Hello friends, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter summarizing notable happenings in technology from the past few days.
This week, TechCrunch seen leaked documents of SpaceX showing some questionable practices related to employee stock options.
Elon Musk, CEO of X Announced which would open source code for Grok, X’s AI-powered chatbot intended to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Grok, developed by xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, was launched last year, armed with features like access to “real-time” information about X and opinions that are not intimidated by “politically correct” norms.
Elsewhere, Ron interviewed Denise Dresser, CEO of Slack, on her effort to bring stability to the Salesforce business, which has had three CEOs in a single year.
Many more things happened. We summarize it all in this edition of WiR, but first, a reminder to register to receive the WiR newsletter in your inbox every Saturday.
News
Leaked SpaceX documents: We have our hands on some leaked SpaceX documents that show some unusual terms for stock awards that employees must agree to. Among other things, the company gives itself the right to prohibit current and former employees from participating in takeover bids if they are deemed to have committed “an act of dishonesty 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 over autonomous vehicle technology, is closing after failing to raise new funding, Kirsten exclusively reports.
Meme actions: In a new SEC filing, Reddit reveals that, following its IPO, it will allow members of its community to sell their shares immediately rather than being subject to the usual lock-up agreements that prevent IPO investors from selling shares for six months.
Money
Banking as a service: UK based Griffin Bankan API-powered banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, just obtained a license to launch as a fully functioning bank and raised $24 million from investors including MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja, and Breega.
EU breaks data rules: An investigation into the European Union’s use of Microsoft 365 found that the European Commission, the EU’s governing cabinet, violated the bloc’s data protection rules by using the cloud-based productivity software.
Analysis
Deepfakes become real: Amanda writes about how a photo of Kate Middleton and her children, possibly edited with the help of AI, is a harbinger of things to come as AI editing and forgery tools proliferate.
Relaxation device: Haje practices the Moonbird relaxation device, which is designed to help clients fall asleep and reduce stress through breathing exercises.
Podcasts
this week in EquityAlex analyzed Carta’s data on how startup compensation is changing, the raises of Empathy and Bear Robotics, and developments at Bluesky, Brave, and Chamath Palihapitiya’s venture capital firm, Social Capital.
In FoundBecca and Dom spoke with Rebecca Hu, CEO and co-founder of Glacier, an AI robotics company that is building robots to accurately sort recycling.
And in Chain reaction, Jacquelyn interviewed Melody Hildebrandt, CTO of Fox Corporation, and Mike Blank, COO of Polygon Labs. The episode is part of Chain Reaction’s monthly series that delves into different topics and themes in crypto. This month’s topic is the integration of blockchain and AI.
Bonus round
Real metaverse: 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.