Mistral AI releases a cheaper GPT-4 rival, Google brings Gemini to Messages and adds AI text summaries for Android Auto

Top News

Mistral AI releases Mistral Large, a cheaper GPT-4 rival that supports 32K-token context windows, and Le Chat, a ChatGPT-like chat assistant in public beta. - Link

Google announces new Android features, including Gemini integration with Messages, AI-powered text summaries for Android Auto, and AI-generated image captions. - Link

Darwin AI, a Brazil-based AI startup, is developing a conversational AI assistant for small businesses across Latin America who want to get into AI, but don’t have an IT staff. - Link

Broadcom sells its end-user computing unit to KKR in a deal valued at about $4B. - Link

Apple has considered a fitness ring, smart glasses, and adding cameras and more advanced AI to AirPods, but is not actively developing these devices. - Link

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Advice of the Day

Social Entrepreneurship vs. Mission-Driven Companies

Peter Thiel believes that businesses shouldn't focus solely on making money, but he is skeptical of social entrepreneurship. According to Thiel, mission-oriented businesses tackle unique problems that no one else is addressing, providing them with a sense of purpose. In contrast, he criticizes social entrepreneurship for failing to achieve good business or social outcomes, noting that it can fall into the trap of forming 'copy cat' companies. He points out the ambiguity in the term "social," which can mean either 'good for society' or 'good as seen by society,' with the latter leading to less impactful ventures. - Link

Startup Demo of the Day:

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This Week in Startups

E1903: Jason, along with guests Bryan Rosenblatt, Michael Downing, and David Weisburd delve into the potential of Reddit as an advertising platform in light of its upcoming IPO. The integration of AI in traditional businesses and a comparison between consumer-focused and enterprise AI are also discussed. - Watch

E1902: Jason hosts LAUNCH’s Accelerator Demo Day, featuring pitches from Melengo, PodcastAI, Tolt, River, TaxGPT, and Fanfare. - Watch

E1901: Jordan Stein from Cresset Partners discusses their venture capital investment strategies and evaluation methods for VC managers and aims to democratize wealth management and VC access with Jason. - Watch

E1900: Rahul Sidhu discusses the Aerodome drone system's role in responding to 911 calls, addressing privacy concerns, regulatory compliance, and its business model, as well as the challenges and opportunities of selling public safety technology to government sectors. - Watch

E1899: David Weisburd, Mark Suster, Samir Kaji, and Jason cover IVP's $1.3 billion fund, strategies in venture capital such as DPI and secondaries, and insights on the 2024 fintech sector and venture capital apprenticeship models. - Watch

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