The article also discusses the shutdown of several startups, including ZestMoney and Doubtnut. It concludes with a roundup of the most popular articles on TechCrunch for the week, covering topics such as Anduril's new fighter jet weapon, Liquid AI's new "liquid neural network," and the record-breaking views for Grand Theft Auto VI on YouTube.
Key takeaways:
- 2023 has been a challenging year for startups, with around 3,200 startups, representing $27.2 billion in venture funding, going under. Many are in "zombie mode," unable to grow or raise money but just about surviving.
- AI is being used by fans of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" to improve the quality of the old show, adding details to the original episodes. This technology could potentially be used by companies to upgrade old shows, but there are legal and technical hurdles to overcome.
- Elon Musk is seeking $1 billion for his latest AI venture, xAI. Musk has also been in the news for his management of his various ventures, including telling X (formerly Twitter) advertisers to do something anatomically improbable.
- Several startups have failed to meet their goals and are shutting down, including ZestMoney, which went from a $450 million valuation to shutting down, and Doubtnut, which sold for $10 million after passing up a $150 million deal from Byju’s.