If it hadn’t been for them meddlin’ kidsWelcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday.
Not to get all GrumpyManYellsAtCloud.gif, but I’m getting pretty tired of the myth of the dropped-out-of-college founders. Investors — and the broader ecosystem — have known for a long time that while there are some high-profile outliers, it’s much easier to build a startup if you have a fat Rolodex, some experience, and perhaps a few failures under your belt. I know Hollywood doesn’t think it’s nearly as good of a story, but . . . perhaps it’d be good to balance things out a little on that front.
Apropos meddling: Those robots have been hard at work generating smut, and Kyle reports that as AI porn generators get better, the stakes get higher. Perhaps as a result of that story (and the internet reaching fever pitch over AI porn), an interview we did with the Unstable Diffusion team last year is hella trending again on TechCrunch.
Apropos even more meddling: It seems that even very experienced founders get things pretty wrong from time to time, too — Elmo isn’t done running Twitter into the ground, it seems. This week, the burning wreckage of a social media site officially changed its logo to X. That has had some, er, curious side effects, including a lot of rebranding and renaming. Uniting the themes of smut and social media, Twitter Videos has so far resisted to rename itself, and one social media account (NSFW) seems to hint at why.
More AI. Always more AI
Image Credits: nadia_bormotova / Getty Images
I know, it seems like there’s always an AI section in Startups Weekly at the moment. Don’t blame me — blame the flamin’ hot news coming out of that vertical at the moment.
On TC+, Nick Zamanov penned an article about how his company tried using OpenAI to generate marketing strategies — and was delighted to discover that it worked.
Meanwhile, OpenAI just released a neat feature that introduces customized instructions for ChatGPT. Instead of having to type “write me a three-section newsletter in the style of TechCrunch’s Startups Weekly, and smatter in some really dumb jokes,” you can configure that as the default behavior. Writing newsletters is going to be so quick in the future, I swear. (Just kidding: I’ve tried. ChatGPT’s attempts at writing this thing were as dull as dishwater. My job is safe for another week or two.)
The bots are coming to the Androids: ChatGPT comes to Android, and soon became available in the U.S., India, Bangladesh and Brazil. OpenAI plans to release the app in more countries very soon.
I’m sure that wasn’t a stressful job: After just 18 months in the job, OpenAI’s head of trust and safety Dave Willner steps down. The company’s CTO Mira Murati will manage the team on an interim basis while they find a replacement.
Let’s translate this from corporate-ese into bot-speak: A startup that’s building tools to help prepare enterprise data to get gobbled up into large language models, Unstructured raises $25 million.
The art of changing your mind
Image Credits: Images by Christina Kilgour / Getty Images
This week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the job of a founder. I already mentioned the TechCrunch+ piece I wrote about startups not just being a young person’s game, and I spoke with a founder who decided to replace himself as the CEO of his own company. Earlier this week, I also spoke with DeeDee Deman, who has spent the past 50 years headhunting CEOs, to get some tips on how you can think about finding a new CEO for your startup.
While on the topic of replacements — Sequoia Capital’s Michael Moritz moves on, almost 40 years after he joined the influential venture fund. He’s going to continue board work with a handful of companies but is planning to hand over most of the workload to other Sequoia partners.
Companies are still going public. Just not startups: It’s been a drought in the tech startup IPO space, but on TC+, Alex crunched the numbers and realized that there’s still a lot of activity — and it’s making startups look silly as hell.
Optimizing for impact: More and more companies are thinking about climate — and impact investors are flocking to the segment. That scares me a bit, but Agnes Svensson, the chief impact officer at Norrsken VC, shares five key questions climate tech founders should ask impact investors.
One of the most amazing social experiments: Reddits r/place is an incredible experiment, where a logged-in user can place a single pixel on a canvas every 5 minutes. It’s one of my favorite things about the internet, because it requires something utterly rare: coordination and teamwork. Of course, redditors used this year’s evolution of the game to shout loudly about the API changes that have sparked a revolt on the social media site.
Pulling into the pit stop
 
