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Hey folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that recaps noteworthy events in tech over the past few days.
This week, TechCrunch saw leaked documents from SpaceX showing some questionable practices related to employee stock options.
X CEO Elon Musk announced that he will open source Grok, X’s AI-powered chatbot that aims to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Grok — developed by Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI — was released last year, equipped with features such as access to “real-time” information about X and viewpoints undeterred by “politically correct” norms.
Elsewhere, Ron interviews Slack CEO Dennis Dresser about its efforts to stabilize a Salesforce business that has seen three CEOs in one year.
A lot happened. We recap it all in this edition of WiR – but first, a reminder to sign up to receive the WiR newsletter in your inbox every Saturday.
News
SpaceX leaked documents: We’ve obtained some leaked SpaceX documents that show some unusual terms for stock awards that employees have to agree to. Among other things, the company gives itself the right to bar former and current employees from participating in tender offers if they are considered to have committed a “dishonest act against the company” or have violated written company policies.
Ghost, now ghost: Phantom Auto, a remote-driving startup that launched seven years ago amid the hype of self-driving vehicle technology, will go out of business after failing to secure new funding, Kirsten exclusively reported.
Meme stock: In a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Reddit revealed that after its IPO, it will allow members of its community to sell their shares immediately instead of being subject to the usual lock-up agreements that prevent IPO investors from selling shares for six months.
Finance
Banking as a Service: Based in the United Kingdom Griffin Bankan API-driven banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, has just received a license to launch as a fully operational bank — and has raised $24 million from investors, including MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja, and Breega.
The European Union violates databases: An investigation into the European Union’s use of Microsoft 365 found that the European Commission, the EU’s government, violated the bloc’s data protection rules through its use of cloud-based productivity software.
analysis
Deepfakes are becoming king: Amanda writes about how a photo of Kate Middleton and her children, which may have been edited with the help of AI, is a harbinger of what’s to come as deepfakes and AI editing tools proliferate.
Relaxation device: Hajj practices on Moonbird’s relaxation device, which is designed to help clients get sleep and reduce stress through breathing exercises.
Podcasts
This week on justiceAlex looked at data from Carta on how startup compensation has changed, increases from Empathy and Bear Robotics and developments from Bluesky’s Social Capital, Brave and Chamath Palihapitiya.
on is foundBecca and Dom spoke with Rebecca Ho, CEO and co-founder of Glacier, an AI robotics company that builds robots to accurately sort recycling.
and on Chain reaction, Jacqueline interviews Melody Hildebrandt, CTO of Fox Corporation, and Mike Plank, COO of Polygon Labs. This episode is part of our monthly Chain Reaction series that dives into different topics and topics in the cryptocurrency space. This month’s topic is the integration of blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Bonus round
Metaverse Royale: Readyverse Studios — co-founded by blockchain technology company Futureverse and Ernest Cline, the mind behind the sci-fi series Ready Player One — this week debuted Open, a third-person battle royale experience. Lauren has the story.
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