TikTok becomes first non-game app to hit $10B

Quick Hits

Venmo vanish: Amazon nixes P2P.

Social AI: Snapchat adds image engine.

Ray retry: Meta tests multimodal AI.

Google’s gaffe: Gemini demo was ‘faked.’

Alt coin: Worldcoin integrates Minecraft.

Brain bot: Biocomputer learns in lab.

Text tweak: Google eyes editable messages.

Training ground: Meta's AI learns on social.

‘Power cubes’: GM builds hydrogen trucks.

Rover's ready: Jaguar opens EV waitlist.

AI in space: SpaceX automates undocking.

Launch code: Blue Origin plans launch.

Scope scoop: Webb reveals 'green monster.'

AI van Gogh

The Musée d'Orsay unveiled an AI-powered virtual Vincent van Gogh, developed by France-based Jumbo Mana, that interacts with visitors using the artist’s own words. The Strasbourg, France-based startup plans a home version that would resurrect other notable creators from history.

‘AI for DEI’

A general partner at Upfront Ventures fed memoirs of a civil rights leader James Lowry into his customized LLM to create the interactive "Jim Lowry AI for DEI"—allowing people to query the leader’s knowledge for insight into topic related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

TikTok doppelg?nger cashes in

A New York college student earns six figures on TikTok by cosplaying Hero Girl from “The Polar Express," who she resembles. Leaning into real-life doppelg?nger status, she joined the platform's creator fund to capitalize on her digital twin.

Study: Pleas curb AI bias

Anthropic tested for—and found—evidence of racial and gender bias in its Claude AI model. They explored ways to fix it. One method that worked: “interventions” essentially pleading for unbiased responses. Researchers caution automation requires societal debate, not just technical fixes.

TikTok tops $10B

TikTok is the first non-game app to hit $10B in consumer spending, fueled in large part by creator "gifting." While trailblazers like Candy Crush top $12B, TikTok's achievement signals creators' increasing power to monetize attention as digital engagement eclipses the traditional tube.

The Weekly Pulse

AI trumps pay for some

Six in 10 (59%) of workers who use generative AI for market intelligence research said they would rather take a 10% pay cut than lose access to AI tools, according to AlphaSense’s State of GenAI 2023 report. That includes 54% of financial services workers surveyed.

Poll of the Week

Recently Funded Companies

Turkish Myth AI Grabs $1.3M to Curb Fashion Waste

Nigeria’s YC-backed Bujeti Raises $2M for Corporate Cards

Philadelphia’s Clove Secures $4M for AI-Driven Recipes

Zurich’s Metafuels Lands $8M For Sustainable Aviation Fuel

NYC’s Allstar Raises $12M for Gaming Platform

Vancouver’s Durable Cements $14M to Build Service Bots

San Fran’s Essential AI Raises ‘Stealth’ $57M Series A

Post of the Week

What we're reading

Name that whale! How AI aces animal spotting (BBC)

Mapping the micro and macro of biology with spatial omics and AI (MIT)

More open source AI (Nieman Lab)

Beeper vs. iMessage is a fight about how tech works — and who’s really in charge (TheVerge)

Quantum Leap: Princeton Physicists Successfully Entangle Individual Molecules for the First Time (SciTechDaily)

Podcasts of the week

How to Create a Beloved Consumer Brand with Andrew Dudum of Hims and Hers (Inc. Founders Project)

? Startups hiring now

Check: Check makes paying people easy | 24 open roles?

Sleeper: Connecting people over sports. | 17 open roles?

Thyme Care: Value-based oncology management platform that provides personalized cancer care | 13 open roles