el producto #276 🚀
Robinhood UK, Big tech Q1 results, Coinbase NFT marketplace beta, Product-led-growth at Maze, Shorter workweek trials, Continuous discovery at startups & more
🎰 The week in figures
$3.2B: Coinbase has entered talks to acquire Turkey-based BtcTurk for $3.2B; the initial term sheet has been signed, and the deal has entered the due diligence process
$2.3B: Shopify is expected to acquire logistics startup Deliverr for between $2.3B and $2.7B; this would be the largest acquisition in Shopify's history if the deal is completed, far eclipsing the $450M it spent to buy warehouse fulfillment technology startup 6 River Systems in 2019
$1B: Amazon announced the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund (AIIF) with a $1B commitment; the venture fund will back innovative startups working toward customer fulfillment, logistics, and supply chain
$690M: Singapore’s Coda Payments raised $690M at a $2.5B valuation for its cross-border payments platform; Coda’s platform is primarily aimed at payments made for games and other digital products; beyond its payment platform, Coda also offers an alternative app store
$400M: Crypto-centric metaverse platform The Sandbox is reportedly looking to raise $400M at a $4B valuation
$350M: Crusoe Energy System raised a $350M Series C and secured $155M in new credit facilities; Crusoe's tech uses waste natural gas to power mining activities, which could help solve some climate issues in crypto; they plan to expand into cloud computing which also has high energy requirements
$190M: Swedish delivery startup Instabox raised $190M at a valuation north of $1B; recently, the Financial Times said Instabox was the third-fasting growing European startup, with its revenue growing by 300% in 2021 to an undisclosed amount; Instabox operates in five European markets, including the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway
$160M: Chinese work automation startup Laiye has raised $160M Series C and acquired French chatbot service provider Mindsay for an undisclosed sum
$150M: Global workforce hiring platform Oyster raised $150M Series C; the London- and San Francisco-based company received an over $1B valuation
&135M: Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX tops $2B valuation in new $135M funding
$94M: Fraud prevention startup Seon raised $94M; the London-based startup’s customers include Revolut, Sorare, Pokerstarts, Nubank and Morning Brew; Seon integrates into websites and ecommerce platforms to mitigate bots, identify theft, phishing and more
$90M: Corporate credit-card startup Brex acquired financial planning startup Pry Financials for $90M; Pry raised a $4.2M Seed round last year; Brex said 8/10 startups on its customer advisory board used and endorsed Pry’s software to analyze burn rate, runway and other metrics
$1M: Andreessen Horowitz announced the official debut of its accelerator for early-stage entrepreneurs; known as a16z START, the program offers up to a $1M investment for accepted founders through the firm's $400M seed-stage fund
9%: Xiaohongshum, a Chinese social e-commerce app and Instagram competitor, cut 9% of its staff; the company qualified 10% of staff as underperforming during annual reviews conducted in March; the layoffs follow other Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent who cut thousands of jobs due to regulatory crackdowns
💰 Q1 financials
Netflix reported Q1 results: Netflix’s global Q1 streaming paid net membership additions decreased by 200K from the previous quarter; Netflix estimates 100M households are illicitly sharing Netflix accounts; overall Q1 revenue increased 9.8% YoY to ~$7.9B; Netflix’s operating margin was 25.1% and net income was ~$1.6B; CEO Reed Hastings said Netflix will launch ad-supported model
Snap’s Q1 2022 revenue was $1.06B, up 38% YoY; global DAUs were up 18% YoY to 332M; net loss increased 25% YoY to $360M
Tesla reported Q1 2022 earnings: total revenue was $18.7B (up 81% YoY, and up 6% QoQ), net income (profit) was $3.3B (up 7.5x YoY and up 43% QoQ), deliveries were 310,000 total cars (up 68% YoY and up ~1% QoQ)
Next week’s earnings:
Alphabet (Tuesday); Expected Q1 revenue: $67.795 billion +22.5%
Microsoft (Tuesday); Expected March revenue: $49.05 billion +17.6%
Meta Platforms (Wednesday); Expected Q1 revenue: $28.2 billion +7.9%
Pinterest (Wednesday); Expected Q1 revenue: $572.45 million +18%
Apple (Thursday); Expected March quarter revenue: $94.07 billion +5%
Amazon (Thursday); Expected Q1 revenue: $116.486 billion +7.3%
Twitter (Thursday); Expected Q1 revenue: $1.225 billion +18.2%
📰 What’s going on
Google has opened its first product development center on Africa; the center, located in Nairobi, Kenya, will focus on solving complex technical challenges like improving the smartphone experience for people in Africa or building a more reliable internet infrastructure
Instagram is rolling out the ability for all users to tag products in their feed posts; the option was previously limited to brands and some content creators
Product Hunt launched Web3 feed – a place where you can discover the latest Web3 projects and learn the ins and outs of DAOs, DApps, DeFi, or different blockchains
Amazon announced a one-click checkout solution called “Buy with Prime”; merchants can integrate the service to their digital storefront with a javascript widget; initially, Buy with Prime will only be available for merchants using fulfill by Amazon
Amazon is renaming IMDB TV to FreeVee; the ad-supported free TV service was launched in 2019 and often shows lower-budget TV or back catalogue items not featured in Amazon’s Prime offering; Amazon execs offer advertisers many ad slots per show as well as product placement
Amazon bought Indian social commerce startup GlowRoad for an undisclosed price; there are 6M merchants on GlowRoad's platform who earn an average of $460/month
