YC's letter to founders, Apple's folding device and the DOJ's new stance on hackers

Hi all!

Welcome back to Week in Review, our newsletter where we wrap up many of the top stories to hit TechCrunch over the last seven days.

The big thing this week, based on what people were reading most, were the details of a memo sent from Y Combinator to its portfolio founders.

As the markets continue to slide,YC is telling its portfolio founders that it's time to batten down the hatches — cut costs, extend runway and get to a "default alive" state. "For those of you who have started your company within the last 5 years," YC writes, "question what you believe to be the normal fundraising environment."

Manish has the full 10-point email right here.

other things

Besides more bad news about the markets, what else was going on?

Apple testing a foldable?: Is Apple tinkering with the idea of folding phones and/or tablets? Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple is testing E-Ink displays for the secondary display on an as-of-yet-unseen "future foldable". As Brian points out, though, "there’s a big gulf between testing and releasing" — in other words, don't be too surprised if this one never sees the light of day.

NHTSA probes Tesla crash: Earlier this month, a Tesla Model S "hit a curb and slammed into construction equipment", killing three. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now looking into the accident to determine if Tesla's Autopilot system could've been involved.

DOJ says it will no longer prosecute good-faith hackers: After way, way, way too long, the U.S. Justice Department is re-evaluating how it looks at hacking cases, for the first time outright stating that "good-faith security research should not be charged" under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Haje on Coke's new bottle cap: "When [Coke] sends out a hand-wringing press release about how awesome they are for launching a bottle cap where the cap stays attached to the bottle 'for environmental reasons,'" writes Haje, "I’m sorry, my blood just boils."

PayPal Ventures alums launch a new fund: Within a few months of parting ways with PayPal Ventures, these three alums had raised a huge new fund of their own. The focus? Fintech, and backing "startups that address 'the biggest hurdles' in today’s financial infrastructure: access, utility, flexibility, and cost."

added things

We have a paywalled section of our site called TechCrunch+. It costs a few bucks a month and it’s full of very good stuff! From this week, for example:

Solo or co-founder?: You're starting a company. Do you do it alone, or find a co-founder? It's a question I've heard asked pretty much every time I've been on a panel with VCs or founders. In this post, co-founder of DocSend (acquired by Dropbox in 2021) Russ Heddleston shares his thoughts.

Are startup layoffs accelerating?: It feels like we're hearing about new layoffs every other day. How quickly are startup layoffs accelerating? Alex Wilhelm dives into the data.

Relieving the world’s lithium shortage: Lithium-ion batteries, as the name suggests, require lithium. But "today’s lithium mines can’t hope to meet the skyrocketing demand," writes Tim De Chant. So where will we get it moving forward? Tim takes a look at some potential solutions.