Sunday, March 22, 2020
Edtech on an ad spree as schools and colleges shut
Vertical retail numbers fall 20% as users curb spending
Source: on March 14 Lime recorded 147K trips globally with $617K in revenue, which dropped to ~52K trips and ~$192K revenue on March 17; rides in Paris fell 98% (Bloomberg)
Source: on March 14 Lime recorded 147K trips globally with $617K in revenue, which dropped to ~52K trips and ~$192K revenue on March 17; rides in Paris fell 98% — Scooter-sharing service Lime is considering further cuts to its workforce in the U.S. as sales and scooter trips plummeted with the coronavirus pandemic.
Lilium raises another $240M to design, test and and run an electric aircraft taxi service
Long and short distance travel have all but stopped for many people at the moment. But looking forward to a time when that may no longer be the case, a company designing flying taxis is today announcing a large round of funding to help continue developing its product.
Lilium, a Munich-based startup that is designing and building vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with speeds of up to 100 km/h that it plans eventually to run in its own taxi fleet, has closed a funding round of “over” $240 million — money that it plans to use to keep developing its aircraft, and to start building manufacturing facilities to produce more of them, for an expected launch date of 2025.
“We’re working to deliver a brand new form of emissions-free transport,” said a spokesperson. “Doing something like that takes significant time and investment, but the outcome is a valuable business and a chance to have a genuinely positive impact on the way we travel.”
This latest investment was an inside round (involving existing, not new, investors) and it closed last month. It was led by Tencent, with participation from other previous backers that included Atomico, Freigeist and LGT. The valuation is not being disclosed, but the company confirms that it is significantly higher than it was in its Series B in 2017. (For some more context, PitchBook estimates that last year the company was valued at around $470 million.)
The news today caps off some challenging recent months for the company, even before the Coronavirus took hold of the world and cast a dark shadow on any kind of travel.
Last October, we reported that several sources said that Lilium, which employs 400 people, was looking to raise between $400 million and $500 million, a round that it had been working on for some months. In the end, the lower amount the company is putting out today is $160 million less than the lower end of that range, but from what we’ve been told, this is not far from what the company was actually aiming to raise. Still, that combined with the fact that there are no new investors in the raise might imply some challenges there.
(It is, nevertheless, one of the biggest fundraises to date for a startup in the “flying vehicle” space. (Volocopter, which is also designing a new kind of flying taxi-style vehicle and service, closed a $94 million round in February.) Lilium has now raised more than $340 million to date.)
“This additional funding underscores the deep confidence our investors have in both our physical product and our business case. We’re very pleased to be able to complete an internal round with them, having benefited greatly from their support and guidance over the past few years,” said Christopher Delbrück, Lilium’s CFO, in a statement. “The new funds will enable us to take big strides towards our shared goal of delivering regional air mobility as early as 2025.”
But raising money has not been the only challenge. At the beginning of this month, the older of Lilium’s two prototypes burst into flames while some maintenance was being carried out. The model was close to being retired, but testing on the second, newer model has nonetheless been paused until the company can determine the cause of the accident with the first aircraft.
“Our second demonstrator aircraft was fortunately undamaged in the fire and will begin flight testing once we’ve understood the cause of the fire in the first aircraft,” a spokesperson said.
The market for aircraft-based taxi services — be they electric, autonomous, or both — is still very nascent. There are no approved aircraft yet on the market (indeed, the regulations for what these would even look like haven’t even been created), and, as a result, there are no services yet in place, either.
But the opportunity of building fast services that could mitigate current traffic congestion, while also reducing carbon emissions, is potentially massive, and so we are seeing a lot of activity and investment from many corners as companies hope their takes on solving that challenge are the ones to hit the mark.
Lilium’s would-be rivals include not just fellow German startup Volocopter, but also Kitty Hawk, eHang, Joby and Uber, in addition to Blade and Skyryse, air taxi services of sorts that offer more conventional helicopters and other vessels in limited launches for those willing to spend the money.
It’s not clear how much of this will fare in the months and years ahead, in particular at a tricky time for travel and the wider economy. But for now, Lilium’s work so far — it was founded in 2015 by Daniel Wiegand (CEO), Sebastian Born, Matthias Meiner and Patrick Nathen — has been promising enough for its investors to continue backing it for the long haul.
