el producto #256 đ
Grab IPO, Booking buys Etraveli and Getaroom, Split payments in Messenger, Uber via WhatsApp, Top 2021 iOs and Android apps, New Android features, UX laws, & more
đ° The week in figures
$4.5B: Grab debuted on the Nasdaq following a $40B reverse-merger with Altimeter Growth Corp; the Singaporean super app represents the largest US listing of any Southeast Asian company ever, and the worldâs largest SPAC deal; Grab raised $4.5B through the deal. Shares were down -20% on debut day
$1.83B: Booking Holdings ($88.5B market cap) acquires Etraveli, the online travel agency that powers Booking.com's flight offerings, for $1.83B; Booking Holdings also recently announced its $1.2B acquisition of hotel room wholesaler Getaroom
$700M: Food delivery firm Swiggy commits $700M to its on-demand grocery delivery business Instamart; now live in 18 Indian cities, Instamart claims 1M orders per week; sellers add one new dark store to the platform each day; Swiggy has raised $1.25B this year and reportedly is preparing to close a new round at a $10B+ valuation
$555M: Crypto payments infrastructure provider MoonPay raised a $555M Series A. MoonPay currently gives 250+ wallets, websites, and applications the infrastructure to allow their users to convert between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. MoonPay's solutions have processed over $2B in transactions to date. The firm also provides a suite of additional services like KYC, payment processing, crypto liquidity and delivery, fraud prevention, regulatory licenses, ecosystem identity verification, and custom checkout flows. They have partnered with the likes of OpenSea to provide users infrastructure to buy and sell NFTs, and offer a concierge service that has bought NFTs for celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Future
$500M: Jobandtalent, a marketplace for gig work, raises $500M Series E for a $2.35B post-money valuation; the Spanish company has recently focused on expansion in the US, and the funding will bolster that initiative as well as growth in other key marketsÂ
$400M: Ad-tech firm Innovid's shares rise in the company's NYSE debut following a SPAC merger; the firm focuses on ads for connected TVs and helps clients create, deliver, and track campaigns; Innovid raised ~$400M at a $1.3B valuation through the merger
$260M: Rapid grocery startup Jokr raises $260M at $1.2B valuation. The funds will be used for growth in existing cities and to enter new ones. The company says its GMV has grown by an average of 15% WoW this year to an undisclosed amount, and it has a 50% customer retention rate. Jokr CEO Ralf Wenzel previously held the same title at Foodpanda and was chief strategy officer at Delivery Hero. The service operates in 15 cities in 6 countries, including the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico. It has 200 micro-fulfillment centers that enable it to fulfill orders in 15 minutes
$220M: Slice, a credit card firm that enables consumers to split bills with friends and make installment purchases with no interest, raises $220M Series B at a $1B+ valuation; investors valued the Indian firm at $200M in June; Slice serves 5M+ customers
$202M: Mexican fintech startup Kueski has raised $202M Series C. Kueski offers buy now, pay later services and an online consumer lending platform
$200M: Thought Machine, which offers a cloud-based banking services platform, raises $200M Series C at a $1B+ valuation; clients can configure the company's Vault platform for any operating model and user experience, for data analysis, and more; customers include Atom Bank and JPMorgan Chase
$200M: Binance and blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands launch the $200M GameVest fund to support startups in the crypto gaming space; the fund specifically targets teams working in decentralized game finance, known as GameFi; Binance and Animoca Brands hope to accelerate the adoption of blockchain tech
$191: Naver Corp-owned metaverse platform Zepeto raises $191M Series B at a $1B-plus valuation; Zepeto enables users to create 3D avatars and to purchase virtual designer apparel for them; the South Korean firm claims ~2M daily active users
$190M: Used vehicle marketplace Motorway raises $190M Series C at a $1B+ valuation; the startup connects ~4k dealers with private sellers for auctions; the company saw $411M in sales during the third quarter, up 300% YoY
$165M: 1inch, which aggregates DeFi protocols, raises $165M via token sale to institutional investors;Â the startup enables traders to access the best exchange rates across decentralized exchanges
