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Equity

AI-powered drug development, VW teams up with Rivian, and DEI is 'bad'

Equity

TechCrunch

Founders, Silicon Valley, Finance, Ipo, Vc, Technology, Business News, Startups, Business, Venture Capital, News, Stock Market, Entrepreneurship, Techcrunch

4.2365 Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mary Ann, Haje and Kirsten are back on the mic for this week's episode, which was is jam-packed with deals, hot topics, and the latest dramaaaaaa in the tech world. For Deals of the Week, Haje wanted to chat about Formation Bio, an AI-focused drug development startup that just raised a whopping $372 million in Series D funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Next, Kirsten broke down the surprising partnership between Volkswagen Group and Rivian and how its initial $1 billion investment could grow up to $5 billion. To wrap up our deals, Mary-Ann highlighted Nubank’s acquisition of Hyperplane, an AI-for-banks startup. Moving onto our themes, Haje took us on a deep dive into the fediverse, a decentralized network of social media platforms like Mastodon, Threads, and even Trump’s Truth Social. The fediverse has seen a surge in popularity, especially after Elon Musk acquired Twitter (now X). Mastodon, for example, has just about tripled its user base since Musk took over. The appeal lies in its decentralized nature, offering users more control and niche communities. Whether you’re a photographer, a journalism enthusiast, or just someone fed up with traditional social media, the fediverse has something for you. Last but not least, we discussed the ongoing debate around DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) in tech in a more controversial segment. Scale AI’s founder Alexandr Wang recently sparked a debate by advocating for MEI (Merit, Excellence, Intelligence) over DEI. This has drawn support from big names like Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey but also significant criticism. The stats are troubling: new women recruit levels in the U.S. data industry have dropped dramatically, and DEI-related job listings are down. Equity will be back on Wednesday with a new interview episode, so stay tuned!

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome back to Equity Tech Crunch's flagship podcast about the business of startups.

0:16.3

Today is June 28th, 2024.

0:19.0

I'm Marianne Asavito and joining me today as senior TC reporter, Haya Camps, Haya, how's it going?

0:25.0

You know what, I made an incredibly dumb decision which was to go camping in the

0:29.3

depth of the desert. So I've been trying to survive in 115 Fahrenheit, which for my parents I ended up

0:36.4

calculating it's 46 Celsius. Oh my goodness. And at night it was 90 something and I just gave up so now I'm in a hotel. I'm in the

0:44.4

AC call me a whip but clearly I'm not cut out for camping in the wilderness.

0:49.3

A hundred and fifteen degrees Fahrenheit that does not make you a win. In a tent. Not a great idea. Oh my goodness. Well I'm glad you're here. We're also joined today by senior reporter and editor Kirsten Chorus at Kirsten. how is it going in your world?

1:03.3

I imagine it's hot also where you are, right?

1:06.1

Yeah, as a dweller of the desert, I can tell you officially it's hot,

1:09.8

it's summer, AC is necessary, Hia.

1:13.6

I'm not gonna say dumb, because you called yourself that.

1:17.2

But I'll say misguided and naive, perhaps.

1:21.8

But you've learned now.

1:23.0

You can say dumb, we're friends.

1:25.0

You've learned now and so happy that you're a poolside

1:29.0

and able to chat about equity in a more comfortable environment.

1:33.6

Yes, and I'm glad you didn't like dehydrate or get eat exhaustion or anything like that.

1:38.4

Yes.

1:39.4

Anyway, we've got lots to talk about today.

1:41.9

Deals of the week include Formation Bio,

1:45.1

Volkswagen, and Rivians big deal

...

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