Welcome back to review week! Elon Musk says Xai bought X in trading all shares. Supported by the A16Z, 11x fakes some customers. The Lumon Terminal Pro will appear on the Apple website. And more. Let’s dig deeper!
Xai buys X: X owner Elon Musk announced on Friday that Xai acquired X in all share trading. This combination values Xai at $80 billion and X at $33 billion. “Today, we have formally taken a step towards combining data, models, calculation, distribution and talent,” Musk said.
Fudge the numbers: Over 20 sources, including investors and current and former employees, told TechCrunch that the A16Z and benchmark collateral 11X are primarily experiencing their own financial struggles. “They massaged numbers internally when it comes to growth and churn,” the former employee said.
Block Layoff: A leaked message from Block CEO Jack Dorsey, reviewed by TechCrunch, revealed that the company that owns Cash App and Square has dumped 931 people or 8% as part of a “restructuring the organization.” Dorsey’s email denies layoffs being economical reasons or replacing workers with AI.
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“What, do I commit fraud?” The White House confirmed to TechCrunch Friday that President Trump had been convicted of fraudulent fraud Trevor Milton, founder of Nicola, a bankrupt hydrogen trucking startup. The pardon comes just weeks after Nicola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Speaking of leaks, the leaked database seen by TechCrunch shows that China has developed an AI system that surpasses the already terrifying censorship machinery, extended far beyond traditional taboos like the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Skunkworks Spinning: The Rivian’s Skunkworks project was spun by the company with a new name from Eclipse Ventures and $105 million in funding. The startup also exists as a standalone company in Libian.
Get Your Computer Ready: Apple has announced that the Worldwide Developers Conference 2025 will start on June 9th. The report shows that Apple has prepared a dramatic software overhaul for iPhone, iPad and Mac. We are also looking forward to iOS 19, which will be the “biggest improvement since iOS 7,” according to Bloomberg.
DNA Failure: DNA testing company 23AndMe filed for bankruptcy this week. Anne Wojcicki, the company’s co-founder and CEO, separately said she would leave to become an independent bidder for the company. Your data may not be safe, so here are some ways to delete it.
Congressional conduct: 26-year-old Kat Abugazare, who was among those fired from media issues after Elon Musk sued the company, announced she was running for Congress. “I’m trying to be really transparent about how I run for the office because I feel like this black hole that seems much more difficult than it should,” she told TechCrunch.
“Resignation” slice: I didn’t see the “resignation” season. And based on the person everyone in the world saw at first glance, I absolutely miss it. My colleague Sarah was among those people and she found the Lumon Terminal Pro (the machine to use in the show) on the Apple website.
Backdoor to China: SpaceX, the Pentagon defense contractor, reportedly has allowed Chinese investors to buy stocks as long as the funds are routed through hubs in the Cayman Islands or other offshore.
Switch 2 is here! Additionally, at Nintendo Direct, the company announced that it is working on a virtual game card that allows players to use downloaded games on other devices.
analysis
A new image generator for ChatGpt was launched this week, resulting in a flood of art-based images by Studio Ghibli, which Studio Ghibli has been posted online. The debate on whether this is scary or not (Studio Ghibli co-founder Miyazaki Hayao once said “AI is an insult to life itself”) or cool, but copyright is a concern even when AI is generated. Copying art styles is not necessarily illegal, but Openai, which trains models with Studio Ghibli art, works in the legal “gray realm”.
“I think this raises the same questions we’ve been asking ourselves for years,” Intellectual Property Attorney Evan Brown told TechCrunch. “What does piracy mean when you go out, raw the web, copying it to these databases?”