GIBBI, Today

Jul 15, 2025

Stories:

National League vs American League, tonight at 20:00 ET on Truist Park (Atlanta, Georgia)
This the 94th MLB All-Star Game in baseball history, where National League has won 44 games, American League has won 48 games and there’s been 2 ties (1961, 2002)
Yesterday was celebrated the “famous” Home Run Derby, where Carl Raleigh, who’s leading with 38 HR this deparment in the league, won this edition and he’s enjoying this amazing season for him
GIBBI View: There’s nothing to play in this game but the honor of each team and players to win it, because it’s just a friendly game where players and coaches have fun and relax, so I think that MLB should implement again the rule that the winner of All-Star Game will host World Series of that year

A week after Elon Musk’s Grok dubbed itself “MechaHitler” and spewed antisemitic stereotypes, the US government has announced a new contract granting the chatbot’s creator, xAI, up to $200 million to modernize the Defense Department
xAI is one of several leading AI companies to receive the award, alongside Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. But the timing of the announcement is striking given Grok’s recent high-profile spiral, which drew congressional ire and public pushback
The contract announcement from the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) is light on details, but says the deals will help the DoD “develop agentic AI workflows across a variety of mission areas”
GIBBI View: Something that I’ve learnt is that you never believe everything that you see or read in internet about the politicians, because I don’t think that Musk-Trump brawl is real, I think that is the famous “bread and circuses” to distract people from the important things that are happening in U.S. and in the World in this moment

The number of Indian startups selected by Silicon Valley’s famed accelerator Y Combinator (YC) has plummeted to just four in 2024 from 66 in 2021, marking a sharp decline in participation from one of its most active international markets in recent years, according to information sourced from YC’s website
According to industry executives and founders from YC’s India portfolio, the decline is driven by multiple factors, including YC’s requirement for accepted startups to set up a parent entity in the US, Canada, Singapore, or the Cayman Islands, even if they are originally incorporated elsewhere
Another reason flagged by founders and investors is that YC is increasingly focusing on deeptech and AI-first startups, many of which require cutting-edge research and are often built around US-based technical talent. This evolving thesis has made it harder for early-stage Indian companies to gain admission
GIBBI View: Now reading this article and other that I read in Whitepaper about that there’s few Mexican startups backed by YC, I understand that since Garry Tan took posession as CEO of YC two years ago, he’s decided to invest heavily in deeptech and AI startups and the best talent is located in U.S. so for that reason YC has reduced the number of foreign startup selected to YC batches

Former Sequoia partner Matt Miller has already locked in $355 million for his new VC firm, Evantic, which is also backed by Sequoia, TechCrunch learned
Despite the European focus, TechCrunch’s understanding is that Evantic will actually invest on both sides of the Atlantic, with a focus on B2B companies at the Series B and growth stages. However, its activities will be conducted from London, where Miller moved from California in 2021
Miller’s fundraising has exceeded expectations. Initial reports indicated that he was raising $300 million for this new venture. Sources close to the matter now corroborate the Financial Times’ newer report that the target is $400 million and that Sequoia is participating as a limited partner
GIBBI View: It’s very common that people that worked in important job positions from BIG Startups and/or VC Companies, decide to create their own startups/VC firms and most of the time they create successful startups/VC Firms because they have the enough experience and contacts to make it

Linda Yaccarino: Elon Musk’s X Deputy Who “Tried to Ride the Tiger” (Financial Times)

Yaccarino on Wednesday announced she was stepping down from her role as chief executive after two years, noting X was “entering a new chapter” with the tie-up with xAI
Musk began heaping more pressure on Yaccarino and the pair failed to gel, said four people who worked with both of them. The billionaire’s blunt style clashed with his deputy’s Madison Avenue polish
She successfully boosted X’s advertising business. But once Musk’s AI group xAI bought X for $45bn in March, “she had to question why she was there”, said Brian Wieser of Madison & Wall, an advertising consultancy.
GIBBI View: Interesting article where it describes the tough job to work for a billionaire that most of the time he doesn’t accept a “NO” as an response, but in the end she knew how Elon works and she made a lot of money

GIBBI