el producto #287 🚀
The value of Airbnb redesign, Amazon+Grubhub, CoTweets, Solana's Web3 smartphone, AR contact lens, Tokenization, Meta's AI translation & more
Hey team,
Happy weekend & welcome to a new edition of el producto
🎰 The week in figures
$9B: Sequoia China is close to finalizing $9B in new funds, up from its target raised of $8B; the funds were ~50% oversubscribed, meaning Sequoia could have raised ~$12B
$250M: Coalition, a cybersecurity insurance startup that offers a real-time risk assessment tool, raised a $250M Series F at a $5B valuation; they also offer extended policies covering business interruption, property damage, physical industry and product/completed operation coverage
$120M: YuLife, a London-based startup that offers gamified life insurance for businesses, raised a $120M Series C at an $800M valuation; YuLife has 500+ customers including Jaguar Land Rover, Santander, and CapitalOne
+241,6%: In Q1 2022, the global VR headset market grew 241.6% YOY; ~13.9M headset sales are expected by the year's end; Meta, holds ~90% of the market
-92%: Global NFT sales in June were $1B, a 92% decline from January's $12.6B in sales; June 2022 was the worst-performing month for NFT sales since June 2021, when they totaled $648M
📰 What’s going on
Amazon has agreed to add Grubhub to its list of Prime services; the e-commerce giant also has the option to take a 2% stake in the U.S.-based food delivery company; Grubhub’s parent company Just Eat Takeaway.com said it is still exploring a full or partial sale of its Grubhub business; the partnership with Amazon will renew annually until either party terminates it
Meta announced an AI model that can translate 200 languages as part of its long-term goal to launch a universal speech translator; the "No Language Left Behind" project is a part of Meta's plan to support lower-resourced languages, which are often left out of translation services
Meta is shutting down Novi, its cryptocurrency digital wallet, in September; the company advised all its users to withdraw their balances as soon as possible; Meta will try to transfer any remaining funds into customers' bank accounts on the last day
Apple says it will start shipping its updated MacBook Air with its new M2 processor on July 15; pre-orders for the ultra-thin notebook are now open
The Apple Watch Series 8, due out this fall, may include a sensor to detect fevers; the feature would not provide a direct reading of body temperature, instead, it would alert users if there is a spike in temperature and recommend a doctor's visit
Google has halted updates to popular South Korean messaging app KakaoTalk after the company continued using an external payment link in its Android app, going against Google’s new in-app payments rules; this is the first time Google has halted updates due to a payments dispute
Twitter is now testing its "CoTweets" feature for select users to co-author tweets together; the feature works by allowing a main author to send out a "co-tweet" invite to another user, who can choose to decline or accept
Elon Musk says he is terminating his agreement to buy Twitter, accusing the social media platform of not complying with its contractual obligations; Twitter board chairman Bret Taylor tweeted that the board will pursue legal action to enforce the deal at the terms previously agreed to
TikTok has dropped plans to introduce its TikTok Shop live commerce feature in the U.S. and other European markets; TikTok Live was launched in the U.K. (its first market outside of Asia) last year but failed to gain traction, with an unnamed employee telling the FT that general consumer awareness and adoption of live commerce is "low and nascent."
Revolut partners with Stripe to support seamless payments in the UK and Europe
Binance has removed Bitcoin trading fees on its global platform on the occasion of its fifth anniversary
Solana is launching a Web3 smartphone called "Saga" in 2023; the phone will cost around $1,000 and will be available for delivery early next year; the device is a modified OSOM handset that has built-in crypto wallet functions and the Sonala Mobile Stack (SMS) software development kit for Web3 programs; it will feature a Web3 dapp store, integrated Solana pays to facilitate QR code-based on-chain payments, a mobile wallet adapter and a "seed vault" to store private keys deep within the recesses of the phone
Coinbase is looking to expand across Europe; the company intends to expand its operations into Netherlands, Spain, Italy and France
Reddit is launching a new NFT avatar marketplace; the company will allow to purchase blockchain-based profile pictures for a fixed rate; avatars can be paid by credit or debit card (no crypto wallet needed), and can be stored in Reddit’s own wallet
The 109th Tour de France can be viewed in augmented reality, including volumetric holograms; the experience was developed by Orange, Immersive.io, MATSUKO, and Extended Race 2022; viewers can access the 3D experience via their Augmented Reality headsets; the AR experience will include real-time analytics, a 3D race map, volumetric holograms, live birdseye views, and AI-enabled commentary and predictions.
