Launch of generative AI search engine You.com adds multimodal chat • businessroundups.org

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The businessroundups.org Top 3

• Is there room for another search engine?: You.com seems to think so. Ron writes that the company has set its sights on giving Google and Microsoft a bang for their buck with its multimodal chat search that goes beyond text to more accurately answer a question. For example, asking about a stock quote will actually show you a stock chart instead of just a text-based answer.
• A Tesla in every driveway: The Biden administration has another ally in helping build electric vehicle chargers across the United States: Kirsten reports that Tesla has agreed to double its supercharger network and open it up to all EVs. Yes, we’ve heard this before, but hopefully we’ll see it now.
• Anything to move the needle: Kyle writes that it may seem strange for a developer-focused company to get a lot of seed capital in this economy; however, the challenging environment of one company is a windfall for the other company. Passwordless authentication startup Descope raised $53 million in a seed round amid what the company’s co-founder and CEO, Slavik Markovich, said companies were shifting their software development strategies to free up their development teams for other opportunities.

Startups and VC

According to former employees of the human resources startup Free Agency, CEO Sherveen Mashayekhi’s leadership style is holding the startup back, as he seems to care more about loyalty and control over his employees than building a company. Bekka reports. The New York-based startup launched in 2019 with the novel idea of ​​bringing the talent agency model popular in Hollywood and sports to other professions.

While there are tons of dating apps on the market, there aren’t many that focus on keeping the spark alive after you get into a relationship. Aisha writes about Flamme, which wants to change that with the rebranding (of Sparks) and adds a new AI tool.

And we have five more for you:

On the journey to Series B, strategy is more important than stats

If all goes well, the funds raised in a Series A will last long enough to generate steady income. But not everything is going well.

SaaS founders are under pressure to sustain growth and become profitable while keeping the runway, but according to Blossom Capital’s Ophelia Brown and Imran Ghory, these goals aren’t diametrically opposed.

“Forget about planning your business based on the statistics of the past decade,” they write. “We live in a new world order.” In this article, they address three questions every software startup faces:

• How aggressively should we grow this year?
• How should we plan our expenses?
• How should we think about job and capital preservation?

Three more from the TC+ team:

businessroundups.org+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams lead the way. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

Big Tech Inc.

Sprinklr, a customer experience company, is cutting more of its global workforce – this time 4% – with a company spokesperson confirming it was a “strategic business decision” impacting employees in certain targeted regions, segments and support functions. Jagmeet writes.

Meanwhile, Adobe’s proposed $20 billion acquisition of Figma continues to draw fans. The European Commission will look into the deal, of which Paul better use the term “assess” to make sure it doesn’t eliminate competition in any of its markets.

And we have five more for you:

• There’s nothing in here but breadcrumbs: Aria looked at Intuitive Machines’ post-SPAC filing and reports that lunar technology completed the merger with less money than originally thought thanks to shareholders.
• Mikey likes it: Roblox shares up 25% after reporting strong fourth quarter earnings, proving kids love the metaverse, just not “that” metaverse, Sarah writes.
• Don’t make me leave the app: Google has some new features to make in-app browsing better on Android, including automatically saved passwords and other details without leaving the app, Ivan reports.
• Shop till you drop: Instacart has new features for its customers, including more ways to earn and have a more flexible schedule, Aisha writes.
• Bring out the circular saw: In an effort to cut costs while managing pressure from activists, Salesforce is unveiling some hard new policies for engineers and vendors. Ron has more.