If you haven’t read David Jeans and Angel Au-Yeung’s excellent account of the life, joy and tragedy of Tony Hsieh, now is a great time to do so 👇

Interesting innovation here by biotech startup Gordian to develop a way to test drugs in just one cell. Seems safer, more efficient and more humane.

by Alex Knapp: forbes.com/sites/alexknap…

Rubrik's IPO today is a rare recent public win for Silicon Valley.

But it's just the latest for the 'IIT Mafia,' a small group of Indian immigrant engineers who've since started software standouts like Nutanix, Rubrik and Glean.

My story in @forbes: forbes.com/sites/alexkonr…

The interesting aspect about Rubrik's founders is that all four of them come from different IITs.

The trend we see in India is that founders from the same IITs, usually batchmates, end up setting up companies together.

That's different here

Bipul Sinha - IIT-Kharagpur

Arvind…

SCOOP: A top First Amendment law firm is assembling a lawsuit of creators and small businesses to fight a U.S. ban on TikTok.

The firm, Davis Wright Tremaine, also sued Montana over its TikTok ban last year and thwarted Trump’s push to ban the app in 2020:forbes.com/sites/alexandr…

“My philosophy has always been to let 1,000 flowers bloom... we want this opportunity for everybody.'

Just updated our @forbes story on the success of the 'IIT Mafia' with comment from Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha, tuning in from NYSE 🏛 on the day of its IPO.
forbes.com/sites/alexkonr…

'What might look like an oversized herd of unicorns is really the result of a “grueling” self-selection process that began with IIT admissions and continued in Silicon Valley.' How the 'IIT Mafia' has helped create billion dollar companies by Alex Konrad

On my birthday 29th December 2013, 10 years ago Bipul Sinha showed up early so it was just us.

He then dropped a bomb: 'I am quitting venture capital and starting a company.'

He's re-invented himself again and again, and today $RBRK goes public.

The full story:

The Biden admin says it wants a divestment of TikTok, not a ban. But here's why separating TikTok from ByteDance may be all but impossible.

Plus: What TikTok leadership has been telling employees over the last few days.

New in Forbes with Emily Baker-White: forbes.com/sites/alexandr…

Just saw this

NEW - Phishing is increasingly reliant on ChatGPT and similar LLMs to trick victims, says Sublime Security CEO Josh Kamdjou.

The former DOD hacker is today announcing a $20m raise and a major political campaign as a customer, pitching his AI against attackers'.
forbes.com/sites/thomasbr…

Paul Croft and J.D. Frost claimed their cutting-edge tech would make their startup a major player in green hydrogen energy.

But investors claim the pair used their funds to fuel their extravagant lifestyles.

Read my latest, a wild story in Forbes 👇

forbes.com/sites/johnhyat…

The WONDER BOY paperback is here!

We're excited to share the story of Zappos leader Tony Hsieh, whose rise and fall told the quintessential Silicon Valley tragedy.

'Mandatory reading for anyone who is interested in big tech' - New Yorker

On sale here: amazon.com/Wonder-Boy-Zap…

'The vibe is that America is back, dudes rock, nicotine is good actually, we’re going to the moon again (and Mars), we’re tired of only software companies coming out of America.'

David Jeans and sarah emerson visited the defense tech 'Gundo Bros' 👀

forbes.com/sites/davidjea…

NEW: They pump iron, chew nicotine and build weapons. Beloved by a16z investors and inspired by Palmer Luckey, they call themselves the Gundo bros, 'unapologetic' Americans building defense tech companies in LA.

w/ sarah emerson

forbes.com/sites/davidjea…