Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This is our Friday show, and we’re talking about the week’s biggest startup and tech news. Mary Ann and Alex were lucky enough to have Kirsten aboard for the roundup, which means we got to tackle an even wider array of stories than usual:

• Updates from the trial of former FTX CEO SBF, more here from our own Jacquie.
• Deals of the Week: Mary Ann was very interested in I Own My Data, while Alex wanted to talk more about AgentSync's latest venture round.
• Carta's CEO tried to beat back criticism, but wound up making more noise about his company's missteps.
• Cruise hit a roadblock with its self-driving program; we dig into how to handle a crisis and how not to handle a crisis.
• And to close out, notes on earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft and what they may portend for startup-related AI software demand.

Equity comes out thrice-weekly for your delectation. We are back early on Monday with our weekly kickoff, see you there!

P.S. Pay attention to our sister podcast Chain Reaction, we have more coming on the FTX trial that you will not want to miss.

For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.

Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews foundersand more!

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.