Tippets #198
Apple eyes outside AI, Reddit fights back, Figma shows platform power, Kevin Kelly reminds us to chase curiosity over clout, and more. Enjoy!
A warm welcome to new readers getting this for the first time, and thank you for letting me be a small part of your week! As a reminder, I’m Rishi Taparia, Co-founder and General Partner at Garuda Ventures, a pre-seed focused fund that partners with founders as they pull the future into the present. Tippets is a curated set of tidbits and snippets (get it…tippets…) from my reading around the web.
Tippets from Around the Web:
Figma - Benchmarking the S1 Data
Figma filed to go public and the S-1 was full of insight. With $821M in revenue, strong margins, and over 13M users across the spectrum from solo freelancers to Fortune 500s, they’ve built a product that’s both loved and essential.
(9-minute read - Clouded Judgement)
At 20 years old, Reddit is defending its data and fighting AI with AI
Reddit is drawing a clear line in the sand, protecting its content from AI scrapers while launching its own AI tool, Reddit Answers, now used by over a million people weekly. After 20 years online, it’s a reminder that survival in tech isn’t about standing still, it’s about evolving with the wave, not getting swept under it.
(3-minute read - CNBC)
Flounder Mode - Kevin Kelly on a different way to do great work
Kevin Kelly, founder of Wired, lives by joyful curiosity, pursuing ideas that push the world forward without chasing status or wealth. All of this comes naturally to him; he moves through his work with ease and without complicated feelings. The author, once unsure how to fit ambition into a meaningful life, found clarity in Kelly’s “Hollywood style” of jumping between projects.
“The more you pursue interests,” he told me on the good day we spent together, “the more you realize that the well is bottomless.”
(14-minute read - Colossus Review)
Apple Weighs Using Anthropic or OpenAI to Power Siri in Major Reversal
Apple is reportedly considering using AI from OpenAI or Anthropic to upgrade Siri, for the first time ever turning to outside models instead of its own. It’s a big shift for a company known for building in-house, and a sign that even Apple is feeling the pressure to catch up in the AI race. No final decision yet, but it’s a rare moment of openness from a famously closed ecosystem.
(7-minute read - Bloomberg)
A couple tried for 18 years to get pregnant. AI made it happen
AI for good! A couple who tried for 18 years to have a baby became pregnant thanks to a new AI system called STAR. This technology helps doctors find rare sperm in men with a condition called azoospermia, improving chances for IVF success.
Quote I'm thinking about: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — Alvin Toffler
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