The Flowlie Times #46
Flowlie Product Hunt launch, Anthropic's Claude update, Cruise news, and fresh raises.
Welcome to The Flowlie Times.
Flowlie is launching on Product Hunt!
This Friday, December 1st, is a big day for our team.
After two years of hard work, including a successful beta test and a stellar public launch this summer, we are thrilled to announce the official launch of our product on Product Hunt! 🌟 Your support has been invaluable, and we can't wait to share our creation with the Product Hunt community.
If you have been enjoying this newsletter and Flowlie, we would appreciate your support of our Product Hunt launch. You can follow it here: Product Hunt
Articles we enjoyed:
1️⃣ Amidst the recent upheaval at OpenAI, it has come to light that staff members warned the board about a significant AI breakthrough called Q*. The letter raised concerns about potential risks to humanity and the hastening of commercialization without understanding the consequences. Some believe Q* could be a breakthrough in achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI). Read more here.
2️⃣ Claude 2.1 Update by Anthropic:
Enhanced Capacity: Doubles context window to 200,000 tokens, enabling handling of extensive documents and data.
Improved Accuracy: 2x decrease in false statements, boosting trust in AI applications.
API Tool Use (Beta): Introduces tool integration for enhanced interoperability with existing processes and APIs.
Developer Experience: Simplified Console with Workbench for faster learning and customization.
Availability: Claude 2.1 is now accessible via API and claude.ai chat for both free and Pro tiers. The expanded context window is exclusive to Claude Pro users.
3️⃣ Some news from Cruise (per Wired):
Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise, resigned amid ongoing scrutiny over a recent incident involving a pedestrian hit by one of the company's autonomous vehicles.
Cruise's permit to operate its robotaxi service was suspended by California regulators due to non-disclosure of crucial details about the incident.
All testing and taxi operations nationwide have been halted by Cruise.
Mo Elshenawy, VP of Engineering, will serve as interim president and CTO, and Craig Glidden, GM’s EVP of legal and policy, will also assume leadership responsibilities.
Cruise faced earlier criticisms for an aggressive approach to self-driving tech, and financial reports indicate significant losses for GM on Cruise since 2017.
Podcast highlight
Jahn Karsybaev, co-founder and managing partner of Big Sky Capital, joins Vlad Cazacu, co-founder and CEO of Flowlie, to discuss his journey from a multi-time entrepreneur to an angel investor and now fund manager.
Venture announcements that caught our eye:
1️⃣ Generative Engineering, a London-based software company, has raised €4 million in a pre-seed round. The company's platform aims to streamline physical engineering processes by enabling engineers to generate and test thousands of designs quickly.
2️⃣ Layer AI has secured $1.8 million in funding to advance its AI-powered tool for game art production. The San Francisco-based startup aims to streamline the art creation process, enabling artists to generate and test designs efficiently. The funds will support the company's vision to expand offerings beyond 2D gaming and enhance productivity for enterprise clients.
3️⃣ Craftwork, a new company aiming to become the first iconic consumer brand in home services, focusing initially on house painting, has successfully raised $6 million in a seed round led by Forerunner Ventures. Craftwork, led by CEO Tim Griffin, seeks to reshape the SMB sector of home services by providing a trusted, reliable, and tech-enabled source for home repairs. Craftwork has shown significant revenue growth in a short period, and the seed round includes investment from General Catalyst, Y Combinator, Jeff Jordan of a16z, and DoorDash Co-founder Evan Moore. If you thought your idea was not venture-backable how about a painting company?
Have a great week,
Mike from Flowlie