Tech and startups: 3rd June 2025

• Jony Ive partners with OpenAI (theguardian.com) to create a new AI device focused on positive technology impacts, while OpenAI transitions from nonprofit to for-profit model (theatlantic.com) amid investor pressures and accountability concerns.

• Neuralink raises $600M at $9B valuation (techcrunch.com) following FDA breakthrough device status, while Grammarly secures $1B in nondilutive funding (techcrunch.com) from General Catalyst for customer growth without equity dilution.

• AI startups now receive nearly half of all U.S. venture funding (news.crunchbase.com), with late-stage companies capturing 61% of AI investments, highlighting sector maturation despite continued early-stage interest.

• Scale AI acquires the team behind Pesto AI (techcrunch.com), a remote developer recruiting platform, as part of a strategic move to leverage AI for expanding global job opportunities.

• The Browser Company considers selling or open-sourcing Arc Browser (techcrunch.com) as it pivots to develop an AI-driven browser called Dia, highlighting the challenges of major product strategy shifts.

• Around 280 well-funded U.S. startups haven't raised new funding since 2021 (news.crunchbase.com), including companies like Lime and Noom, despite accumulating nearly $77.4 billion in previous investments.

• Venture megafunds have proliferated over the past decade (news.crunchbase.com), peaking in 2022 with firms like Andreessen Horowitz raising over $14 billion, though successful exits remain challenging.

• Saudi state-owned Humain plans $10B venture fund (techcrunch.com) to invest in global startups, collaborating with U.S. firms like OpenAI and NVIDIA while targeting significant AI data processing capacity by 2030.

from Luddites to AI: the Overton Window of disruption (ghuntley.com, 2025-05-28). The Overton Window is used to analyze the acceptance of AI in software development, highlighting tools like Amp and Claude Code, which illustrate evolving perceptions in innovation and disrupt traditional engineering roles

Notes from May 2025 (evanhahn.com, 2025-05-30). In May 2025, challenges with LLMs in coding, a list of tech jobs for good, and insights on video games like Ring Fit Adventure and Zelda II highlight ongoing tech trends and personal reflections

From Software Engineer to AI Engineer – with Janvi Kalra (newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com, 2025-05-28). Janvi Kalra shares her journey from software engineering to AI engineering, including self-learning LLMs, hackathons, and insights into AI roles, interviews, and evaluating startups while at OpenAI

Saying Bye to Glitch (pketh.org, 2025-05-28). Glitch, co-created by Fog Creek Software, aimed to simplify web development with tools like Node.js while fostering a community. Despite its innovative vision, it faced challenges and ultimately concluded in May 2025

What I've Learned from Ten Years with Coral (werd.io, 2025-05-30). Andrew Losowsky reflects on ten years with Coral, emphasizing that online comment issues are cultural rather than technical and advocating for greater investment in open source projects to foster community engagement

Feedback Loops in Tech Reveal Who the Customers Are (apievangelist.com, 2025-05-27). Feedback loops in technology and APIs often overlook customer input, with many companies prioritizing investor interests, particularly evident in the skepticism towards AI despite its promotion by vendors

EP 41 — Inside Dune with Mats Olsen (decentralised.co, 2025-05-27). Mats Olsen, CTO of Dune, discusses enhancing crypto's real-time data infrastructure and UX to promote mass adoption through community-driven analytics, SQL-based data retrieval, and their Sim APIs for DeFi applications

Mostly Mailbag - May Audience Questions (mostlymetrics.com, 2025-05-31). May's mailbag addresses questions from readers covering finance and metrics, including OnlyFans' valuation, customer acquisition strategies, and misunderstood metrics, along with insights from CJ Gustafson on financial modeling and startups

Carta’s Head of Insights on Dilution, Equity, and the State of the Market Right Now (mostlymetrics.com, 2025-06-02). Peter Walker of Carta discusses founder equity, dilution, employee equity, and market insights, highlighting important metrics like ownership after Series A, IPO outcomes, and trends in AI funding for 2025

The Smaller Shape of AI-First Companies (joshbeckman.org, 2025-06-01). AI-first companies leverage specialized AI agents to enhance operational efficiency, allowing for rapid experimentation and collaboration while reducing bureaucratic overhead and traditional expansion challenges

Angel investing for designers (proofofconcept.pub, 2025-06-01). Insights from an event on angel investing for designers highlight the value of design skills, encourage participation without needing vast wealth, and stress the importance of a clear investment thesis and realistic ROI expectations

The Product Operating Model Explained (itamargilad.com, 2025-06-02). The Product Operating Model (POM) emphasizes customer focus, empowerment, and evidence-guided practices, distinguishing modern tech companies from traditional ones through improved innovation, strategy, product discovery, and collaboration across functions

The Myths of Venture Capital (molodtsov.me, 2025-05-27). Venture capital enabled The Browser Company to explore innovative web browsing with Arc, despite user challenges. While common myths suggest VC is detrimental, it provides crucial funding for unique startup visions

Startup Learnings: Nirvana Fallacy (blog.skyvern.com, 2025-05-27). Engineers often fall into the Nirvana fallacy by overthinking edge cases, especially in startups where such considerations can hinder necessary execution and lead to failure

🎧🍌 Inside Samsara’s Journey to $26B Public Company | Sanjit Biswas, Co-founder and CEO (thespl.it, 2025-05-29). Sanjit Biswas discusses Samsara's journey to becoming a $26 billion public company, focusing on customer-first strategies, AI in operations, and lessons from building hardware solutions for logistics and safety

