Friday, August 11, 2023

Musk now claims live-streamed brawl with Zuckerberg will take place in 'an epic location'

Friday, August 11, 2023

Let's talk about X, baby, let's talk about you and me. Okay, more like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Their online chat about fighting is reportedly going to happen in real life now. It's going to be MMA-style and going to be in Italy. There's a lot more for you to digest.

Meanwhile, X, formerly known as Twitter, is lowering its requirements for its ad-revenue sharing program. If you're a creator, find out what this means for you.

And we talk a lot about the fear of AI taking our jobs, and we now know how close that future is. 11xAI, a company creating autonomous AI workers, closed on $2 million in pre-seed funding. It already has an Alice. James is coming. Learn more.

Image Credits: Rubberball/Mike Kemp / Getty Images

More top reads

One more time: In a new motion filed by Google, the company is pushing Match for more money as part of an antitrust battle. Get the scoop.

Now the government's involved: The U.S. cyber board will investigate Microsoft’s hack of government emails. This is the board's third investigation since its inception in 2021. Find out more.

Pitch Deck Teardown: Get a look at ANYbotics' $50 million Series B deck. Read on. (TC+)

Spinning photos now get music: Instagram will now let you add music to photo carousels. Read more.

Get the broom: Fintech is a mess. Is BaaS the outlier? You be the judge. (TC+)

How a hack hurts: The MOVEit mass hacks hold a valuable lesson for the software industry. Learn more. (TC+)

Who would you like to play?: Check out Taylor Hatmaker's review of Baldur's Gate 3. Modern fantasy role-playing at its finest.

Let's dance: ByteDance again looks to TikTok to promote its other social app, Lemon8. Get the scoop.

The civil rights movement comes to venture capital: Dominic-Madori Davis continues to follow how the lawsuit against Fearless Fund is going. Spoiler: The firm's founders are fighting back. Read more. (TC+)

Let's celebrate the end of the week with a few more:

Cruise and Waymo win robotaxi expansions in San Francisco

Hidden forces and sliding screens trick the senses to make VR feel more real

Insiders bet more on Fizz, a social network that has now bubbled up at 80+ college campuses

Image Credits: Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images

From the "pod" files

Today on Equity, we’re looking at the latest from WeWork and SoftBank, how Lula set itself up for a massive up round, and MLOps startup Weights & Biases raising $50 million. In less-than-winsome news, BlueJeans and Sendy have folded, and Proterra filed for bankruptcy.

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

7 VCs explain why the creator economy still has legs

For our latest investor survey, Amanda Silberling talked to several investors about “where the industry is headed, the rise of short-form video, the shifting role of influencer marketing, and what the launch of new platforms portends.”

She spoke with:

Brian Harwitt, partner, Coventure
Sasha Kaletsky, co-founder and managing partner, Creator Ventures
Julia Maltby, principal, Flybridge
Josh Constine, principal investor, SignalFire
Katelin Holloway, founding partner, 776
Ali Hamed, co-founder and general partner, Crossbeam Venture Partners
Sima Gandhi, founder of Creative Juice; investor and advisor at G3

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription.

7 VCs explain why the creator economy still has legs image

Image Credits: MTStock Studio / Getty Images

Get your TechCrunch fix IRL. Join us at Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco this September to immerse yourself in all things startup. From headline interviews to intimate roundtables to a jam-packed startup expo floor, there's something for everyone at Disrupt. Save up to $600 when you buy your pass now through August 11, and save 15% on top of that with promo code DC. Learn more.