Sunday, October 4, 2020
Flipkart decks up with tech for festival shoppers
Digging into the next wave of tech IPOs
After taking five consecutive business days off from my work laptop — and to shout at my personal laptop while losing games on Dominion online — I am back. I missed you. And while The Exchange’s regular columns were off this week (Friday aside, which you can read here), there’s still a hell of a lot to talk about.
First, a new website. If you click here, you’ll be taken to a sortable list (spreadsheet? database?) of startups with Black founders. Dubbed The Black Founder List, it’s a great asset and tool.
For folks like myself with a research and reporting focus, the list’s sortability of companies founded by Black entrepreneurs by gender, stage and market focus is amazing. And, for investors, it should provide potential dealflow. Do you write lots of Series C checks? The Black Founder List has 23 Series B startups with Black founders. Or if you prefer Series D checks, there are 11 Series C startups with Black founders to check out.
Who is writing the most checks to Black founders? Among the top names are M25, a midwest VC group, Techstars Boston and a number of angels.
The website was compiled by much the same team that TechCrunch highlighted earlier this year, when their data collection work concerning Black founders was more spreadsheet than app. So, please point your thanks for the new resource to Yonas Beshawred, Sefanit Tades, James Norman and Hans Yadav.
The Black Founder List also has a data submission button, so if you notice a missing name, add it. I want the data set to be as robust as possible, as, I reckon, it will prove a great reporting resource. And public data like this obviates certain excuses from the investing class.
Market Notes
- I missed a lot this week that I was looking forward to, including the Asana and Palantir IPOs. For fuller thoughts, head here. Summaries follow:
- Asana’s direct listing and resulting valuation and implied revenue multiples make its direct listing a win for the company, and the model. If other SaaS companies have the ability to raise ample pre-debut cash, perhaps the direct listing is not as dead as it seemed a few months ago when SPACs stole its spotlight, and most companies were pursuing traditional IPOs regardless.
- Palantir’s direct listing did not feel hot until it dropped some strong revenue guidance. With that, its direct listing went fine despite its cosmically comedic voting structure. Watching Palantir’s higher-ups try to snuff public input while still providing a thin patina of democracy made me think more about Russia or Texas than a functioning democratic system.
- Looking ahead, Airbnb is said to be hunting up $3 billion for its own IPO. Airbnb had to take on a lot of expensive cash when its business collapsed in the early COVID days. It wanted to direct list. Now it’s going to cash in a huge pile during its debut.
- Good. More capital > less capital.
- Sticking to our late-stage theme, when I left, Root was said to be pursuing an IPO, and when I came back, Roblox is now also tipped to be plotting with the public markets. (Root’s IPO in the wake of the successful Lemonade debut made sense. Insurtech is hot.)
- The news should not be a surprise; Roblox’s model has found cachet with young gamers and has found a great way to make money at the same time. With a mix of Legos and video game design and Minecraft, perhaps it’s not a surprise that the company is doing well.
- Reuters reports that Roblox could be worth $4 billion when it goes public. I believe it.
- Datto is going public. Ron and Danny have the details here.
- And I chatted with a few Accel investors, the juicy bits from which you can find here.
Various and Sundry
- Draper Esprit, a Europe-focused venture capital fund that trades on the London Stock Exchange, raised £110 million this week. Esprit is a fun shop to track (I’ve known its denizen James since his LSE days), because it’s more transparent than most VC firms than you’re familiar with thanks to its structure.
- According to the firm’s release, its share sale was “oversubscribed.” Tech.eu has more.
- Mobile app spend grew to $29.3 billion in Q3, driven by 36.5 billion installs, per SensorTower. Revenue was up 32% year-over-year.
- Uber sold $500 million worth of Uber Freight to a PE firm.
- As noted, tech stocks had a bad September, but just how bad might surprise you.
- And I covered Noyo’s Series A before I left, with the post going up on Monday.
- In short, Noyo is doing the hard work to build APIs to connect the world of health insurance. It’s a huge, hard task.
- The $12.5 million was “led by Costanoa Ventures and Spark Capital. Prior investors Core Innovation Capital, Garuda Ventures, the Webb Investment Network, Precursor Ventures and Homebrew upped their investment in the new round.”
