Lyft says riders will have the option to pay for and split fares using Venmo in the coming weeks — Lyft riders will soon have the option for paying and splitting fares using Venmo, the company said in a blog posting this morning. Venmo joins Lyft's other payment methods of PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, Lyft Cash and more.
A look at Google's Next Billion Users team, tasked with building products and apps for people who have yet to use the internet, often in developing markets — The company's Go apps aim to teach new internet users the web's visual language — Alphabet Inc.'s Google in March unveiled …
Expensify's CEO emailed all users to encourage them to vote for Biden; says “anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy” — Some recipients were already showing anger at the email. — Expensify CEO David Barrett blasted all of his customers with a message to vote for Biden to “protect democracy.”
Google announces Fi phone subscription program where users can buy Pixel 4a for $9 per month for two years costing a total of $216 instead of $349 upfront price — That means you'll pay a total of $216 for the phone over a 24-month subscription — You can now buy the Pixel 4A from Google …
As voters weigh Prop 22, a California appeals court upheld a lower court ruling ordering Uber and Lyft to stop classifying drivers as independent contractors — OAKLAND, Calif.—A California state appellate court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that there was an “overwhelming likelihood” …
Microsoft, IBM, Nvidia, and others released an open framework to help security analysts detect, counter, and remediate threats against machine learning systems — Microsoft, the nonprofit MITRE Corporation, and 11 organizations including IBM, Nvidia, Airbus, and Bosch today released …
Jio has launched its own web browser called JioPages. The web browser is available on Android only as of now and users can download it from the Google PlayStore. The press release sent by Jio reads, “While keeping privacy at the core of the browser, JioPages provides superior performance when compared to its peers. It is built on the powerful Chromium Blink engine, it provides enhanced browsing experience through faster engine migration, best-in-class webpage rendering, faster page loads, efficient media streaming, Emoji domain support and encrypted connection.” JioPages has been designed entirely in India and brings with it a host of features.
Personalised Home Screen and ThemesJioPages lets users personalise their home screen with search engines such as Google, Bing, MSN, Yahoo or Duck Duck Go, as their default search engine. Users can also pin the links of their favourite websites on the home screen for quick and easy access.
The background of the browser can also be changed and users can always opt for a dark theme if that’s something they prefer.
Personalised ContentJust like we’ve seen on Google Discover, it looks like JioPages will offer a content feed customised to suit the user’s preference. This will include language, topic and region. According to Jio, “JioPages sends notifications only on topics that are either important or of interest to the user”.
The browser will also bring with it ‘Informative Cards’ giving users information like stock market trends, commodity prices or cricket score, and more. This information is displayed in a compact clickable banner on the screen.
Regional ContentAccording to Jio, “The browser supports eight Indian languages: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali. Users also have the option of customising the content feed according to their preferred state. Upon selecting a state, the popular sites of the state start appearing on the screen”.
Advanced Download ManagerJioPages automatically categorises downloads according to the file type such as image, video, document or pages. This helps make file management easier and also makes it easier for you to find what you’ve downloaded.
Secure incognito mode and AdblockerThe Incognito Mode gives user private browsing by “preventing browsing history from being stored in the system”. On JioPages, users also have the ability to set a four-digit security PIN or fingerprint as an access code to Incognito mode.
As for annoying ads, the browser blocks “unsolicited ads and popups” to give the user a better browsing experience.
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European entrepreneurs who want to launch startups could do worse than Switzerland.
In a report analyzing Europe’s general economic health, cost of doing business, business environment and labor force quality, analysts looked for highly educated populations, strong economies, healthy business environments and relatively low costs for conducting business. Switzerland ended up ranking third out of 31 European nations, according to Nimblefins. (Germany and the UK came out first and second, respectively).
According to official estimates, the number of new Swiss startups has skyrocketed by 700% since 1996. Zurich tends to take the lion’s share, as the city’s embrace of startups has jump-started development, although Geneva and Lausanne are also hotspots.
As well as traditional software engineering startups, Switzerland’s largest city boasts a startup culture that emphasizes life sciences, mechanical engineering and robotics. Compared to other European countries, Switzerland has a low regulatory burden and a well-educated, highly qualified workforce. Google’s largest R&D center outside of the United States is in Zurich.