📚 Good reads
Product strategy is about Offense vs Defense, by Ely Lerner from Reforge. Many organizations spend a large amount of effort and focus on things that aren’t key to growing the business and moving things forward. When you’re able to identify your offensive and defensive initiatives — as well as stop investing in initiatives that are neither — your ability to make more progress more quickly, drive meaningful business outcomes, and your chances of success go up dramatically
The business power of design: understanding Airbnb’s redesign. Daniel de Mello explains how Airbnb is making it easier and incentivizing the possibility of exploring something different. “Small changes in design have the potential to change the way people behave and might impact an industry as a whole”
What Netflix and Spotify excel at, and what you can learn from it. "In a world of scarcity distribution was the most valuable; in a world of abundance it is discovery that matters most." Ben Thompson on one of the most important aspects of modern digital ecosystems, discovery, and how this impacts aggregation theory
The Platform Growth and Product Guide, a precious set of tools for product designers, product owners, PMs, VPs of growth and growth hackers by Simone Cicero and his team at Boundaryless
Help PMs talk to more customers. It’s not always easy to create a culture within your product team of constantly interviewing customers, and it’s not always easy to find customers who will talk to you. Johny Wudel shares what worked for his company
Talent shifts in tech. Talent outflow from major banks and tech companies, to fintech startups (Jan 2020 to Apr 2022):
🔮 Emerging trends
TOKENIZATION
Similar to how Marc Andreessen described the way in which software was eating the world in 2011, tokenization has led to the emergence of a whole new industry and era of technology and entrepreneurship known as web3. These 2 pieces help understanding the value, contexts and potential of tokenization:
Tokenization is eating the world, by Drew Beechler
Utility tokens, the big breakthrough of Web3, a Twitter thread by Tascha:
AR CONTACT LENS
Mojo Vision CEO Drew Perkins has begun testings the company's AR contact lens; the lens can be worn directly on the eye using medical-grade micro-batteries and the "world's smallest" .48mm MicroLED display. So far, tests at the company's Saratoga, California, research lab are limited to one-hour increments and are only worn in one eye at a time. This is the first test of its kind and, according to the company, proved to be an overall successPerkins could interact with a compass, read texts, and view monochromatic images. The AR displays are controlled via eye movements and do not require a secondary interface. More:
The AR lenses are equipped with an ARM processor, 5GHz radio transmitter, accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer
The contact lens' astounding 14,000 pixels-per-inch MicroLED display rivals the Super Retina XDR Displays of Apple's iPhone 13
For comparison, the iPhone 13's display is 460 pixels per inch
This is especially astonishing given that the contact lens measures just .2 inches in diameter
The display's 15° field of view may seem limited, but because the device moves with your eye, the user does not necessarily experience the diminutive FOV
The eye-sized lens wirelessly communicates with external devices
Users wear a "relay accessory" about their neck and an antenna-embedded headpiece
The neck device contains a processor, GPU, and 5GHz radio
Both devices send and receive information that power the AR lens
Mojo Vision intends to develop the product so it no longer needs accessories
Ideally, Mojo's AR lenses will no longer require external devices, host a full day of battery life, and comprise two lenses that seamlessly interact
The company also plans to create lenses that look like irises
Mojo's CEO believes the product could become widely available in the next 10 years
In an article written for Big Think, Louis Rosenberg predicted that "AR eyewear, first as glasses and then as contacts, will eventually replace the mobile phone as our primary interface with digital content"
That’s all for today! Let me know what you think by replying back to this email
Angel
el producto is free, but if you enjoy reading it, you can support my work and buy me a coffee 🙌