Imagine the transportation future 20 years from now. Here’s one way things could roll on a weekday: Many of us get picked up at home by a sturdy, standardized, driverless car that will also scoop up a few of our neighbors who work at other businesses near ours. Entering the highway, the vehicle automatically links … Continue reading “Will Porsche Fans Ever Live in a Driverless World? Porsche Says No.”
Tag: Uber
UPS Takes Minority Stake in Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple
TuSimple, an autonomous trucking company, has been conducting test drives for UPS between the Arizona cities of Phoenix and Tucson since May. Now the corporate venture arm of the global package delivery giant says it has taken a minority stake in the San Diego startup, which believes its technology can reduce the costs of shipping … Continue reading “UPS Takes Minority Stake in Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple”
Ford, Retreating From Bold Timeline, Buys Quantum Signal for AV Tech
Back in 2016, Ford’s then-CEO Mark Fields fired a shot across the bow when he made a daring pledge. The big automaker would deploy fully autonomous fleet vehicles as part of a ride-sharing or ride-hailing service by 2021, when it would also be mass-producing such vehicles, he said. Earlier this year, though, current Ford CEO … Continue reading “Ford, Retreating From Bold Timeline, Buys Quantum Signal for AV Tech”
Could Facebook’s Crypto Break Financial System? Congress Airs Fears
In late 2017, a federal watchdog unit assigned a working group to keep an eye on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and to sound an alert if those alternate currencies showed signs of becoming a risk to the stability of the US financial system. Soaring prices of Bitcoin and other so-called digital tokens were attracting investments … Continue reading “Could Facebook’s Crypto Break Financial System? Congress Airs Fears”
Record Exit Value for VC-Backed Startups Could Fuel Investment
More than a third of the companies that went public in the first half of this year were backed by venture capital. That, plus robust merger and acquisition activity, set a record for venture-backed exit value—$165.2 billion in money returned to investors—that’s already topped all other full-year totals, according to the latest VentureMonitor, the quarterly … Continue reading “Record Exit Value for VC-Backed Startups Could Fuel Investment”
AV Mapping Startup Carmera Joins Baidu’s Open-Source Apollo Platform
Just as Google is developing autonomous vehicles through its subsidiary Waymo, China’s largest online search engine, Baidu, is also racing to develop AVs. Last week, the company announced a new milestone: It has now tested self-driving cars on more than 1 million miles of roadway in 13 Chinese cities. Baidu (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIDU]]) is playing catch-up … Continue reading “AV Mapping Startup Carmera Joins Baidu’s Open-Source Apollo Platform”
Uber Rejiggers App to Highlight Its Bikes, Scooters in San Diego
San Diego is one of two metropolitan areas in which ride-hailing giant Uber has reformatted its mobile app to make it simpler for users to rent an electric bicycle or scooter. With the previous version of Uber’s (NYSE: [[ticker:UBER]]) app, users had to navigate from the main menu to another part of the app to … Continue reading “Uber Rejiggers App to Highlight Its Bikes, Scooters in San Diego”
Carnegie Mellon, Argo AI Form $15M Self-Driving Car Research Center
Carnegie Mellon University this week announced a five-year research partnership with Argo AI that will focus on advanced perception and decision-making algorithms for autonomous vehicles (AVs). Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based self-driving car startup whose majority investor is Ford (NYSE: [[ticker:F]]), is spending $15 million to fund the effort, which will be called the Carnegie Mellon … Continue reading “Carnegie Mellon, Argo AI Form $15M Self-Driving Car Research Center”
Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns
Even as Uber, Lyft, and other high-profile initial public offerings underperformed out of the gate, the average share price of companies that have gone public in the US this year is up by almost 33 percent. That’s according to data based on the mean returns of issuers that started trading through June 19, released by … Continue reading “Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns”
Aurora Ends Affiliation with VW as it Begins Collaboration with FCA
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has arguably been quieter on the autonomous vehicle front than Ford and GM, but this week marked a significant development for the company. FCA announced it will partner with Aurora, a Bay Area startup developing self-driving technologies. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the arrangement. Wired reports that the … Continue reading “Aurora Ends Affiliation with VW as it Begins Collaboration with FCA”
IPO Scorecard: CrowdStrike Gains 70 Percent on First Trading Day
