Worldcoin launches its protocol / Global space economy to grow by 41% / DeepScribe hires contractors to correct errors in AI transcribing platform

Plus, Terminal Industries exits stealth with $17M

Inside Startups For July 25, 2023

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Hey Insiders,  Today we are looking at Worldcoin's protocol launch, the 41% growth projected for the global space economy, and why DeepScribe hired contractors to correct errors in the AI transcribing platform. Scroll down for some quick hits, and let us know what other content you'd like to see in future issues.  Karan p/karan-chafekar

1 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's cryptocurrency project Worldcoin launched its protocol this week. Tools for Humanity uses iris scans to provide a World ID for proof-of-humanity. More: "In the age of AI, the need for proof of personhood is no longer a topic of serious debate; instead, the critical question is whether or not the proof of personhood solutions we have can be privacy-first, decentralized, and maximally inclusive," said Worldcoin co-founder Alex Blania. The network would enable biometrically-authenticated individuals to transact via an app using the WLD crypto. The company has deployed its iris-scanning Orbs, signing up over two million people with a World ID during the beta stage. The beta launched in 2021 in cities such as Barcelona, New York, Buenos Aires, and Seoul.

2 What the numbers say: The global space economy is projected to grow by 41% over the next five years, per a new report published by a space non-profit organization Space Foundation. The global space economy was worth $546B in 2022, registering an 8% growth over the previous year. The sector is expected to defy the current economic and VC funding slump.  Relevance: Global space industry reported $427.6B in revenue in 2022, up from $396.2B in the preceding year. One-third of the total funding was deployed into infrastructure and support activities in space. The surge in revenue was caused by a substantial uptick in commercial launches in 2022. Global governments earmarked $119B of budget towards space programs last year, up 8% over the previous year.  Where to see the impact: The U.S. accounted for nearly 60% of the total global civil and defense budgets. China took the second largest share, accounting for 14% of the global share. With several nations increasing their space budgets, the sector is expected to see a boost in spending over the next few years.

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3 DeepScribe, an healthtech startup providing AI-powered medical records transcribing service, is relying on 200 contractors to correct errors, current and former workers told WSJ. The platform claims to turn doctors' conversations with patients into medical records using AI. However, due to the nascent technology, AI often adds incorrect medical terminology and medical data to records.  More: The San Francisco, Calif.-based startup is using human contractors as a stop-gap solution to "catch errors that can be a product of nascent technology such as AI and give healthcare providers the confidence of knowing that their notes are reviewed by a training member of our team for accuracy." Using humans to catch and rectify errors also helps improve the accuracy of the AI model.  Co-founders Matthew Ko and Akilesh Bapu recognized that many AI algorithms are prone to suffer from "hallucinations."  Their AI model is currently able to transcribe nearly 80% of each record correctly.

4 Terminal Industries, a startup that uses AI for yard management systems, raised a $17M Seed round as it exits stealth mode. The round was led by 8VC and warehouse giant Prologis, with participation from Ryder, NFI Ventures, and Lineage Logistics, among others.  More: Terminal Industries works on indexing existing camera data at yard locations to optimize for savings through capacity visibility or detecting idle time. According to the Austin-based company, 92% of yards do not have the technology solutions to prevent wasted capacity. The startup sees opportunities involving the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule, which seeks to reduce the release of nitrogen oxides and diesel particulate emissions in warehouse operations in Southern California.

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5 Amazon's cloud computing division Amazon Web Services (AWS), and the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) announced the Compute for Climate Fellowship program. The program will provide resources to help startups build proof of concepts (POC) for leveraging AI and advanced cloud computing to combat the climate crisis.  More: The program will support startups working on six key problems: climate risk and resilience, food security, biodiversity, climate-related health, circular economy, and ESG analytics.  Startups selected for the program will be guided by experts from IRCAI and AWS.  They will also receive AWS credits and access to high-performance computing, AI models, generative AI, and other advanced computing services.

6 Supermarket chain Erewhon announced an investment in Zuma Valley, which manufactures coconut-based foods. Zuma's products include frozen coconut meat and coconut cream.  More: "Most coconut products are dried or heated to ultra-high temperatures, but Zuma Valley has figured out how to gently pack coconut to preserve the flavor as mother nature intended, without synthetic additives," said Erewhon CEO Tony Antoci.  The investment, of an undisclosed amount, is the supermarket chain's second after plant-based beverage startup Drink Barcode's Seed round in Feb. 2022. Los Angeles-based Erewhon plans to open its tenth store, to be located in Pasadena, California.