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
Autonomous trucking company Aurora sells $820 million worth of stock in order to continue its drive toward launching an autonomous trucking business in 2024. Around the same time, Waymo put the brakes on its self-driving trucks program.
Meanwhile, peeking at Tesla’s business fundamentals, Rebecca reminds us that the company is an automaker, not a tech company — and that its margins look a lot more like Ford than, say, Salesforce.
Time for another U-turn: We’ve been flip-flopping on this one for a while, but it seems like GM has changed its mind once again, saying it isn’t going to kill off the Chevy Bolt EV after all. Personally, I think that’s great. We need smaller, more affordable EVs.
Tapping the zap: Seven of the largest automakers today announced a joint venture to create a massive EV charging network across North America.
Topping up at home: In smaller charging news, Voltpost raised a $3.6 million seed round to bring EV charging to the curbside.
Top reads on TechCrunch this week
In addition to some of the big hitters sprinkled throughout above, here are some of our mustn’t-miss stories for the week:
Maybe it’s just taking a nap?: I argued that VR as a category is dead and failed to find a killer app. AR is picking up the mantle, but we’ll see if it can do better.
I dunno, maybe hide better?: Zack reports that North Korean hackers targeting JumpCloud may have forgotten to mask their IP addresses properly, researchers say.
Buy it, then kill it: Aria reports that SpaceX has made only one acquisition to date (that we are aware of), but Swarm Technologies is halting new device sales. It seems that the acquisition may have been an aqui-hire, as Swarm’s founders are finding senior positions across SpaceX.
Stalking for cash: Zack had a couple of popular articles this week. He reported that Spyhide stalkerware is spying on tens of thousands of phones, and he dug into how TheTruthSpy stalkerware made its millions.
Enough, already: It’s getting more and more frustrating to report on this, but startups with all-women founding teams raised just $1.4 billion in H1, Dominic-Madori reports. That’s a paltry 1.6% of all venture funding invested. Mixed-gender teams picked up 28%.

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Daft Punk’s Guy-Man credited as producer on Travis Scott’s UtopiaRapper Travis Scott has finally released his long-awaited album, Utopia, and to the surprise of Daft Punk fans, one song on it was produced by Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo, AKA Guy-Man of the iconic French dance duo.

READ MORE: Beatport.io launch digital collectable series about Berlin’s techno scene

The album is filled to the brim with producer collabs from James Blake to Beyonce, SZA and even the controversial Kanye West.
However, the third track on the album, MODERN JAM, is where Guy-Man’s production skills really come to light. You can even hear Scott refer to Guy-Man at one point with the lyrics “Hey, Guy-Man, brought him home from France”.

Unsurprisingly, it is certainly one of the more electronic-sounding tracks on the album and has Scott rapping over the top of a looped beat that develops throughout the song.
Fans in the comments have praised Scott and Guy-Man’s production skills on the track, with many even claiming how old-school it sounds.
“I’m feeling this 90s type beat. I need a music video on this that has a 90s theme. Travis killed it,” writes one listener.
“This is going to go nuts in the club. Brought an old-school vibe. 80s type shit,” wrote another.
In more Utopia-related news, Travis Scott’s Utopia launch concert and livestream from Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza has officially been cancelled due to safety concerns. The Egyptian Musicians Syndicate announced that there were also issues with the “peculiar rituals performed by the star during his performance, contradicting our authentic societal values and traditions.”
The concert was set to take place tonight (28 July), and all ticket holders are being issued refunds via Live Nation Middle East.
The post Daft Punk’s Guy-Man credited as producer on Travis Scott’s Utopia appeared first on MusicTech.

The second single, Loading, from James Blake’s next album is hereJames Blake has released the second single from his forthcoming album – a track entitled Loading.

READ MORE: Romy’s moody new dance anthem The Sea is produced by Fred again..

This new song is set to be part of Blake’s seventh full-length body of work, Playing Robots Into Heaven, which is due to be released on Polydor in September.
Listen to Loading below:

The track sees the Limit To Your Love producer and singer dip into a 909-flecked 4×4 techno beat and back out into softer moments typical of Blake’s style. Although they haven’t been credited, the track features Blake’s vocals in various pitches, alongside other undisclosed vocalists.
This track follows the first single from the album, Big Hammer, which was revealed in June. While the second single is more in-keeping with mellow sounds associated with Blake today, Big Hammer reverts to his post-dubstep style, with a boisterous leftfield trap-cum-trip-hop beat, a bleeping synth and rap samples.
The music video for Big Hammer, which you can see below, shows a Clockwork Orange-esque mob crashing into various buildings, terrorising the public.

