el producto #263 đ
Amazon physical clothing stores, What's next for Big Tech, Twitter and Meta NFTs, Microsoft buys Activision, Instagram & TikTok paid subscriptions, Web3 challenges & more
Welcome to a new edition of el producto
đ° The week in figures
$131.5B: Global VC funding for fintech companies reached $131.5B in 2021, over twice as much as the $49B from 2020
$69B: Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69B all-cash; Activision Blizzard is the maker of games like Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty; it is the biggest acquisition in video game history by a margin, and it signals that Microsoft is committed to the video game market and the metaverse
$620M: 1Password raises $620M Series C at a $6.8B valuation; the password and personal data manager serves individuals and businesses and claims 100k paid customers, including Datadog and Snowflake; the firm employs 570
$500M: Crypto.com expands its venture fund to $500M after debuting it at $200M last year; the self-backed fund targets early-stage startups in gaming, DeFi, and cross-chain solutions, writing checks up to $10M; the company's crypto exchange processes $2.5B in trade volume each day
$359M: NFT- and metaverse-focused game publisher Animoca Brands raises $359M at a $5B valuation; investors valued the Hong Kong firm at $2.2B for a $65M round in October; Animoca also develops blockchain-based titles and has partnered with entertainment, sport, and other franchises for NFT collections
$250M: Plaid, which provides APIs for fintech functionality, acquires identity verification and compliance firm Cognito; terms undisclosed, but TechCrunch reports a ~$250M cash-and-stock deal; Plaid raised $425M at a $13.4B valuation in April
$225M: Clari, which helps companies make more predictable revenue, raises $225M Series F at a $2.6B valuation; the sales analytics and forecasting software, which the company refers to as a revenue operations platform, pulls data from call logs, CRM systems, emails, and other sources to generate insights
$200M: Handshake, a jobs network for college students and recent graduates, raises $200M at a $3.5B valuation; investors valued the company at ~$1.5B in May of last year; the startup offers tools for learning skillsets, conducts virtual career fairs, more; customers include Alphabet and Nike; Handshake is on track for ~$100M ARR
$200M: 6Sense, which helps B2B firms improve sales and predict revenue, raises $200M Series E at a $5.2M valuation; investors valued the company at $2.1B last March; 6Sense uses AI to identify buyers and predict when they'll spend, more; customers include Cisco, Dell, and Qualtrics
$200M: package tracking firm Route raised $200M at a $1.25B valuation; Route's software enables merchants (mainly small businesses) to offer their customers a mechanism to track the status of their online orders. its revenue grew from $34M in 2020 to $80M last year
$175M: Talent management firm Lattice raises $175M Series F at a $3B valuation; investors valued the firm at $1B for a $60M Series E last March; the startup has grown its customer base by 1k+ businesses since that round to ~3.5k; the platform offers performance management with goals, worker engagement tools, and more
$170M: NFT startup Autograph raises $170M Series B; the company works with public figures and brands to create NFT collections; quarterback Tom Brady co-founded the company, and its board includes Apple's Eddy Cue and musical artist The Weeknd
$150M: Wheel, which offers a white-label tele-health solution and clinicians to conduct virtual care sessions, raises $150M Series C; the platform offers primary care, behavioral health, testing and diagnostics, and more; clinicians set their own hours and can work from home
$114M: Spend management software and company card firm Spendesk raises $114M Series C (extension) at a $1B+ valuation; users can set budgets, establish approval processes, automate VAT extraction, and more; the Parisian firm claims 3.5k customers, mostly in France, Germany, and the UK
đ° Whatâs going on
TikTok is testing a paid subscription feature; pay structure, the number of users testing, and other details are undisclosed; the company rolled out a tipping feature to eligible creators last month; Instagram launched a subscription feature this week
Google is developing an AR headset known internally as Project Iris and targets a 2024 launch; Google has established an Operating System for Augmented Reality team, and a job listing references the brand Augmented Reality OS; headset prototypes reportedly resemble ski goggles and do not require a power tether
