Monday, October 21, 2024

Welcome to TC PM! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Today we are looking at the release of xAI's anticipated Grok API; we are also learning about yet another lawsuit against Perplexity, and we're checking out the details on a cool, new messaging app. Scroll on!

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💻 It's AI API time: When Elon Musk launched xAI, he promised that he would make xAI's LLM model, Grok, available via API. He's made good on that promise, in theory: The company released the API today, but Kyle Wiggers reports that it's a little "bare bones." Read more

🧑‍⚖️ Perplexity's lawsuits pile up: News Corp's Dow Jones and NY Post sued AI startup Perplexity, alleging that the company engages in copyright infringement at a "grand scale." The New York Times filed a similar suit last week. Read more

🤳 Not your mother's messaging app: Daze, a new messaging app meant to be an alternative to WhatsApp and iMessage, is already developing quite the buzz among Gen Z users, despite the fact that it hasn't launched yet. Read more

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Afternoon must-reads

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🗄️ Smart small businesses: Building tech for small businesses has been a notable trend since the pandemic. Uprise embeds itself into these services to act as a financial adviser and help companies use these tools to make smart decisions. Read more

🇮🇪 Ireland's new content rules: Ireland's media and internet watchdog, Coimisiún na Meán, created a new code of conduct that requires video-sharing companies to have rules in place against uploading harmful content. Read more

🎬 That's showbiz: Hollywood is in the midst of an employment crisis. ShoBizzy, a professional networking app for people in the entertainment industry, is helping users explore job opportunities in an expanded set of categories. Read more

🛍️ Buyers don't like fees: Clothing resell platform Poshmark announced a new fee structure this month that would take costs off of sellers and instead place them on buyers. Sellers started to see their sales drop, and the company is already reversing the change. Read more

💰 A new fund for Benchmark: Benchmark, the venture firm famously known for raising set amounts of capital, is back with a new type of fund. It's currently raising $170 million from past and present Benchmark partners in addition to family and friends. Read more

📦 Emissions-free freight: Nevoya is a startup looking to help companies move their freight more sustainably by using the company's fleet of electric trucks. Nevyoa is already seeing strong adoption in Los Angeles and just raised $3 million. Read more

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Around the web

😬 Tax tussle: The Verge recently had Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi on its Decoder podcast. Things got heated when questions about Intuit's lobbying against free tax filing came up, despite the company's lobbying history being well documented. Read more

🚕 Speaking of AI lawsuits: The Hollywood Reporter reported today that Alcon Entertainment, a production company behind "Blade Runner 2049," is suing Elon Musk for using photos from the film to create unlicensed promotional materials for the robotaxi using AI. Read more