The Musk v. Altman trial concluded this week, and the final arguments still revolved around a single question: can we trust those responsible for AI? All of this is happening as SpaceX embarks on what could be one of the biggest IPOs in American history, with a whole generation of the founders already from the Musk empire.
In this episode of TechCrunch Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Sean O’Kane break down the final part of the lawsuit and what Elon Musk’s growing founder ecosystem looks like on the ground, as well as the other deals that caught our attention this week.
Listen to the full episode to learn more about:
- How Anduril landed a $5 billion Series H roundmore than double the valuation obtained a little less than a year ago.
- Why Investors Just Can’t Say No to Rivian’s RJ Scaringe Being Enlisted more than a billion dollars for the Mind Robotics spin-out
- How to get started with voice AI Vapi beat out over 40 other companies to get a contract to manage all of Ring’s customer support
- The Anthropic report explains why AI agents tried to blackmail its developers, and the debate over whether science fiction stories influenced its behavior.
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Kirsten Korosec is a journalist and editor who has covered the future of transportation, from electric and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-vehicle technology for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also the co-founder and co-host of “The Autonocast” podcast. She has previously written for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.
You can contact or check Kirsten’s outreach by sending an email kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message to kkorosec.07 on Signal.
Sean O’Kane is a journalist who has spent a decade covering the rapidly evolving business and technology of the transportation sector, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News, where he helped break stories on some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted numerous short and long-form videos, did product and editorial photography, and nearly passed out on a plane in the Red Bull Air Race.
You can contact or check Sean’s outreach by sending an email sean.okane@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message to okane.01 on Signal.
Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, an editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a venture capital firm. He lives in New York.
You can contact or check Anthony’s outreach by sending an email anthony.ha@techcrunch.com.
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch and focuses on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of two producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and designed live performances and guest interviews like Lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Monmouth University.
You can contact or check Theresa’s outreach by sending an email Theresa.loconsolo@techcrunch.com.