Don't miss these Troubled French insurtech Luko finds new home: Allianz Direct is buying the last remaining piece of Luko, a French startup that works in the home insurance business, for â¬4.3 million. For Luko, the deal marks the end of an ascent and fall that TechCrunch likened to a âroller-coaster rideâ due to its ups and downs. OpenAI responds to Congressional Black Caucus: TechCrunch viewed a response sent by private AI company OpenAI to the Congressional Black Caucus, which said that it is working on building a more diverse board. In the wake of the 2023-era, OpenAI leadership fracas, the companyâs leadership became even more male and white. Given issues with AI tech involving explicit and implicit biases in some models, the question of diversity in oversight of new artificial intelligence products is material and pressing. Say hello to a new Danish venture fund: Kost Capital is putting together a â¬25 million fund, backed in part by Danish sovereign fund EIFO for what itâs worth. The firm wants to invest in businesses that may underpin the future of food. The timing of the fund could be auspicious, with TechCrunch writing that âfood tech is having a moment in Europeâ today. Growth is not (always) enough: On the back of 90% growth in 2023, Veho is cutting 19% of its staff, or around 65 jobs. Certainly this is not the largest layoff we have seen in recent days, but the news does underscore that even startups that are posting quick revenue expansion are not immune from pressures to lower their cost basis. Veho works in the shipping space, including offering last-mile deliveries in dozens of markets in the United States, with a focus on the Northeast. Bill Gates is excited by humanoid robots: Thereâs an argument in the realm of robotics that, as we have built a world that works for human-shaped entities, human-shaped robots have a good shot at fitting into our daily lives. Bill Gates is a fan, it turns out, and has notes on several upcoming humanoid robots. Please, tech companies, we all want this. We hate doing dishes. The Solana phone is booming? Making a new mobile platform is hard work. Just ask Microsoft â RIP Windows Phone. Making a new mobile platform that is also web3-ready? It turns out that might be possible. Solana Mobileâs first handset sold out, and it has a second handset with even higher sales goals. But it might not be a super viable platform for decentralized apps until it can sell even more handsets, which might take until it gets a third-gen device into the market. Still, getting even that far is a rare feat for companies trying to build a new mobile platform. | 
