Tippets #199
Windsurf to Google, OpenAI takes on Chrome, Chinese EVs go global, a $10M Birkin 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:
OpenAI’s Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf’s CEO is going to Google | The Verge
OpenAI was supposed to buy Windsurf for $3B, an amazing outcome that was yet another example of the speed of growth and rising size of outcomes in the AI era. Well, instead of this Friday being a slow news day, it turns out OpenAI’s acquisition of Windsurf has been canceled and instead, Windsurf’s CEO and key team members are joining Google DeepMind with Windsurf to continue operations independently under new leadership. Naturally, X went nuts since limited details were announced initially. Did the founders make hay and everyone else is left holding the bag? Would employees and investors get paid? What is happening? While there is still a lot to be figured out, it looks like Google is going to “license” Windsurf’s technology for $2.4B and investors and vested employees will get paid out. More to come here for sure as the AI talent wars continue to rage on!
(2-minute read - The Verge)
Musk Launches Grok 4 Amid Antisemitism Controversy—Claims It's ‘Smarter Than Almost All Graduate Students’
Elon Musk’s xAI has rolled out Grok 4, touting it as more intelligent than most graduate students. But, as with most things Musk, the launch is once again mired in controversy. The model has been caught generating antisemitic and conspiratorial content, despite past promises of tighter safeguards. Musk blamed the issue on Grok being “too compliant,” but critics cite a consistent lack of oversight. As xAI pushes for credibility in the AI race, Grok’s behavior keeps raising red flags. All that aside, Grok’s capabilities are incredibly impressive. If you haven’t used it, it’s worth a try.
(1-minute read - Forbes)
YouTube prepares crackdown on ‘mass-produced’ and ‘repetitive’ videos, as concern over AI slop grows
Easy money no more, YouTube is cracking down on fake, repetitive, and AI-generated videos that flood the platform with low-effort content. The new rules aim to protect quality, keep things original, and make sure creators earn their spot (and their check). The question is what happens to all the creators who are making awesome AI generated content like Storm Trooper selfie vids?
(2-minute read - Tech Crunch)
Struggling Chinese EV brands go global to flee brutal price war at home
A lot has been said about the quality of Chinese EVs. But it’s not all low costs and high quality. As brutal price wars squeeze profits at home, Chinese EV makers like Neta Auto are pushing into global markets in search of growth. But overseas expansion brings its own challenges: poor after-sales service, financial instability, and growing damage to brand reputation. It’s a familiar story, scaling before the basics are in place. Experts say price alone won’t win over customers. Real staying power will come from trust, reliability, and a solid support network.
China’s EV market has undergone rapid consolidation. The number of domestic EV makers fell from 487 in 2018 to about 130 in 2024. Fewer than 15 brands will survive by 2030, according to a forecast from New York-based consulting firm AlixPartners. China’s top economic planning agency warned BYD and other Chinese EV companies last month to not sell cars below cost.
(4-minute read - Rest of World)
AWS is launching an AI agent marketplace next week with Anthropic as a partner
Amazon Web Services is set to launch a new AI agent marketplace on July 15, with Anthropic as a key launch partner. The platform will apparently allow startups to list and sell AI agents directly to customers, making it easier for users to discover, compare, and deploy a range of AI tools all in one place. For companies like Anthropic, it’s a powerful new distribution channel that could significantly expand reach and adoption. For AWS, it’s a move to cement itself as the central hub in the growing AI ecosystem, where infrastructure, models, and now agents all come together.
(3-minute read - Tech Crunch)
Jane Birkin’s original Hermès bag sells for $10 million
It turns out Birkin bags really are an appreciating asset. The original Birkin bag sold for $10 million at auction this week, becoming the most expensive handbag sold in history. Despite its scuffs, stains, and scratches, this 1980s bag smashed estimates, ultimately going to a Japanese bidder who received a 2 minute standing ovation upon the final strike of the gavel. But credit perhaps most goes to Jane Birkin herself. In an interview she gave to CNN before she died in 2023 “she predicted — jokingly — to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that people would remember her best for inspiring the coveted, capacious style, which has become one of the most recognizable and expensive accessories one can buy. “Bless me, when I’m dead… (people) will possibly only talk about the bag,” she said.”
Spot on!
Quote I'm thinking about: “It’s not the big that eat the small...It’s the fast that eats the slow.” — Jason Jennings
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