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Brad Feld, a veteran entrepreneur and VC, shares his 'Give First' philosophy, emphasizing the importance of contributing without expecting immediate returns. This approach, detailed in his book, fosters meaningful connections and opportunities over time.
Feld highlights the significance of mentorship, advocating for vulnerability and setting boundaries to avoid burnout. He stresses that the best mentors guide rather than control, providing data and hypotheses instead of assertions.
According to Feld, anyone can be a mentor, as the most effective relationships are peer-based, with both parties learning from each other. He also notes that in the current environment, extreme pronouncements have low predictive power, making it crucial to focus on timeless principles.
Feld reflects on stepping back from the traditional venture model, emphasizing the importance of living a meaningful life and focusing on what truly matters.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed The New York Times lawsuit, criticizing their data demands. The lawsuit alleges OpenAI improperly used NYT articles to train AI models. Altman also mentioned Meta's attempts to recruit OpenAI talent with significant compensation packages.
OpenAI faces competition and legal challenges from multiple publishers and tech companies. A recent court ruling favored Anthropic in a similar lawsuit, potentially impacting OpenAI's legal battles. The company is also addressing concerns about users discussing conspiracy theories or suicide with ChatGPT, implementing measures to prevent harmful conversations.
Kalshi has raised $185 million in a funding round led by Paradigm, valuing the company at $2 billion. This news arrives as Polymarket, Kalshi's main competitor, is reportedly seeking $200 million at a $1 billion pre-money valuation, led by Founders Fund. Kalshi is regulated by the CFTC, allowing U.S. residents to use the site freely, while Polymarket faces regulatory hurdles and is banned in the U.S. since 2022. Elon Musk's X has partnered with Polymarket, making it X’s “official” prediction market.
Creative Commons has introduced CC signals, a project aimed at establishing a framework for data sharing in the AI era. This initiative allows dataset holders to specify how their content can be reused for training AI models, balancing internet openness with the growing demand for data.
CC signals seek to provide legal and technical solutions for data sharing between data controllers and AI trainers. This comes as companies adjust their policies regarding AI training on user data. The project aims to prevent data hoarding and paywalls by creating an ethically weighted system, similar to existing CC licenses.
Currently in early development, with designs available on the CC website and GitHub, CC signals plans for an alpha launch in November 2025 and is actively seeking public feedback through town halls.
Rubrik has announced its acquisition of Predibase, a startup specializing in open-source AI model customization. This acquisition aims to boost enterprise AI agent adoption by integrating Predibase's capabilities with Rubrik's secure data platforms. The deal's value is estimated between $100 million and $500 million.
Predibase, founded in 2021, has raised over $28 million from investors, and its technology will enable Rubrik users to accelerate AI agent building through platforms like Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, and Google Agentspace. This move is part of a broader trend where companies are acquiring firms to strengthen their AI technology stacks.
Rubrik, founded in 2014, went public in April 2024 after raising more than $1.6 billion in venture capital. The acquisition of Predibase underscores Rubrik's commitment to simplifying access to secured, governed data for AI applications.
Getty Images has dropped key copyright infringement claims against Stability AI in the UK High Court, focusing on secondary infringement and trademark claims. This move follows a similar U.S. case where a judge sided with Anthropic regarding AI training on copyrighted books. Getty initially sued Stability AI for using copyrighted images to train its AI model, Stable Diffusion, without permission. The dropped claims include allegations that Stability AI's outputs were similar to Getty's copyrighted content and contained Getty's watermarks. Getty's lawyers cited weak evidence and a lack of knowledgeable witnesses from Stability AI as reasons for dropping the claims.
The remaining claims involve secondary infringement, arguing that AI models themselves infringe copyright law, and trademark infringement. Stability AI is confident that Getty's trademark claims will fail. Getty also has a separate lawsuit against Stability AI in the U.S., seeking $1.7 billion in damages. Stability AI faces another complaint alongside Midjourney and DeviantArt from visual artists alleging copyright infringement.
Getty Images also has its own generative AI offering that leverages AI models trained on Getty iStock stock photography and video libraries.
Bereket Engida, a self-taught programmer from Ethiopia, has developed Better Auth, an open-source authentication framework. The startup recently secured $5 million in seed funding from Peak XV, Y Combinator, and others. Better Auth simplifies user authentication management for developers, offering features like open-source libraries and support for common permissions use cases. The tool has gained traction among developers, especially in AI startups, for its ability to integrate with proprietary APIs and manage tokens securely.
Intel is discontinuing its automotive architecture business and implementing layoffs as part of a broader restructuring effort. The decision, communicated internally on Tuesday, involves winding down the automotive business within the client computing group.
The move comes after Intel made substantial investments in automotive technology, including the acquisition of Mobileye in 2017 for $15.3 billion and Moovit in 2020 for $900 million. Despite showcasing its software-defined vehicle technology at CES 2025 and the Shanghai Auto Show, the division faced a shaky future due to falling sales and a dim outlook.
Earlier this month, Intel announced plans to lay off 15% to 20% of workers in its Intel Foundry division. The company is refocusing on its core client and data center portfolio to strengthen its product offerings.