el producto #436 🚀
Perplexity growth, Apple brain-computer interfaces, Spotify voice-powered AI, Conversational interfaces, AI PM guides, Creating ideal customer profiles & more
Hi friends 👋
Happy weekend, and welcome to a new edition of el producto
🎰 The week in figures
$1B: Databricks is acquiring Neon for $1B to boost AI capabilities by integrating Neon's serverless database with its data intelligence services
$500M: Perplexity, the AI startup, is nearing a $500M funding round, boosting its valuation to $14B, a 50% increase from last year
$450M: Rippling, the HRtech giant that manages quite a lot of global payroll, has raised a $450M Series G round of funding that pushes its valuation to $16.8B
$400M: Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, anticipates that it will lose between $180-$400M following a recent cyberattack, which obtained the names, addresses, and email addresses of a small subset of customers (but thankfully not their login info or passwords). Customers who were tricked into sending funds to the attackers will reportedly get refunds
$300M: AI21 Labs, the LLM hallucination-focused startup, is raising a $300M Series D and has garnered $636M in total funding
$130M: eToro went public. After a called-off SPAC, an IPO filing, and an IPO delay, consumer trading service eToro got out the door this week, pricing its debut above expectations. Investors thought it was still too cheap at $52 per share, pushing its value to $67 by the end of regular trading. Its valuation after IPO ended higher than initially expected at $4.2B, and raised $310M
3%: Microsoft cuts 7k jobs across the board
50%: Meta says it's on track to generate 50% of its code with AI within the next year
📰 What’s going on
Apple announced plans to support brain-computer interfaces that would let users control iPhones and other devices using only their thoughts. That's right—the company that brought you tap, swipe, and “Hey Siri” now wants to read your mind
Google plans to unveil a Pinterest-like image discovery feature at I/O 2025 to retain ad revenue and compete with AI search alternatives
Spotify has introduced a new Voice-powered AI feature. It gives users greater control over their DJ sessions by asking the AI DJ to mix things up and pick a different track. Users can interact with the DJ by pressing and holding the DJ button to start a voice conversation where they can ask it to switch tracks or genres
Masterclass has started testing a new product called “On Call” that lets you speak with AI clones of celebrities
Notion has unveiled a competitor to AI note taking tools like Otter and Granola with the release of its own AI meeting transcription feature. The UX is pretty impressive, too. It’s baked directly into a standard notes page but can be initiated using the /meet shortcut. Alongside Meeting Notes, Notion has a new Enterprise Search - a search feature that allows you to search across multiple different tools like Google Drive, Jira, Slack, and others
OpenAI released GPT-4.1 in ChatGPT, a specialized model for coding that's faster than OpenAI o3 and o4-mini—GPT-4.1 mini will replace GPT-4o mini
Perplexity partnered with PayPal for in-chat shopping, enabling direct purchases through AI chat interface
Perplexity’s CEO has revealed that he plans to add transcription capabilities to their upcoming browser. He also teased a release date for it, but said the final 10-20% of the product development process is proving to be the most difficult
AI coding startup Zencoder has announced the launch of “Zen Agents” - a series of AI coding assistants built specifically for product development teams. They’ve also launched an open-source marketplace where engineers/product teams can find specialist AI coding agents, including:
Accessibility evaluator agent that evaluates code for accessibility issues
Bug prediction and prevention agent
Tech debt identifier agent that identifies, prioritizes, and addresses code quality issues
TikTok is adding a new feature called AI Alive, which transforms static images into videos
CarPlay Ultra — Apple finally integrates Infotainment into vehicle systems, starting with Aston Martin. Displays vehicle metrics, allows for settings control. Compatible models will receive updates soon. Meanwhile, Android Auto just got Gemini AI
Currents scans Reddit (maybe others? seems mainly Reddit-based) to show you exactly what people are saying about your market, competitors, and trends
Chime files to go public. Consumer neobank Chime filed to go public today. To say that the Chime IPO is a big deal is underselling it; Chime was valued at around $25B back in 2021, after all. Chime has done well for itself in recent years, posting strong revenue growth, narrowing losses, improving revenue quality, and increasing revenue diversity
📚 Good reads
How successful startups identify their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Choosing a super-specific ICP might feel counterintuitive, but it’s key for focus and growth. Founders from companies like Okta and Vanta stress that zeroing in on a target customer helps avoid chaotic product strategies and aligns development with real needs. Remember, it’s not about any paying customer—it’s about those who truly see your product as made for them!
How Perplexity grows: strategies for success. Adam Fishman's article dives into Perplexity's fresh acquisition and retention strategies, showcasing their creative linear channels and user-generated content loops. The company leverages social media, unique features like Pages and Spaces, and a zero-friction onboarding experience to drive user engagement. Despite strong growth and the recent $500M funding, the focus on acquisition may hint at a need for improved retention strategies
Exploring conversational interfaces: opportunities and challenges. Julie Zhuo dives into the evolution of conversational interfaces, spotlighting both their strengths and shortcomings. While AI like ChatGPT has made these tools mainstream with an intuitive chat interface, it still faces major hurdles such as the "blank page problem" and the need for better personalization. The article emphasizes that the future lies in enhancing user experience through effective design and deeper user understanding
A fascinating new report from SimilarWeb has analyzed web traffic across different types of AI products. Products on the rise include “vibe coding” tools like Lovable, which posted a 207% increase, and audio generation products like ElevenLabs, which saw a 25% rise. Products hit by generative AI include edtech companies like Duolingo, down 8%, and discussion forums like Quora, down 47%
Mastering AI Product Management. As AI gets to everything, becoming an AI PM is a hot opportunity. This article outlines key skills required, from understanding AI fundamentals to mastering ethical practices. Plus, it provides a clear 9-step guide to help you break into this exciting role
The best prompting guides:
Anthropic's “Prompt Engineering Overview.” Claude has become my go-to assistant, and this free masterclass is worth its weight in gold
OpenAI's “Cookbook” is like having a Michelin-star chef explain cooking—simple for beginners, but packed with pro techniques
Google's “Prompt Design Strategies” breaks down complex concepts with clear examples
and here’s how to build agents that actually work:
OpenAI's “A Practical Guide to Building Agents” walks through creating AI systems that take meaningful actions
Anthropic's “Building Better Agents” explains complex concepts simply
LangChain's “Build an Agent” Tutorial is like training wheels for an expert-level project
That’s a wrap for this week! 🌟
I’d love to hear your thoughts—what stood out to you, and how are you thinking about integrating these insights into your Product strategy? Reply to the email or drop a comment on Substack to share your take. And if you found this valuable, forward it to a fellow PM, Product enthusiast, startup founder or entrepreneur who’d enjoy the read
See you next week! 👋
Angel