4 billion. As Ron explains, that enterprise included VMware Workspace One and VMware Horizon — two distant desktop apps that had been a part of VMware’s household of merchandise.
Elsewhere, Mistral, the French AI startup, launched a brand new mannequin to rival OpenAI’s GPT-4 — and its personal cheekily named chatbot dubbed Le Chat. The releases have been timed with a Microsoft partnership to offer Mistral fashions to Microsoft’s Azure clients — and a minority funding ($16 million) from Microsoft in Mistral.
Heaps else occurred. We recap all of it on this version of WiR — however first, a reminder to enroll to obtain the WiR e-newsletter in your inbox each Saturday.
Additionally — TC was in Los Angeles simply final night time for our newest StrictlyVC occasion. Sign President Meredith Whittaker, Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, rabbit CEO and Co-Founder Jesse Lyu, Founders Fund Accomplice Trae Stephens and Lightspeed Ventures associate Faraz Fatemi joined us to debate a variety of matters, from the explanations AI may unseat entrenched corporations, Waymo’s ascent, what it’s like for rabbit to trip the r1’s hype following its CES 2024 reveal. Don’t miss us subsequent time for StrictlyVC London in Might.
Information
Apple automotive canceled: Apple has scuttled its secretive, long-running effort to construct an autonomous electrical automotive. The corporate is probably going chopping a whole bunch of staff from the staff, and all work on the mission has stopped. It joins an inventory of different tasks Apple has scrapped in numerous levels, together with AirPower and a TV (to not be confused with Apple TV).
Bumble stumbles: Bumble posted weak This fall outcomes displaying a $32 million web loss and $273.6 million in income — under Wall Avenue expectations. To proper the ship, CEO Lidiane Jones introduced that 30% of Bumble’s workforce, or about 350 staff, could be let go and that Bumble would embark on an app overhaul focused at reviving development.
Google’s AI goes awry: Google has apologized for an embarrassing AI blunder this week: A picture-generating mannequin that injected range into footage with a farcical disregard for historic context. Whereas the underlying difficulty is completely comprehensible, Google blames the mannequin for “turning into” oversensitive.
Unhealthy look: Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Tumblr proprietor Automattic, is meant to be on sabbatical. As an alternative, he argued with Tumblr customers this week over a content material moderation resolution that sparked accusations of transphobia, Amanda stories.
Founder compelled out: A gaggle of Byju’s buyers final Friday voted to take away the edtech group’s founder and chief government, Byju Raveendran, and individually filed an oppression and administration swimsuit in opposition to the management on the agency to dam the just lately launched rights difficulty.
Funding
GenAI ebooks: Inkitt, a self-publishing platform utilizing AI to develop bestsellers, has raised $37 million. The startup’s app lets individuals self-publish tales, after which, utilizing AI and knowledge science, selects what it believes are probably the most compelling of those to tweak and subsequently distribute and promote.
Conserving it old-fashioned: Lapse has raised $30 million for its smartphone app that has you anticipate images to be “developed” — with no likelihood of modifying and retaking — earlier than sharing them with a choose group of pals should you select.
Evaluation
Techstars reckoning: Mary Ann interviewed Maëlle Gavet, CEO of the startup accelerator program Techstars, within the wake of modifications to its operations which have attracted biting criticism.
Podcasts
On Fairness, the crew talked by way of startup information from Microsoft and Mistral AI, Thrasio and Glean — and in addition coated happenings over at COTU Ventures and Zacua Ventures.
In the meantime, Discovered spotlighted Ariel Kaye, the founding father of Parachute, a direct-to-consumer bedding and residential items firm.
And for Chain Response, TC pulled from the archives to air an earlier dialog with Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden, a “community-centric” NFT market.
Bonus spherical
Steeply discounted Mirai: Toyota is providing $40,000 off a 2023 Toyota Mirai Restricted, a fuel-cell automobile that retails for $66,000 — plus $15,000 in free hydrogen over six years. As Tim writes, there’s just one catch: discovering the hydrogen to energy it.