Instagram Principal Engineer (IC8) on Promotions, Breaking Prod, Tech Leading | Jake Bolam (developing.dev, 2025-05-31). Jake Bolam's journey from Staff Engineer to Principal Engineer (IC8) at Instagram involved embracing risk in diff reviews, leading significant migrations, and employing a unique VS Code note-taking system for effective work-life balance

Job interview questions engineers should ask (but don't) (newsletter.posthog.com, 2025-06-02). Engineers should ask key questions during interviews to determine a startup's product-market fit, survival capability, team strength, culture, and vision, focusing on growth metrics and defining proactive contributions

10 Years of Engineering Ladders (elidedbranches.com, 2025-05-28). Reflecting on ten years of engineering ladders, including management and IC levels, the author emphasizes open-source collaboration and shares insights on designing organizational structures despite industry trends toward flat organizations

Day Three (utf9k.net, 2025-06-02). A Platform Engineer reflects on career transitions and anxieties associated with starting a new role, emphasizing the nuances of startup culture, imposter syndrome, and the importance of relationships in tech environments

Be Visible (dontbreakprod.com, 2025-05-29). Enhance your career visibility by engaging in team discussions, reviewing PRs, and presenting your work. Schedule time for these activities to build a strong professional reputation without compromising productivity

Four Things I've Changed My Mind About in Engineering (jakeworth.com, 2025-05-29). Jake Worth discusses four shifts in perspective for software engineers, emphasizing the importance of accepting user feedback, writing straightforward code, utilizing server-side tables, and developing design skills for better UI/UX experiences

I got promoted (mijndertstuij.nl, 2025-05-30). Mijndert Stuij shares his journey to becoming a lead platform engineer, leveraging tools like AWS, Linux, and DevOps principles while advocating for the rise of platform teams in software development

Week 22, 2025 - Forests and Deserts (peterszasz.com, 2025-05-30). Péter Szász discusses the contrasting 'Desert and Forest' concepts in software development, shares insights from a Craft Conference, and highlights tools like Beszel for monitoring performance and diagnosing systematic failures

Players, monorepos, and single-track careers 💡 (refactoring.fm, 2025-06-02). Explore the benefits of monorepos over polyrepos, career growth in small teams, and the transition from player to coach in tech roles, featuring tools like Turborepo for modern build processes

Building Blocks to Code Blocks: A Minecraft Player’s Solution to Better Team Coding (coder.com, 2025-05-29). Romain Courtois is revolutionizing collaborative coding with pad.ws, combining cloud development environments with whiteboards and AI integration for enhanced peer learning and a more interactive coding experience

The problem with shadow development (leaddev.com, 2025-05-29). Shadow development occurs when engineers use unapproved tools like Notion, Trello, and Google Sheets to escape inefficient systems like Jira, leading to communication challenges and potential cybersecurity risks

As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook (hamatti.org, 2025-05-28). A software developer emphasizes the importance of a pen and notebook for problem-solving, brainstorming, and understanding code flow, finding that writing helps clarify thoughts and improve designs

Code Creates Culture (belowwaterlevel.com, 2025-05-30). Software development significantly influences company culture as it sets the initial tone and practices, impacting interactions, incentives, and operational habits across all functions, ultimately defining organizational success

Commented on "Making a Web Application Framework" (noeldemartin.com, 2025-05-31). Noel De Martin shares his journey of creating Aerogel, a web application framework built on Vue, TailwindCSS, and Soukai, focusing on user experience and leveraging tools like npm workspaces and Vitest

GenAI is not a silver bullet (vivqu.com, 2025-06-01). Generative AI, including tools like LLMs, offers limited boosts in coding productivity but won't replace the crucial roles of software engineers in design and collaboration, as creativity remains essential in software development

Human coders are still better than LLMs (antirez.com, 2025-05-29). Human coders demonstrate superior problem-solving capabilities compared to LLMs, employing tools like Redis, Gemini 2.5 PRO, HNSWs, and murmur-128 to creatively resolve complex coding challenges beyond AI's scope

The next generation of automation (birchtree.me, 2025-06-01). A demonstration of using Hypercontext and Claude to automate email feedback processing into reminders highlights the potential for natural language rules in task automation, surpassing traditional rules-based systems like Gmail filters

We’re not writing code anymore. We’re directing it. (vincentschmalbach.com, 2025-05-27). Vincent Schmalbach emphasizes the shift in software development, likening AI-assisted coding to film directing, where clear communication and specific prompts enhance output using tools like Cursor and Copilot

Will the Model Eat Your Stack? (dbreunig.com, 2025-05-27). AI product teams face the challenge of the 'Subsumption Window', where rapid advancements in models threaten existing product functionalities, necessitating focus on resilient components and constant reassessment of market conditions

What your engineering team really needs from an AI model (leaddev.com, 2025-06-02). Technical leaders must strategically integrate LLMs like GPT-4.1 and Code Llama into workflows, focusing on code generation, testing support, and verification processes to enhance collaboration and mitigate risks

We Built an AI Employee in 62 mins (Cursor, ChatGPT, Gibson, Crew AI) (news.aakashg.com, 2025-06-01). In under 62 minutes, Harish Mukhami demonstrates building a production-ready AI customer success agent using Cursor, ChatGPT, Gibson AI, and Crew AI, streamlining workflows and enhancing team productivity without increasing headcount