Tech Round-Up: May 2021 - The Food Issue!
As we plough on into May, North Ridge’s newest Partner Kevin Waller presents a thought piece for you to chew on, and introduces our latest AgriTech client Alesca Life. The fusion of tech and food is where it’s at!
Enjoy this month’s edition, from all of us at North Ridge Partners.
Original thinking from North Ridge Partners
Food for thought: With the developed world on course to hit “Peak Meat” by 2025, why is no one talking about “Peak Labour”?
More songs about buildings and food: Check out the perfect accompaniment to Kevin’s thought piece on high-tech food production (prescient lyrics here).
Market Action
Quarterly results are out: Big Tech earnings surge (again), while we get our hands on Jeff Bezos’ annual letters to shareholders.
In media land, Facebook’s quarterly revenue increases nearly 50% after hiking ad prices and serving more of them and Alphabet smashes expectations, while Netflix loses some of its lustre and Twitter takes a hit.
The bulls are in control: The Tech IPO super cycle is in full swing, and it’s here to stay for a while. Here’s a guide to the changing IPO market.
Tesla hits at an all-time high with a 74% revenue surge and net income of $438 million.
Asia Tech News
Welcome to the Decade of the Decacorns! Grab, GoTo, Sea could 'gobble up' start-ups in Southeast Asia.
SPACs hit the emerging markets - How Southeast Asian companies are trying to leverage the SPACs phenomenon.
Go GoJek: Telkomsel invests an extra $300 million in GoJek.
Fintech is alive and well in Asia: Visa makes its third investment in Southeast Asia alongside investments in Grab and Gojek with stake in Singapore payments fintech Nium. Robo-advisory has a big week, with StashAway raising its $25m Series D and Bibit raising $65 million to target Indonesian millennials.
Recurring billing startup Chargebee becomes India’s latest Unicorn, with its $125 million capital raise.
Food, glorious food!
Indian maven Zomato files for $1.1 billion IPO.
Venture capital is flooding into the food delivery business: VCs remain optimistic despite the end of lockdowns being in sight.
Food delivery is Uber’s bright spot during the pandemic: Uber narrows loss as hunger for food grows.
The US food delivery market will hit $34 billion by 2026 while the future of food delivery looks bright in Southeast Asia.
New Tech
Your T-shirt as a power station?: 'Wearable Microgrid' uses human body to power gadgets.
Airtags are here, and they’re the perfectly boring, functional future of Augmented Reality.
Is this the start or the end for Clubhouse? Not everyone sees its appeal.
The next frontier in fitness? Virtual reality.
The robot surgeon will see you now: Surgery plus AI? What could go wrong?
Stuff we found interesting
Dodgycoin: Dogecoin falls off a cliff as Elon Musk hosts Saturday Night Live.
May the distributed force be with you: Central bank digital currencies are coming, to the extent that China's digital currency could fracture global finance.
European Tech has its day in the sun: Why the smart money is headed to Europe.
Urbanist Richard Florida on the future of tech hubs.
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North Ridge Partners works with technology companies across the Asia Pacific to achieve transformational outcomes through advice on strategic positioning, raising third party funding, M&A, and direct investment. We’re experienced deal-makers who have built, run, and sold numerous technology companies.