Tech Rundown: Top 5 tech stories this year

Hello there,

Here’s today's tech rundown — everything you need to know from the world of tech in 3 minutes!

In today’s email:

• The biggest tech stories in 2023

• Nikola founder gets jail time

• Best films you’ve never seen

The Lead Story

As the year draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the major tech stories that have shaped the past 12 months. Here's a recap of the top five:

5) Deepfake Dilemma: This year witnessed AI's emergence as a key player, mostly for beneficial purposes. However, the rise of convincing deepfakes highlighted a darker side.

Examples ranged from Tom Hanks erroneously linked to a dental plan, to a bogus Mr Beast initiative, and even impacting Slovakia's election. These instances underline how this new technology is amplifying misinformation.

4) Musk vs Zuck: The ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg moved from online disputes to real-world implications. Zuckerberg's launch of Threads, a text-based media platform, initially soared with 100 million users but quickly saw a decline in engagement. Of course, Musk didn’t take this lying down.

Meanwhile, playful jabs about a physical confrontation between the two tech giants made headlines, leaving the future of this rivalry open-ended.

3) Nvidia Dominates: Nvidia, a key player in powering the AI revolution, saw its stock value increase by ~240% this year. Beginning the year with a market cap just shy of $400 billion, the company consistently outperformed Wall Street's revenue predictions and ascended into the elite trillion-dollar club. CEO Jensen Huang's net worth increased by $29 billion in this period alone.

2) SBF Convicted: The world watched with keen interest as FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, spiraled into a dramatic downfall. The subsequent trial exposed the disarray within the company's operations, alongside some strange disclosures, eg thinking he had a 5% chance of becoming president.

SBF was found guilty on all seven counts, encompassing securities and wire fraud charges. Facing a possible sentence of up to 115 years in prison, he is now preparing for another trial in 2024, amid increasing doubts about his legal approach.

1) OpenAI Chaos: The most tumultuous week in tech began on November 17, when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired. The ensuing days saw rapid developments: a new CEO at OpenAI, Altman's move to Microsoft, an employee uprising, Altman's reinstatement, and a reshuffled board. Altman's influence, both internally and among industry leaders, was unmistakable. The underlying reasons for his brief departure, rumoured to be related to AI deployment strategies, remain shrouded in mystery.

Wrapping up, it's been a wild ride in tech this year, full of big breakthroughs and even bigger dramas. Things seem to only compound, so I’m confident next year will hold even more innovation and intrigue.

======

Before you continue, we'd appreciate your input on how we could improve this newsletter. Please take a quick survey to help us ensure we’re focusing on your interests!

Tech News

Milton's Misconduct: Nikola founder Trevor Milton gets four-year prison term and $1m fine for EV truck fraud (more)

Northvolt Accident: Two workers die in separate incidents at battery developer Northvolt’s factory (more)

Online Addiction: EU Parliament calls for new rules to curb the addictive nature of digital platforms, eg reducing endless scrolling (more)

Revolut Pause: Fintech Revolut to halt crypto services for business clients from January 2024, amid UK regulatory changes (more)

Zooming Out: Video conferencing firm Zoom removed from Nasdaq 100 as pandemic darling declines with return to office (more)

VC Funding

Tamara is a buy now, pay later platform based in Saudi Arabia. Raised $340m and just became a unicorn (more)

Tribosonics develops smart sensors for detecting wear & tear in hardware, eg wind turbines. Raised $2m (more)

Vammo provides a battery-swapping network for electric motorcycles and scooters in Latin America. Raised $30m (more).

HURR runs a fashion rental marketplace, self-described as the ‘Airbnb for fashion’. Raised $10m (more)

Arcane automates repetitive marketing tasks with real-time analytics. Raised $5m (more).

Paynest offers a platform for employees to manage their financial health. Raised $2m (more).

Rightbot specializes in developing suction-based robots for unloading truck-transported freight. Raised $6m (more)

Chart of the Day

Distractions

Best streets in the US for Christmas lights

When 2 inches matters

Best films you’ve never seen

FYI: We’ll be pausing our newsletter for a couple weeks, as we celebrate the festive season. Wherever this email finds you — have a wonderful holiday break 🎉

ps: we love feedback — Email us to let us know thoughts or what you want to see covered in future newsletters. We respond to every email!