Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're mulling over what benchmarks we'll need to evaluate the safety and impact of AI models, the continued fallout of the Synapse and FTX dramas, and funds that want to help emerging managers get back in the game. We also have notes on Big Tech's playbook to consolidate AI, the emergency alert feature Spotify testing, and a Keurig for foundation! Let's go! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Anthropic

1. Anthropic wants to lead the AI safety movement: The AI company will fund the development of new benchmarks to evaluate the performance and impact of AI models, including its own generative AI model Claude, with a focus on AI security and societal implications. The program aims to fund third-party organizations to help develop "high-quality, safety-relevant evaluations" for AI systems. Think tests that assess a model's ability to carry out cyberattacks, enhance weapons of mass destruction, or manipulate people. Read More

2. The Synapse drama continues: When banking-as-a-service startup Synapse filed for bankruptcy in mid-May and liquidated its business, customers found themselves locked out of their accounts. Now, a group of senators wants to hold Synapse's owners, bank and fintech partners responsible. The politicians are urging them to "immediately restore customers' access to their money." Read More

3. A beacon of hope for emerging managers: There's a clear trend in venture capital this year: Established VC firms are attracting most of the available capital. But Industry Ventures' latest fundraise brings some good news for emerging managers. The $900 million hybrid fund invests in emerging managers and backs breakout growth-stage companies alongside their managers. Read More

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Morning Must Reads

Image Credits: hocus-focus / Getty Images

Spotify tests emergency alerts in Sweden, according to code references found within the Spotify app. Spotify confirmed the tests, without explaining why it wants to support such a system. It's possible that offering emergency alerts will cause more users to turn on notifications from the app, or the alerts could help solidify Spotify's position as an essential app. Read More

Using data to reduce construction waste: The construction industry is one of the biggest producers of waste, and Sensorita isn't happy about that. The startup is putting sensors into construction waste bins to create digital twins of each bin that waste companies can use to get updates on where each bin is and how full they are. Then they can use that data to better plan pickups, thus streamlining and cutting costs. I always say, you can't track what you can't measure. Read More

The power struggle is real: Besides our collective attention and overactive imaginations, AI is also sucking up huge amounts of electricity. A utility company in Kansas is delaying the shuttering of its coal plant because Meta is building a new server complex there. Seattle-based Phaidra, which just raised $12 million, says it thinks retrofitting existing facilities to be more energy efficient could help meet this surge in demand. Read More

Did you know there's an Olympics-to-VC pipeline? Former Olympians Samyr Laine and Ayanna Alexander-Laine are raising a $50 million fund to back founders who want to launch and scale consumer brands, with a focus on founders who are influencers. The fund, dubbed Freedom Trail Capital, aims to invest in businesses that can achieve product-market fit: Think Issa Rae's hair care company, Sienna Naturals, or pet product company Oh Norman!. Read More

Around the Web

Move over Chrome, there's a new open source browser in town: Most major browsers today are open source, and they're usually funded by Google's advertising empire. Even Apple and Firefox take money from Google to make it the default search engine on their browsers. Ladybird, a non-profit, says the web is too essential to depend on one primary source of funding, and too important for that source to be advertising. Ladybird's browser is currently available on Linux, macOS, and other Unix-like systems, and is funded by sponsorships and donations. Read More

The FTX fallout continues: Silvergate Bank's parent company has settled charges with the SEC and other agencies that alleged it failed to manage an effective anti-money laundering program, and made misleading disclosures about its subpar program's effectiveness, reports CoinDesk. The SEC alleged that Silvergate failed to detect nearly $9 billion worth of suspicious transfers by FTX, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. Read More

How Big Tech will swallow AI: After Amazon said it was hiring most of the team behind Adept – another would-be OpenAI competitor that raised $400 million to build a model that turns natural language into actions on your machine – a pattern has started to emerge, per The Verge. Enter the reverse acqui-hire, a way for Big Tech companies to skirt antitrust rules by hiring folk at a smaller competitor rather than buying the company itself. Read More

Before You Go

Image Credits: Boldhue

Keurig for makeup: Boldhue's co-founder and CTO Karin Layton, a former aerospace engineer for Raytheon, had a bold idea while getting ready for work one day: She realized her expensive foundation didn't match her skin tone. So, she combined her skill as an engineer with her hobby as a painter to create a device that scans your face and dispenses a customized foundation formula that matches your skin tone. Boldhue has just raised $3.37 million to ship the first of these devices. Read More