7 Quick Hits: Invest in Virtuix before they ship their VR treadmills to their waitlist, a $100M opportunity. This opportunity ends on 8/10.* Charlie Shrem, the former chief executive and compliance officer of the defunct crypto startup BitInstant, is now advising startups on strategy, growth, and compliance as a general partner at VC firm Druid Ventures.  Data from the American Bankruptcy Institute shows that 82 large companies in the U.S. with debt or assets worth at least $100M sought bankruptcy protection in the first half of this year.  Akooda, a startup leveraging AI to understand an organization's internal software stack, raised $11M in seed funding from NFX, Atlassian Ventures, Village Global, and Founder Collective.  Data operations platform Nexla raised $18M in fresh funding led by Shield Capital. Existing backers Blumberg Capital, Storm Ventures, Industry Ventures, and others participated in the fundraiser.  Discover how collagen helps reduce loose skin, deep wrinkles, and dark spots.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming Events JUL 25 Lacework hosts former CEO of Starbucks, Jim Donald, for a fireside chat on what CEOs need to know about cybersecurity.* Virtual Register Here JUL 31 #TwoCents Discussion Community Challenge Virtual Register Here AUG 2 Join Vanta and VioletX and find out how growing startups should navigate the complex compliance space.* Virtual Register Here OCT 16 Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI San Mateo, California Save Your Seat NOV 7 Join us for Strategic Marketing 2023 and meet 300+ CMOs and senior marketing leaders from the world's biggest brands.* Virtual Register Here * This is a sponsored event

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Karan Chafekar Analyst Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.  Nicolas is a Sr. Analyst at Inside, covering startups and transportation trends. He is an avid map maker and data nerd. Nicolas has worked in the shared-scooter space, as well as advised e-bike and moped start-ups.  This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike

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GE profits soar on aviation boom / Americans needs affordable homes / Unilever: Inflation peaked, sales surging

Plus, Lyft CEO Risher's cost-cutting & focus efforts

Inside Business For July 25, 2023

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Hello Insiders!! Tuesday’s business newsletter covers: GE profits soar on aviation boom Analysis of where Americans are moving in need of cheaper homes Unilever: Inflation peaked, sales surging Have thoughts about the newsletter? We want to hear them! If you find this newsletter helpful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Shriram p/Shriram

1 General Electric Co. (GE) increased its expectation for full-year profits following the publication of better-than-anticipated quarterly earnings, driven by robust demand for jet engine spare parts and services amid a boom in air travel. The firm upped its estimate for free cash flow to between $4.1B and $4.6B and amended its profit per share expectation for 2023 to between $2.10 and $2.30. More: GE's aerospace division, which manufactures Boeing and Airbus engines, recorded double-digit orders, revenue, and operating profit increases. The joint venture's LEAP engine deliveries with France's Safran also increased. In Q2, compared to a year ago, the aerospace unit's services revenue climbed by 31%, making up 70% of its total revenue in the previous year. The Boston-based company's shares were up roughly 4% in pre-market trading. The operational profit for its aerospace sector is anticipated to increase from the previous projection of $5.3B to $5.7B in the range of $5.6B to $5.9B for the entire year.

2 What the numbers say: Migration to climate-risk areas surged in the past two years, with flood-prone counties experiencing a 103% increase in population (400,000 people), high wildfire-risk counties seeing a 51% increase (446,000 people), and counties with high heat risk witnessing a 17% uptick (629,000 people). Relevance: Americans continue to choose to relocate there despite the climatic risks, with affordability being their top priority. Many Americans moved to the Sun Belt states for warm weather and low taxes during the COVID-19 pandemic due to remote employment opportunities and low mortgage rates. Other factors: The dangers of climate-related calamities like wildfires and droughts are also higher in places like Florida and Arizona, which are well-known for having inexpensive land and less strict building regulations. This has resulted in population declines in hurricane-prone Louisiana and fire-prone Paradise, indicating that there may come a time when the potential environmental threats outweigh all other considerations.

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3 Unilever saw growth in the second quarter due to price increases of 8.2% and 7.9% underlying sales growth. The first half of the year's improved gross margins resulted from this price increase, cost reductions, and more sales of premium goods. More: Unilever's finance chief stated that they believe inflation has reached its highest point and is now declining, while consumers in North America remain hesitant, and store brands increasingly challenge Unilever's sales in ice cream and salad dressings. In the quarter, ice cream and nutrition prices increased by 12.1% and 11.8%, respectively, while volumes for ice cream and nutrition decreased by 5.8% and 2.6%, and volumes for home care fell by 2.1%. Still, the beauty and well-being business experienced volume growth of 4.9% despite price hikes. China's first-half sales increased, but the country's consumers are still wary because of the high unemployment rate and low level of consumer confidence. Unilever's market share in Europe decreased as high inflation led shoppers to buy less and opt for store brands, resulting in overall sales of $17.39B in Q2.

