Jack Altman, founder of the VC firm Alt Capital, is joining Benchmark as a general partner, according to TechCrunch. This move marks a significant shift in Altman's career, who has been running Alt Capital since at least 2024. Simultaneously, Ford is aiming to release a $30,000 electric truck next year, while Thrive Capital has raised a massive $10 billion fund, and Meta is expanding its data centers with millions of Nvidia AI chips. Apple is also reportedly accelerating the development of AI-powered wearables.
Altman's transition to Benchmark was announced recently, as reported by TechCrunch. He called the past two years running Alt Capital "the most rewarding of his life" on LinkedIn, adding that he loved new ideas and being part of a team with a mission. Alt Capital invested in at least 52 companies, including Rippling, Antares Nuclear, and CompLabs, according to PitchBook. The details of what will happen to Alt Capital or whether Benchmark has acquired its portfolio remain unclear.
Ford's plan to produce an affordable EV truck involves a combination of innovative strategies. The company is leveraging 3D-printed parts, Formula 1 thinking, and a bounty program to achieve its $30,000 price target, as detailed by TechCrunch. This initiative comes after Ford took a $19.5 billion hit in December and ended production of its battery-electric F-150 Lightning. The project is led by a skunkworks team spearheaded by Alan Clarke, a 12-year Tesla veteran.
Thrive Capital's new fund, Thrive X, is its largest to date, raising $10 billion, with $1 billion allocated for early-stage investments and the rest for growth-stage investments, according to an announcement from the firm, as reported by TechCrunch. The fundraise was oversubscribed, and the firm's notable investments include OpenAI, Stripe, and SpaceX, whose values continue to soar. Thrive Capital also incubates companies, having spun up 12 so far, with at least six reaching unicorn status. The firm's strategy is to commit deeply to a small number of founders.
In the AI space, Meta has struck a multiyear deal with Nvidia to expand its data centers with millions of Nvidia's Grace and Vera CPUs and Blackwell and Rubin GPUs, according to The Verge. This deal represents the first large-scale Nvidia Grace-only deployment, which Nvidia says will deliver significant performance-per-watt.
Apple is also reportedly developing AI-powered wearables, including an AirTag-sized pendant with cameras, according to The Information, as reported by TechCrunch. Bloomberg writes that the development of this device, along with two other AI-powered items, is accelerating. Apple faces competition from companies like Meta and Snap, who are also working on similar products.
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