- (I can’t shake the thought that there’s something in the middle of the no-code/low-code boom, and startups delivering more of their products via APIs instead of as managed services. And please don’t say mashups, we left that phrase behind ages ago.)
- I missed the window for officially commenting on the Coinbase culture dustup — the Equity crew did talk about it while I was AFK — so I will merely share this thread as my $0.02.
- Also, read this from Eileen Burbidge on TechCrunch concerning the same matter. It’s good.
Regular morning Exchange columns return Monday morning. It’s good to be back.
By the way, TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility is coming up next week. I am going! To help you get there, here’s a 50% off code for you to get full access to the event. Or if it’s your jam, this code will get you into the expo and breakout sessions for free.
Chat soon,
Meet Cocoa Press, the Philly startup making a 3D printer for chocolate
Evan Weinstein, the founder of the Philadelphia-based startup, Cocoa Press, which makes a 3D printer for chocolate, doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. But the young founder was fascinated by 3D printing technologies and was looking for a way to move the technology forward. “I stumbled on chocolate,” Weinstein said. And the result, was Cocoa Press.
The chocolate printer takes advantage of the fact that there’s something about food that people connect to, Weinstein has said, and that’s especially true of chocolate.
Worldwide, chocolate was a $130.5 billion industry in 2019, according to a report by GrandView Research, and Weinstein thinks that his printers can help amateur hobbyists and chocolate enthusiasts bite into that market.
The University of Pennsylvania graduate started developing the technology that would become his first business as a high school student at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, a private school in Northwest Philadelphia.
After documenting his progress on his personal blog, Weinstein hung up his cocoa nibs at Penn while he pursued his undergraduate degree. But he could never fully rid himself of the chocolate addiction, so he picked the project back up as a senior and returned to the chocolate shop. A 2018 video from Weinstein shows the printer at work.
With a few grants from the University and a bit of funding from its Pennovation Accelerator, Weinstein began building in earnest and the company is now ready to take pre-orders for his $5,500 printer.
As he moves toward commercialization of his confectionary creation, Weinstein is following in some illustrious cocoa-dusted footprints. Five years ago, none other than Pennsylvania’s most famous chocolatier, Hersheys, tried its hand at a chocolate 3D printer. The company took its novel technology on the road and showcased its technical feat at a number of demonstrations, but the project melted under the harsh glare of unfeasible economic realities.
Weinstein has actually talked to the Hersheys folks and believes that his product can be a stickier proposition for consumers and businesses.
“They never ended up creating a sellable printer,” Weinstein said. “I’ve been able to connect with Hershey because they’re the main sponsors of the Pennovation Center… [they said] the limitations at the time were technical limitations, but the customer feedback that they got was really positive.”
That means, as far as Weinstein is aware, his is the only chocolate printing company in the U.S.
Sweet business model
The first chocolate bar was created by the British chocolatier J.S. Fry and Sons in 1847, molded from a paste made of sugar, cocoa butter, and chocolate liquor. But it wasn’t until Daniel Pieter and Henri Nestle brought milk chocolate to the mass market in 1876 and Rudolf Lindt invented the conch machine to mix and aerate chocolate in 1879 that the bars really took off.
Form factors haven’t changed much since then, but Cocoa Press promises to change that, according to Weinstein.
The company sources its chocolate from the biggest white label chocolate providers on the market, The Guittard Chocolate Company and Callebaut Chocolate and will resell chocolate refills to its customers to create a recurring revenue model. Companies can make their own chocolate and use that as well, Weinstein said.
“We don’t want to be competing with the thousands of chocolate shops already out there,” he said. “We just want to get the chocolate printer out into the world. The business model is the machines plus the consumables for people who don’t have a background in chocolate.”
Weinstein envisions the Cocoa Press becoming an all-in-one chocolate shop, where customers can buy the printer and the chocolate from the company and then make their own. There are even plans to work with a couple of bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers to distribute some of their own single origin chocolates.
Image Credits: Noah Weinstein / Cocoa Press (opens in a new window)
Chocolate shops can spend roughly $57,000 to buy the equipment they need, according to Weinstein, and at $5,500 the Cocoa Press begins to look like a bargain.
