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Today’s edition reads like tech collectively woke up, slammed a double espresso, and started making questionable life choices.
Android now ships updates like it’s on caffeine pills, YC brought in a crypto chaperone, Congress remembered bipartisanship is a thing, and New York wants to know exactly why your eggs cost $7. If this is the warm-up, the week’s about to get entertaining.
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Eight bullets of updates
🎶 Music fans can now see their year in sound as Deezer joins the Wrapped club, breaking down listeners’ top tracks for 2025.
🤖 AI startups can now boost developer agility with headless solutions driving 3x faster product launches.
📱 Android will launch multiple phone updates per year—not just once—adding fresh features and APIs with each release
🗣️ Upgraded AI assistant can now handle patient conversations in real-time, using OpenAI’s new streaming API.
🤝 AI teams up with major tech players to expand its product lineup and boost integration across platforms.
🤖 Congress drops plan to block state AI rules after widespread bipartisan pushback from over 70 lawmakers.
🚗 Waymo’s AVs now make smarter, more confident calls in busy city traffic, boosting scale-up aims with a 60% reduction in disengagements.
🚀 AWS unveils new AI chips and tools at re:Invent, pushing generative AI deeper into cloud services.
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Y Combinator Expands Support for Crypto Startups With New Partner
Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash
Y Combinator is adding a Visiting Partner for crypto: Nemil Dalal (ex-Coinbase; USDC/x402) joins to mentor crypto teams through the next batch. Yes, the bear market just got adult supervision.
Why it matters: more founder-hours on onchain UX, stablecoin rails, and machine‑to‑machine payments. For founders: sharper feedback loops and intros to real distribution. For investors: cleaner signal on what’s fundable now (payments, infra, compliance-first fintech). For incumbents: pressure to ship faster. Net effect: YC is quietly re‑risking crypto with a chaperone with receipts.
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How to Calculate Customer Lifetime Value the RIGHT Way
💡 Most startups calculate their Customer Lifetime Value wrong. In this episode, Caya breaks down how to actually measure CLTV (and CAC) like a pro; using real templates, realistic churn, and actual payback periods.
We cover the most common mistakes in LTV math, how to adapt it for SaaS, e-commerce, and marketplaces, and what your numbers really mean for growth.
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Ground floor opportunity on predictive AI for ROI-based content.
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💸 In 60 seconds, pitches land a yes when they show traction, a big TAM, and a crisp ask; S13 breaks it down.
🚀 Big rivals' cash isn't scary, unless they can turn it into faster user growth and outpace you. Money isn't a moat.
🧭 Leadership isn’t perfect calls; it’s acting on the best info and committing with conviction to drive momentum.
Investor Data Room Checklist
An investor data room is a storage space, digital or physical, where companies store information relevant to due diligence. We've compiled a FREE Template/Checklist of all the items your data room should include and resources and tools for obtaining them.
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New York Law Requires Retailers to Disclose Data-Driven Price Differences
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
New York now requires retailers to disclose when they’re using your data to set prices on essentials like eggs and toilet paper; without revealing which signals or how they’re weighted. Transparency Lite.
In practice, expect dynamic pricing notices that are easy to miss; the statute expects clear and conspicuous placement, so dark-pattern tooltips are playing with fire. Surge pricing for eggs is a tough sell before coffee.
For founders: inventory pricing inputs, log feature lineage, add governance, and ship a disclosure UI. With copycat legislation ahead, treat algorithmic pricing like ads: fairness checks, audit trails, and a kill switch.