> 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 wonder if those same senior employees signed the letter. If the WaPo could verify that, that could clarify whether peer pressure extended beyond Ilya.
It wouldn't be surprising if they did sign the letter, and it wouldn't take peer pressure to make it happen. People can have concerns about a manager's style or a leadership culture and still not want to have years of lucrative equity comp erased overnight by the board's reaction to those concerns.
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.
But that's my point. It doesn't matter who's better exactly right now. Let's see how this plays out over the next few years.
Whether one company or another is 10% better or worse than another at some metric right now -- that just couldn't be less relevant in terms of how this will ultimately end up.
> 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.