Weinstein expects to be shipping the printers by the middle of next year and will be launching pre-orders on October 10.
The young entrepreneur estimates that the market for 3D-printed confections would be half-a-billion dollar industry worldwide, but that doesn’t take into account chocolates, which have been too difficult for developers to manufacture an economical machine to produce.
And while Weinstein may not have started out with a sweet tooth, he’s certainly developed a taste for the industry now. And is looking forward to bringing the chocolates from small producers to a wider audience of connoisseurs who could potentially become entrepreneurs using his machine.
“I’m really excited about working with these small shops because they make some interesting stuff,” Weinstein said. “There’s a cinnamon cumin flavor… it’s just wonderful.”
Bihar Police SI Exam Date 2020 – New Mains Exam Date Announced
Bihar Police 2020 – SI New Mains Exam Date Announced
Bihar Police 2020 – SI New Mains Exam Date Announced
Bihar Police SI Exam Date 2020 – New Mains Exam Date Announced
Ten US states, including NY and NJ, that account for ~21% of the US population have released a COVID-19 contact tracing app based on Apple and Google's API (Kif Leswing/CNBC)
Ten US states, including NY and NJ, that account for ~21% of the US population have released a COVID-19 contact tracing app based on Apple and Google's API — - New York and New Jersey both released Covid-19 apps this week, bringing the total to 10 states which have published alert apps using technology …
2020 Subaru Outback is fan service in the best possible way
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If you love Subaru, you'll love the new Outback. [credit: Eric Bangeman ]
The Ascent may be a surprisingly good three-row SUV and the redesigned Forester has been selling well, but the Outback is still Subaru's best-selling car and its best-known model. The 2020 Outback marks the sixth generation of Subaru's venerable crossover. If you're a long-time Subaru owner looking to upgrade, there's plenty to like here. If you're new to Subaru, the Outback has some selling points that make it stand out from the crowd of compact crossovers.
On the outside, not a lot has changed for the Outback. With 8.7 inches (22cm) of ground clearance, the Outlook still rocks that classic let's-go-off-roading-to-the-grocery-store look. Built on Subaru's global platform, the sixth-generation Outlook looks very similar to the previous year's model. Unless you're looking closely at the grille, which has black accents instead of chrome, or the taillights, you'll be hard-pressed to spot any big differences. The biggest changes come under the hood and inside the cabin.
The 2020 Outlook still comes standard with the naturally aspirated 2.5L boxer engine, but there's now a turbocharged 2.4L power plant that comes with the XT model we tested. Available in an Outback for the first time since 2009, the turbocharged engine is capable of 260hp (191kW) at 5,600rpm and 277lb-ft (376Nm) of torque at 2,00rpm. The standard, horizontally mounted 2.5L engine sees some modest performance gains from last year: 182hp/134kW and 176lb-ft/237Nm, up from 175hp/129kW and 174lb-ft/235Nm—basically the same as the Forester. What hasn't changed is an eight-speed Lineartronic continuously variable transmission, which has the same upside (fuel economy) and downside (noise) as always. The entire Outback lineup now comes equipped with paddle-shifters and an eight-speed manual-mode function.
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Nokia might launch a 32-inch and a 50-inch TV in India on October 6
Nokia has officially confirmed the launch of new smart TVs in India. The company's Indian website is teasing a new range of Smart TVs slated to be launched on October 6. To recall, Flipkart launched the first Nokia TV in India last year, followed by a 43-inch and 65-inch models and an Android TV box.
NokiaPowerUser recently reported that the new TVs will be a 32-inch and a 50-inch model. The BSI certification reports of these TVs were spotted in early August, which makes it more likely to be the same range of TVs.
As per the previous leak, the 50-inch TV and the 32-inch TV have the model number 50TAUHDN and 32TAHDN. The UHD in the model number of the 50-inch TV signifies that it could be a 4K TV just like the other TVs in Nokia’s portfolio. However, it looks like the 32-inch variant could be an HD or FHD TV as the model number has “HD” only in its name. To put things into perspective, the Nokia 43-inch TV has the model number 43CAUHDN, while the 55-inch variant has the model number 55CAUHDN and the 65-inch variant carries the model number 65CAUHDN.
