Latest news with #startups
Forbes
an hour ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Prompt: VCs Aren't Happy About AI Founders Jumping Ship For Big Tech
Welcome back to The Prompt. VC heavyweight Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, said acquihires like Windsurf are 'bad examples of founders leaving their teams behind and not even sharing the proceeds with their team. I definitely would not work with their founders next time' Getty Images Last week, Google poached Windsurf's cofounders and some key AI researchers for $2.4 billion while AI coding startup Cognition scooped up the remainder of the team and product. The dramatic move stunned the AI community. Windsurf's interim CEO Jeff Wang said on X that 'the mood was bleak' when he shared the news with the company's 250 employees, who had been expecting to hear about an acquisition by ChatGPT maker OpenAI but instead were told their founders and team were departing to Google. 'Some people were upset about financial outcomes… others were worried about the future. A few were in tears, and the Q&A had been understandably hostile.' Wang said he worked with Cognition's cofounder and CEO Scott Wu and President Russel Wu to get the rest of Windsurf's employees the best deal possible. 'I think there's an unspoken covenant that as a founder you go down with the ship. And for better or worse that's changed a bit over the last year and I think it's a bit disappointing,' Wu said during a recent podcast. A recent string of 'acquihires,' which has become the playbook for tech companies to avoid antitrust scrutiny while maintaining an edge in the AI race, has left a sour taste in the mouths of a number of venture capitalists. In a typical acquisition, each and every employee who's worked at the startup would get a financial upside during an exit, but that's not the case when, on paper at least, no acquisition happens when the founders leave. Cognition did not disclose how much it spent to acquire Windsurf but it's reportedly a fraction of what Google spent on the deal. VC heavyweight Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, said acquihires like Windsurf are 'bad examples of founders leaving their teams behind and not even sharing the proceeds with their team. I definitely would not work with their founders next time' Sam Awrabi, founder of Banyan Ventures, which invests in early stage AI-native startups, told me that such deals could also impact the value of equity as a part of total compensation. Historically, that's been a significant part of pay packages at startups in order to attract talent— people are willing to take longer hours and smaller paychecks when there's an incentive of a big payday if the firm goes public or gets bought. 'I think it's deplorable… To me it breaks the social contract of Silicon Valley, ' Awrabi said. 'Your job as CEO is to fight for the team. Employees need to feel safe in terms of acquisitions and being compensated.' Others are sounding the alarm on tech giants poaching AI founders and researchers and leaving behind carcasses of companies. Chris Manning, former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and an investor at AIX Ventures, said it could also hinder startups' ability to attract the kind of people you need to build a company. 'This doesn't seem like a fair way for the world to be…we should all feel uncomfortable about it.' Let's get into the headlines. PEAK PERFORMANCE An artificial intelligence model called Gemini Deep Think, developed by Google DeepMind, recently received a 'gold medal' score in the International Mathematical Olympiad, a prestigious world championship for high school students. The model correctly answered five out of six advanced math problems. An experimental model trained by ChatGPT creator OpenAI also achieved a similar score, though the company did not officially enter the competition. AI companies have long tested their most cutting-edge systems by testing them on the toughest exams and benchmarks that require more creative thinking and reasoning skills. TALENT RESHUFFLING Tech giants continue to fight over the brightest minds working on AI. Microsoft has snagged over 20 AI-focused researchers from Google DepMind, the Financial Times reported. And just today, Meta hired the Google Deepmind researchers who worked on the model that won that 'gold medal' level score at the International Math Olympiad. These sweeping moves came just weeks after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg splurged millions of dollars to poach a dozen researchers from OpenAI and other top AI companies. In the case of OpenAI's Chief Research Officer Mark Chen, Zuckerberg reportedly was even willing to offer a billion dollar pay package to convince him to make the move, the Wall Street Journal reported. HUMANS OF AI The process of grieving for someone is undoubtedly emotionally taxing. But it also involves a great deal of paperwork and administrative burden, says Alexandra Mysoor, CEO of Alix, a platform that helps families automate estate settlements by scanning and extracting information from relevant documents. She