Welcome, of us, to TechCrunch Week in Evaluation (WiR), a digest of the previous few days in tech happenings.
As I write this, snow’s gracing New York Metropolis — an more and more uncommon deal with due to our altering local weather. And that feels becoming in mild of the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional’s imminent launch. In any case, one of many guarantees of headsets just like the Imaginative and prescient Professional is that they transport the wearer away from the stresses of on a regular basis life to extra optimistic realities — at the least for a spell.
Brian went hands on with the Imaginative and prescient Professional this week. His impressions? It’s transporting, all proper — however very expensive.
There’s an honest chunk of reports to recap this week, so let’s get to it. However first, a reminder to sign up here to obtain WiR in your inbox each Saturday in case you haven’t already accomplished so.
Information
“Quiet supersonic” jet: NASA and Lockheed Martin have lastly taken the wraps off the X-59, an plane which will form the way forward for each navy and civilian air journey, Devin writes.
Byju’s valuation cut: BlackRock has minimize the worth of its holding in Byju’s, slashing the implied valuation of the Indian startup to about $1 billion from $22 billion in early 2022.
Notion launches a calendar app: Notion, the extremely common note-taking and mission administration service, has launched a stand-alone calendar service. Frederic has the complete story.
Samsung’s Galaxy S24: Samsung held a press convention this week the place it introduced its newest flagship telephones — all powered by AI in some kind or one other.
Layoffs at Google: After shedding over 1,000 staff throughout a number of divisions final week and slicing 100 jobs at YouTube, Google CEO Sundar Pichai despatched a memo to its workers warning extra layoffs are anticipated this 12 months.
Evaluation
CES chases off sex tech: Regardless of being an business that caters to a common human expertise, intercourse tech has at all times had an uneasy affiliation with CES, Haje writes. And this 12 months, the convention successfully managed to chase the intercourse tech business off its present flooring — for higher or worse.
Podcasts
On Equity, Alex and Mary Ann chewed by way of funding rounds galore from Pomelo, Tandem and Briq — and likewise mentioned how C-suite executives really feel about AI and the enterprise.
Found featured Magic Spoon co-founder and CEO Gabi Lewis. Magic Spoon creates cereal flavors that play on our nostalgia for Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs with a grown-up high-protein twist.
And on Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn interviewed Monica Lengthy, the president of Ripple, the blockchain-based digital fee community and protocol.
TechCrunch+
TC+ subscribers get entry to in-depth commentary, evaluation and surveys — which you already know in case you’re already a subscriber. Should you’re not, consider signing up. Listed here are a number of highlights from this week:
Unicorn club: Cowboy Ventures’ founder Aileen Lee penned a long-awaited follow-up to her unique 2013 article through which she coined the time period “unicorn.”
Private equity in 2024: Alex and Anna write about how PE companies could possibly be the final resort for startups struggling to exit.
Reddit, IPOing: Reddit might lastly go public this 12 months. Alex examines what that would imply for the corporate — and others trying IPOs this 12 months.
Bonus spherical
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