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike delivered the kind of market debut this week that was an unfulfilled dream for the much-anticipated IPOs of Uber and Lyft earlier this year. Sunnyvale, CA-based CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRWD]]) priced 18 million shares of common stock at $34 on Tuesday. Trading began at $63.50 Wednesday, and reached a near-doubling of the company’s … Continue reading “IPO Scorecard: CrowdStrike Gains 70 Percent on First Trading Day”
Seattle VC Watch: EndoGastric, Dolly, MDmetrix, SeekOut & More
Let’s catch up on some of the notable funding rounds raised by Seattle-area tech and life sciences companies in May: —EndoGastric Solutions, a Redmond-based business developing minimally invasive medical devices, said it raised $14.5 million from investors. EndoGastric’s devices treat gastroesophegeal reflux disease, which can cause chronic heartburn and injury to the esophageal lining. The … Continue reading “Seattle VC Watch: EndoGastric, Dolly, MDmetrix, SeekOut & More”
Sebastian Thrun and Udacity Launch New Self-Driving Nanodegree
[Corrected 5/21/19, 11:04 am. See below.] Sebastian Thrun first made his mark on autonomous vehicle development at the dawn of that industry, when he led a Stanford team whose robot car Stanley won the $2 million DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005 by racing driverless through the Mojave Desert for 132 miles. These days, Thrun seems … Continue reading “Sebastian Thrun and Udacity Launch New Self-Driving Nanodegree”
Eyeing Future IPO, A Rarity for SD Software Firms, Tealium Adds $55M
San Diego has had plenty of businesses go public in recent years, but most have been life sciences companies. Now software startup Tealium, which has about 215 employees at its San Diego headquarters, announced Wednesday it has added $55 million in a Series F financing. Eleven-year-old Tealium has now hauled in more than $160 million … Continue reading “Eyeing Future IPO, A Rarity for SD Software Firms, Tealium Adds $55M”
Uber Completes $8.1B Public Market Debut in Spite of Tumultuous Past
[Updated 5/10/19, 5 pm ET. See below.] Ride-hailing giant Uber secured $8.1 billion in new capital late Thursday as it priced an initial public offering that set its market capitalization at $82.4 billion, according to calculations by The New York Times and other news outlets. Uber announced late Thursday it will sell 180 million shares … Continue reading “Uber Completes $8.1B Public Market Debut in Spite of Tumultuous Past”
Mobility News: Cruise’s New Cash, Tesla’s Pivot to Robotaxis & More
As the mobility industry waits with baited breath to see how Uber’s IPO will play out on Friday, there is plenty of news being made elsewhere in the sector. Cruise scored another massive investment, Toyota AI Ventures opened a new fund, scooters continue to rev up, and more. Read on for details. —Our own Bernadette … Continue reading “Mobility News: Cruise’s New Cash, Tesla’s Pivot to Robotaxis & More”
Lyft Posts $1.1B Loss for Q1 in First Earnings Report Post-IPO
Newly public ride-hailing company Lyft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LYFT]]) filed its first-quarter earnings results Tuesday, reporting a 95 percent increase in revenue compared with the same period in 2018, but a net loss of nearly $1.14 billion. That first-quarter loss includes $894 million of stock-based compensation and other expenses triggered by the completion of Lyft’s IPO on April … Continue reading “Lyft Posts $1.1B Loss for Q1 in First Earnings Report Post-IPO”
New Zagster CEO on Bike, Scooter Fleets: Don’t Rock the Boat
For transportation veteran Dan Grossman, the “move fast and break things” startup ethos has never really translated to the micro-mobility world of app-enabled motorized scooters and bike sharing. Grossman last week took the helm of Zagster, a startup that sets up and runs micro-mobility programs for towns, cities, colleges, and businesses. The company launches programs … Continue reading “New Zagster CEO on Bike, Scooter Fleets: Don’t Rock the Boat”
Rackspace Hires Dallas Transit Exec Jones to Replace Eazor as CEO
San Antonio—Rackspace said Wednesday it has hired Kevin Jones, who most recently ran Dallas-based bus and transportation contracting business MV Transportation, as its CEO. Jones replaces Joe Eazor, who had held the top job at Rackspace since mid-2017. Apollo Global Management, which took San Antonio-based Rackspace private in a $4.3 billion acquisition in 2016, didn’t … Continue reading “Rackspace Hires Dallas Transit Exec Jones to Replace Eazor as CEO”
Seattle’s Outreach Joins Unicorn Ranks With $114M Funding Round
Another tech “unicorn”—privately controlled startups valued at $1 billion or more—has been minted following sales software company Outreach’s latest venture funding round, a $114 million deal. Seattle-based Outreach develops customer relationship management tools designed to improve communication between salespeople and their prospective clients. Launched in 2013, the startup says its most recent round of financing … Continue reading “Seattle’s Outreach Joins Unicorn Ranks With $114M Funding Round”
