Jibo dies! (link) Jibo serves shut down alongside Sony's original Aibo Early adopters heartbreak (honestly, quasi-invested here - have followed them on Kickstarter since D1, but didn't jump the gun because price tag given value prop, fear of early adoption risk, and shipment delays confirming fear) Goes to show what happens when incumbents with funding … Continue reading 2019: Week 10 →

Gradient Ventures, Google's AI fund leads $7mm investment in English learning app, Elsa (link) Gradient Ventures is Google's dedicated AI fund, undisclosed fund size but run directly off of Google's balance sheet and flexibility to follow-on when it makes sense. Unique from CapG or GV as they operate as independent funds Anna Patterson runs the … Continue reading 2019: Week 9 →

Loom: New Enterprise Messaging Tool? (link) Think Slack x Telegram (video messaging capabilities), but on email Pros: efficient, candid, and people always like to see themselves so are incentivized to continue using this product. It's also easier to dictate / record instructions in an email than type it out concisely. Uploading speed is also fast, … Continue reading 2019: Week 8 →

Dropbox snares HelloSign for $230mm gets workflow and e-signature (link) Vision in innovating Dropbox beyond pure content storage HelloSign provides lightweight document workflow and e-signature services. Dropbox paid $230mm Accordingly to Crunchbase generated ~4mm in revenue (year undefined, probably 2017?); Even considering 5x growth, Dropbox is paying nearly 10x Revenue multiple for this business Price … Continue reading 2019: Week 5 →

A lot of coverage this week on Transportation (EV, AV, Scooters) and Food Munchery shuts down operations in LA, New York, and Seattle (link) Founded in 2010 raised $125mm in venture money, reaching $300mm valuation Laid off 257 employees or ~30% of workforce in May after shutting down in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York … Continue reading 2019: Week 4 →

CES 2019 Highlights: Techcrunch did an amazing job with coverage, but highlighted are some tech trends I personally found interesting Wearables - Motiv Bringing NFC-based payments to its fitness ring North Aesthetic AR glasses, but $$ and still clunky in my opinion Corrective lenses only available if vision is in the range of -4.00 to +2.00 … Continue reading 2019: Week 2 →

Automation will be the end of banks as we know them (link) Fintech companies breaking up the old guard by focusing on specific things that banks have done and doing them better. Average consumer now has numerous financial relationships, each with a clear-cut purpose Post 2008, banks faced heavy scrutiny and pulled away from risk, … Continue reading 2019: Week 1 →