From Surviving to Solving: AI's New Demands on Founders, Thinkers, and Workers
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Articles and Resources of the week
DeepMind claims its newest AI tool is a whiz at math and science problems
DeepMind just unveiled AlphaGeometry, and it might be the closest thing yet to an AI that thinks like a mathlete. Instead of mimicking answers, it tackles geometry problems the way humans do, through logical reasoning and step-by-step deductions.
Here’s the big leap: while most LLMs still flail at multi-step problems or collapse under logical complexity, AlphaGeometry solved 25 of 30 Olympiad-level problems, matching a human gold medalist.
It’s a blend of two minds: a transformer model that generates potential steps and a symbolic solver that checks them for rigor. Think of it as combining intuition with proof, hallucination with verification.
Why this matters: we're entering the era of specialist AI. General-purpose chatbots wowed us with style, but niche tools like AlphaGeometry signal a new phase, LLMs fine-tuned for hard reasoning domains like math, physics, or law. The stakes? Huge. Imagine automated theorem provers, research copilots, or agents that can actually reason across spreadsheets. These tools can save time while freeing up experts to focus on other, more important work.
Default Alive vs. Default Dead: The Brutal Truth Every SaaS Founder Must Face
It’s one of the most crucial diagnostics a founder can run, yet many avoid it: Are you default alive or default dead?
CJ Gustafson breaks it down: being default alive means that if your startup’s current revenue and burn rate continue unchanged, you’ll hit profitability before running out of cash. Default dead means... well, you’ll die without raising more.
Why this matters now? Because the market’s no longer rewarding vibes and velocity over fundamentals.
Back in the zero-interest days, a default-dead status wasn’t a dealbreaker. You raised, you grew, you raised again. Now? Investors want to know you can survive without a lifeline.
Gustafson suggests founders face the truth fast. A simple check: forecast your cash flow, estimate how many months of runway you’ve got, and ask,if no new money comes in, do we make it?
If the answer’s no, it’s not game over, but it is time to act. You might need to grow revenue, cut burn, or refactor the business model. Just don’t assume you’ll raise your way out.
Because default dead startups can still succeed, but only if they stop pretending they’re alive.
Amazon offers peek at new human jobs in an AI bot world
As AI eats more of the operational workload, what happens to the humans?
Amazon’s latest preview of its fulfillment centers offers a glimpse: humans aren’t disappearing—they’re shifting.
Forget the traditional warehouse roles of picking and packing. In Amazon’s AI-powered centers, humans act more like overseers and exception handlers. They step in when a robot stalls, monitor system health, or finesse complex edge cases AI can’t yet handle.
Key shift: judgment over motion. Instead of physical labor, roles now involve real-time decisions, quality control, or escalation protocols. Think air traffic controller, not forklift driver.
And it’s not just warehouses. Amazon’s vision points to a broader trend—AI doesn’t erase work; it redefines it. The humans who remain aren’t doing less—they’re doing different. Cognitive load replaces physical load.
As AI takes the front lines of execution, the human role moves upstream—to define, supervise, and adapt the system. This isn't obsolescence. It’s evolution.
Investment news
Spanish freelancer platform Shakers has raised a €14 million Series A round led by Partech, with participation from Brighteye Ventures, Athos Capital, Wayra and K Fund.
Italian Skillvue has raised €5.5 million to enable companies to adopt a skills-based approach, the round was led by 360 Capital, with participation from existing investors Italian Founders Fund and 14Peaks Capital, alongside co-investment from Orbita Verticale.
Alice, a Danish platform enabling personalised learning and studying, has raised €4.2 million from Cherry Ventures and Y Combinator with participation from PSV Tech and angels.
French Kalent has raised €1 million for its AI hiring agent from Kima Ventures and several angels.
ubiMaster has raised €7 Million in Series A Funding from Owl Ventures, Bayern Kapital, amberra, Auxxo, Zanichelli Ventures and MPA Capital.
UK's Mintago has raised $4.75M for its employee financial wellness platform, the round was led by BlackLion Ventures with participation from Love Ventures and Cur8 Capital.
Jobs
Tandem are hiring a Backend Lead and Senior Backend Engineer (Berlin).
Shakers are looking for a Product Engineer (Valencia/Hybrid).
Komi is hiring a Graphic Designer (London).
Ucademy is looking for a Customer Care Specialist (Madrid).
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Onward & upward!