Paradigm drops crypto label, Neuralink lands FDA approval for first human study

The Block sources: Paradigm, a notable crypto-focused VC firm with ~$13B AUM, removed crypto/web3 mentions from the front page of its website earlier in May and has broadened its focus to include AI - Link

Alibaba announced plans to hire 15K employees in 2023, pushing back on prior reports of cuts; earlier this week, Alibaba's cloud division started to reduce its staff by ~7% - Link

OpenAI is offering ten $100K grants to fund experiments for developing democratic AI regulation processes, with applications open until June 24; this follows the company's call for an international regulatory body for AI - Link

Neuralink, a brain-computer interface company co-founded by Elon Musk, secured FDA approval for its inaugural human clinical study - Link

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Lon Harris is BACK to discuss the WGA strike and how ChatGPT can (and will) impact Hollywood writers (6:18). They also break down how streaming services can appeal to show writers, Spotify's planned AI-for-ads, and more! (19:56) - Link

CNBC sources: JPMorgan Chase is developing an AI-driven software called IndexGPT, aimed at selecting personalized investments for clients - Link

BenchSci, a Toronto-based startup using AI to speed up drug development, raised a ~$70.3M Series D, bringing its total funding to ~$161M - Link

Embark Trucks, an autonomous trucking company that went public via SPAC in 2021 and recently cut ~70% of its workforce, is being acquired by Applied Intuition for ~$71M in an all-cash deal - Link

Google started rolling out access to its new Search Generative Experience (SGE); the goal of SGE is to answer multi-step searches with a "snapshot" of info that can include links, images, and other media - Link

This Week in Startups

E1750: ChatGPT vs Hollywood writers and the WGA strike with Lon Harris

E1749: Text-to-UI demo with Galileo AI Co-founder Arnaud Benard + How to design loved products

E1748: Startup pitch competition: Jason invests $25K

E1747: Demoing Google’s MusicLM, AssemblyAI, and other AI tools with Sunny Madra

E1746: Fireside chat with Jason Calacanis & Brad Gerstner hosted by Mubadala’s Ibrahim Ajami

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