The tracklist for the forthcoming album, Playing Robots Into Heaven, which will come out on 8 September, is below:
1. Asking to Break
2. Loading
3. Tell Me
4. Fall Back
5. He’s Been Wonderful
6. Big Hammer
7. I Want You to Know
8. Night Sky
9. Fire the Editor
10. If You Can Hear Me
11. Playing Robots into Heaven
In May of 2022, Blake created an album specifically for users of Endel, an app that uses AI to create reactive soundscapes for sleeping and studying. The album is called Wind Down and is an ambient group of tracks designed to allow listeners to sleep healthily.
On the Wind Down album, Blake said: “The Wind Down soundscape I created with Endel lets me explore the more ambient side of my music and create a project to support people in a new way.
“It’s mesmerising to hear how my music blends with the science-based sounds of Endel’s AI and I think we’ve invented something not just beautiful or even meaningful, but truly practical.”
Pre-order James Blake’s next album, Playing Robots Into Heaven, via jamesblakemusic.com.
The post The second single, Loading, from James Blake’s next album is here appeared first on MusicTech.

Bandsintown launches free Release pagesBandsintown, already the go-to platform for live show marketing, has added free Release pages to help artists announce new music, merch drops, contests. tours, presales, and more. Artists keep the. Continue reading
The post Bandsintown launches free Release pages appeared first on Hypebot.

From Universal’s $2.93bn in Q2 to Spotify’s price hikes in over 50 markets… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThis week's biggest stories...
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Belles Ondes EQ1979 EQ1979 is a stereo VST analog console strip emulation inspired by a famous British console module with red gain knob. It features: An input saturation stage, which emulates... Read More

Beatport.io launch digital collectable series about Berlin’s techno sceneBerlin is known for a lot of things, from the architecture to the food, but one thing stands out, and that is its bustling techno scene.
Beatport has launched a digital collectable series in collaboration on new NFT marketplace Beatport.io with Berghain bouncer and photographer Mischa Fanghaenel, portraying the city’s techno community.

READ MORE: Damon Albarn praises “super musical and smart” producer James Ford 

The leading online music store for DJs has launched into the NFT space to celebrate the music and art that comes from this scene, named NACHTS – which translates to “at night” in English.
According to Beatport, the collection was also developed in collaboration with some of the scene’s biggest artists, such as Ellen Allien, Âme, Ben Klock, Dixon, DVS1 and many more.
“The NACHTS project started during the first lockdown as an idea,” explains Fanghaenel who has been a bouncer at the infamous Berlin club for ten years. “If this is it, if no club in Berlin will ever open again, how are we going to preserve what we had? How are we going to memorialize this culture?
“In the event that everything was gone, how could I document the range of characters that came together in the scene? Looking at the different people that shape this culture, I understand why it’s so important to have places in which everyone can simply come together and be themselves. That’s why I want to share how beautiful life can be.”
In August the first limited drop of the NACHTS series will be released – a collaboration with DJ and producer, Len Faki, including a bonus track from his latest album ‘Fusion’ that was produced exclusively for the edition.
Mischa Fanghaenel’s accompanying portrait exhibition NACHTS will open as part of the upcoming Berlin Art Week on 14 September where collectors will be able to use the NFT as a ticket to access.
For more information, you can head to Beatport.io.
The post Beatport.io launch digital collectable series about Berlin’s techno scene appeared first on MusicTech.

Do you need a digital music royalty broker to get paid?Some companies unnecessarily charge artists for something that SoundExchange offers for free. Keep reading to learn more. from SoundExchange NO! You do not need digital royalty brokers to get paid. Beware of independent. Continue reading
The post Do you need a digital music royalty broker to get paid? appeared first on Hypebot.

Why songs are getting shorterThis week’s Hypebot Flashback Friday post digs into a trend that is showing no signs of abating. Bobby Oswinki shares why. Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 Songs today are shorter. Continue reading
The post Why songs are getting shorter appeared first on Hypebot.

SSL’s G-Series Bus Compressor gets a multiband upgrade, the G3 MultiBusCompSolid State Logic has launched a new plugin, the G3 MultiBusComp – a multiband extension to its popular G-Series Bus Compressor.

READ MORE: 10 of the best mastering compressor plugins and software processors

While the original compressor, a digital version of its renowned SSL G-Comp Stereo Bus Compressor 500 Series hardware module, offers just single-band compression, this new upgrade lets you be more detailed with your mix.

