Canoo Exposes Executive Jet Expense, AT&T Accidentally Leaks Sensitive Data, and X Unveils Controversial NSFW Strategy

Greetings, dear readers, and welcome to this edition of Week in Review (WiR), where we recap the noteworthy happenings in the world of technology over the past several days and beyond.

The latest Y Combinator Demo Days have taken place, and our venture desk has been keeping a watchful and skeptical eye on all the developments. Head over to our day one and day two coverage, as well as an AI roundup from yours truly and insightful analyses from our dedicated team of editors.

However, the hype surrounding YC didn’t stop the tech world from spinning. In fact, this week saw a major breakthrough in quantum computing, thanks to a collaboration between Microsoft and startup Quantinuum. According to their claims, they were able to execute thousands of experiments on a quantum computer without a single error, a feat that had previously eluded the industry.

In other news, it seems that Apple may be venturing into the world of home robots. Reportedly, the tech giant, fresh off the decision to cancel its long-awaited autonomous EV, has put together a team of Apple Home and AI experts to work on a new robotics project for household use. While details are still scarce, this could mark an exciting new venture for the company.

But wait, there’s more! In this edition of WiR, we’ll be covering a range of other exciting updates. Before we dive in, a quick reminder to sign up for our newsletter to receive all the latest updates directly in your inbox every Saturday.

News

Canoo pays for CEO’s jet: Investigative journalist Kirsten has discovered that electric vehicle startup Canoo paid an eye-watering $1.7 million for CEO’s private jet in 2023. This amount is double the company’s revenue for that year.

AT&T security breach: In a major security breach, phone giant AT&T has reset millions of account passcodes after a massive cache of customer records was leaked online earlier this month. Our reporter Zack has all the details.

ChatGPT now accessible to all: OpenAI is making its flagship conversational AI, ChatGPT, available to everyone, even without an account. However, there will be some limitations. Our journalist Devin has the full story.

Microsoft offers unbundled services: Following scrutiny from EU regulators and complaints from competitor Slack, Microsoft has released versions of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions that exclude Teams, its business collaboration chat service.

Funding

Ghost Autonomy shuts down: Autonomous driving software startup Ghost Autonomy has closed its doors after raising nearly $220 million.

Analysis

Alphabet and HubSpot: Reuters recently reported that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is considering acquiring HubSpot, a CRM and marketing automation company with a market cap of over $33 billion. Our reporter Ron delves into why this would be an unusual match.

Podcasts

On this week’s episode of Equity, our host Alex discusses BlaBlaCar’s new credit facility and its impressive debut, the innovative model of startup construction by PipeDreams, the profitable rebound of education platform GoStudent, Hailo’s chip business, and GGV’s latest division as it expands its operations on opposite sides of the Pacific.

On Found, our guest is Nick Green, the co-founder and CEO of Thrive Market. Thrive is an online grocery store with a membership model that focuses on promoting natural and organic food and household products. Green talks about how Thrive’s goal is to not just offer healthy options, but to make them accessible to all, including those with SNAP and EBT benefits.

Bonus Round

NSFW communities on X: The social media platform has confirmed that authorized users can now create NSFW communities, ahead of a change that will see all NSFW content filtered by default.