Techstars Weekly: Drama Unfolds in the Startup World, AI Industry, and Beyond

Techstars, a well-known startup accelerator, is facing a major shakeup as CEO Maëlle Gavet steps down after a tumultuous three-and-a-half-year tenure. Co-founder David Cohen is set to take over and steer the company back on track. Gavet’s time at the helm was marked by controversy, including an employee exodus and the closure of accelerator programs. Despite setbacks like an $80 million deal with JPMorgan turning sour and a $7 million loss in 2023, Gavet remains grateful for the experience. On the other hand, Cohen is eager to return as CEO and lead Techstars through this challenging period.

In other startup news, Linktree, a popular link-in-bio platform, has reached a milestone of 50 million users, solidifying its position as a must-have tool for creators. The company is now introducing social commerce features, allowing users to monetize their pages with big brands like Adidas and Sephora. With over $300 million in monthly sales flowing through its links, Linktree is making waves in the industry.

Additionally, Sonos has unveiled its highly anticipated Ace headphones, while the U.K. has paved the way for “driverless cars” to hit the roads by 2026. On the AI front, OpenAI’s chatbot Sky faced scrutiny for sounding eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson, leading to legal complications. Despite the drama, OpenAI’s ChatGPT app saw a significant revenue boost with the launch of GPT-4o.

Lastly, French startup H secured an impressive $220 million in seed funding to revolutionize productivity with its frontier action models. Other notable fundraises include Rollup in hardware engineering, Layer in accounting software, and Overland AI and Potential in off-road autonomy technology. With the startup ecosystem buzzing with activity, the future looks bright for innovation and entrepreneurship.