“At Tencent we’re committed to supporting technologies that we believe have the potential to tackle the greatest challenges facing our world,” said David Wallerstein, Chief eXploration Officer at Tencent, in a statement. “Over the last few years we’ve had the opportunity to see the professionalism and dynamism with which Lilium are approaching their mission and we’re honored to be supporting them as they take the next steps on their journey.”
Refurbed, an online marketplace selling refurbished electronics in Austria, Germany, Poland, and Italy, raises $17M Series A to expand into additional markets (Mike Butcher/TechCrunch)
Refurbed, an online marketplace selling refurbished electronics in Austria, Germany, Poland, and Italy, raises $17M Series A to expand into additional markets — Renewed phones, laptops and tablets can be as much as 40% cheaper than their brand new cousins, working equally as well and …
Voi, the European e-scooter rentals startup, ‘pauses’ operations in several countries
Following similar moves by Lime, Bird, Tier and others, Voi Technology, the European e-scooter rentals and so-called micro-mobility startup, says it has “paused” operations in several countries due to the Coronvirus pandemic. This sees the company suspend operations in all but nine key cities.
In a short statement issued to media on Friday, Voi said it had regrettably been “forced” to pause operations in the majority of cities it operates in, with only a handful of its largest cities being serviced.
The cities where Voi is continuing to operate in are: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Oslo in the Nordics, and Berlin, Hamburg, Nuremberg and Munich in Germany.
More broadly, the Coronavirus outbreak is a major blow to e-scooter companies as cities around the world are restricting movement and social distancing and isolation is, to varying degrees, being practiced. This is seeing many companies putting in place work-from-home policies and negating the need for daily commutes, where e-scooters are often favoured. The world economy is also taking a hit and therefore recreational spending and travel is on an escalating downwards trend too.
More broadly, the business plans of e-scooter rental startups factor in seasonal demand and sources told me a few months ago that runway across the industry was based on deep enough pockets and operational smarts to get through Winter and be in a strong position to capitalise on peak Spring and Summer season demand. Coronavirus inevitably means “Winter” could now last for a very long time indeed.
The rest of the statement from Voi — which raised $85 million in Series B funding in November — follows below:
In the cities we keep open we will drastically reduce our fleet size but will continue to serve our communities and wherever possible we will keep capacity at important hubs, like major transport interchanges and hospitals.
We have been forced to make this hard decision as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. People are working from home and no longer visiting restaurants, pubs, theatres and friends and consequently have stopped using Voi e-scooters to get around.
We plan to kick start our operations again when the situation allows.
Huawei P40 Pro, P40 full specs leaked ahead of March 26 launch
The Huawei P40 series is all set to be launched on March 26. However, ahead of the launch, the specifications of the vanilla and Pro model have leaked online. The leak comes from popular tipster Ishan Agarwal.
According to the latest development, Huawei P40 Pro will feature a 6.58-inch display. It will be powered by the Kirin 990 5G chipset. It will sport a Leica Ultra Vision quad rear camera setup: 50MP+40MP+12MP+ToF. Plus, it will use Huawei XD Fusion Engine for Pictures. Moreover, it will feature 50x SuperSensing Zoom with stabilisation in the telephoto lens. On the front will lie a 32MP + depth sensor selfie shooters.
The Huawei P40 Pro is said to be made available in the same silver, gold, black, blue, and Breathing Crystal finishes as its standard model. Previously leaked renders have also shown a mint green colour option. Huawei is rumoured to put the “Quad Quad Bayer” sensor and it will do 4-in-1 conversions to reach the 16-in-1 stage. It will only be used for videos and photos shot under very dark conditions. It will pack a 4200mAh battery with 40W wired charging and 40W or 27W wireless charging, it is not confirmed yet.
Coming to the vanilla Huawei P40, it is said to feature a 6.1-inch display and will be powered by the Kirin 990 5G SoC as well. It will sport a triple rear camera setup of 50MP + 16MP + 8MP with Huawei XD Fusion Engine for Pictures. On the front will lie a 32MP selfie shooter. The rear cameras will support up tp 30X disital zoom. Further, it will pack a 3800mAh battery.