Google launches its Play Games app for Windows in beta, limited to Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan; the app lets users browse, download, and play Android games on a PC using a mouse and keyboard; sessions transfer across devices; Microsoft began testing Android apps using the Windows Subsystem for Android in October
Meta might allow Facebook and Instagram users to create, display, and sell NFTs on their respective platforms; the company is preparing the ability to display NFTs, and developing a prototype of a tool for minting NFTs
Meta AI researchers introduced a self-supervised algorithm that learns the same way in speech, vision, or text; the algorithm, called data2vec, is expected to support AI that can do multiple tasks and learn in a more generalized way; researchers said data2vev is a step forward to building machines that learn about their surroundings without having to use labeled data; testing on the ImageNet computer vision benchmark showed data2vec outperformed existing CV algorithms. It performed better than Meta's wav2vec 2.0 algorithm for speech and did as well as BERT for text
Instagram launches its premium Subscriptions service in alpha, enabling 10 US creators to set paywalls for Live videos and Stories; subscribers display a badge in comment sections, and when messaging creators; creators set prices, selecting from eight options that range from $1 to $100 per month
Twitter is rolling out NFT profile images for Blue subscribers on iOS; NFT profile photos will feature a hexagonal frame, as opposed to the standard circle; product lead Esther Crawford said crypto was a key pillar of the company's future and that these were early days in the space
Apple developers can now create custom codes for subscriptions in App Store Connect, each with a unique name you choose (like SPRINGPROMO, for example); the codes can be redeemed through a direct URL or with the app
Revolut expanded into U.S. stock trading; the company already let British users buy and sell shares, but is now licensed as a US broker-dealer; users will be able to trade 1,100 securities, including shares on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, as well as gain access to 200 ETFs
Amazon will launch a physical clothing store called Amazon Style in Glendale, California, later this year; the store will sell men's and women's clothing, shoes, and accessories; customers will be able to use their smartphones to browse inventory and receive personalized recommendations; Amazon Style fitting rooms will have touchscreen displays that customers can use to request different items
Opera launches Crypto Browser, with a built-in wallet that works with multiple blockchains, support for decentralized apps, and more, in beta; the wallet supports crypto swapping and other functions that often require browser extensions
Walmart plans to launch a digital currency and offer virtual goods, according to December filings with the Patent and Trademark Office; the firm also plans NFTs; Walmart filed seven applications pointing to metaverse ambitions
Robinhood launched WenWallet crypto wallet in beta mode for the first 1,000 customers on its waitlist; the project will expand to cover 10k customers by March, after which it will be rolled out the rest of the customers on the waitlist; Robinhood customers will be able to use the app to send and receive crypto, even to external wallet
Peloton co-founder and CEO John Foley sent out a note to the entire company on Thursday following news that the company was planning to halt the production of its bikes and treadmills; Foley said the information shared with the press was leaked, incomplete, out of context, and not reflective of the companyâs strategy; he called the rumors that the company was halting the production of its bikes and treads false, and noted that the growth it anticipated would occur over 3 years happened in months from 2020 into 2021, leading to a needed re-adjustment in production; Peloton recently recorded its highest number of daily workouts, over 2.9M
Shopify is partnering with China's JD.com to help brands access the Chinese market; as part of the deal, JD will help brands on Shopify sell in China by managing the logistics and price conversions; JD plans to open an accelerated channel for Shopify retailers that will allow them to start selling in as little as three to four weeks compared to the usual one-year timetable
Elon Musk's Neuralink is now hiring for a clinical trial director, suggesting that human trials of the brain-computer interfaces could start soon;Musk said in December that he hopes to begin human trials of the Neuralink brain implant this year, pending FDA approval
đ¸ Q4 financials