$160M: Smartling, a content translation and localization platform, raises $160M; the startup decouples translations from code and detects changes in a given project's original language to automate updates to translated versions; Smartling uses AI and human translators
$120M: Panther Labs, which offers a cloud-based Security information and event management (SIEM) platform, raises $120M Series B at a $1.4B valuation; the company has grown its client base by 300% over the past year; customers include Dropbox and Zapier
$100M: Metaverse land sales on Ethereum, Solana top $100M in 1 week. Most of the cash invested in metaverse land is being spent on Ethereum-based projectsâbut investors are increasingly looking at Solana as well
$95M: Shiftsmart, which pairs companies with skilled shift workers, raises $95M Series B; the platform claims 500k workers in 50+ countries; customers include Airbnb, Apple, and Google; Shiftsmart also offers tools for scheduling, payments, and analyzing metrics
$65M: Hotel Engine, a booking platform for business travel, raises $65M Series B at a $1.3B valuation; investors valued the startup at $150M for a $16M round in 2019; the company operates globally and offers tools for optimizing travel
$60M: Upbound, which provides a tool enabling companies to manage cloud services from multiple vendors, raises $60M; AWS, Azure, and other providers have launched integrations with Upbound; the firm offers a free, open-source solution and additional features and support via premium tiers
đ° Whatâs going on
Uber introduces several safety features, including one that records audio during a ride. The company will now check in when rides take unexpected routes or have unexpected stops, remind riders to buckle up and allow drivers and riders to record the audio of their trips. Uber has allowed audio recording in 14 countries in Latin America and is piloting the feature in three US cities
Uber to allow users to book rides via WhatsApp in India. Riders will no longer need to download or use the Uber app. Everything from user registration, booking a ride, and getting a trip receipt will be managed within the WhatsApp chat interface
Messenger introduced a Venmo-like feature for splitting payments. Starting next week, the company will begin testing a way for U.S. users to split the cost of bills and expenses, which can be done evenly or by modifying the contribution amount for each individual
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO. Parag Agrawal, Twitterâs CTO, takes over the helm. Dorsey will keep serving as CEO of Square, and remain a member of the board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders. âIâve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its foundersâ
Appleâs iOS 15.2 beta 4 has been released to both developers and public testers. It also stopped signing iOS 15.1, making downloads and restores no longer possible
Google announced a suite of new features coming to Android devices this winter. This includes new widgets for YouTube Music and Google Play Books, and the new Google Photos Pets & People widget, as well as a new Memories feature in Google Photos where a curated selection of special events will appear in your photo grid. Google Assistantâs Family Bell feature also expanded from home devices to mobile, and Gboard added new emojis. Android Auto received a host of updates as well
Apple announces top Games and Apps of 2021. Apple this week released its anticipated annual list of the best apps and games of the year across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. This year, childrenâs app maker Toca Boca won iPhone App of the Year for âToca Life World,â and Riot Gamesâ âLeague of Legends: Wild Riftâ was the iPhone Game of the Year. Other winners included iPad App of the Year âLumaFusionâ from LumaTouch; iPad Game of the Year âMARVEL Future Revolutionâ from Netmarble; Mac App of the Year âCraft,â from Luki Labs Limited; Mac Game of the Year âMyst,â from Cyan; Apple TV App of the Year âDAZN,â from DAZN Group; Apple TV Game of the Year âSpace Marshals 3,â from Pixelbite; Apple Watch App of the Year âCarrot Weather,â from Grailr; and the Apple Arcade Game of the Year: âFantasian,â from Mistwalker
Google Play also this week announced its own year-end list of the best apps and games on Google Play. This year, Google expanded its awards lineup to include apps and games on tablets, Wear OS and Google TV. Its U.S. winners included meditation app Balance as its app of the year and top game PokĂŠmon UNITE. Meanwhile, Paramount+ and Garena Free Fire MAX won the userâs choice awards
