In today’s top story, Elon Musk confirms earlier reports that X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, was working on new premium tiers. One tier will be cheaper with ads, and one will be “expensive,” but ad-free. Get the scoop.

Meanwhile, a young company out of Spain raised $10 million in new funding to expand its WhatsApp-based chatbot. Meet Luzia.

And see why China’s tech titans are racing to invest $340 million in Zhipu, an OpenAI challenger. Read more.

More top reads

Who’s hiring?: Why, it’s these 27 robotics companies.

Tricks of the AI trade: Embodied AI spins a pen and helps clean the living room in new research. Get the scoop.

Lean into mixed reality by doing something that’s boring IRL: Darrell did his expenses in VR and liked it. Check out the experience.

Continued capital conundrum: Black founders received 0.13% of capital this third quarter, with one researcher noting, “We are moving in the wrong direction.” Here’s why. Meanwhile, read about the fight for venture equality, which is heading to court. (TC+)

Pitch Deck Teardown: Haje doesn’t hold back on SplitBrick’s $200K angel deck. (TC+)

Forward-looking statement: There’s “great hope” for bitcoin spot ETF approval in 2024, says Bitwise’s general counsel. Here’s how. (TC+)

Putting the pieces together: The International Criminal Court says a recent cyberattack was attempted espionage. Learn more.

Making music: Tape It’s software for musicians aims to deliver studio-quality noise reduction via AI. Listen here.

VC time crunch?: European venture dealmaking shows signs of recovery, but for how long? (TC+)

Even more for your Friday:

Microsoft would like to remind you that they are all-in on AI

Toyota hops on Tesla’s EV charging standard, leaving Stellantis and VW as holdouts

6 tax-related do’s and don’ts for SaaS startups in 2023 (TC+)

On the pods

Equity is closing out the week with deals from telehealth startup Allara, and Indian space tech company Agnikul. We also took a deeper look at why WeWork is irked by Codi, as well as Plaid’s new CFO and why VCs have been bullish about the current AI wave. Listen here.

Read More

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