On today’s episode of Equity, we’re taking a look at news you might’ve missed over the holiday weekend here in the U.S., starting with the recent OpenAI security breach. While it doesn’t seem that people have to be too worried about what the hackers actually accessed, the fact that it happened is worth paying attention to. TechCrunch’s Devin Coldewey argues that AI companies are treasure troves of data and will likely become more of a target for hackers. Companies that work with the large AI companies should pay attention.
We also had an update on Fisker’s slide into bankruptcy. The EV startup asked its bankruptcy judge for permission to sell its remaining inventory for $14,000 a vehicle, a noticeable drop from the $70,000 Fisker was initially asking for. This has some people fearing that this Chapter 11 bankruptcy could turn into a Chapter 7.
To close out, we looked at a new trend of venture funds helping seed investors exercise their pro rata rights and avoid their equity stake being diluted. While it could be good for smaller funds to have a way to maintain their equity stakes, pro rata rights discussions can get contentious — and bringing more capital to the table won’t necessarily help that.
Equity will be back on Wednesday with an interesting conversation between Mary Ann and angel investor and Floodgate co-founder Mike Maples Jr. We’ll talk to you then!
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast.