Mike Butcher

Wealth of five richest men doubles since 2020 as five billion people made poorer in "decade of division," says Oxfam www.oxfam.org/en/press-rel...

Hot AI startup Lovable claims to have just crossed $100M ARR in 8 months, faster than many other startups of its size, such as OpenAI, Cursor and Wiz. | Mike Butcher ✍️ Hot AI startup Lovable claims to have just crossed $100M ARR in 8 months, faster than many other startups of its size, such as OpenAI, Cursor and Wiz. It’s also releasing an update which is claims wil...

[Breaking]
Hot AI startup Lovable claims to have just crossed $100M ARR in 8 months. It also released an update which it claims will reduce error rates by 91%, in the shape of a new improved Lovable Agent.
substack.com/@mikebutcher...

Trump: Moscow’s Man in the White House? What’s the truth about Trump and Putin’s relationship?

The UK’s @Channel4 @C4Dispatches has finally done a proper documentary on Trump.
www.channel4.com/programmes/t...

Exclusive: OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome OpenAI is close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Breaking: The Browser Wars Begun, They Have. OpenAI’s Web browser will include a chat interface, and include agents. It is now ON with Google (because Chrome). Capturing data on users' is (Hey, Meta!) once again the name of the game.
www.reuters.com/business/med...

Tell me your company has no Brits without telling me

Knife can be used in the event of the pistol failure. It’s like having a backup server.

People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into "ChatGPT Psychosis" People experiencing "ChatGPT psychosis" are being involuntarily committed to mental hospitals and jailed following AI mental health crises.

People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into "ChatGPT Psychosis"
“I don't know what's wrong with me, but something is very bad — I'm very scared, and I need to go to the hospital.”

futurism.com/commitment-j...

People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies Marriages and families are falling apart as people are sucked into fantasy worlds of spiritual prophecy by AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT

Mental health crisis incoming:

PEOPLE ARE LOSING LOVED ONES TO AI-FUELED SPIRITUAL FANTASIES
Self-styled prophets are claiming they have “awakened” chatbots and accessed the secrets of the universe through ChatGPT

www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

DM’d you

Any startups here in Farringdon?

The first American ‘scientific refugees’ arrive in France Aix-Marseille University is wooing researchers who feel targeted by the Trump administration.

The first American academics fleeing Donald Trump's America for France have arrived. Aix-Marseille University last week introduced eight U.S.-based researchers. It aims to woo researchers who have experienced or fear funding cuts under Trump.

www.politico.eu/article/meet...

Of course!

Anyone around in Shoreditch for a pint? (Twitter was useful for stuff like this in the old days. Not at all any more). - And besides I’ve already left.

Granola talks At Hackney with Mike Butcher Jun 24 • 9:00 PM

Granola talks

swayy.app?placeid=4366

The huge tech news from Octopus and BYD that the tech media ignored Something big happened in tech yesterday, and NONE of the tech press reported it. So here I am, breaking some news (again).

Yesterday’s huge tech news that the tech media totally ignored:

www.linkedin.com/pulse/huge-t...

A group called “Looking For Growth” which seems to want to be part of the tech community keeps flirting with Brexiter Dominic Cummings and Right Wing groups.

The Iranian Parliament is considering closing the Strait of Hormuz due to Israel's attacks.

Some 24% of the world's oil passes through it. A disruption would see a surge in oil prices, potentially impacting tech stocks negatively.

18 years with TechCrunch | Mike Butcher ✍️ An announcement: After 18 years, TechCrunch and I have parted ways. The backstory: Recently, Regent LP, a US private equity firm, acquired TechCrunch and its staff in the US, from Yahoo. During this...

An announcement: After 18 years, TechCrunch and I have parted ways. www.linkedin.com/posts/mikebu...

New early stage fund launches out of Sweden: Karaokeclub. From the founders of the Mashup conference in Malmo.

www.karaokeclub.io

Uber One is a *joke*.

Opinion | I’m a LinkedIn Executive. I See the Bottom Rung of the Career Ladder Breaking.

Wondering when under-25s are going to start joining or forming unions to collectively organise against being shut out of the economy by AI?

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/o...

You don’t give away $5 billion in equity with no strategy.

Is $6.5bn a new record for an acquihire? io had 55 staff and not much else. Can’t think of any more expensive ones offhand.

(Also not related but serious “some personal news” vibes from that photo)

Because it will likely have the most powerful AI tools locked into it.

It’s an acqui-hire for equity. No money changed hands. But Ive just became a billionaire - if he wasn’t already (he probably was, he just doesn’t shout about it).

And P.S.: That picture really is the oddest "merger" shot I've ever seen.

Jony Ive to lead OpenAI's design work following $6.5B acquisition of his company | TechCrunch OpenAI is acquiring Jony Ive and Sam Altman's startup, io, which will lead creative and design work for OpenAI.

OpenAI is acquiring ”io”, the hardware startup cooked up by Jony Ive & Sam Altman, for $6.5Bn, all equity. Ive’s firm, LoveFrom, will now lead all design at OpenAI. Is Ive is building the Anti-Apple? An AI device with no real privacy?
techcrunch.com/2025/05/21/j...

AI notetaking app Granola raises $43M at $250M valuation, launches collaborative features | TechCrunch AI-powered notetaking app Granola is raising $43 million in funding at a $250 million valuation. It is also launching a team sharing feature.

London-based AI-powered notetaking tool Granola is a word of mouth hit partly because - as well as using it for meetings - it’s becoming a personal note taker, used throughout the day, accelerating usage. techcrunch.com/2025/05/14/a...

YouTube video by Troglodrew's Gin & Ale Records! U2 - One Tree Hill

One of my favourite songs.

youtu.be/1tVJnP3gCmM?...

Saudi Arabia partners with Nvidia to spur AI goals as Trump visits U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Saudi Arabia announced partnerships on Tuesday as part of the kingdom's plans to develop artificial intelligence and strengthen cloud computing infrastructure with the help of foreign investment.

BREAKING: Nvidia & Saudi Arabia are to partner on AI and cloud computing infrastructure. Clearly timed to coincide with Trump’s visit. www.reuters.com/world/middle...