Focus on AI

Generative AI and the Law. The 10,000 Startups podcast has covered or touched on the law and regulation of AI in a series of recent podcasts that can be found at:

Generative AI and the law

Privacy law

AI and the law

AI and the California Privacy Protection Agency draft regulations

At a high level, it is pretty clear that AI is generating a lot of concern (federal and state) and both federal and state regulators are in the process of crafting rules to deal with the technology. In the meantime, the courts are dealing with the legal issues (such as copyright) that AI creates. This is an area worth paying attention to if you are in the space.

Were you able to join us in San Francisco during the JP Morgan Healthcare conference week? We hosted a panel of VCs on investing in cancer therapy startups – interesting focus on data.

And did you see our LinkedIn event on Strategies for Attracting Angel Investors and VCs?

NEW LAWS

The new year is here and that means some new laws are now in effect. The biggest things to watch out for are:

1.???????? Employee Non-competes. A new law restates California’s prohibition on employee non-competition provisions but also creates new obligations, including the obligation to inform current and former employees of any void non-compete provision in any existing agreements. See our post.

2.???????? Texas taxpayers. Two taxpayer-friendly Texas franchise tax changes went into effect on January 1, 2024. First, the no-tax-due threshold was increased so otherwise taxable entities with annualized total revenue equal to or less than $2,470,000 will not owe Texas franchise tax. Second, unless they are part of a combined group, entities with revenues below the increased no-tax-due threshold will no longer be required to file a Form 05-163, No Tax Due Report. See the Haynes Boone February 2024 Tax Break.

3. ??????? Employee Classification. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule for determining employee or independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule broadens the definition of employee for Federal purposes, so it may be more challenging for employers to classify workers as independent contractors. Read more here.

4. ??????? The Corporate Transparency Act is in effect. Each “reporting company” formed during 2024 will have 90 days from the date of formation to file an initial report with identifying information about itself and its beneficial owners as well as company applicants. A reporting company formed on or after January 1, 2025, will have only 30 days to file an initial report. Existing companies that were formed before January 1, 2024, will have until January 1, 2025, to file an initial report. Once the initial report has been filed, both existing and new reporting companies must update their reports within 30 days of a change in the reported information. Read more here. UPDATE: Last week, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional. Its not yet clear what that means for the rest of us.

5. ??????? Curious about qualified small business stock? Check out this video.

BE SURE TO ATTEND OUR UPCOMING EVENTS.

I will be speaking to IdeatoIPO on How to Raise Angel and Venture Funding on February 29.

Will you be in San Diego in April for the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting? Meet us there at our event.

Moving to Substack!

I will be gradually moving my newsletter and posts to Substack. Follow me here so you do not miss anything.