Tech Round-Up: October 2019
Welcome to the North Ridge Partners October Tech Round-Up: a periodic bulletin in which we decode what’s going on in the technology world. Subscribe here to receive the monthly tech round-up in email format.
Technology Markets: Hero to Zero
Public market investors have finally spoken: the US tech IPO market is in a funk following poor post-offer performances from Uber, Lyft and Peloton, and the withdrawal of offers from Endeavor and the We Company. Public market investors are finally flexing their muscles, wary of companies losing huge money with neither a clear path to profitability nor strong governance.
News:
Drone to earth: With US$3bn invested in drone technology over the past 7 years, gravity has shown its hand with 25 companies closed and nearly 70 acquired.
The rise of the virtual restaurant: cloud kitchens will disrupt restaurants. Entrepreneurs can now rent shared kitchens and advertise to consumers on meal-delivery apps. Those same consumers may have no idea that the restaurant they’re ordering from doesn’t physically exist.
Self-driving trucks are making deliveries in the USA: UPS is testing self-driving trucks on busy routes between Phoenix and Tucson. The thesis is that self-driving trucks can run well on freeways and carry freight at off-peak times when few others are on the road.
Mercedes Benz is going fully-electric: Daimler will now shift all of the resources it currently devotes to internal combustion engines and transmissions to electric engines.
Fresh Thinking from Southeast Asia:
Global-ready SaaS subscription businesses are rising rapidly in Southeast Asia
Michael Gethen sets out how the US is no longer the sole domain of global SaaS businesses. Southeast Asia is now building its own cadre of global-ready SaaS companies like Trax and Deskera.
Vietnam is becoming a fast-growth technology market
Chris Tran discusses how Vietnam is coming of age as a high-growth technology market. With Asian capital now flowing into Vietnamese technology, the international investment community can smell opportunity.
From the Scary Department:
Criminals recently used off-the-shelf AI software to impersonate a CEO’s voice and tricked an employee into transferring €220,000. Traditional cybersecurity tools can’t yet spot fake voices.
Is AI the next big climate-change threat?
Scientists contend that AI could consume up to 10% of global energy supply and contribute to climate change, within a decade. The CEO of Applied Materials recently warned without major change, data centres’ AI workloads could account for 10% of global electricity usage by 2025.
Welcome to the surveillance era
You thought it was just Alexa, Siri, Facebook or Google tracking you? Think again. Beijing now has 470,000 cameras in place, more than London’s 420,000. China is experimenting with several iterations of its social scoring system throughout China. Hong Kong is importing technology from China to monitor its population, and recently banned demonstrators from hiding their identities.
Amazon’s Ring subsidiary has now signed up more than 200 police departments across the USA, enabling police to access household security cameras. In California, cities are installing license-plate-tracking cameras at every major point of access. And Motorola, the company that brought us the original flip phone, has now entered the race to monitor the public.
Meanwhile in London, the home of more than 420,000 cameras, four people were recently arrested for hiding their faces from a police recognition experiment.
Quotes:
“The greatest danger still lies ahead, with the refinement of artificial intelligence capabilities, such as facial and pattern recognition.” (Edward Snowden)
“WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera” (the Verge)
“The operating system is no longer the most important layer. What is most important is the app model and the experience.” (Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, highlighting the power shift away from operating systems toward apps).
The Big Question:
Masa and the Big Bet. Is history repeating itself for Softbank?
In recent times, Masa’s Vision Fund has been the phenomenon in gigantic-scale venture investments. Mr Son reputedly nearly lost everything during the dotcom crash, but subsequently made a large fortune out of Alibaba. With large falls in the valuations of the We Company and Uber, there are now questions surround his ability to deliver on SoftBank’s largest investments.
News from North Ridge Partners:
We recently launched our new website and video to portray the North Ridge Partners brand and services we offer:
Build, fund and exit
your technology company
with North Ridge Partners
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.
Subscribe to the Tech Round-Up here >
View our work here >
Contact us here >
© North Ridge Partners 2019