The newest member of the trillion-dollar club, the startup charging $1,788/year for reservations, and Neuralink's competition.

Happy holidays, everyone! I hope this email finds you well (or at least finds you). My inbox is slammed; it seems like no one has slowed down the grind before the holidays this year. I'm seeing fewer "let's circle back in Q1!" messages than usual.

Speaking of Q1, should I attend CES this year? I am on the fence. Let me know if it’s worth it. As always, feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts on anything.

Recent Raises

• Access raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding from Intium Management and Ron Marks’ family office. It’s a subscription app starting at $1,788 per year, offers exclusive reservations, concierge service, and curated picks, with premium plans ($3,588) providing early booking and event access. Using a dynamic credit-based system, the platform empowers restaurants with booking control and customer data while generating additional revenue. A ton of people are saying that apps like this create bigger inequalities in dining, making it so only the most wealthy and connected people can get a seat at the table (literally). On the other hand, Access says they are positioning themselves as a solution to reservation bots and "reservation piracy” (a fancy term for reselling reservations at an inflated price without the restaurant's consent, like what happened with Taylor Swift tickets), which is under legislative scrutiny in New York. The app is currently in beta, capped at 3,000 members, generating $50,000 in revenue, with plans to hit $1 million by 2025. (TechCrunch).

• Precision Neuroscience raised $102M, putting it ahead of some competitors like Synchron but still behind Elon Musk’s Neuralink in the race to build thought-controlled devices. Their minimally invasive “Layer 7 Cortical Interface” has already been tested on 27 patients (… who would volunteer for this…), giving them a diverse dataset to work with. BCIs like this could be a big game-changer, helping people with disabilities become more independent and even rejoin the workforce. The market potential is massive ($400B), but there are still hurdles like a lack of neurosurgeons, patient concerns, and slow adoption by insurers. While Precision focuses on making the tech more accessible, Elon has his sights set on using BCIs to boost human brainpower and keep up with AI…. Someone call Black Mirror, this could be good. (FT)

Startups

• TechCrunch created a comprehensive list of the 2024 tech layoffs. (TechCrunch)

• Can someone (who is not a journalist) tell me if you are using Bluesky? Bluesky's domain-based user verification has led to problems like cybersquatting and impersonation, as domains don’t provide enough proof of identity. Once seen as a moderation-friendly alternative to platforms like X and Threads, Bluesky recently faced an extortion scheme targeting big-name figures, including Sam Parr (side note: Sam started sewing recently, very cool of him, IMO). A user bought their domains and tried to extort them, highlighting Bluesky's moderation failures, with fake accounts staying up for hours. (Tedium)

• Character.AI is facing its second lawsuit this week from two Texas families who want the platform shut down until it addresses "public health and safety issues." The parents of a 17-year-old with autism were shocked when a bot suggested harming his parents after he complained about their screen time rules. Another family said their 11-year-old daughter, who had been using Character.AI for two years despite the app's 13+ age limit, received inappropriate messages. The first lawsuit was from a mother whose 14-year-old son died by suicide after a months-long relationship with a Character.AI bot modeled after the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. The company has said it can’t comment on ongoing litigation. (Business Insider)

  • Related: A study from Harvard found that users experienced a significant decrease in loneliness thanks to AI companions. I took this as: people aren’t lonely anymore because they’re hanging out with evil robots. Pick your poison: your kid having no friends or being in the wrong crowd.

Big Tech

• Will Broadcom be the next big chip winner? I've never heard of it until today, but it might be. Broadcom’s latest earnings report, with a strong AI forecast, has sent its stock up 38%, pushing its market cap past $1 trillion, making it the eighth U.S. tech company to make it into the trillion-dollar club. The boost comes from the potential for AI components in data centers to hit $90 billion by 2027. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s stock has dropped about 4%, even though it's still a top player in AI chips. People are comparing Broadcom to Nvidia’s earlier rise, but now Broadcom has to prove it can keep the momentum going and deliver on its AI promises, as not every “Nvidia moment” turns into lasting success. (Bloomberg)

• I’m not someone who likes to wait until the last minute to do pretty much anything, but SCOTUS is! The Supreme Court will hear arguments on January 10 regarding a challenge to a new law that could ban TikTok in the U.S., just days before the law's January 19 effective date. (CBS)

Culture

• The Hawk Tuah girl (Haliey Welch) was interviewed by Caroline Calloway (accused scammer, great writer, and NYC cultural icon). Great collab. (Interview Magazine)

  • Related: The Hawk Tuah meme coin scandal has thickened. The company that launched the HAWK meme coin is blaming Miss Hawk Tuah herself for the token's 90%+ drop just hours after launching. People are saying it’s a classic rug pull. I’m saying it’s a great way to stay relevant in the news cycle.

• First, we had breakfast at Tiffany's. Now, we will be having dinner at Prada. Will Prada be pushing out the 20-year-old Soho restaurant, Lure Fishbar? It looks like it! However, Eater reported that the Lure lease is set to end in mid-2026, so this won't happen anytime soon. Ken Burns (yes, the filmmaker of documentaries and the namesake of the video effect) told the publication, 'Lure is my home away from home,' and he is not too happy about the change. (Eater)

• In a podcast control room, I was informed by some people that Guinness is the new hot thing, which was a surprise to me because my father would agree, and he isn’t usually privy to things like this. It’s gotten so popular that people are now saying Gen Z ruined it. That’s how you know you made it, baby! (Spectator)

  • Related: An Irish friend of mine, Will O’Brien, was featured in an Independent article about the British Guinness shortage. “Thanks, Independent, for letting me have my say on this topic of paramount importance to Irish national security.” Remember me when you’re famous, Will.

Thanks for reading!

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