> The decision by Adobe and Figma to spike their $20 billion merger on Monday dented the imminent dream of startup riches for Figma investors and employees. But Figma’s business is still growing quicker than that of most mature startups, potentially putting it in position for an initial public offering in 2025 or later. And the billion-dollar breakup fee from Adobe will strengthen Figma’s already robust balance sheet.
> The design software firm expects to finish this year with over $600 million in annual recurring revenue, an increase of more than 40% over the past year, people familiar with the matter said. The San Francisco–based company has also been generating cash for a few years, the people said. That financial picture likely makes it one of the best-performing late-stage private tech companies, particularly in a year when many firms have struggled with sagging growth rates as corporate clients have cut their software spending.
On the other hand, Summers did lend his credibility to the crypto scam DCG and helped lay the groundwork for the 2008 financial crisis. He gets in over his head sometimes.
I'd still find the added context insightful. They went to the board alleging psychological abuse, so I assume they understood the board would at least consider removing Sam.
I wonder if those same senior employees signed the letter. If the WaPo could verify that, that could clarify whether peer pressure extended beyond Ilya.
> After being contacted by Reuters, OpenAI, which declined to comment, acknowledged in an internal message to staffers a project called Q* and a letter to the board before the weekend's events, one of the people said.
Reuters update 6:51 PST
The Verge has acted like an intermediary for Sam's camp during this whole saga, from my reading.
The article suggests the way Q* solves basic math problems matters more than the difficulty of the problems themselves. Either way, I think judging the claims made remains premature without seeing the supporting documentation.
The paper reads a lot more nuanced than that. It compares the "system card" released with GPT-4 to the delay of Claude and the merits of each approach vis a vis safety.