el producto #397 🚀
Klarna bank accounts, YouTube "personal radio", Productivity tactics, New Google AI features and how to use them, TikTok group chats, Designing streaks, The future of AI & more
Hi folks 👋
Happy weekend and welcome to a new edition of el producto!
🎰 The week in figures
$456M: Cybersecurity Kiteworks (previously known as Accellion) has raised $456M, pushing the company’s valuation above the $1B unicorn mark
6%: Companies using generative AI saw their revenues increase 6% according to a new survey
💸 Q2 results
Nubank: The Brazilian neobank reached an impressive milestone of 105M customers by June 30, 2024, adding 5.2M new users in the quarter alone. This represents a 25% YoY increase, surpassing the customer growth of the top five Brazilian banks combined. Nubank’s efficiency ratio improved to 32%, making it one of the most efficient financial services companies globally. Nubank's revenue soared 65% YoY to $2.8B, with gross profit up 88% to $1.4B, reflecting a 48% GP margin
📰 What’s going on
Apple is developing a tabletop home device featuring an iPad-style display mounted on a robotic arm. It might launch as soon as 2026 or 2027, with a target price of $1,000. A team of several hundred is working on the product, which is expected to be Apple's take on devices like the Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Show. The device would have a thin robotic limb for the display to rotate 360º and move up and down. It would run on a variant of iPadOS, allowing users to manage smart home products, monitor security, and make video calls
Amazon expands credit card operations in Germany and the UK. In the UK, Amazon has introduced the Amazon Barclaycard, which offers 1% back on Amazon purchases and 0.5% on other spending for the first year, decreasing to 0.25% thereafter. In Germany, the Amazon Visa credit card, offered with Santander, has no annual fee and allows customers to earn 1% back on Amazon.de purchases and 0.5% on other spending
TikTok is introducing group chats, allowing up to 32 users to watch videos and comment together. The new feature highlights TikTok's shift toward more social interactions with friends
YouTube is rolling out a new “personal radio” feature that will allow users to broadcast daily playlists based on the music you listen to. This is a neat feature because it plays to YouTube’s strengths as a social platform which offers “live” experiences vs the more closed approach of Spotify
YouTube’s former CEO Susan Wojcicki has passed away at the age of 56
Google is launching new AI features for Android, aiming to outpace Apple's upcoming AI rollout for iPhones, Macs, and iPads. The latest Android update introduces the Gemini AI assistant, capable of tasks like managing calendars, drafting emails, and integrating with Google apps. The new Pixel 9 series, starting at $799, includes these AI features, with the high-end Pixel 9 Pro offering a free year of the Gemini Advanced subscription, which usually costs $19.99 per month. Meanwhile, Apple's AI system is still in testing and will be released in stages starting this fall
AI search engine Perplexity is teaming up with prediction market Polymarket in a deal that will see Perplexity results displayed on the latter company’s individual betting pages. Polymarket also intends to use Perplexity’s “Pages” feature. Perplexity recently locked up deals with publishers, moved into ads, and now is landing partnerships with other rising tech names
JPMorgan Chase has introduced a generative AI assistant called LLM Suite to over 60k employees, utilizing OpenAI's models to help with tasks like email writing, document summarization, and idea generation. This marks a significant shift for the bank, which initially restricted ChatGPT. The AI tool is already used for marketing, client itineraries, and meeting summaries
Klarna continues to expand into full-suite consumer financial services, with the launch of consumer digital bank accounts with interest and cash-back rewards
X has added image generation with the launch of Grok-2 and Grok-2 mini. X is also planning to make both models available to developers through its enterprise API later this month
Flight management app Flighty has deployed machine learning to predict when a flight might be delayed - and tell users about it before an airline does. The feature uses data from key sources (air traffic control aircraft delays along with real time data such as sports and music events) to predict delays and allow passengers to plan their trips accordingly. Flighty says its ML models can make predictions with 95% accuracy and it’s a nice example of how ML can enhance the overall UX for users in an industry associated with plenty of pain
Twitch is introducing video stories where creators can share a 60 second video from their streams. Despite generating over $3B in revenues, the company has struggled to reach profitability. Integrating more traditional social features could open up new opportunities for new types of ad formats
Automated debt management startup Tally has ceased operations after failing to secure additional funding. The company has raised $172M since its founding in 2015, including a $80M Series D in October 2022 at an $855M post-money valuation. Tally's shutdown underscores the difficulties fintech startups face in the current market, even those with substantial previous funding and high valuations. Earlier this April, the fintech startup shuttered its consumer app and pivoted to a B2B model
Russia and Venezuela have blocked Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app used to bypass government censorship. Signal recommends using its censorship circumvention feature
Turkey lifted its Instagram ban after the site agreed to comply with demands on censorship and content. The block, imposed on August 2, came after a top Turkish official accused the platform of censoring condolence posts for assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
📚 Good reads
Why you should consider the Principal or Staff IC career path. Elena Verna shares some good reasons for why you don’t have to become a manager in order to have a successful career path. “Unfortunately, many people see management as an inevitable part of a successful career. But as I learned the painful way, management is not just a title. It’s a skill—and not a particularly easy one.” Being a great IC does not mean you will be a great manager, yet that’s how managers are chosen. And it results in a) losing a great contributor, and b) gaining a shitty manager. The people who really want to be managers often shouldn’t be. And the people who love IC work are often best rewarded for great work by keeping them on that track
How you can use Gemini AI in Google Sheets. Gemini is now available in Google Sheets. This post explains how you can use it for things like writing functions without having to write them manually, generating graphs, sorting information and more
Time management techniques that actually work. Lenny Rachitsky shares 10 tactics he uses every single day - most of which I also happen to use in order to be able to bring el producto to you!
Designing streaks for user growth and engagement, by Hassan Aleem. Streaks effectively engage users and increase daily interactions, but without careful design, they can limit meaningful progress. To truly benefit both business and user needs, Product teams need to balance their strategy to boost daily engagement with the user’s own long-term goals. A good streak keeps users coming back, but a great streak moves them forward
[Podcast] The future of AI. Eric Ries and Reid Hoffman talk about AI from multiple angles – including the story of how Reid came to broker the first meeting between Sam Altman and Satya Nadella that led to the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership. He also had a lot to say about how AI will work as a meta-tool for all the other tools we use. We are, as he said, “homo techne,” – meaning we evolve through the technology we make
That’s all for this week. As usual, feel free to reach out and share your thoughts by replying back to this email or commenting on Substack
Thanks for your support!
Angel