Thursday, December 5, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're reading about what some important Google alumni are getting up to, an executive shakeup at Chainalysis, and BlueSky's monetization aspirations. We've also got Waymo expanding yet again, more billionaires eyeing government positions, funds for life-saving technology, and more. Let's go! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Sean Gallup / Getty Images

1. Key members of Google's NotebookLM team are leaving to start their own startup. Raiza Martin said she and her two co-founders Jason Spielman and Stephen Hughes "couldn't shake the feeling that there's a massive opportunity to build something transformative in this space." Read More

2. A founder on the outs: Michael Gronager, co-founder of Chainalysis, is leaving the firm after taking a temporary personal leave of absence. Co-founder Jonathan Levin, whom I interviewed recently, is taking over as CEO. Gronager is also leaving the board, so this looks like a true split. Read More

3. Time for BlueSky to turn green: BlueSky is popping off, but it can't run off the fumes of X-odus excitement forever. CEO Jay Graber is firm that she doesn't want to "enshittify" the platform with ads, but she's not ruling them out altogether. Read More

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Image Credits: Waymo

🚕 Waymo keeps expanding, and it's getting a little help from a friend. The AV company plans to launch in Miami, and it will outsource its fleet operations there and in Phoenix to Moove, an African fintech that helps ride-hail drivers buy vehicles. This is Moove's first foray into the U.S. and the AV market. Read More

🤑 Ads make the world go round: Perplexity has signed on new publishers, including the LA Times, Adweek and Mexico Daily News, for its publisher program. They'll get a share of Perplexity's ad revenue and metrics to track their content's performance. Read More

👀 TikTok on watch: The EU is stepping up its scrutiny of TikTok under the Digital Services Act after widespread concerns on the platform's impact on elections in Romania. TikTok has been where Călin Georgescu, an independent, far-right, pro-Russian nationalist, has been campaigning and surged to 23% in polls within a month. Read More

🚀 Trump nominates another billionaire: This one is Jared Isaacman, an entrepreneur and private astronaut, and he might lead NASA through what is likely one of the most consequential periods in the agency's history as the privatization of space travel takes over. Read More

♥️ How to save a life: Cleerly has raised $106 million from Insight Partners to build out its AI tool that can identify early-stage coronary artery disease, much like how other scans can detect various types of cancer. Read More

Around the web

👓 Meta moves: Meta is outsourcing some of the development of its mixed-reality headsets to China's Goertek, according to The Information. The tech giant is also moving some production to Vietnam. Read More

🖥️ Pumping money into AI infra: XAi has pledged to expand its Colossus supercomputer ten-fold as it tries to outpace rivals like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, reports The Financial Times. Apparently Colossus was built in just three months earlier this year. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

🌚 Bitcoin actually did it: The cryptocurrency has made it past the $100,000 landmark, which is incredible since the price is fueled almost entirely by hype. The rally is building on the excitement after Donald Trump won the presidential election, as he has promised a more crypto-friendly stance. Read More