Hey Founder, here are the latest tech news and insights:
- Nvidia replaces Intel, signalling tech shift
- ChatGPT launches Web Search
- LinkedIn's AI Hiring Assistant
- Netflix turns 'aha moments' into a feature
- Crypto soars post-election
- Who thrives in tech? Salary growth data
- Remote worker pay by country
- "No one over 30!" – The new rule in hiring?
NVIDIA REPLACES INTEL IN DOW JONES, MARKING SHIFT IN TECH LEADERSHIP
Nvidia is set to replace Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, marking a significant shift in the tech landscape. This change took effect on November 8, 2024, and ends Intel's 25-year tenure in the index, which began in 1999.
Nvidia has experienced remarkable growth, with its stock rising over 170% this year, largely due to the surging demand for AI technology and chips. In contrast, Intel's stock has plummeted by more than 50% over the same period, reflecting its struggles in the competitive semiconductor market1.
This transition not only highlights the evolving dynamics within the semiconductor industry but also raises questions about Intel's future strategies to regain its competitive edge in an increasingly AI-driven market.
CHATGPT LAUNCHES ITS OWN WEB SEARCH
OpenAI has transformed ChatGPT into a real-time web search engine, rolling out the feature today for paid users and those on the SearchGPT waitlist. Free, enterprise, and education users can expect access in the coming weeks.
ChatGPT Search allows users to search directly from the chatbot interface, providing relevant and up-to-date results. The chatbot can decide on its own to search the internet, or you can specify it manually. The search results include source links, but the overall appearance resembles Perplexity and doesn’t require visiting the source to get a full answer.
By adding this feature, ChatGPT closes a competitive gap with Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, both of which already offer live web access. Previously, ChatGPT’s responses were limited by a knowledge cutoff that varied between 2021 and 2023. According to OpenAI spokesperson Niko Felix, the company will still update its training data regularly to keep users informed about the latest developments. This real-time search, however, remains distinct from model training.
LINKEDIN INTRODUCES AI HIRING ASSISTANTS TO TAKE ON THE ROLE OF JOB RECRUITERS
LinkedIn has launched Hiring Assistant, its first AI-driven recruitment tool, aimed at automating tasks for recruiters. Now live with select large enterprise clients like AMD, Canva, and Siemens, the tool can transform brief notes into full job descriptions, source candidates, and handle administrative tasks, including messaging and scheduling.
Powered by OpenAI’s GPT model through LinkedIn’s partnership with Microsoft, Hiring Assistant marks a new step in LinkedIn’s AI strategy, following recent generative AI tools for job seekers and marketers. The assistant is designed to reduce recruiters' repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-impact activities. Additional features for interview scheduling and candidate follow-ups are expected soon.
NETFLIX FINALLY TURNS 'AHA MOMENTS' INTO A FEATURE
Netflix has launched “Moments” on its iOS app (coming soon to Android), a feature that lets users save, revisit, and share iconic scenes from their favorite shows and movies directly from their My Netflix tab. Users can also post these moments on social platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
To promote “Moments,” Netflix is rolling out the “It’s So Good” campaign, featuring stars like Giancarlo Esposito, Simone Biles, and Cardi B sharing their favorite scenes. Netflix’s CMO, Marian Lee, says the campaign celebrates the unforgettable moments that inspire fans and fuel cultural trends across platforms.
MICROSOFT GENAI ACCELERATOR FOR UK STARTUPS
Apply until Nov 22
Microsoft, in partnership with NVIDIA and GitHub, has launched the GenAI Accelerator to empower UK-based AI startups and scale-ups which already have a product in the market and are innovating across various sectors, including Fintech, Medtech, and Greentech. The program will run from January 22 to March 5, 2025 and aims to foster innovation and economic impact by providing mentorship and showcasing startups to potential investors at the end of the accelerator period.
Y COMBINATOR STARTUP ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
Apply until Nov 12
Y Combinator offers a top-tier accelerator for early-stage startups, providing mentorship, funding, and networking to help founders succeed. The program spans three months, guiding startups in building products, growing customer bases, and refining business strategies. It concludes with a Demo Day, where startups present to investors. The upcoming cohort is scheduled to run from January through March 2025.
CRYPTO SURGES AS PRO-INDUSTRY WINS SHAPE U.S. ELECTION
Republican Donald Trump, who voiced strong support for Bitcoin, won the presidency over Kamala Harris, and crypto-friendly candidates made gains in Congress, notably Bernie Moreno’s victory in Ohio over crypto critic Sherrod Brown.
