Don't miss these Can AI fix lost and found? In the latest entry of her Deal Dive series, Rebecca Szkutak took a close look at Boomerang, which uses machine learning to match pictures and descriptions of lost items. Frankly, as someone who can get lost in a closet, this startup's idea resonates with me on a new level. iRobot and Amazon call off their marriage: Hey look, regulators do win sometimes! In this case, the European government – said with the kindest possible inflection – scorned Amazon for buying iRobot, which makes robot vacuum cleaners and the like. And as a result, the companies are now going to go their separate ways. The Browser Company takes on mobile search: I've used Arc, the desktop browser from The Browser Company, and it's pretty neat. But the company has bigger ambitions than just remaking browser tech: It has launched Arc Search, which uses AI to provide users with a "neatly built webpage with information about [their] search query." Any competition in the realm of search is welcome, so here's a shoutout to the startup for shaking things up. How to use AI to build new stuff: Alex Circei, the CEO and co-founder of Waydev, has insightful notes on how founders and leaders can strategize and budget for AI-assisted software development in 2024. Can venture capital survive a 3-year liquidity drop? Equity recently sat down with Crunchbase's Gene Teare to chat through venture capital data, and what it portends. We found that while the long-running dearth of exits has complicated venture math, there could be good news on the horizon. Oh look, another room-temp superconductor: Carry your bags of salt, everyone, we're going back into murky forests of science, where scientists tend to claim that the seemingly impossible room-temperature superconductor problem has been solved, once and for all. This time, however, the claim comes from a startup and a university, which sounds more serious. But like we said, be skeptical. |