But it’s also one of the more expensive places to start a business, due to its high cost of living, salary expectations and relatively small labor market. Native startups will need 25,000 Swiss Francs to open an LLC and 50,000 more to incorporate. While they can withdraw those funds from the business the next day, local founders must still secure decent backing to even begin the work.
This means Switzerland has gained a reputation as a place to startup — and a place to relocate, which is something quite different. It’s one reason why the region is home to many fintech businesses born elsewhere that need proximity to a large banking ecosystem, as well as the blockchain/crypto crowd, which have found a highly amenable regulatory environment in Zug, right next door to Zurich. Zurich/Zug’s “Crypto Valley” is a global blockchain hotspot and is home to, among others, the Ethereum Foundation.
Lawyers and accountants tend to err on the conservative side, leading to a low failure rate of businesses but less “moonshot innovation,” shall we say.
But in recent years, corporate docs are being drawn up in English to facilitate communication both inside Switzerland’s various language regions and foreign capital, and investment documentation is modeled after the U.S.
Ten years ago startups were unusual. Today, pitch competitions, incubators, accelerators, VCs and angel groups proliferate.
The country’s Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation (KTI) supports CTI-Startup and CTI-Invest, providing startups with investment and support. Venture Kick was launched in 2007 with the vision to double the number of spin-offs from Swiss universities and draws from a jury of more than 150 leading startup experts in Switzerland. It grants up to CHF 130,000 per company. Fundraising platforms such as Investiere have boosted the angel community support of early funding rounds.
Swiss companies, like almost all European companies, tend to raise lower early-stage rounds than U.S. ones. A CHF 1-2 million Series A or a CHF 5 million Series B investment is common. This has meant smaller exits, and thus less development for the ecosystem.
These are the investors we interviewed:
Jasmin Heimann, partner, Ringier Digital Ventures
What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
Consumer-facing startups with first revenues.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
AirConsole — a cloud-gaming platform where you don’t need a console and can play with all your friends and family.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
I really wish that the business case for social and ecological startups will finally be proven (kind of like Oatly showed with the Blackstone investment). I also think that femtech is a hyped category but funding as well as renown exits are still missing.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
I am looking for easy, scalable solutions with a great team.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
I think the whole scooter/mobility space is super hyped but also super capital intensive so I think to compete in this market at this stage is hard. I also think that the whole edtech space is an important area of investment, but there are already quite a lot of players and it oftentimes requires cooperation with governments and schools, which makes it much more difficult to operate in. Lastly, I don’t get why people still start fitness startups as I feel like the market has reached its limits.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
Switzerland makes — maximum — half of our investments. We are also interested in Germany and Austria as well as the Nordics.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Zurich and Lausanne are for sure the most exciting cities, just because they host great engineering universities. Berne is still lagging behind but I am hoping to see some more startups emerging from there, especially in the medtech industry.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Overall, Switzerland is a great market for a startup to be in — although small, buying power is huge! So investors should always keep this in mind when thinking about coming to Switzerland. The startup scene is pretty small and well connected, so it helps to get access through somebody already familiar with the space. Unfortunately for us, typical B2C cases are rather scarce.
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
I think it is hard to make any kind of predictions. But on the one hand, I could see this happening. On the other hand, I also think that the magic of cities is that there are serendipity moments where you can find your co-founder at a random networking dinner or come across an idea for a new venture while talking to a stranger. These moments will most likely be much harder to encounter now and in the next couple of months.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
I think travel is a big question mark still. The same goes for luxury goods, as people are more worried about the economic situation they are in. On the other hand, remote work has seen a surge in investments. Also sustainability will hopefully be put back on the agenda.
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
Not much. I think we allocated a bit more for the existing portfolio but otherwise we continue to look at and discuss the best cases. The biggest worries are the uncertainties about [what] the future might look like and the related planning. We tell them to first and foremost secure cash flow.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
Totally! Some portfolio companies have really profited from the crisis, especially our subscription-based models that offer a variety of different options to spend time at home. The challenge now is to keep up the momentum after the lockdown.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
What gives me hope is to see that people find ways to still work together — the amount of online events, office hours, etc. is incredible. I see the pandemic also as a big opportunity to make changes in the way we worked and the way things were without ever questioning them.
Riley Griffin / Bloomberg : Mark Zuckerberg lamented the rise of “culturally neutered” companies that have sought to distance themselves ...
