🕶️ ChatGPT’s on top, CEOs are MIA

Eight bullets of updates

1. 🧑‍💼 Tech CEOs remain publicly silent on Trump’s tariffs, despite trillions in market losses, preferring quiet backchannel lobbying over open dissent.

2. 📱 ChatGPT became March’s most downloaded app with 46M installs, surpassing both Instagram and TikTok globally.

3. 💰 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns of economic “turbulence”, despite a strong Q1 performance with $46.01B in revenue.

4. 🧾 38 Female Founders lobby against Trump’s tariffs, citing surprise six-figure fees — one founder hit with a $200K bill.

5. 🕵️‍♂️ Ireland’s Data Regulator launches a probe into X’s use of European data for AI training, potentially triggering GDPR violations and steep fines.

6. 🌐 Bluesky reaches 30M users, gaining traction post-X, but still lags behind Threads’ 275M monthly users.

7. 🧠 Amazon CEO Andy Jassy urges companies to “invest aggressively” in AI, touting AWS’s $100B long-term commitment.

8. 🪙 Trump’s DOJ disbands the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, signaling a shift away from crypto crime enforcement.

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OpenAI’s exes have entered the chat

A group of twelve former OpenAI employees has filed an amicus brief supporting Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the company, arguing that OpenAI’s transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC) would violate its founding mission. Filed by Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, the brief claims that removing the nonprofit’s control over the organization would betray the commitments OpenAI made to staff, donors, and the public—especially its pledge to ensure that AI development benefits all of humanity. The ex-staffers, some of whom held leadership roles in research and policy, cite internal communications and recruitment efforts that emphasized the nonprofit governance as critical to maintaining OpenAI’s safety and ethical standards.

OpenAI, founded as a nonprofit in 2015, created a “capped-profit” arm in 2019 and is now seeking to restructure again as a PBC. The company maintains that its nonprofit entity will remain intact and benefit from the shift, enabling large-scale charitable investments. Critics, including the former employees and outside organizations like the California Teamsters, argue that this shift risks prioritizing shareholder value over safety and long-term public good. Musk’s lawsuit, which a judge has allowed to proceed to jury trial in 2026, underscores growing concerns over how AI labs balance rapid innovation with public accountability.

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OpenAI: who is REALLY in charge?

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These companies just raised money

1. 🤖 Jobandtalent raises $103M in a down round, dropping $1B in valuation, while doubling down on AI to enhance temp recruitment.

2. 💪 Midi, a women’s health startup, lands a $63M Series B, with a high-profile boost from Meghan Markle's latest angel investment.

3. 🚨 Incident.io secures $62M to grow its AI-powered incident response platform, targeting U.S. expansion and tripling its customer base.

4. 🎓 Series, founded by two Yale juniors, raises just under $3M in 14 days to build an AI-first, authenticity-driven networking platform.

5. 🌱 Symphonic Capital closes its $13.5M debut fund, investing in equity-focused, underrepresented early-stage founders.

6. 🎧 Spotify invests $1.1M to expand its non-English audiobook library, starting with French and Dutch titles to grow international adoption.

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Tariff tantrum: tech’s in trouble

This week on WIRED’s Uncanny Valley, hosts Michael Calore, Lauren Goode, and Katie Drummond break down the chaos surrounding President Trump’s newly announced tariffs—and how they’re shaking up the tech industry. With import duties hitting as high as 125% on Chinese goods, companies like Apple, Tesla, and Amazon are scrambling. Elon Musk, once a Trump ally, is now a vocal critic as his businesses suffer major losses.

The tariffs are also set to impact everyday consumers. Prices on products like smartphones, cars, and home goods are expected to rise, thanks to disrupted global supply chains and higher manufacturing costs. Even items with semiconductors—which includes everything from iPhones to toothbrushes—are vulnerable. The bottom line: brace for higher prices, and if you’re planning a big purchase, now might be the time. You can listen to the full episode here.

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. Crash Course in Startup Fundraising  | April 23 | Online

2. Crash Course in Financial Modeling | April 24 | Online

3. Startup Grind Conference 2025 | April 19-30 | USA

4. Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator | Deadline: April 28 | USA

5. Startup Battlefield 200 | Deadline: June 9 | Global

6. Entrepreneur First London - Summer | Deadline: July 1 | UK

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