“AI-first means customers last”

Text version: https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/05/04/duolingo-replaces-its-contractors-with-ai-courses-with-slop/

Sources:

"Below is an all-hands email from our CEO, Luis von Ahn – we are going to be AI-first." https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7322560534824865792/

Game of Tongues: How Duolingo Built A $700 Million Business With Its Addictive Language

Learning App https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2019/07/16/game-of-tongues-how-duolingo-built-a-700-million-business-with-its-addictive-language-learning-app/

Shareholder letter Q3 2023 (PDF) https://investors.duolingo.com/static-files/033ccf0a-f5ea-4897-ba7a-00b00bb48a2d

Latest tech layoffs: Twitch, Duolingo, Citrix parent ditch hundreds of workers (2024) https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/11/twitch_employee_layoff/

Duolingo More Than Doubles Courses as ‘AI-First’ Push Draws Heat https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-30/duolingo-more-than-doubles-courses-as-ai-first-push-draws-heat

Previously on Pivot to AI:

AI coding tools ‘fix’ bugs by adding bugs https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/03/19/ai-coding-tools-fix-bugs-by-adding-bugs/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnzkgDt-d3o&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

Generative AI: ‘no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation’ https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/04/29/generative-ai-no-significant-impact-on-earnings-or-recorded-hours-in-any-occupation/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiJ7X8Bu9wk&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA&index=1

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A bubble in guillotines.

Sources:

PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor https://nvca.org/pitchbook-nvca-venture-monitor/

I never thought leopards would eat MY face https://twitter.com/Cavalorn/status/654934442549620736

Federal Funds Effective Rate (FEDFUNDS) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS

Here are the 19 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2025 https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/here-are-the-19-us-ai-startups-that-have-raised-100m-or-more-in-2025/

AI eats up 58% of global venture dollars as fear of missing out drives up dealmaking https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/ai-startups-57-9-percent-global-venture-dollars-fear-of-missing-out-drives-up-dealmaking-q1-2025

A Venture Capital Firm Does Something Rare: Give Money Back (2024) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/02/technology/crv-vc-fund-returning-money.html

2025 will likely be another brutal year of failed startups, data suggests https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/26/2025-will-likely-be-another-brutal-year-of-failed-startups-data-suggests/

Ed Zitron: CoreWeave Is A Time Bomb https://www.wheresyoured.at/core-incompetency/

The group chats that changed America https://www.semafor.com/article/04/27/2025/the-group-chats-that-changed-america

Decapitatr, the AI driven guillotine sharing ap https://furs.social/@Rycochet/114440592779018690

Previously on Pivot to AI:

Venture capital is having a bad time — and AI isn’t going to fix it https://pivot-to-ai.com/2024/10/21/venture-capital-is-having-a-bad-time-and-ai-isnt-going-to-fix-it/

Does AI startup Extropic actually ... do anything? https://pivot-to-ai.com/2024/12/01/does-ai-startup-extropic-actually-do-anything/

OpenAI signs its $40 billion deal with SoftBank! Or maybe $30 billion, probably https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/04/02/openai-signs-its-40-billion-deal-with-softbank-or-maybe-30-billion-probably/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aP1zUUcmjk&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

a16z raising fresh $20b to keep the AI bubble pumping https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/04/10/a16z-raising-fresh-20b-for-ai-bubble-investments/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7a1-6MU3QA&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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The FT fails to check the filings

Text version: https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/05/02/no-microsoft-did-not-state-strong-ai-demand-in-q1-2025-the-ft-is-wrong/

Sources:

Microsoft shares jump after strong AI demand lifts cloud unit https://www.ft.com/content/9443ca4b-09c1-4f21-ba71-3953b3e0a714

Form 10-Q For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2025 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000095017025061046/msft-20250331.htm

Earnings Release FY25 Q3 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/FY-2025-Q3/press-release-webcast

Microsoft Fiscal Year 2025 Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call (with transcript) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/events/fy-2025/earnings-fy-2025-q3

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