Recent job listings indicate that Amazon is looking to develop a "new-to-world smart-home product" equipped with XR technology; Amazon is hiring a software engineer, Sr. Product Manager, and Sr. Technical Program Manager
Amazon released an open-source dataset to help developers build virtual assistants in less common languages; in a blog post, Amazon wrote: "Imagine that all people around the world could use voice AI systems like Alexa in their native tongues;" the dataset, “MASSIVE,” contains 1 spoken samples across 51 languages that could contribute to a global system of voice AI systems that speak many languages
Apple's new rules on the App Store are not crypto-friendly; Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, explains that the new rules have hindered the company's road map to success due to potential antitrust issues; Armstrong says that Apple's App Store has banned features from Coinbase's app, which could be an antitrust issue; he emphasized that in the near future, smartphones may need to implement crypto-specific hardware
Coinbase's long-awaited NFT marketplace has launched in beta form for select customers; the marketplace is accessible to everyone to view, but initially only select users will be able to buy or sell; "Coinbase will be onboarding a small number of users into the beta for Coinbase NFT," said Sanchan Saxena, VP of product at Coinbase
Zoom introduced updates to its product, including AI that recognize certain gestures; the update also makes it easier to see who is in what breakout room and conduct polls; the company has also integrated the virtual whiteboard, which was previously a separate product.
Microsoft is working toward offering native, in-game advertising in free Xbox games; advertisements would blend into features of the game, such as billboards on racetracks and soccer fields
Stripe will start allowing merchants to pay users in crypto through USDC; Twitter will pilot the program and allow certain creators to get paid in crypto from Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows; this is Stripe's first big push into crypto since halting bitcoin payments in January 2018 due to volatility and lack of efficiency
a16z is launching a dedicated crypto research team led by faculty from Columbia and Stanford; the team will help solve problems, write production-grade code, ensure compliance, and share findings with the web3 community
Spotify has opened up its video podcast program to all creators using its Anchor hosting platform; over the last few months Spotify added dozens of podcasters to the beta; Spotify will also integrate with video recording tool Riverside
Food delivery platform Just Eat said it is considering a sale of Grubhub; Just Eat acquired Grubhub last year for $7.3B; in the last two years, JustEat has lost marketshare in the US, UK and Germany and projects to grow GMV by single-digits this year; last week investor Lucerne Capital Management said it would vote against re-appointment of the CFO
Robinhood has agreed to buy Ziglu, a London-based fintech app that allows users to trade bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies, reviving the company’s plans to launch in the UK
Zendesk is working with M&A Advisor Qatalyst Partners on a potential sale; in 2021 Zendesk generated $1.34B in revenue (+30% YoY) and lost ~$224M
CNN+ will officially cease operations on April 30, about a month after it was launched; the news-driven streaming service was drawing only about 10,000 users a day
Elon Musk is exploring a tender offer to purchase some or all of Twitter shares directly from its shareholders, bypassing Twitter’s board; an updated SEC filing published on Thursday shows Musk has secured $46.5B in financing for the deal
📚 Good reads
Tech startups embrace shorter workweeks with full pay. Thousands of workers across the U.S. are enjoying their first Friday off for the next 6 months in an experiment to test a four-day workweek. It’s part of a worldwide effort launched by 4 Day Week Global, a nonprofit associated with the University of Oxford that helps companies execute and measure the impact of a four-day workweek. This year, 38 companies in the U.S. and Canada are taking part in the program, with most running from April 1 through September
How to drive business growth by fostering your community. Insightful read by Patrick Woods for future, sharing the different areas where community can empower business growth
Ditch your To-Do list and use these docs to make more impact. Brie Wolfson (Figma for Education and Stripe BizOps, Stripe Press), shares her personal collection of 10 docs that she’s honed over the years to stay focused, make real progress, and regularly take stock of her own goals. “The best leaders and operators I know are as good upholding the 30,000-foot perspective as they are getting the 3-inch-level work done,” she says. “The tug-of-war between the two is real, but it’s manageable — with the right processes in place to help maintain focus.”
The product-led growth strategies that powered Maze (one of my favourite research platforms) to a customer base of 40,000+ brands
How continuous discovery works (and doesn’t) in early-stage startups, by Teresa Torres
🔮 Emerging trends
VIEWPARK and SOUNDPARK are producing the first television series created entirely in the metaverse. The program is called "METAVERSE’S GOT GENIUS." Avatars will compete in a global music-talent search competing for prizes and engaging with fans in real-time. The "For the Love of Music Fund" will back the acquisition of music IP, while THIRTEEN Auction House will help secure related IP, including costumes, sets, and album covers.
The studios hope to launch careers and give musicians more control over their music
Fans of the global event can attend virtual concerts, musicals, classes, and festivals as well as purchase land
Land sales begin June 20, 2022
Have a great week ahead!
Angel
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