Lyft, Uber, and the Changing Disclosure Rules For Unicorn IPOs
When a much-watched tech company such as Lyft, Uber, or Pinterest files for an initial public stock offering, people eagerly scour the sudden trove of information that such a private business must finally disclose when it begins to offer shares to the general public, rather than only to sophisticated inside investors such as venture capital … Continue reading “Lyft, Uber, and the Changing Disclosure Rules For Unicorn IPOs”
VC Trends in 2019: More Money, Fewer Deals But Women Still Get Less
[Updated 11:23 a.m. See below.] If you’ve been following venture capital trends, what you expected to happen in the first quarter of 2019 did: More money is being invested in fewer deals, and women founders still are getting less of it than men. Venture firms sent $32.6 billion into startups nationally during the first three … Continue reading “VC Trends in 2019: More Money, Fewer Deals But Women Still Get Less”
“FacePalm” Bug Is a Jarring Wake-Up Call. And Not Just for Apple
Apple is a global icon. It was the first company in the world to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, and it is the most valuable company in the world today. For the second year in a row, Apple ranked as the world’s most-admired company, in a Fortune survey of 3,750 business executives. PC magazine … Continue reading ““FacePalm” Bug Is a Jarring Wake-Up Call. And Not Just for Apple”
Lyft Raises $2.2B in IPO, Pegging Valuation at Over $24B
Investors eager to bet on the mobility industry’s future handed ride-hailing company Lyft $2.2 billion in new capital Thursday as the company completed an IPO that set its market capitalization at $24.3 billion, The New York Times reported. Lyft sold 30.8 million shares at $72 apiece, according to Renaissance Capital—the top of a new range … Continue reading “Lyft Raises $2.2B in IPO, Pegging Valuation at Over $24B”
M:Bility Conference: Panel Talks Factors Fueling Future of AV Industry
At AutoWorld’s M:Bility conference in Dearborn, MI, this week, a wide variety of topics pertaining to the mobility industry and the development of driverless technology were covered in keynote and panel discussions, including mapping and sensors, artificial intelligence, automotive data, mobility-as-a-service, electrification, and 5G connectivity. However, running through all topics was a measure of caution … Continue reading “M:Bility Conference: Panel Talks Factors Fueling Future of AV Industry”
Steering Lyft’s IPO: What Investors Will Weigh During the Roadshow
Much has been said about Lyft’s early lead over Uber in the “horserace” to become the first ride-hailing app company to go public. But now that San Francisco-based Lyft has filed its 276-page IPO prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, potential investors can focus on much more detailed considerations as they decide whether … Continue reading “Steering Lyft’s IPO: What Investors Will Weigh During the Roadshow”
Angel Networks Most Active Texas Investors Since 2010, Report Says
Austin — Two angel networks in Texas have been the most active investors in the state since 2010. The Houston Angel Network leads the list with 145 investments during the past nine years, followed by the Central Texas Angel Network in Austin with 144 deals, according to data compiled by Seattle-based PitchBook. Capital Factory, which runs … Continue reading “Angel Networks Most Active Texas Investors Since 2010, Report Says”
Blue-Collar Career Site Jobcase Raises $100M to Advocate for Workers
The social-media jobs platform Jobcase is raking in $100 million in growth funding to expand its blue-collar-oriented workforce site into a place where employees not only can host their qualifications but also can organize and advocate for better treatment from employers. Jobcase founder and CEO Fred Goff says the Cambridge, MA-based startup wants workers’ reviews … Continue reading “Blue-Collar Career Site Jobcase Raises $100M to Advocate for Workers”
Menlo Ventures Devotes New $500M Fund to Mid-Stage Growth Companies
Menlo Ventures, like many other Silicon Valley venture capital firms, has at times looked for big returns from spotting early-stage companies with great promise. But as it launches a new $500 million fund, it plans to hunt for companies that are further along, and seem poised to take off on a growth curve. Those early-growth … Continue reading “Menlo Ventures Devotes New $500M Fund to Mid-Stage Growth Companies”
Amazon Leads Rivian’s $700M Round, Hinting at Possible Auto Ambitions
Rivian, a Plymouth, MI-based company getting set to launch sales of its brawny, high-end electric vehicles, will be able to give those efforts a boost after raising $700 million in new funding. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) led the investment in Rivian, the latest signal the retailing and technology giant could be poised to make waves in … Continue reading “Amazon Leads Rivian’s $700M Round, Hinting at Possible Auto Ambitions”