Huawei is also said to launch a third, P40 Pro Plus, which is expected to be made available in Black and White variants. It is tipped to comprise of the 1/1.28” Sony IMX700 52-megapixel Hexadeca Bayer RYYB lens, a 1/1.5” Sony IMX650 40-megapixel ultrawide Cine RGGB lens, a telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, a dual prism periscope zoom lens with 10x optical zoom and a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor.
https://ift.tt/33AdYz6
YouTube, Amazon Prime Video join Netflix in reducing streaming quality in Europe to lessen strain on broadband
It looks like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video will be joining Netflix in cutting picture quality in Europe to prevent broadband overload. According to a report by Reuters, the video streaming services reportedly made the announcement in response to a call made by European Union Industry Chief, Thierry Breton.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus, almost the entirety of Europe in the midst of a quarantine aimed at stemming new cases. As such, people are turning to video streaming in order to get some entertainment which is placing strain on the platforms.
“We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default,” YouTube said in a statement after Breton spoke to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. This move is said to be for 30 days. A spokesperson also reportedly stated that the move will include Britain, which is leaving the EU. Amazon Prime Video then followed suit saying that it supported the need for careful management of telecom services. This should allow operators to be able to handle the increased demand.
“Prime Video is working with local authorities and Internet Service Providers were needed to help mitigate any network congestion, including in Europe where we’ve already begun the effort to reduce streaming bitrates whilst maintaining a quality streaming experience for our customers,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
This news comes a few days after Netflix had announced that it was reducing streaming quality for the next 30 days in Europe in order to reduce strain on the network. "Our goal is simple: to maintain the quality of service for our members while supporting ISPs who are facing an unprecedented strain on their networks," the company had said.
With the pandemic spreading across the globe and most of the world starting to self isolate, it possible the internet services in other countries. As such, it is possible that these steps might have to be taken in other countries too.
https://ift.tt/2WvC2lf
US weather outlook highlights spring flooding risk
Enlarge / Below-average snowpack in the Sierra Nevada on March 3. (credit: NASA EO)
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put out its latest monthly update Thursday, this time focused primarily on the flooding risk around the US as spring arrives. The unusually warm winter has put the country in a bit of a split personality: some parts of the US are at risk for flooding, while others can expect worsening drought, instead.
With the notable exception of cooler weather in Alaska, the continental US ended up at the sixth warmest winter (December, January, February) on record. Although warmer temperatures meant below-average snowfall for a good portion of the country, the eastern half saw above-average precipitation overall—more of it simply fell as rain.
The western US, meanwhile, saw low precipitation in many areas, contributing to drought conditions. That includes California, where the snowpack is currently well below average despite a round of good snowfall this week.
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The doctor who helped defeat smallpox explains what’s coming
Enlarge / Producer Larry Brilliant speaks onstage at the HBO Documentary "Open Your Eyes" Special Screening At The Rubin Museum at Rubin Museum of Art on July 13, 2016 in New York City. (credit: Paul Zimmerman | Getty Images)
Larry Brilliant says he doesn’t have a crystal ball. But 14 years ago, Brilliant, the epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox, spoke to a TED audience and described what the next pandemic would look like. At the time, it sounded almost too horrible to take seriously. “A billion people would get sick," he said. “As many as 165 million people would die. There would be a global recession and depression, and the cost to our economy of $1 to $3 trillion would be far worse for everyone than merely 100 million people dying, because so many more people would lose their jobs and their health care benefits, that the consequences are almost unthinkable.”
Now the unthinkable is here, and Brilliant, the Chairman of the board of Ending Pandemics, is sharing expertise with those on the front lines. We are a long way from 100 million deaths due to the novel coronavirus, but it has turned our world upside down. Brilliant is trying not to say “I told you so” too often. But he did tell us so, not only in talks and writings, but as the senior technical advisor for the pandemic horror film Contagion, now a top streaming selection for the homebound. Besides working with the World Health Organization in the effort to end smallpox, Brilliant, who is now 75, has fought flu, polio, and blindness; once led Google’s nonprofit wing, Google.org; co-founded the conferencing system the Well; and has traveled with the Grateful Dead.