Square to rebrand as Block this month; Square said the new name would better represent the firm's various businesses; some have pointed out it also reflects the company's blockchain-related ambitions
TikTok added new creator monetization features, including Tips and Video Gifts. The former will allow fans to send direct payments to creators, who get to keep 100% of the money. Video Gifts, meanwhile, function like LIVE Gifts, except can be awarded to creators outside a live broadcast. The features are rolling out alongside a new âCreator Nextâ portal, which organizes all TikTokâs monetization opportunities in one place
Reddit added new real-time features, including typing and commenting indicators. Itâs also adding voting and comment count animations and reading indicators, with the goal of making its service across desktop, iOS and Android feel more engaging and dynamic
Didi Global plans to delist from the NYSE and trade in Hong Kong; the company debuted at the end of June;Â days later, Chinese authorities launched a security review of the firm, blocked the company from adding new users, and ordered Didi to stop offering certain apps
Spotifyâs anticipated year-end review, Wrapped 2021, has arrived. This year, the company introduced a number of new features, including artist and podcaster video messages, a version of Blend designed for Wrapped (which lets you compare your Wrapped with a friend), an in-app game based on âTwo Truths and a Lie,â your âAudio Auraâ (perfect for sharing when you donât want to reveal your artists and songs) and more. The feature has become a popular way for Spotify to leverage its huge data collection in a way thatâs not only engaging, but also makes Apple Music listeners green with envy.
Twitchâs iOS app added support for Appleâs SharePlay, allowing users and up to 31 of their friends to watch Twitch streams together while on a FaceTime call. To use the feature, everyone on the call has to log into their Twitch app and can then watch in either portrait or landscape mode along with friends.
YouTube on Android is testing a Material Design 3-inspired look, which includes pill-shaped bubbles surrounding the thin line-art icons, including a combined tab for likes and dislikes. The test design greatly shrinks the height of the bar under the video, however. The app has yet to get its Material You makeover, so this test is an indication that may soon on its way
đ Good reads
[Podcast] Andrew Chen on the Tim Ferriss podcast. Iâve been following the work of both Andrew and Tim for few years. Now they got together in an insightful talk to discuss: âgrowth hackingâ and how it became popular, games and the future of the Metaverse, the creator economy, Web3 and how itâll impact consumer startups, and more. Hereâs an excerpt of Andrewâs upcoming book âThe Cold Start Problemâ (Beyond Metcalfeâs Law for Network Effects, and Towards a Better Model) and a free chapter (Solve a Hard Problem (Tinder))
Twitter has a new CEO, what a bout a new business model? By Ben Thompson (Stratechery).
Strategy != Plan. And why your strategy should include having flexible plans, by John Krewson
Running Continuous Discovery at 99designs, by Melissa Suzuno. âThe key to success with continuous discovery? Start small, collaborate with your UX research team, document the process, and keep taking small steps forwardâ
A framework cheatsheet to solve product design problems, by Henil Kajavadra. Although intended for Product Designers, I found Henilâs questions quite valid for any PM trying to tackle a new challenge
Laws of UX Design that each of us faces every day (Part 1). Another good read intended for Designers, however, covering key concepts that every PM should know. Learn how Hickâs law, the Law of Prägnanz, Jakobâs Law, Teslerâs Law and the First Parkinsonâs Law influence your UX, and how can you leverage them better
Decentralized identity, by Scott Kominers and Jad Esber. If we progress toward an internet in which our identities are tied to us instead of being scattered across siloed spaces on the web, weâll get closer to how things work in the physical world: our online possessions will belong to us and weâll be able to take our full, authentic selves across cyberspace
All on DAOs. A huge resource library on: What is (and isnât) a Decentralized Autonomous Organization? Why do DAOs matter? How do DAOs fit into web3, crypto, the creator economy, future of work, and many other areas?
Have a great weekend
Angel
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