WSJ: “Startups and tech giants alike are rushing to launch wearable technology—from bracelets to necklaces to glasses and more—that provide users with access to personalized AI assistants. One of the latest entries in this space is a smart ring from Sandbar, a company founded by Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong, who worked together on neural interfaces at CTRL-Labs, a startup acquired by Meta in 2019. Called the Stream Ring and designed to be worn on the index finger, the gadget lets users capture any thoughts or ideas that come into their heads, without having to pull out their phones. Wearers can whisper into the ring, and their words are then organized and made accessible via an app.”
Ashish Agrawal: “As US startups stay private longer, India’s open, vibrant capital markets are letting younger companies list sooner – and inviting retail investors to join the compounding early…Here, we are fortunate to have vibrant and inclusive capital markets. A $10 billion company can go public, but so can one valued at $500 million or $1 billion. This depth offers investors the chance to participate earlier in a company’s journey, compounding alongside them as they grow. What makes this even more exciting is how quickly companies in India are scaling. With rising consumer and enterprise spending, near-universal smartphone penetration, frictionless payments and logistics, and stronger management capabilities, companies now reach $100 million in revenues in 5-6 years — something that used to take a decade or longer. This allows younger, faster-growing businesses to enter the public markets, and makes them accessible to everyday investors much sooner.”
NYTimes: “A.I. is no less a form of intelligence than digital photography is a form of photography. And now A.I. is on its way to doing something even more remarkable: becoming conscious. This will happen in the same way it became intelligent. As we interact with increasingly sophisticated A.I., we will develop a better and more inclusive conception of consciousness. You might object that this is a verbal trick, that I’m arguing that A.I. will become conscious because we’ll start using the word “conscious” to include it. But there is no trick. There is always a feedback loop between our theories and the world, so that our concepts are shaped by what we discover.”
SaaStr: “The single biggest mistake you’ll make as a founder isn’t picking the wrong market, missing a product deadline, or even almost running out of cash (as brutal as it it). It’s tolerating mediocrity on your team. Especially your senior team. And I’m not talking about folks who are learning or growing into a role. I’m talking about the truly mediocre — the people who will never quite get there, who require constant management, who need to be dragged across every finish line.”
Fast Company: “Big spending on artificial intelligence puts pressure on jobs, as gloomy narratives about the future of work are ironically making new graduates less employable.”
