Investor FOMO is back, and what's happening with WordPress and WP Engine?

6 snips

Oct 18, 2024

This week dives into the $400 million funding for Lightmatter, emphasizing the rapid evolution of the datacenter industry. Paladin's innovative drone solutions for first responders spark discussions on emergency tech. The complex dispute between WordPress and WP Engine raises questions about accountability in open-source communities. Lastly, disheartening data from PitchBook reveals that while new ventures are emerging, many are struggling to generate profits. What’s behind this growing investor FOMO?

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INSIGHT

Lightmatter's Photonic Computing

Lightmatter uses light instead of electricity for data center computations, addressing the bottleneck of connecting GPUs.
Their technology enables faster communication between GPUs, acting as a large bundle.

INSIGHT

Paladin Drones for Emergency Response

Paladin drones, controlled remotely, aid police in Asheville, NC, post-Hurricane Helene.
They assess emergencies, prioritize responses, and distribute supplies like Narcan, showcasing a valuable use case.

ANECDOTE

Able's Founder and AI for Police

Able's founder, Daniel Francis, was hired by Elon Musk after a viral Twitter stunt.
Able uses AI to auto-fill police reports, potentially saving officers significant time.

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Today on Equity, Devin, Margaux and Anthony Ha are rounding up the week's startup and venture news, kicking things off with a look at the $400 million raised by Lightmatter, and the importance of fast networking within the fast growing datacenter industry today — not just in years to come — makes the impressive round a little more understandable.

Our Deals of the Week continue with Paladin's drone play for first responders and police, and Abel aiming to reduce the substantial paperwork backlog that officers accrue in their everyday duties. Abel Founder Daniel Francis brings a chaotic energy (having landed a Twitter job from Musk after pretending to have been laid off) that could shake things up.

Diving deeper, Anthony breaks down the complex back-and-forth that is the WordPress/WP Engine dispute - and we're left wondering why the obligations of and to the "open source community" are not entirely clear. What does it mean for an open source ecosystem when one person (in this case WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg) still seems to exercise tremendous influence? And could we say the same of Meta's Llama or other "open" AI solutions?

Last, the "bummer" results from PitchBook showing that although founders are founding and investors are investing, there isn't a huge amount of money being made. Turns out they weren't just in it to change the world after all. What could this lack of liquidity be attributed to? Is it the macroeconomic climate, the sectors being invested in, the VC's strategies changing... or something else? At least defense and AI are doing OK, and Europe seems to be chugging along, so maybe it's specific to America? Check back in a month.

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.

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Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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