Welcome, people, to Week in Overview (WiR), TechCrunch’s common publication that recaps the week in tech that was. Hope the vacations have been restful for individuals who noticed them. We at TC, for our components, are gearing up for an eventful subsequent week at CES in Las Vegas — whereas maintaining a tally of the information cycle, as ever.
On this version of WiR, we highlight Brian’s CES 2024 preview, 23andMe blaming victims for its knowledge breach, GitHub making Copilot Chat typically accessible and Frontdesk shedding its total employees. Additionally on the agenda are spiders and physique butter, Constancy marking down X’s valuation, Meta slicing the value of the Quest 2 and MIT scientists’ vibrating weight problems capsule.
It’s quite a bit to get by, so we received’t delay. However first, a reminder to join right here to obtain WiR in your inbox each Saturday for those who haven’t already carried out so.
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CES 2024: Brian has a radical roundup of what to anticipate at CES 2024, together with — however not restricted to — generative AI, robotics, TVs, automobiles, smartphones, and well being tech. He writes that he’s optimistic concerning the present general, significantly in gentle of the patron electronics trade’s transfer to extra decentralized manufacturing and the standard of startup pitches that’ve are available up to now.
Your fault, not ours: Going through over 30 lawsuits from victims of a knowledge breach implicating ~6.9 million clients, 23andMe is now deflecting blame to aim to absolve itself of any accountability. In a letter, the genetic testing firm says that customers “negligently recycled and did not replace their passwords following these previous safety incidents, that are unrelated to 23andMe.”
Copilot Chat launches: GitHub has rolled out Copilot Chat, a ChatGPT-like programming-centric chatbot, generally availability for all paying Copilot customers and free for verified academics, college students and maintainers of sure open supply tasks. The chatbot’s powered by GPT-4, OpenAI’s flagship generative AI mannequin, and fine-tuned particularly for dev situations.
Frontdesk implodes: Mary Ann writes that Frontdesk, a startup that managed greater than 1,000 furnished residences throughout the U.S., laid off its total 200-person workforce Tuesday after makes an attempt to boost extra capital failed. Frontdesk CEO Jesse DePinto stated that Frontdesk could be submitting for a state receivership, an alternative choice to chapter, in response to TechCrunch’s sources.
Spiders and physique butter: Sol de Janeiro’s Delícia Drench Physique Butter went viral on social media after customers claimed they have been hunted, bitten and (unsuccessfully) courted by wolf spiders after they utilized the moisturizer, because of the alleged inclusion of chemical substances that spiders discover sexually arousing. However Sol de Janeiro — and impartial consultants — inform TechCrunch that there’s no benefit to the rumors.
X’s valuation falls . . . once more: Mutual fund firm Constancy has marked down its funding in X Holdings, the mother or father firm of X (previously Twitter), by 71.5% from the unique valuation of shares, experiences Ivan. Constancy spent $19.2 million to amass a stake in X again in October 2022.
Quest 2 discounted: Months after Meta launched the Quest 3, the corporate is slashing costs for the VR headset’s predecessor, the Quest 2, by $50. The 128GB model drops from $299 to $249 and the 256GB model drops from $349 to $299 — with loads of equipment on sale as well.
Vibrating the fats away: Brian writes about an MIT staff’s new obesity-fighting, pill-like vibrating capsule, which is designed to ship indicators to the mind to simulate the feeling of being full. Early exams are promising — giving animals the capsule 20 minutes earlier than consuming diminished their consumption by round 40% — however the capsule is a good distance from human trials.
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In want of latest podcasts to fill out your rotation? Don’t panic — TechCrunch has you lined.
On a throwback episode of Fairness, Morgan interviewed Shruti Dwivedi — the co-founder and CEO of well being tech startup Duly, which is targeted on simplifying and personalizing contraception for younger ladies in India and past — at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. The pair talked concerning the stigma round contraception, cultural roadblocks Duly faces and what’s subsequent for the startup.
In the meantime, Discovered went Down Below with Rebecca, who spoke with Alex Zaccaria, the co-founder and CEO of Australia-based Linktree. The 2 chatted about how the startup scaled the freemium mannequin to develop the now-massive social media reference touchdown web page enterprise.
And on Chain Response, Jacquelyn dove again into the most recent developments on spot bitcoin ETF purposes within the U.S. as anticipation builds. Fred Thiel, the CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, a digital asset expertise firm and the most important publicly traded bitcoin mining agency, joined the episode to speak crypto store.
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TC+ subscribers get entry to in-depth commentary, evaluation and surveys — which you already know for those who’re already a subscriber. When you’re not, contemplate signing up. Listed below are a number of highlights from this week:
One other alleged cool superconductor: Tim has the story on the most recent staff of scientists who declare to have found a near-room-temperature superconductor. He’s not satisfied that the paper, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed, will stand as much as scientific scrutiny; time will inform.
Crypto losses decline: Whereas malicious actors proceed to hack the crypto trade for a money seize, the greenback quantity is down considerably — 51% — in comparison with the earlier 12 months, Jacquelyn writes.
The approaching copyright challenges: When information broke final 12 months that AI heavyweight OpenAI and Axel Springer had reached a monetary settlement and partnership, it appeared to bode effectively for concord between people who write phrases and tech corporations that use them to assist create and practice AI fashions. However maybe it doesn’t, Alex posits.