Netflix Q4 beats: 222M paid users, +9% YoY; $7.7B Q4 revenue, +16% YoY; $607M net income ($1.33 EPS), +12% YoY. In 2021, Netflix series accounted for 6/10 most searched shows in the world. Squid Game generated over 1.65B hrs viewed in its first month and became the platformâs most-watched series ever. Netflix added 8.3M net paid memberships in 4Q and 18M for the full year. Despite overall good results, shares fell more than 20% due to slowing user growth
Next weekâs earnings:
Microsoft (Tuesday); estimated Q4 revenue: $50.78B, +17.8%; EPS: $2.32, +14%
Apple (Thursday); estimated revenue: $118.322B, +6%; EPS $1.89, +12.5%
đ Good reads
Web 3.0 and the undeliverable promise of decentralization. An excellent and insightful (long) read by my former Booking.com colleague Fabio Manganiello, explaining why the crypto-based Web 3.0 will struggle to deliver on its promises of greater data control, decentralization and scalability at the same time. Complement with Scott Gallawoyâs article âThe false promise of web3â. Thereâs no doubt web3 is here to stay (at least in mid-term VC portfolios), but we need to understand its challenges and limitations in order to make it truly valuable for the general public
The art of becoming a better listener â tactical advice for the startup setting by First Round Review. Includes specific advice for Product, Design, Research, Engineering, and other roles; âEverybody is always bringing a need into a conversation. The Product Managers who can spot those cues will solve the internal challenges they face much fasterâ
A comprehensive review of the Creator Economy; Connie Wang has curated a great review of the Creator Economy space: tools, data on business models (including take rates, subscription rates), and much more
Next big things at Airbnb? At the end of the year, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky asked Twitter what new features should Airbnb launch. Well, this set of curated answers by Skift is worth checking  - at least to enjoy people's crazy expectations and idea
From Big Tech to a Startup. I wrote a short piece for @platohq about transitioning from relatively large tech orgs (Booking.com, Just Eat and Revolut) to a 15-people startup (Yayzy). A fun journey where I get to challenge my past experience and learn new things 24/7, as I help evolve the business in areas beyond Product
Whatâs next for Big Tech? By looking at investment and acquisitions,. The Economist paints an interesting picture of what are the focus areas for Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Apple. And forget about the FAANGs, we have a new terrible acronym in town, the MAAMS
đŽ Emerging trends
Healthcare VR. The first thought that comes to mind when people think of VR is gaming and entertainment. But the applications of virtual reality extend far beyond entertainment and provide great value in industries like healthcare. Here is a list of applications for the healthcare sector:
Embodied Labs: A venture based out of L.A. that specializes in immserive VR environments to train and educate caretakers and desgined for the aging population
Floreo:Â A VR platform for people and children with autism that utilizes virtual reality to help with linguistic, social, behavioral, and motor abilities
XRHealth:Â The platform is designed for people that have undergone multiple therapies with little success and utilizes mixed reality solutions for compassionate assistace
Surgical Theater:Â The platform aids surgeons for pre-operative planning, enabling surgeons to have a virtual reality simulation of the procedureÂ
Osso VR:Â The platform helps train for spine and orthopedic therapy
Meta's new patents give us a glimpse into the future that Mark Zuckerberg wants to create. The Horizon Worlds will potentially track facial expressions, users' emotions, and other biological processes in VR, which may lead to targeted ads. If successful, Horizon Worlds' intended technology may track a user's movement and emotions, which would alter the overall metaverse experience by fitting into a business model:Â
Advance machine learning algorithms can potentially track a user's every move, not only in the metaverse but everywhere online
One patent contained details about altering media content based on a user's facial expressions through Meta's virtual reality headsets, and another detailed how a user's body movements can be tracked in VR
Meta spokesperson Nick Clegg confirmed that Horizon Worlds will rely on the same targeted marketing and advertising model that it has used for its social media platforms
Have a great weekend
Angel
el producto is free, but if you enjoy reading it, you can support my work and buy me a coffee đ