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SaaS King Waitlist Is Open

I’ll keep this message on top of all my editions now so if you’ve already signed up for the waitlist, feel free to keep scrolling.

After the success of IconMage and The Micro SaaS Playbook, I’m now starting with my second SaaS project - SaaS King. I will be building it in public and you can follow the complete journey on my X.

SaaS King will be a collection of the best SaaS boilerplates that will help you launch your startup in hours instead of weeks.

Benefits if you join the waitlist:

• Access to GitHub Repo

• Unlimited Use For Projects

• Complete Documentation

• Access to the SaaS King Community

• Up to 75% Lifetime Discount

Join the SaaS King waitlist here.

2023 Tech Recap

A special edition today as we take a look at major tech events in 2023.

Tech Layoffs

On January 19, Microsoft initiated a substantial workforce reduction by terminating 10,000 employees as part of its cost-cutting strategy. This marked the commencement of a significant series of layoffs that reverberated across the tech and game development sectors throughout the year, emerging as one of the most disheartening and unfortunately noteworthy events of 2023.

The list of companies implementing significant workforce reductions in 2023 is extensive, including notable entities such as Activision Blizzard, Amazon, BioWare, Disney, DNEG, Epic Games, Intel, Meta, Riot Games, Ubisoft, and Unity, to name just a few.

Meta Launches Instagram Threads

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, launched Threads, a messaging application designed to facilitate text-based communication. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has positioned Threads as a complementary service to Instagram, aiming to attract users who have shifted away from Twitter. This move underscores Meta's commitment to offering a diverse range of communication channels to cater to different user preferences.

OpenAI Releases GPT-4

OpenAI unveiled GPT-4, an enhanced AI model employed in the company's chatbot, ChatGPT. Trained on publicly accessible data and human input, GPT-4 is introduced as a multimodal model, capable of comprehending and responding to both textual and image inputs, generating text outputs accordingly. This marks a significant advancement from its forerunner, GPT-3.5, which was limited to processing only text.

GTA VI Trailer Launch

2023 saw the release of the inaugural trailer for arguably the most highly anticipated video game ever—Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI. Unfortunately, an unforeseen leak compelled the developer to release the trailer almost twelve hours ahead of schedule. This premature unveiling disclosed that the forthcoming sequel unfolds in Vice City and features two playable protagonists. Furthermore, a corresponding press release has affirmed that GTA 6 is slated for release in 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

The Blurring Line Between Tech And Finance

In November 2023, major internet corporations such as Apple, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet (Google's parent company), and others grabbed attention as they ventured into the financial services domain. These companies are currently exploring the possibility of introducing their own credit cards, a move that comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Historically, they have relied on fintech firms or established banks for their financial products. Each card now falls under the "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) category, with some even incorporating bank account features.

Simultaneously, traditional banks are increasingly relying on the cloud services provided by technology companies. The line between technology and finance is gradually blurring, potentially influencing the operational dynamics of banks in the future.

The End Of E3

Following several years marked by cancellations, the Entertainment Software Association officially pronounced the demise of E3, once heralded as the premier gaming and game showcase event globally. It has been confirmed that E3 will not be revived in the foreseeable future. Although the team did not explicitly delineate the reasons for its discontinuation, the primary factors can be attributed to waning interest from game developers and publishers, a lack of enthusiasm from gamers, and the emergence of numerous other game industry events fulfilling the same purpose that E3 once served.

The Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission of India

India became the first country in the world to land near the largely uncharted south pole region of the Moon with Chandrayaan-3. Launched from the Sriharikota Space Center, the spacecraft comprises an orbiter, lander, and rover. The primary goal of this mission is to enhance our comprehension of the Moon's surface and its available resources.

Other Notable Events

• Unreal Engine, Epic Games' renowned game engine saw two major updates – UE5.2 and UE5.3.

• Adobe integrated Firefly, its family of generative AI models, into Photoshop

• Unity introduced Unity 2022 LTS, a new long-term support version of their cross-platform game engine

• Microsoft Finally Acquires Activision Blizzard

• Dark Universe Revealed by Euclid Telescope

• Meta Presents Virtual Reality Service Meta Quest+

• WhatsApp Launches Editing Capabilities for Messages

• AI Cybersecurity Challenge Announced by US

Free Gifts Just For You!

For the icing on the cake of 2023, I am giving away two of my SaaS-related works for free:

• The Ultimate Micro SaaS Cheat Sheet for Beginners - A single page sheet to help you get started with the right resources.

• The Micro SaaS Playbook - A comprehensive 32-page guide to ideate, develop, launch and grow your micro-SaaS.

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