**From Sequoia to Startup: Kais Khimji’s AI-Powered Calendar Scheduling Platform, Blockit** You know how it is when you’re stuck in a never-ending email chain, trying to schedule a meeting with someone? Yeah, it’s frustrating. But what if I told you there’s a new kid on the block that’s about to make scheduling a whole lot easier? Enter Blockit, the brainchild of Kais Khimji, a former partner at Sequoia Capital who’s decided to join the startup world. Khimji spent six years at Sequoia, learning the ropes of the venture capital game. But it seems he’s had enough of the traditional VC…
Author: Naveed Ahmad
The Thrill of Tech: Anduril Brings 5,500 Jobs to Long Beach, California I’m still reeling from the news that protection tech firm Anduril is expanding its Southern California presence with a massive campus in Long Beach, a city where founder Palmer Luckey grew up. And I’m not the only one – this move could bring a whopping 5,500 new jobs to the area! The campus, which will span six buildings and 1.18 million square feet, will be a hub for innovation, combining office space and industrial areas dedicated to R&D. The goal is to hire a diverse range of staff,…
**Vimeo’s Post-Acquisition Layoffs: What’s Really Going On?** I’ve been following the latest buzz around Vimeo’s acquisition by Bending Spoons, and I have to say, I’m a little stunned by the latest development: layoffs. Yes, you read that right – Vimeo is cutting loose some of its international employees just months after the deal went down. Now, I know what you’re thinking: what’s the big deal? Layoffs happen, right? Well, not usually this soon after an acquisition, that’s for sure. Bending Spoons did confirm the news, but refused to give us the lowdown on just how many employees are getting the…
Here’s a more natural, human tone version of the text: **LiveKit Hits $1 Billion Valuation with $100M Funding Round** Wow, just 10 months after their last funding round, LiveKit is back in the news with a whopping $100 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation! I’m not even kidding, folks. This Seattle-based company is on fire. So, who’s behind this hot streak? Index Ventures is leading the charge, along with some familiar faces from previous rounds, including Altimeter Capital, Hanabi Capital, and Redpoint Ventures. They must see something special in LiveKit’s tech, right? For those who may not be…
Big News in the World of Speech Recognition: Microsoft Unveils VibeVoice-ASR Hey, folks! If you’re anything like me, you’re probably constantly on the lookout for ways to make audio processing more efficient and effective. Well, Microsoft has just released a game-changing speech recognition model that’s sure to revolutionize the way we interact with audio content. Introducing VibeVoice-ASR, a cutting-edge, open-source speech-to-text model that can handle up to 60 minutes of continuous audio in a single pass! This is a huge deal, folks. No more tedious segmenting and reassembling audio files just to get decent speech recognition results. So, what makes…
**The AI Coding Revolution Has Reached a Fever Pitch** I’ve been noticing a buzz around Anthropic’s AI coding tool, Claude Code, for months now. But it’s not just the tech community that’s excited – the numbers suggest that Claude Code is experiencing a surge in popularity. I recently sat down with Boris Cherny, the head of Claude Code, to get to the bottom of what’s driving this trend. As we chatted, Cherny couldn’t help but grin at the astonishing stats. “The craziest thing was learning three months ago that half of the sales team at Anthropic uses Claude Code every…
**Ring’s New Video Authenticity Feature: The Future of Verifiable Footage?** Hey everyone! I’m super excited to share some groundbreaking news with you all. Ring, the doorbell camera brand owned by Amazon, has just dropped a new feature that’s going to revolutionize the way we verify video footage. Say hello to Ring Confirm, a content verification system that’s designed to make it virtually impossible to fake or manipulate videos. So, what does this mean for us? Well, whenever we come across a shared video – whether it’s from a neighbor or online – we’ll be able to easily verify whether it’s…
**The Terrifying Future of AI-Powered Disinformation Swarms** I was reading a report the other day that really had me worried about the future of democracy. Apparently, AI chatbots could soon be working together to create the illusion of grassroots support for a particular cause or candidate, all while spreading disinformation and propaganda. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but according to experts, it’s becoming increasingly likely. The report, written by researchers at BI Norwegian Business School, describes these AI swarms as thousands of chatbots working together to give the appearance of a massive grassroots movement. The problem…
**Jenny Liu’s Visionary Fund: Empowering Underrepresented Wellness Startups** You might know Jenny Liu as the former CEO of Dogpound, the trendy health club that’s been a hub for wellness enthusiasts. But what you might not know is that she’s now on a mission to revolutionize the wellness industry by empowering underrepresented founders through her new fund, Crush It Ventures. As a former CEO of a health club, Liu had a front-row seat to the innovative ideas and passionate entrepreneurs that were reshaping the wellness space. And yet, she noticed that many of these founders – particularly women and minorities -…
**From Bankruptcy to Breakthrough: General Fusion’s $1B Turnaround** You may remember General Fusion, a fusion energy startup that was on the brink of collapse just 12 months ago. They were forced to lay off a quarter of their staff and scramble for a lifeline, securing a paltry $22 million in funding to stay afloat. Fast forward to today, and the company is making waves with a bold new plan: a $1 billion merger with a SPAC called Spring Valley III, plus a whopping $335 million in additional funding from institutional investors. This deal is a massive vote of confidence in…