Polly Want a Slack Plugin? Seattle Enterprise IT Startup Raises $7M
Some people relish the opportunity to give feedback to individuals and organizations that have served them—think Yelp and Google users who rate every restaurant where they’ve eaten. Others may be less eager to evaluate a recent Uber trip, for example, but must do so before they can request their next ride. In today’s data-driven world, … Continue reading “Polly Want a Slack Plugin? Seattle Enterprise IT Startup Raises $7M”
BillyGo App Aims to Provide Plumbers on Tap (Within an Hour)
Dallas—His first ride in an Uber brought Billy Stevens out of retirement. It was the ride-hailing app’s ability to locate and dispatch drivers to meet customers that got the gears turning for the master-plumber-turned-entrepreneur, who had sold his plumbing and air-conditioning service business to a private equity firm in 2011. “With plumbing companies, it’s typically … Continue reading “BillyGo App Aims to Provide Plumbers on Tap (Within an Hour)”
Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M
Equidate, one of the trading platforms that help employees sell their shares in pre-IPO unicorn companies, rolled out a new name today and announced a $35 million expansion of its $50 million funding round publicized in July. Re-branded as Forge Global, the five-year-old company plans to continue broadening the services it developed as many venture … Continue reading “Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M”
Moving HQ to Boston, AtScale CEO Chris Lynch Talks VCs, Tech Scene
There are more than a couple reasons why former Accomplice partner Chris Lynch is relocating the headquarters of his big data startup AtScale from San Mateo, CA, to Boston. He rattled them off last week, sitting in the newly wired-up but still empty first-floor office on Atlantic Avenue that Lynch plans to fill with sales, … Continue reading “Moving HQ to Boston, AtScale CEO Chris Lynch Talks VCs, Tech Scene”
Autonomic CEO Gavin Sherry on Mobility, China, and Data Privacy
In a tech culture that looks toward self-driving cars as the pinnacle of mobility innovation, we’re still debating whether fully autonomous vehicles are an imminent reality for our roads or an ever-receding Shangri-La. But looking back from the viewpoint of 2019, it’s worth considering whether the really pivotal, world-changing advances in transportation have not already … Continue reading “Autonomic CEO Gavin Sherry on Mobility, China, and Data Privacy”
FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures
The market caps of some of the most successful tech titans reach as high as $1 trillion. Yet in 2018, perceptions about these dominant companies often reflected uneasiness and doubt—and for some, so did their stock performance. Maybe the mood shift has to do with the fact that the public and government leaders no longer … Continue reading “FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures”
Big Deals, Life Sciences Push U.S. VC in 2018 to Dot-Com Boom Levels
[Updated 1/18/19, 3:27 pm. See below.] Venture capital investments rose in 2018 to levels not seen since the heady days of 2000, the last year U.S. startups collectively took in more than $100 billion. That’s according to PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association’s Venture Monitor report, released this week, which tallied nearly 9,000 deals … Continue reading “Big Deals, Life Sciences Push U.S. VC in 2018 to Dot-Com Boom Levels”
Tidelift’s “Netflix for Open-Source Software” Model Gets $25M Boost
Tidelift, a startup trying to solve some of the open-source software industry’s problems around compensation and security, said it wrapped up a $25 million investment to gather more publicly maintained software projects under its umbrella. The Boston-based company, founded in 2017 by four Red Hat vets, said it is trying to recreate what Red Hat … Continue reading “Tidelift’s “Netflix for Open-Source Software” Model Gets $25M Boost”
Tech Leaders Weigh In on Tim Berners-Lee’s “Contract for the Web”
Looking back over the past two years, it seems that public perceptions of tech companies have shifted, compared with the eager acceptance that often prevailed as innovations from these businesses transformed social interactions, transportation, and other aspects of life. In early 2017, a more critical mood began to take hold as Uber’s allegedly biased employment … Continue reading “Tech Leaders Weigh In on Tim Berners-Lee’s “Contract for the Web””
Get Off the Bus: Austin’s Hitch Offers Car Rides to Houston and Back
Austin—In just a handful of years, people with smartphones have flocked in droves to ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to get around town. Now, an Austin, TX-based startup wants to help travelers take trips out of town. Hitch, which launched its service last month, has adopted the popular ride-sharing model for trips between Houston … Continue reading “Get Off the Bus: Austin’s Hitch Offers Car Rides to Houston and Back”