The report also claims that the new TVs will not feature JBL speakers like the previous model, but have Onkyo speakers instead. Onkyo is a Japanese acoustic engineering company that makes audio devices.
The upcoming TVs are said to come with Android 9.0 out of the box and preloaded set of apps like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+Hotstar. The 32-inch model is said to come with Full HD resolution and is expected to be priced under Rs 25,000. The 50-inch TV, on the other hand, could be priced between Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000.
The TVs are likely to bring some features from the existing series like Intelligent Dimming, DTS TruSurround, and Dolby Audio alongside Android TVs basic set of features.
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This congressperson wants to ramp up COVID-19 testing
Enlarge / Doctor in protection gloves examining & organising test kit for COVID-19 in laboratory. (credit: Tang Ming Tung | Getty Images)
The US's COVID testing failure has unfurled in stages. First, there weren’t close to enough tests, thanks to cascading policy failures and supply chain issues. Once the supply problem gradually came under control, it was replaced by processing backlogs: As cases soared over the summer, many people were having to wait a week or more to get results back. A national survey in August found that only 37 percent of people receiving nasal swab tests were getting results back in the two-day window necessary for effective contract tracing, while nearly a third of tests were taking longer than four days. This delay meant that, as Bill Gates colorfully told WIRED’s Steven Levy in August, “The majority of all US tests are completely garbage.” The root of the problem, Gates said, was that the federal reimbursement rate for the labs that process COVID tests is the same regardless of how long the results take. Change that, he argued, and the labs processing tests “will fix it overnight.”
A new House bill would aim to make Gates’ idea reality. On Thursday, Mikie Sherrill, a freshman congressperson from New Jersey, introduced the SPEEDY Act, which would tie federal reimbursement to test result speeds. (The full name is the “Strictly Pay for Efficient and Expedited Delivery of Your (SPEEDY) COVID-19 Test Act.”) At the outset of the pandemic, the government was paying about $51 per test for people covered by federal health plans. (The average marginal cost of a standard PCR test varies, but at a high-volume lab it runs at about $40.) To encourage labs to increase capacity, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) raised that to $100 in April. Under the SPEEDY Act, tests that deliver results in 24 hours would be rewarded with $125; within 48 hours, the current $100 rate would apply; and for results within 72 hours, labs would go back to the pre-April reimbursement. The government wouldn’t pay at all for results that come back after 72 hours. (To avoid having labs just give up on tests after that window closes, the law would require them to still process the tests in order to participate in Medicare.)
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A look at Alibaba's Tmall Haofang, a new sales channel on Tmall for buying homes online; Tmall Haofang says it'll use 3D tech and live streaming to help buyers (Pearl Liu/South China Morning Post)
A look at Alibaba's Tmall Haofang, a new sales channel on Tmall for buying homes online; Tmall Haofang says it'll use 3D tech and live streaming to help buyers — Developers are listing their home projects on Tmall Haofang, a new sales channel by world's largest e-commerce platform Selected projects sold …
Using Bioacoutics to Unlock the Ecological Information in Soundscapes
Sony Seeking US Approval to Supply to Huawei: Report
Saturday, October 3, 2020
How Taiwan's biggest chip maker TSMC is caught in a tough spot, forced to heed the dictates of Trump's tech policy, while trying to keep many customers in China (Raymond Zhong/New York Times)
How Taiwan's biggest chip maker TSMC is caught in a tough spot, forced to heed the dictates of Trump's tech policy, while trying to keep many customers in China — The island's biggest chip maker has been a coveted partner to both battling giants. But rising nationalism is making it harder to keep the middle ground.
Electricians are flocking to regions around the US to build data centers, as AI shapes up to be an economy-bending force that creates boom towns (New York Times)
New York Times : Electricians are flocking to regions around the US to build data centers, as AI shapes up to be an economy-bending force...
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Jake Offenhartz / Gothamist : Since October, the NYPD has deployed a quadruped robot called Spot to a handful of crime scenes and hostage...
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