founded the company in March 2023 after an experience in which she spent some 900 hours trying to settle the estate of a friend's parent, handling issues such as identifying their bank and retirement accounts, making copies of the death certificate, filling out forms and cancelling subscriptions. The company recently raised a $20 million Series A round led by Acrew Capital. AI DEAL OF THE WEEK Sweden-based AI startup Lovable has raised $200 million at a $1.8 billion valuation in the country's largest Series A round in history, Forbes reported. The company aims to use AI to help anyone develop websites and apps in mere minutes— no technical chops required. DEEP DIVE Between meetings in April, Micha Kaufman, CEO of the freelance marketplace Fiverr, fired off a memo to his 1,200 employees that didn't mince words: 'AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it's coming for my job too,' he wrote. 'This is a wakeup call.' The memo detailed Kaufman's thesis for AI — that it would elevate everyone's abilities: Easy tasks would become no-brainers. Hard tasks would become easy. Impossible tasks would become merely hard, he posited. And because AI tools are free to use, no one has an advantage. In the shuffle, people who didn't adapt would be 'doomed.' 'I hear the conversation around the office. I hear developers ask each other, 'Guys, are we going to have a job in two years?'' Kaufman tells Forbes now. 'I felt like this needed validation from me — that they aren't imagining stuff.' Already, younger and more inexperienced programmers are seeing a drop in employment rate; the total number of employed entry-level developers from ages 18 to 25 has dropped 'slightly' since 2022, after the launch of ChatGPT, said Ruyu Chen, a postdoctoral fellow at the Digital Economy Lab of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI. It isn't just lack of experience that could make getting a job extremely difficult going forward; Chen notes too that the market may be tougher for those who are just average at their jobs. In the age of AI, only exceptional employees have an edge. After years of rhetoric about how AI will augment workers, rather than replace them, many tech CEOs have become more direct about the toll of AI. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and spike unemployment up to 20% within the next five years. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last month that AI will 'reduce our total corporate workforce' over the next few years as the company begins to 'need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.' Earlier this year, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke also posted a memo that he sent his team, saying that budget for new hires would only be granted for jobs that can't be automated by AI. Read the full story on Forbes MODEL BEHAVIOR Replit, an AI-based tool for developers, went rogue on software investor Jason Lemkin, he said. The tool wiped an entire code base in live production without permission during a test run and then lied about it, Lemkin claimed. Replit CEO Amjad Masad later apologized for the incident on X and said his company was taking steps to ensure the tool didn't behave this way in the future.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
What Dropbox, Notion, And Slack Got Right About Their First Users
getty Most startups don't fail because of bad technology. They fail because they never find a group of people who care . First users are the proving ground for any product. They show you what matters, what doesn't, and what to fix next. The early strategies used by companies like Dropbox, Notion, and Slack show how much intentionality goes into building that first layer of usage and how different those approaches can be. This article breaks down what these companies got right and what other early-stage teams can take away when thinking about their own launch and user development. 1. Start Narrow, Not Loud When Dropbox launched, they didn't go broad. Their first wave of traction came from a short demo video posted to Hacker News and Digg. This wasn't accidental - it was targeted. They knew the first users needed to be tech-savvy, early adopters who would give feedback and test edge cases. That 3-minute video brought in 75,000 signups almost overnight. More importantly, it brought in the right kind of users. Too many startups treat launch like a megaphone moment. In reality, it's a filtering tool. Who shows up first tells you everything about who you're building for and whether your message is resonating. 