Welcome to Week in Review, TechCrunch’s tech news recap. What a week it was. Many things occurred—let’s get to it.
Tech layoffs increased while Apple’s Vision Pro, an AR headset, launched with numerous apps. Taylor Swift fans retaliated against explicit deepfakes of the star inundating X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The Pokémon Company will probe potential plagiarism and uncanny resemblance in Palworld, the viral video game hit.
We encompass all that and beyond in this issue of WiR. First, make sure to sign up here for the WiR newsletter in your inbox every Saturday if you haven’t already.
News
Tech layoffs surge: Companies are cutting a significant number of employees, reaching the highest level in three quarters. 400 employees were fired by Okta this week; approximately 1,000 people were laid off by Block; and PayPal terminated «thousands» of staffers. Tech layoffs are increasing – impacting big and small companies.
Apple’s iOS 18 update could be their largest yet. Possibly new Siri, better autocomplete in Messages, maybe even RCS support.
Apple Vision Pro: Introducing Apple’s initial spatial computing device, accompanied by approximately 600 apps and games. Make sure to read Brian’s initial thoughts and impressions after he has been testing it for most of the week. If you want to get one for yourself, here’s what you should anticipate.
Swifties unite: Taylor Swift’s nonconsensual deepfake porn went viral on X last week. Taylor Swift fans united to make it harder to find the musician’s deepfakes, due to the platform’s lack of substantial action.
Analisys
The Pokémon Company will investigate and take action against Pocketpair for using Pokémon IP without permission.
Podcasts
Alex interviewed Anshu Sharma, CEO of data privacy company Skyflow, who discussed interest rates, business cycles, and compared the Vision Pro to a theory Sharma wrote about for TechCrunch.
Meanwhile, Found highlighted Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, co-founders and co-CEOs of the Skimm, a digital media company empowering women with concise and essential information for confident decision-making.
Jacquelyn interviewed Chris Dixon, a general partner at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, on Chain Reaction. Dixon joined the firm in 2012 and is the founder and leader of a16z’s crypto team, managing over $7 billion across four mega-funds for investments in the web3 space.
TechCrunch+
Pitch competitions aid underrepresented founders by promoting fairness and equality, yet remain insufficient.
Ethereum developer interest reaches record levels in 2023, despite a bear market. Solana, Polygon, Optimism, and other blockchains experienced increased developer activity.
Bonus round
Garry Tan, president of Y Combinator, tweeted a menacing message but later deleted it and apologized.
