Telegram revamps its user protections

Top News

• Telegram discreetly updates its platform: Following the arrest of founder Pavel Durov, the messaging app - notorious for its lack of supervision of user interactions - updated its FAQs to highlight ‘Report’ buttons that allow users to flag illegal content to moderators. Last week, the company also removed its People Nearby feature in an effort to combat bots and scammers. Durov’s recent arrest seems to have opened the company’s eyes to user protection, which makes sense, considering they have almost one billion MAUs and over 10 million subscribers.

• Semiconductor plants find a home in India: India has been making strides to become a bigger player in the global chip supply chain, with reports emerging yesterday of its agreement with Singapore to foster talent and tech investment in India. Today, Reuters reported that Israel-based Tower Semiconductor and Indian conglomerate Adani Group are investing $10.01 billion into a semiconductor project in western India. Add the recent induction of India-based startup Rapido into the unicorn club, and we should expect to see more tech innovation coming out of this nation.

• Salesforce acquires data management firm: Salesforce has just bought Own Company for $1.9 billion in cash, its biggest purchase since acquiring Slack for $27.7 billion three years ago. Own Company, a New Jersey-based data management and protection solutions provider, raised $507.3 million in total funding and, as of August 2021, was valued at $3.35 billion. With the rising threat of ransomware and data center disasters, this acquisition is a strategic move that will complement and enhance Salesforce’s current solutions.

Medium on the Pod

Alex promised you more TWiST500 interviews, and he delivered. TWiST E2003 came out yesterday, where Alex sat down with Tony Stubblebine of Medium, the consumer media juggernaut. After a series of pivots throughout its lifetime, Medium has gotten $163 million in total funding and is on track to profitability.

During the episode, Alex and Tony discuss the platform's growth, financial model, and the impact of AI on content creation and platform quality. Tony highlights Medium's efforts in curation, geographic expansion, and scaling towards 10 million subscribers, while addressing challenges like AI-generated spam. Watch the full episode for more insights!

We’re always happy to hear from you, the readers, of any breakout companies you feel passionately about. If you have any consumer media (or consumer in general) tech companies you would love to see on the TWiST500, email me at [email protected]!

— Erika

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This Week in Startups

Startup Legal Basics: Becki DeGraw from Wilson Sonsini talks with Jason about fundraising trends, M&A slowdown, regulatory challenges, and proposed reforms. They also get into compliance costs, cybersecurity, and legal strategies for startups, including data policies.

E2002: Rahul Vohra and Jason discuss Superhuman's premium email experience, highlighting its onboarding strategy and customer feedback focus. Rahul introduces Superhuman 2.0 features, including multiplayer email and AI-driven tools. They dig into AI's impact on podcast production, productivity, and communication with live demos of Superhuman's new capabilities. They end the show with insights into AI's future role in email management and team productivity.

E2001: Sunny joins Jason to explore AI demos, discussing the impact of Q4 on startups, Nvidia's market performance, and advancements in chip design for AI-driven technology. They dive into the experiences with ChatGPT-4 and Google's Gemini in Gmail, examining generative AI, SOC 2 compliance, and the integration of AI in business tools like LinkedIn and Gmail. The conversation also covers AI personalization, ethical considerations, legal challenges, and practical applications, concluding with insights on building apps, image generation tools, and evolving user interfaces.

TWiST Partner Offers

• Notion: Notion just launched Notion Projects, which includes new, powerful ways to manage projects and leverage the power of their built-in AI features too. Try it for free today at notion.com/twist.

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• OpenPhone: Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/twist⁠⁠

The TWiST500 newsletter is the new, updated, and improved TWiST Ticker.