2. Use Waitlists To Shape Demand Notion didn't rush into the public spotlight. In its earliest days, it operated almost like an invite-only tool. The product wasn't fully ready, and the team used this constraint to their advantage. By keeping access limited, they created a natural feedback loop: users who got in felt invested, and their feedback helped shape the product. More importantly, this approach helped Notion focus on the quality of usage, not just the quantity. The team knew they didn't need millions of users; they needed depth with a few hundred. That focus set the foundation for a highly active user base, which became a powerful growth engine later on. 3. Build In the Open (But Not for Everyone) Slack's public release was preceded by a long period of internal use. It started as a tool built for Stewart Butterfield's own company (Tiny Speck), and only became a standalone product after proving its value internally. Once they released it more broadly, they were still selective in how they scaled awareness. Slack worked hard to earn teams who would use it all day, every day, not casual signups. That focus on embedded usage led to organic growth: early users became evangelists within their own companies, helping Slack spread without big budgets. This highlights a core lesson: depth of engagement matters more than breadth in the early days. 4. Your First Users Are Not Just Customers, They Are Collaborators Each of these companies treated their early users like contributors, not just test subjects. Dropbox emailed users personally. Notion founders jumped into user forums. Slack had team members in every support thread. These companies weren't just watching metrics - they were listening to what their clients were saying. Early adopters are often the people who shape product language, feature sets, and priorities. In fact, many of the best-performing startups built marketing messages directly from early user conversations.. 5. Support Can Be A Growth Lever What many teams miss is that user support in the early days isn't just a cost - it's a growth function. Notion's founders handled support themselves in the early months. This gave them a front-row seat to problems and a direct line to users. More importantly, it made early users feel like insiders, not just customers. When teams use support to build relationships instead of deflecting issues, they create loyal users. These are the people who write your first reviews, refer friends, and justify your pricing. No ad campaign beats that kind of user-driven distribution. 6. Product-Led Doesn't Mean Passive Dropbox, Notion, and Slack are all considered 'product-led growth' companies. But that doesn't mean they relied on organic usage alone. They engineered user experiences that encouraged sharing, referrals, and internal virality. Dropbox famously rewarded users with more storage for inviting friends. Slack made it seamless to spin up a new team workspace. A common misconception is that good products just grow. In reality, growth is designed. These companies built feedback, sharing, and engagement into the product from the start. Early users didn't just use the product; they helped spread it. These strategies are explored in more detail in our startup marketing guide , which covers how to turn feedback loops into positioning 7. Ignore Vanity Metrics Early On Across all three companies, the focus was on usage quality, not on downloads, press, or social buzz. Dropbox tracked how often files were shared. Slack looked at messages per user. Notion paid attention to how many people built their second or third document. These metrics were tied to retention, not reach. If your first users aren't coming back, you don't have a product yet. That's why successful early-stage teams obsess over engagement signals, even if the numbers are small.
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Hurun Research Institute released the Global Unicorn Index 2025
22 July, 2025 - Guangzhou, Mumbai, and London - The Hurun Research Institute released the Global Unicorn Index 2025, a ranking of the world's unicorns, defined as start-ups founded in the 2000s, worth at least a billion dollars and not yet listed on a public exchange. The cut-off was 1 January 2025, with significant changes in valuation updated up to the date of release. Hurun Research has been tracking unicorns since 2017. This is the seventh year of the Global Unicorn Index. This report includes the Most Successful Unicorn Investors in the World 2025, a ranking of the investment houses that have invested in the most unicorns. Hurun Research found 1,523 unicorns in the world, based in 52 countries and 307 cities. 359 unicorns saw their valuations rise, of which 203 were new faces. 143 saw their valuations drop, of which 52 were 'demoted' as their valuation no longer cut US$1bn. 64 were 'promoted' out of the list, of which 34 went IPO and 30 were acquired. 1,073 saw no change to their valuations. Their total value was US$5.6tn. The world's unicorns are disrupting financial services, business management solutions and healthcare. 77% sell software and services, led by FinTech, SaaS, and AI, whilst 23% have a physical product, led by Semiconductors, New Energy, Biotech, and HealthTech. Hurun Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said: '2025 has been the year of AI. