Sam Altman makes 'mic drop' offer to every Y Combinator startup

(techcrunch.com)

33 points | by evo_9 20 hours ago ago

28 comments

  • blitzar 9 hours ago ago

    Is the "mic drop" in the headline refering to how bad a deal this is for any startup that takes it?

  • shimman 16 hours ago ago

    What a great way to boost usage before an IPO. Definitely not scammy behavior!

  • 1123581321 14 hours ago ago

    This sounds like how you get (or at least used to get) free AWS and Azure credits in your first x years as a startup or until you met revenue thresholds. You wouldn't get as many, but, you didn't have to give up a share of your company, to my knowledge.

    Were there actually larger credit grants that would've been in exchange for equity, or, is OpenAI doing something novel?

  • jonahbenton 20 hours ago ago

    The desperation is strong in this one

  • KHRZ 17 hours ago ago

    If that's in API price, they may be better of with the subscription.

  • xg15 7 hours ago ago

    Is the term "tokenmaxxing" now really used unironically and as a desirable thing?

  • Rp8yXmdmr 3 hours ago ago

    > $2M in OpenAI tokens

    How about real money or even Apple Gift cards?

  • bravetraveler 16 hours ago ago

    The first taste is free, with a certain perspective on equity

    • altairprime 16 hours ago ago

      Isn’t that a taxable gift, i.e. reportable income for the recipient, given the normal price charged for said tokens, though?

      • bravetraveler 15 hours ago ago

        I have no idea, just a BigCo engineer! Like someone getting hooked... taxes are a Later Problem. Anyway, the deal sounds less like a 'mic drop' and more like something else hitting the table.

        Say 'Whizbang Model 6.8' comes out and tokens burn ~5x faster; what to do? Agree to give up less of the business or hope for proportional growth? The two million that had been agreed is no longer truly available/applicable. How this and the equity 'shake out' are probably relevant.

        At risk of upsetting people, token value is arbitrary. What model, what time of day? What transaction? All to say: I have no idea what the Tax Man or our fake business would want :) Above my pay grade, thankfully!

      • HWR_14 15 hours ago ago

        No, because it's an investment for equity

    • kotaKat 8 hours ago ago

      It's just a little casual grooming for customers to prey on, is all.

  • dude250711 20 hours ago ago

    Adding more layers to circular investments.

  • mawadev 12 hours ago ago

    Very odd shadow economy that is in the making here.

    • interstice 9 hours ago ago

      Like sci-fi with currency based in kwh or life minutes but this time it's tokens

  • bigbuppo 20 hours ago ago

    Hey, it's the thing I said was going to happen. Thank's for taking my suggestion, Sam.

  • just_once 17 hours ago ago

    I thought code was free now

    • JacobAsmuth 16 hours ago ago

      Good ideas are expensive. Which is why he's blanket investing, to catch the winners.

      • just_once 8 hours ago ago

        But why would they agree? Coding is free (or at least $200 a month)

  • dTal 9 hours ago ago

    Reminder that "$2 million worth of OpenAI tokens" is meaningless and codes for "as much access to OpenAI infrastructure as Sam Altman feels like letting you have".

    • interstice 9 hours ago ago

      It could be at cost, but probably not

  • dbbk 5 hours ago ago

    No thanks

  • moogly 19 hours ago ago

    Sounds like they have an oversupply of these tokens.

    • sellmesoap 16 hours ago ago

      It's only a token offer... I'll see myself out.

  • seattle_spring 16 hours ago ago

    > i am excited to see what will happen with tokenmaxxing startups, both for how they work internally and the products they can build.

    Am I the only one who gets a physical, visceral churning in their gut when they read/hear someone unironically using the term "tokenmaxxing"?

    This is the absolute worst timeline, and I'm embarrassed to even be in an industry adjacent to these dorks.

    • dpoloncsak 35 minutes ago ago

      This is not in defense of tokenmaxxing, I just want to remind that CompSci has already been full of ridiculous names that we all just got used to.

      Bogo sort, Canary, and Rubber-Ducking come to mind

      Even BASH comes from 'Borne Again SHell', since they re-did what Stephen Bourne made, and it sounds like 'Born Again'

  • phendrenad2 17 hours ago ago

    Maybe they can borrow a few OpenAI engineers too?

  • cyanydeez 17 hours ago ago

    so weve officially reached the gambling sddiction portion of the LLM show. good luck FOMO