Monday, December 2, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're looking at AWS' new cybersecurity tool, Meta's plans for world internet domination, and the ongoing fight between Elon Musk and OpenAI. We've also got notes on great Apple Watch productivity apps, an inspiring startup story, cautious climate optimism, the Silicon Valley-flavored threat to democracy, and more. Let's go! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

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1. Plan for the worst: Apparently only three of every five organizations have cybersecurity incident response plans in place, a deficit that Amazon is seeing as an opportunity. Enter the AWS Security Incident Response service, which aims to help companies recover from cyberattacks faster. Read More

2. Meta wants its own cable: TC got the scoop that Meta is building a $10 billion subsea cable that will span the world to ensure that everybody, everywhere can stay hooked to its platforms. The project is still in its early stages, but it's a huge milestone for Meta's infrastructure efforts. Read More

3. Elon Musk is doing his darndest to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit company. His attorneys filed a preliminary injunction to halt the proceedings in order to "preserve what is left of OpenAI's nonprofit character, free from self-dealing." Read More

A Message from Silicon Valley Bank

Series A Insights: 4 Tips for Managing Cash Flow

Get strategies to maximize ROI, manage burn rate, and fuel sustainable startup growth, drawing from SVB's 40+ years of working with innovative technology, life science and healthcare startups.

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⌚ Now I want an Apple Watch: The Apple Watch's built-in productivity apps are fine, but get a load of these third-party apps like Todoist and Streaks to help you stay productive well-slept and organized! Read More

🤷 ChatGPT is still unreliable: A study from the Tow Center for Digital Journalism has found that OpenAI's chatbot still has a penchant for making stuff up, which is problematic when it comes to citing news articles. They also found that ChatGPT is sourcing quotes from publishers that actively blocked OpenAI's crawlers. Read More

🤝 Done deal: Cloud computing has been a blessing and a curse. It can help organizations scale up and down quickly, but it's also proven to be a minefield for security teams. Perhaps that's why NY-based cybersecurity startup Upwind just closed a $100 million Series A at a $900 million post-money valuation. Read More

🚲 Changing urban delivery: Joco almost died at launch after trying to compete with Citi Bike and getting sued for its troubles, but it quickly pivoted to support gig delivery workers with docked e-bikes. Now, the startup has scaled up, expanded to new verticals, and is profitable. Read More

🔋 Cautious climate optimism: Some climate VCs say Trump's win might not spell doom for every company in their portfolios. In fact, the 'drill, baby, drill' ethos might even help startups specializing in geothermal and geologic hydrogen get a boost. Nuclear also stands to gain. Read More

Around the web

🇺🇸 The United States of Technocracy: Tech Policy Press argues that we've moved into a world where the interests of tech companies have become indistinguishable from U.S. government policy, and the ripple effects put democracy everywhere at risk. Read More

🪙 Move over Doge: Bloomberg reports XRP, a token linked to Ripple Labs, has become the third-largest cryptocurrency. It's only trading at $2.50, virtually nothing compared to Bitcoin's over-$90,000 price tag, but its market cap seems to be yet another direct result of Trump's win. Read More

🤳 Layoffs are trending on TikTok: Gen Z has taken to posting videos of themselves getting laid off from tech companies and their reactions. It's surely a way for them to connect with others and garner attention, but it could also be one that might hurt their future job prospects, per the Financial Times. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Angkana Kittayachaweng / Getty Images

🪦 When will you die? Death Clock is a new app that predicts the date of your death based on your lifestyle, and for $40 per month, it'll give you tips on how to push that date back. It's like a digital version of a fortune teller who keeps you hooked because she knows all your business. Read More