Thanks to its multiband nature, the G3 MultiBusComp offers enhanced flexibility compared to standard single-band compression, resulting in a more natural and transparent sound. It provides greater control over shaping and managing dynamics by independently processing different frequency bands – the lows, mids and highs.
With three independently configurable frequency bands, the G3 MultiBusComp delivers SSL’s distinctive glue compression. The 4K Drive control, inspired by SSL’s SL 4000 Series, supposedly adds warmth and character, while the powerful sidechain routing allows customising high pass and low pass filter cutoffs for each band.
Usability has been improved too, with a resizable GUI that lets you take the plugin from 50 per cent of its original size to 200 per cent. You can also now test changes to your sounds using a new audition feature.
SSL has spent the year expanding its coveted plugin collection. In March, it added to its SSL Complete subscription with the SubGen sub-bass plugin. In June, it continued its appreciated run of hardware released with the UF1 single-fader DAW controller.
Solid State Logic’s G3 MultiBusComp is available for purchase at $199.99 / £159.99 / €199.99 on the SSL eStore or through SSL’s Rent-to-Own plan. For more details and free trials head to solidstatelogic.com.
The post SSL’s G-Series Bus Compressor gets a multiband upgrade, the G3 MultiBusComp appeared first on MusicTech.

Tupac’s custom-designed crown ring sells for over $1 million – and it looks like Drake was the buyerA custom-designed ring once owned and worn by rapper Tupac has fetched over $1 million at an auction, and it looks like Drake may be the one who purchased it.
The ring sold last Tuesday (25 July), and its huge sale made it the most valuable hip-hop artefact ever sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s.

READ MORE: RZA’s signed E-Mu SP-1200 sampler sells for $70,000 in auction

It was designed by the rapper himself, and worn during his last ever public appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). It sold for more than three times the auction house’s estimate at a hip-hop-themed sale in New York, and now possibly belongs to Drake.
The ring is inscribed with “Pac & Dada 1996,” a reference to his engagement to actress and model Kidada Jones, the daughter of record producer Quincy Jones. It has a diamond-encrusted gold band topped with a gold circlet, and is studded with a cabochon ruby and two pavé-cut diamonds, as reported by CNN.
In an Instagram story posted by Drake where he shouts out the new release from Travis Scott, Utopia, he appears to be holding that very same crown-shaped ring. Take a look below:
Image: @champagnepapi on Instagram
Tupac’s ring was sold among a collection which comprised of 119 items, from art to letters to flyers to the hardware used to create some of the biggest hip-hop anthems, and more.
This included one of the first-ever KAWS figurines, a pair of rare Nike Dunks, the SP-1200 sampler RZA used on Enter The Wu-Tang, and RZA’S original three-page handwritten liner notes for the Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) album sleeve.
Drake is currently touring, and you can get tickets at his official website.
The post Tupac’s custom-designed crown ring sells for over $1 million – and it looks like Drake was the buyer appeared first on MusicTech.

Sound Dust PLANKTON SONAR PLANKTON SONAR for Kontakt. PLANKTON SONAR is a friendly Kontakt device for building beautiful, organic system music and deep undersea pinging ripples. Like a warm... Read More

Damon Albarn praises “super musical and smart” producer James Ford Blur’s Damon Albarn has praised producer James Ford who worked on the band’s latest and ninth studio album, The Ballad Of Darren.
The producer also worked on The Car, the latest record from Arctic Monkeys, and Albarn believes his vocal register sounds pretty similar to their frontman Alex Turner on the new album.

READ MORE: Producer James Ford on working with Depeche Mode for Spirit: “A lot of it felt like marriage guidance counselling”

“I think he’s great, I sing a lot like him on the new album,” says Albarn in an interview with German publication Musikexpress (via NME).
“You know our producer James Ford?” he adds. “He also worked with the Arctic Monkeys, I mentioned that to him. But what could I have against that? I love Alex’s voice. I just prefer to sing in a lower register now.”

I had an incredible, surreal time making “Ballad of Darren” with some absolute heroes. Hope you enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/LPP6uo7UOs
— James Ellis Ford (@jamesellisford) July 21, 2023

Albarn also went on to discuss Ford’s impact on The Ballad Of Darren, and praised his work ethic: “James is just super musical and smart, he works very intuitively, he also likes a drink. We have the same sense of humour,” he says.
Earlier this year when speaking of working on The Car, Ford explained why he resist the urge to over tweak: “I try not to do that with other people’s records, not putting things in time and in tune too much because I think that human-ness and that wonkiness is what I love to hear in other people’s records and often gets ironed out in a modern production process,” he said.
“To not do that to yourself is harder – it’s easy to hear someone else’s mistakes and see the value in it, but it’s hard to see the value in your own mistakes a lot of the time.”
Check out The Ballad Of Darren below:

To view all of Blur’s upcoming live dates, check out their official website.
The post Damon Albarn praises “super musical and smart” producer James Ford  appeared first on MusicTech.

Microphones stolen from KMR Audio London-based pro audio retailer KMR Audio are urging manufacturers and the pro audio community to be on the lookout after a large number of microphones were stolen from their store.