Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have notes on Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing and what this means for the future of crypto, Apple’s response to a legal challenge, an interview with Bumble’s new CEO, and even a fintech round. Let’s dive in! — Alex

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TechCrunch Top 3

1. FTX founder Sam-Bankman Fried gets 25 years: After being found guilty on seven counts – two fraud, five conspiracy to commit fraud – Sam Bankman-Fried is heading to prison for a very long time. TechCrunch’s Matt Rosoff writes that the sentencing “brings to an end the most recent era of crypto,” which focused on getting rich as fast as you could. That begs the question: What’s next for crypto?
2. X tests NSFW communities: Among the bigger social networks, X has been more welcoming of adult content than its peers — sometimes by choice, sometimes simply due to its seemingly unsolvable bot problems (NYMag has an investigation on this worth reading). Either way, X seems to be moving forward with NSFW material instead of away from it.
3. Apple disputes antitrust comparisons with Microsoft: Apple disputes the comparison, saying the market shares of its products are different from what Microsoft enjoyed with Windows in the 1990s, and that it had a smaller role to play in the App Store ecosystem’s success.

Morning Must-Reads

Byju’s tries to placate angry backers: Indian edtech company Byju’s CEO is trying a last-ditch effort to appease some of the company’s investors and hold on to $200 million that it had raised via a rights issue. The company’s board is considering offering those irked investors another chance to buy shares that they previously declined to purchase so that their stake in the company is better protected. Byju’s desperately needs the money right now, so this could be a turning point for the company.

’Tis the season for turnaround CEOs: After stepping down from the top job at Slack after just 10 months, Lidiane Jones now has a turnaround job at Bumble, where she’s tasked with solving user fatigue and a fickle public market. As TechCrunch’s Connie Loizos notes in this interview, Jones is hardly the only CEO in the market today tasked with returning a previously high-flying company to its prior glory.

Kidsy’s approach to selling childwear is a great idea: We cover startups that are building tools or software for other businesses. Better database software is great, but that kind of tech can sometimes feel a bit removed from daily life. Kidsy doesn’t have that problem: Its business model of selling baby gear pulled from overstock piles and consumer returns could help parents save a buck while also cutting back on waste.

Palmsy will lie to you to sate your dopamine addiction: Can’t stop scrolling and posting because the likes and comments have you hooked? Palmsy wants to give you a break from all that. This iOS app will let you post and enjoy all the social interaction you crave, but with a caveat: it’s all fake. The posts go nowhere and there’s no interaction. Still, if it makes your brain sing, is that such a bad thing?

The final countdown: Early Stage 2024 ticket savings end tonight, so hurry up and grab those tickets. See you in Boston in a month!

Zaver’s big ticket BNPL service raises $10M: Doubling its total Series A funding to $20 million with an extension round, Zaver now has more capital on hand to offer a buy-now-pay-later service for those really big purchases. Sure, you can buy a new bike with Klarna, but Zaver wants to help make your supercar dreams come true.

Activision investigating malware that targets players: If you like Activision titles, be careful. The company is looking into a hacking campaign that targets players by using malware to steal their credentials, crypto wallet info and more. The company says it is working to protect players, but if the issue has bubbled up enough to be on TechCrunch, it’s got to be a mess.

Around the Web

1. Do not leak company plans from your corporate phone: Apple is suing an ex-employee for leaking info about the Journal app, Vision Pro headset and more over five years via his work iPhone, MacRumors writes. Dude, come on! Everyone knows you should use your personal phone to leak juicy info!
2. Reddit’s stock is losing some of its shine: CNBC notes that after a great first day on the market, Reddit’s stock is giving back much of its gains to date. Large share sales by executives aren’t uncommon following an IPO, but they are not helping Reddit’s market worth right now.
3. The chip wars continue: To more effectively slow China’s domestic chip market, the United States is creating a new list of “Chinese chipmaking factories barred from receiving key tools,” Reuters reports. If you were hoping for an economic détente, this ain’t it.

Before You Go

Grok set to receive upgrade: X.ai, Musk’s AI company that offers its Grok chatbot to subscribers of X, has announced the next iteration of the AI model powering the chatbot. Grok-1.5, TechCrunch’s Kyle Wiggers writes, “appears to be a measurable upgrade over its predecessor,” going by the published benchmark scores.

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