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, AI startups have rocketed, marking a critical inflexion point. Today, nearly a third of the world's unicorns are AI-related, underscoring its transformational impact across industries. Big Data, SaaS, and FinTech remain the most common sectors for AI-themed unicorns, whilst 128 are pure-play AI companies with a combined valuation nearing US$1 trillion, spanning AI assistants to machine learning platforms, and sector-specific AI applications in healthcare, security, robotics and fintech.' ' SpaceX has become the world's most valuable unicorn, with a staggering US$350 billion valuation, ahead of TikTok-owner ByteDance and OpenAI. It's the first time a space exploration company has led the pack.' 'No company encapsulates the 2020s unicorn boom quite like OpenAI. Two years ago, OpenAI was valued at just US$20 billion; today, it's US$300 billion. That jump in valuation in just two years is the fastest we've ever seen, driven by the revolutionary potential of generative AI.' 'Some founders don't stop at one unicorn. With xAI, Elon Musk is now the founder or co-founder of three of the world's four most valuable unicorns, as well as Neuralink (US$8bn) and The Boring Company (US$7bn) – a testament to how one visionary entrepreneur can repeatedly create massive value in completely different industries. Five have founded three unicorns and 33 have founded two.' 'When it comes to unicorns, the world can essentially be split into three regions: the US, China, and the Rest of the World. The US accounts for half of all unicorns, China a quarter, and the remaining quarter is spread across dozens of other countries, led by India and the UK. Surprisingly, perhaps, the EU countries together have just over 112 unicorns, less than 8%, despite contributing to 20% of the world's GDP. Each region has its strengths – American unicorns are heavy in SaaS, FinTech and AI, China's in AI, Semiconductors and Renewable Energy, while the rest of the world leans towards FinTech and E-commerce – reflecting different regional innovation focuses.' 'The United States is in a league of its own with 758 unicorns – fully 50% of the world's total. California alone is home to 396 companies valued at a combined US$2.1tn. The East Coast, led by New York with 141 unicorns, Massachusetts with 44 unicorns and Florida with 15 unicorns, continues to thrive in FinTech, Healthcare, and Enterprise Software. The Midwest, while smaller in count, shows growth in states like Illinois, with 15 unicorns, and demonstrates increasing startup momentum beyond coastal hubs. States like Texas, with over 32 unicorns, Colorado and Washington are emerging as strategic tech centres, boosted by talent migration and business-friendly environments. This dispersion indicates a maturing innovation landscape where startup ecosystems are flourishing across diverse regions, not just Silicon Valley.' About Hurun Inc. Promoting Entrepreneurship Through Lists and Research Oxford, Shanghai, Mumbai Established in the United Kingdom in 1999, Hurun is a research and media group, promoting entrepreneurship through its lists and research. Widely regarded as an opinion-leader in the world of business, Hurun generated 8 billion views on the Hurun brand in 2023, mainly in China and India, and recently expanded to the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. Best known for the Hurun Rich List series, telling the stories of the world's successful entrepreneurs in China, India, and the world, Hurun's other key series focus on young businesses and entrepreneurs, through the Hurun Unicorns Index, two Hurun Future Unicorns indices, the Hurun U th series, and the Hurun Pioneers series. Hurun has grown to become the world's largest list compiler for start-ups, ranking over 3000 start-ups across the world through its annual Hurun Global Unicorns Index (startups with a valuation of US$1bn+), and two Hurun Future Unicorn Indexes: Gazelles, most likely to 'go unicorn' within three years, and Cheetahs, most likely to 'go unicorn' within five years. The Hurun Pioneering Young Startups and Entrepreneurs series focuses on startups set up within the last ten years and founders aged 45 or under. The Hurun U th series includes the Under25s, Under30s, Under35s, and Under40s awards, representing the cream of each generation of young entrepreneurs who have founded businesses with a social impact and worth US$1m, US$10m, US$50m, and US$100m, respectively. Other lists include the Hurun 500 series, ranking the most valuable companies in the world, China and India, the Hurun Global High Schools List, ranking the world's best independent high schools, the Hurun Philanthropy List, ranking the biggest philanthropists and the Hurun Art List, ranking the world's most successful artists alive today. Hurun provides research reports co-branded with some of the world's leading financial institutions and regional governments. Hurun hosts high-profile events across China and India, as well as London, Paris, New York, LA, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Dubai, and Singapore. For further information, see or For media inquiries, please contact: Hurun Report Porsha Pan Mobile: +86-139 1838 7446 Email: Ke Zhang Mobile: +86-139 6432 2777 Email: Media Contact Company Name: Hurun Report Contact Person: Porsha Pan Email: Send Email Country: United Kingdom Website:
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
National security meets next-gen tech at Disrupt 2025 AI Defense panel
