Daily Crunch: Amazon CEO says laying off 9,000 more workers 'is best for the company long-term'
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A surprising turn of events: Paul has the latest on Amazon, which confirmed another round of layoffs, this time impacting 9,000 people in AWS (see below), Twitch (see Big Tech) and other units. This comes just a couple months after Amazon revealed 18,000 layoffs. The AWS part had some colleagues scratching their heads, with Paul writing, “[C]ompanies are looking to cut costs due to the economic downturn, which translates into fewer dollars spent on things like cloud computing — even though AWS remains a hugely profitable entity for Amazon.”
Like looking into a crystal ball of startup exits: PitchBook has a new tool that uses AI to predict which startups will successfully exit, Kyle writes. The tool assigns an “opportunity score” out of 100 and even shows through which method the exit might happen.
OMG AWS: As you read above, AWS took a hit in the latest round of Amazon layoffs, and Ron provides more insight on what went down.
Startups and VC
Banking stocks are whipsawing this morning in the wake of the UBS–Credit Suisse deal and First Republic’s continued woes — and much more, on this morning’s utterly excellent episode of our Equity podcast.
Apropos podcasts: Maximum Fun’s owner is selling the podcast company that he founded almost 20 years ago. Rather than surrendering the network to a Big Tech company or media conglomerate, he is selling it to its workers, as a worker-owned co-op, Amanda reports.
You want more? Y’all are hella greedy. But we are nothing if not kind, so fine — here’s an omakase menu of yumminess:
Rawr?: Harri reports on Green Li-ion’s $20.5 million round to scale its recycling tech.
Foiled again: Hydrofoiling ferries coming to an urban basin near you soon, as Haje reports that Candela raises another $20 million.
Can’t (re-)touch this: Natasha L reports that Glaze protects art from prying AIs.
Lights, camera, AI-ction: Filmustage leverages AI to break down film scripts, create shooting schedules and more, Lauren reports.
Going to America: Consumer electronics reseller Reebelo adds to Series A as it lays down roots in US, Christine reports.