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Amazon Grand Gaming Days sale sees discounts on laptops, gaming consoles, components, accessories and more
Amazon is hosting a Grand Gaming Days sale on its website and will be offering laptops, gaming consoles, graphics cards and more at discounted prices. The sale will go on till march 23 and is a good idea for anyone who is bored at home during their self isolation during the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
During the sale, users can expect up to 50% off on select gaming laptops, consoles, and even accessories. Further, they can also avail exchange offers with No Cost EMI options. On top of this, those who make a purchase using Bank of Baroda credit cards can get a 10% instant discount of up to Rs 1,000 on a minimum purchase of Rs 3,000. Those interested can check out the entire list of deals here.
Some of the deals offered during the sale include teh Asus TUF gaming Laptop FX505DT that packs an AMD Ryzen 5 processor with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. This laptop will be available for Rs 58,900 during the sale. Another laptop that will go on sale is the Lenovo Legion Y540 that features a 15.6-inch display and promises a 5-hour battery life.
Those on the hunt for a gaming monitor can check out LG’s 24-inch monitor that is available for Rs 9,199. This UHD 4K monitor offers a 75Hz refresh rate and offers features like Dynamic Action Sync, Black Stabilizer and more.
Those who prefer consoles can check out the Sony PlayStation 4 1TB Slim console that will be available for Rs 26,900. Do note that is this not the Pro variant of the console, but will still be able to play all PS4 compatible games. As mentioned the sale will also see discounts on gaming accessories and components. Those interested can check out the entire list of deals here.
https://ift.tt/2vG5H01
Israeli cybersecurity firm Checkmarx, owned by Insight Partners, to be bought by PE firm Hellman & Friedman at $1.15B valuation; Insight to keep minority stake (Michael Novinson/CRN)
Israeli cybersecurity firm Checkmarx, owned by Insight Partners, to be bought by PE firm Hellman & Friedman at $1.15B valuation; Insight to keep minority stake — Application security testing vendor Checkmarx has grown its headcount to more than 700 people, up 28 percent from 534 employees …
Formula 1 Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace F1 races postponed by the COVID-19 Coronavirus
The ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has pretty much cancelled all events in order to curb the spread of the virus. From product launches to sporting events, every thing’s seems to be stuck in limbo. The Formula 1 race series is no different, with most of the season openers cancelled or delayed. However, the guys behind the sport have found a novel way to ensure that the show goes on. They have announced a new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series that will see a bunch of the current drivers race in-game via the F1 2019 PC video game.
The first race in the series will be held on March 22, at 8:00 pm GMT (March 23, 1:30 am IST) and will take place on a virtual track set in Bahrain and will be 28 laps long. There will also be a qualifying period that will determine each drivers grid position based on their fastest lap time. Each driver will join the race remotely and the race will be broadcast on Formula 1’s official YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels as well as F1.com.
Since this is gaming and not actual racing, the level of skill between the drivers will vary. In order to ensure a level playing field, the game settings will be configured to each driver. This will also include running cars with equal performance with fixed setups, reduced vehicle damage, and optional anti-lock brakes and traction control turned on for those less familiar with the game. It should be noted that this Virtual Racing series is strictly for entertainment and there will be no World Championship points up for grabs.
Formula 1 isn’t the only sport that is turning towards video games in the face of event postponement and cancellation. NBA basketball team, Phoenix Suns announced that they will be playing their remaining games in NBA 2K20 and all of the matches will be streamed on Twitch. Hopefully, other sports teams will get the hint and just start playing matches on games. That should give some entertainment to all sports fans stuck in quarantine or isolating themselves.
https://ift.tt/3ab5dOr
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Satya Nadella, whose 23-year-old son is a legally blind quadriplegic with cerebral palsy weakening his immune system, on Microsoft's role in slowing COVID-19 (Geoff Baker/The Seattle Times)
Satya Nadella, whose 23-year-old son is a legally blind quadriplegic with cerebral palsy weakening his immune system, on Microsoft's role in slowing COVID-19 — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admits to feeling the personal anxieties many of his employees have shared about the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry anti-US views are taking root worldwide (New York Times)
New York Times : Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry ...
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The first project we remember working on together was drawing scenes from the picture books that our mom brought with her when she immigrate...
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Sohee Kim / Bloomberg : South Korean authorities are investigating a data leak at e-commerce giant Coupang that exposed ~33.7M accounts; ...