4 David Risher, the newly appointed CEO of Lyft, is looking into strategic options for the company's bike segment, including selling the fleet or collaborating with an investor. Since becoming CEO, Risher has implemented considerable reforms, including job cuts and new features for drivers and passengers. More: He said, "The bike division was acquired in 2018, and despite being well-liked, maintaining the fleet is expensive and takes attention away from the company's primary operations." Wall Street is now anticipating Risher to set long-term goals and forecast when the business will profit. Employees have had varying opinions of Risher's strategy, with some dissatisfied with the cancellation of remote-work policies and other adjustments. To compete on quality rather than wage a pricing war, Risher wants Lyft to roll out new features to improve the rider and driver experience.

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5 Celebrities like Mark Wahlberg, Kendall Jenner, and Ryan Reynolds have launched high-end spirits companies to capitalize on the rising demand for premium spirits, which witnessed a 4% increase in sales last year. With names like George Clooney's Casamigos (19%) and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Teremana acquiring sizable market share in the tequila sector on sites like Drizly, tequila appears to be a popular choice for celebrity-owned firms. More: With a 9% market share on Drizly, actor Ryan Reynolds' Aviation Gin is the third most popular gin brand this year. With a 14% market share of the cognac category on Drizly, Jay-Z's D'USSÉ is the second most popular cognac brand. While some celebrity-owned businesses have been successful, others, like Sean "Diddy" Combs' collaboration with Diageo, have encountered challenges and ended because of claims of racial discrimination. A lucrative business opportunity for celebrities with money and star power, celebrity involvement has increased consumer interest and enthusiasm in the spirits market.

6 The "Sightline" pricing plan, which offered varying prices for theater seats, has been abandoned by AMC Entertainment. The program was trialed at a few sites across three U.S. markets, with higher charges for preferred seats and lower prices for less desirable ones. More: The Kansas-based chain stated, "Moviegoers showed little interest in front-row tickets at lower costs, preferring their preferred seats at higher prices." AMC will now concentrate on testing front-row seats with plusher recliners at a few U.S. sites later this year. In contrast to rival theater companies like Regal, AMC has decided to keep ticket prices competitive by refusing to raise costs for better seats. AMC Entertainment's stock slightly declined by less than 1% on Thursday and has only gained over 5% YTD, underperforming the overall market.

7 Quick Hits: Invest in Virtuix before they ship their VR treadmills to their waitlist, a $100M opportunity. This opportunity ends on 8/10.* TSMC, the world's biggest chip manufacturer, will invest $2.9B in constructing a high-tech chip facility in Taiwan to cater to the growing demand for AI products. U.S. national security officials are reviewing a $3B Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund acquisition of Fortress Investment Group over concerns about UAE's China ties. The Telegraph Media Group exceeded profit expectations for the year, with pre-tax profits of $49.9M driven by increased digital subscriptions and efficient cost management. Over 1,500 U.K. app developers have filed a $1B class action lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the company's App Store fees are unfair and restrictive. Discover how collagen helps reduce loose skin, deep wrinkles, and dark spots.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming Events JUL 25 Lacework hosts former CEO of Starbucks, Jim Donald, for a fireside chat on what CEOs need to know about cybersecurity.* Virtual Register Here JUL 31 #TwoCents Discussion Community Challenge Virtual Register Here AUG 2 Join Vanta and VioletX and find out how growing startups should navigate the complex compliance space.* Virtual Register Here OCT 16 Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI San Mateo, California Save Your Seat NOV 7 Join us for Strategic Marketing 2023 and meet 300+ CMOs and senior marketing leaders from the world's biggest brands.* Virtual Register Here * This is a sponsored event

Knowledge Hub Term of the Day Assessed value: The assessed value is an official estimate of a property's worth that is used to determine the appropriate tax rate for the property.  Read More Question of the Week What's your stance on unpaid internships: valuable experience or exploitation? Join the conversation

INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) 🥇 Sindi John (23) 🥈 Emma Ball (3) 🥉 Autorent Car Rental LLC (2)

Shriram Jeevakumar Freelance Writer Shriram is pursuing Master’s in Business with Marketing at Warwick Business School. He worked as a Senior Consultant in Tech and Political Consultancies before his Masters. He is passionate about Tech, Marketing, Strategy, Anthropology and Politics. He is also the Postgraduate Ambassador for Warwick Business School. This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike

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