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is where breakthrough ideas meet the real-world challenges that define the future — and with over 10,000 startup and VC leaders converging, there's no better place to have the hard conversations. One of the most urgent? How artificial intelligence is reshaping national defense, security, and critical infrastructure in real time. Enter AI Defense, a can't-miss panel discussion taking place on one of the two AI Stages, where leaders from government, venture, and the armed services will explore the high-stakes collision of innovation and national security. Why this conversation matters now With AI evolving at a blistering pace, the stakes for defense innovation have never been higher. From autonomous systems and decision intelligence to cybersecurity and battlefield readiness, the U.S. defense and intelligence communities are racing to build smarter, more adaptive technologies — without compromising ethics, oversight, or safety. This panel explores the delicate balance between intelligence and control, the role of startups in defense innovation, and the multi-billion-dollar opportunities emerging at the intersection of national security and AI. If your startup touches defense, government, cybersecurity, or AI infrastructure, this is a conversation you can't afford to miss. Where defense, intelligence, and innovation converge Onstage, you'll hear from Dr. Kathleen Fisher, Director of the Information Innovation Office at DARPA, who is leading the charge on tech that gives the U.S. and its allies an edge in the information wars of the 21st century. With a career that spans AT&T Labs and academia at Tufts University, Fisher blends research credibility with strategic vision, and she's shaping the next generation of defense-grade AI. Joining the panel is Sri Chandrasekar, Managing Partner at Point72 Ventures, and formerly a leader at In-Q-Tel, the CIA's strategic investment arm. Chandrasekar knows how to spot frontier tech that moves the needle, and he's built investment frameworks to support some of the intelligence community's toughest missions. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Rounding out the panel is Justin Fanelli, Chief Technology Officer for the Department of the Navy. Fanelli lives at the intersection of cybersecurity, innovation, and adoption, driving digital transformation across one of the most complex organizations in government. From his DARPA Service Chiefs Fellowship to his nationally recognized work in defense health and command systems, Fanelli brings the boots-on-the-ground perspective to how defense is done in the age of AI. Catch it live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 This AI Defense panel takes place on the AI Stage. Exact session time coming soon — but don't wait to claim your pass. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 runs October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Join 10,000+ startup and VC leaders for three days of conversations and connections that define what's next. Grab your pass now before prices increase after July.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
On stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: How AI is forcing late-stage startups to rewire GTM — or be left behind
AI isn't just disrupting products — it's upending how companies sell, scale, and succeed. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27–29 in San Francisco, we're diving deep into how late-stage startups are navigating this shift. Catch this dynamic panel on the Going Public Stage, where three seasoned leaders will explore how AI is transforming go-to-market (GTM) strategies from the inside out. Why attend this session? If you're scaling a startup and wondering how AI fits into your next phase of growth, this conversation is for you. Our panelists will cut through the hype to reveal how AI is changing everything from sales and marketing to customer success. You'll get insight into what's working, what's not, and how to integrate AI into your GTM motion without derailing your focus or team. Meet the speakers Nirav Tolia is the CEO, president, and co-founder of , where he leads one of the most recognized community platforms in tech. Tolia previously co-founded and led was COO at and serves as the non-executive chair of Hedosophia. Jane Alexander, partner at , brings more than 15 years of experience building and scaling GTM teams. Before joining CapitalG, she was CMO at Carta and held leadership roles at Salesforce and RelateIQ. Vanessa Larco is the co-founder of and a former partner at NEA. With a background in product leadership and investing, Larco brings a sharp lens to how startups can grow efficiently — and stay focused — as AI reshapes product and market strategies. Snag your July discount and get ready for Disrupt 2025 Don't miss this session — and more than 200 others — at the tech epicenter where 10,000+ startup and VC leaders connect to discover the next wave of innovation. Buy your tickets now and save up to $675 before July savings end. Sign in to access your portfolio
