🕶️ Yann LeCun calls B.S. on AI panic

Six bullets of updates

1. 🐈 AI pioneer Yann LeCun calls fears of AI as an existential threat "complete B.S.", citing LLMs' cat-level intelligence.

2. 🇯🇵 Japan sees startup revival as young graduates break away from tradition, aiming for 100 unicorns by 2027. 

3. 📊 Datacenter tech booms with AI, but adoption hurdles loom for startups as the market hits $301B.

4. 🥢 SpaceX successfully "caught" a Superheavy booster with giant "chopsticks" in its fifth test flight, a historic first!

5. 👏 Europe’s first accelerator for VCs launches. The program aims to help 15 emerging managers fundraise more quickly, for free.

6. ❓ 500 entrepreneurs tell the UK government that increases in capital gains tax could 'jeopardize' the country’s tech sector. 

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A bright future with AI: Dario Amodei’s vision

Dario Amodei is the CEO of Anthropic and an influential figure in AI research. He is passionate about creating beneficial general-purpose autonomous systems. A recent essay he published offers hope for AI, contemplating a radically positive future in which properly cultivated and managed AIs have the power to change society.

While risks should be tackled, Amodei says it is vital to imagine the incredible good AI could do. He identifies five categories where AI could precipitate a change in human well-being: health, neuroscience, prosperity and economics, global cooperation, and meaning. He provides an optimistic scenario with detailed information and aims to restart more constructive conversations about AI.

To maximize AI's benefits, he calls for collaboration with experts across various domains to create a more precise and effective strategy for implementing AI technology responsibly. Read the whole article here. 

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Startup Events and Deadlines

1. From Pitch Deck to Funding | October 17 | Webinar

2. Crash Course in Financial Modeling | October 23 | Webinar

3. Techstars Columbus | November 20 | Columbus

4. Techstars New York City Accelerator | November 20 | New York City

5. Techstars Anywhere Accelerator | November 20 | Remote

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These companies just raised money

1. ⚽ OCA Football, the technology-focused soccer training and entertainment company, has raised approximately $100M in private offerings. 

2. 🌎 Glooko scores $100M and appoints a new CEO. The company will use the funds to accelerate its product expansion globally.

3. 🧪 Cytovale gains momentum with $100M to support its rapid test for determining a patient’s sepsis risk in the emergency.

4. 🔗 Dave Clark, formerly of Amazon and Flexport, just landed $100M for a new supply chain venture.

5. 💳 Imprint raises $75M Series C to fuel innovation and partnerships as it reinvents co-branded credit cards.

6. 🌦️ Venture studio Diagram, which launches startups in-house, raised $58M for its fourth studio fund, Diagram Climate Tech Fund.

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Red alert: Chinese government-backed hackers on the radar

Chinese government-backed hacking groups, dubbed the "Typhoon" family, are laying the groundwork for potential cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure. These groups, including Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and Salt Typhoon, have infiltrated sectors like energy, water, and transportation, with the aim of disrupting U.S. systems in the event of future conflicts, such as over Taiwan.

U.S. intelligence warns that these hackers are not just gathering data but positioning themselves for destructive action. Recent U.S. efforts have disrupted some botnets, but the threat continues to evolve. Read more.

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Deadly startups: when your own invention kills you

Startups can be risky—sometimes even fatal. 💀💀💀 In this video, we look at six of the deadliest startup inventions in history, where the creators faced tragic outcomes. From the AVE Mizar, a car-plane mix named after a star, to the failed Oceangate submersible, the Segway, and even the Titanic 🛥️ we explore the stories of ambitions that ended in disaster. Subscribe to our channel! 

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