Saxena: More Than a Tool, A.I. Must Be Used With Society in Mind
[Updated 12/27/18, 9:54 am] Manoj Saxena is bullish on artificial intelligence. As chairman of Austin, TX-based A.I. startup CognitiveScale and managing director of The Entrepreneur Fund, which makes investments in early-stage machine learning companies, Saxena believes A.I. can transform how we work and play—creating opportunities for business. But he’s also aware that the technology, if … Continue reading “Saxena: More Than a Tool, A.I. Must Be Used With Society in Mind”
$100M Round Turns San Diego’s Seismic into Region’s Newest Unicorn
Seismic, an enterprise software company with ambitious growth plans, has raised $100 million in a Series E financing and added Microsoft chairman John W. Thompson to its board of directors. The venture investment, which the San Diego startup announced Tuesday, is one of only a few so-called mega-rounds—$100 million or more—recorded this year in the … Continue reading “$100M Round Turns San Diego’s Seismic into Region’s Newest Unicorn”
San Diego Tallies 7 IPOs in Best Year for Market Debuts Since 2014
Will “CBUS” and “SI” join “THOR” and “RMED”? It’s next week or never (until 2019, that is) for two San Diego companies that have filed documents with securities regulators indicating plans to go public. Agtech company Cibus, which uses “precision” gene editing to alter crops, has applied for a listing on the Nasdaq exchange under … Continue reading “San Diego Tallies 7 IPOs in Best Year for Market Debuts Since 2014”
IPOs Will Strip Veils From Uber & Lyft’s Financials, Strategies
The IPO of any private company comes as the resolution of a mystery, as closely held details about its financial performance and strategies are revealed. But the suspense is heightened in the case of San Francisco-based companies Uber and Lyft, which pioneered the huge ride-hailing industry but have yet to come close to turning a … Continue reading “IPOs Will Strip Veils From Uber & Lyft’s Financials, Strategies”
As Unicorns Multiply, Bootstrapped Tech Businesses Holding Steady
[Corrected 12/11/18, 11:20 p.m. See below.] Why do unicorns get all the attention? Brian de Haaff wonders this sometimes, especially as compared to his own tech business, Aha. It’s not a “unicorn”—a business with a valuation of more than $1 billion—and it’s not even close. Instead, Aha is a bootstrapped startup. Founded in 2013 by … Continue reading “As Unicorns Multiply, Bootstrapped Tech Businesses Holding Steady”
Superpedestrian Rolls Out Smarter, Hardier E-Scooter for Sharing
It’s the diagnosis of Superpedestrian CEO Assaf Biderman that bike- and scooter-share startups know far too little about bikes and scooters. His Cambridge, MA-based transportation technology startup is announcing its foray into scooter sharing today with what it says is a smart, durable, and efficient scooter of its own. Biderman sees the feverish industry—crowded with … Continue reading “Superpedestrian Rolls Out Smarter, Hardier E-Scooter for Sharing”
Volvo Expands In Silicon Valley As Auto Innovation Goes West
As GM announced a wave of auto plant closures in the North American heartland this week at the cost of thousands of jobs, Sweden’s Volvo Cars was expanding its U.S. presence, both in Silicon Valley and at a new South Carolina factory. Like Detroit-based GM (NYSE: [[ticker:GM]]), which is shifting its attention from traditional auto manufacturing … Continue reading “Volvo Expands In Silicon Valley As Auto Innovation Goes West”
GM’s Ammann Takes Reins of Cruise From Co-Founder Vogt, Now CTO
Self-driving car business Cruise has a new leader: Dan Ammann, the General Motors president who led the company’s acquisition of Cruise in 2016, is now being named CEO of the autonomous vehicle subsidiary. Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt is relinquishing the top role to remain with the company as its president and chief technology officer. Vogt … Continue reading “GM’s Ammann Takes Reins of Cruise From Co-Founder Vogt, Now CTO”
Necessity Vs. Innovation-Based Entrepreneurs
What makes someone an entrepreneur? Most simply defined, an entrepreneur is a person who identifies a need and starts a business to fill that void. But others will argue that a “true” entrepreneur must come up with an innovative new product or service and then operates their business to sell and profit from that innovation. … Continue reading “Necessity Vs. Innovation-Based Entrepreneurs”
Uber Expands Its E-Bike Service, Jump, to 2 More West Coast Cities
Hundreds of red, “dockless” electronic bikes appeared on the streets of San Diego and Seattle on Monday, the latest cities in which Uber introduced its e-bike program, Jump. The expansion comes days after Uber began rolling out the bike-sharing service across Los Angeles. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing giant acquired Jump Bikes, a Brooklyn e-bike sharing … Continue reading “Uber Expands Its E-Bike Service, Jump, to 2 More West Coast Cities”