Following Trump’s win, Bitcoin surged past $75,000, with crypto stocks like Robinhood seeing boosts. Crypto enthusiasts expect Trump to reduce industry regulations and replace SEC chair Gary Gensler, whom they see as anti-crypto, potentially enabling more mainstream crypto products.
While Trump’s crypto agenda isn’t guaranteed, enthusiasts believe a “bull run” is likely, anticipating a friendlier regulatory landscape for the industry.
WHO THRIVES IN TECH COMPANIES? SALARY GROWTH DATA
The inspiration for this post comes from insights originally shared by Peter Walker, whose analysis highlighted recent trends in salary growth across different roles in tech companies.
Let’s clarify: this data is from Carta's US clients — tech companies valued between $50M and $1B, excluding C-level roles. It shows salary growth dynamics from April 2022 to April 2024.
1. Which roles/departments are at the top? Let's use colour codes – green for areas with growth, red for areas with decline:
- Sales: +7.6%
- Product: +3.9%
- Green Engineering: +3.8%
- Green Finance: +2.3%
- Red HR: -0.9%
- Red Marketing: -4.4%
- Red Customer Success: -5.1%
2. Interestingly, all growth is below the 8.4% inflation rate over the same period, meaning all sectors are effectively in the red zone. Salary reflects labor value, not cost of living — a hint that not everything is rosy.
3. Notably, sales salaries rose the most, while Customer Success dropped the most. With B2B companies trending toward client retention, it’s ironic that these specialists saw the biggest cuts. Perhaps, sales staff faced tougher conditions in a crisis, resulting in a leaner team with higher pay for those remaining. However, Carta didn’t explore this in their post.
4. Eddie Ackerman from Thomvest shared additional insights: surveying 130 B2B SaaS startups, he asked how much they plan to increase their payroll in 2025 (no option to decrease).
- <2% increase: 13%
- 3%: 22%
- 4%: 29%
- 5%: 29%
- 6%: 6%
- >7%: 2%
5. In summary, 58% plan to increase by 4-5%, with only 2% planning payroll growth over 7% — not much.
This data is valuable for job seekers and entrepreneurs alike, helping compare their own plans and departmental trends with market benchmarks.
REMOTE WORKERS’ SALARIES ACROSS DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
Deel’s State of Global Compensation report, created from data on over 35,000 companies, reveals essential insights into today’s workforce compensation trends.
- Median pay in the US has rebounded and risen significantly, especially in tech roles, showing strong demand for talent.
- Canada, the US, and Great Britain lead in pay across various roles, setting a global benchmark.
- Workers in Sweden, Spain, Italy, and the UK benefit from salary gains that outpace inflation, while inflation reduces real earnings in Turkey, Poland, Colombia, and Brazil.
- The gender pay gap is shrinking in technical roles, particularly in India and Great Britain, with pay parity emerging in US marketing and sales positions.
- Equity grants, often 75-150% of salary, play a major role in retaining software engineers and other tech talent.
YOU CAN’T HIRE ANYBODY OVER 30
Much discussed presentation by Keith Rabois at TechChrunch Disrupt. Keith Rabois, who’s an MD at Khosla Ventures and was an executive at PayPal, LinkedIn, Slide and Square, has said that startups shouldn’t hire people above the age of 30. Rabois gives an interesting reason as to why he believes this
- “So the most important lesson I ever learned from Peter Thiel when I joined PayPal was (that) you can’t hire anybody over 30,” Rabois says in a new YouTube series called The Art of Hiring. “He might not say that exactly the same way today, but basically what he was trying to say by that is by time you’re 30, everybody on the planet knows how to assess you pretty accurately, because there’s enough data points on your resume,” he added.
- “Everybody can come to a consensus view about your abilities. But if you come to a consensus view about everybody’s abilities, guess what? Google is going to spend a lot of money on this person, or OpenAI is going to spend a lot of money on this person, or Meta is going to spend a lot of money on this person,” he continued.
- “And when you’re a startup, you can’t outspend large companies that are very profitable or have infinite money like OpenAI. You need to be much more disciplined, much more frugal, and you may not even want to hire these people. The people who are motivated by that much compensation may not even be the right builders,” Rabois explained.
Not everyone agreed with Keith Rabois’ views though. “He is just plain wrong. Almost the entire founding team of SpaceX was over 30. Over half of the founding team of Tesla was too,” Elon Musk said on X.
Follow more on X thread