Monday, January 15, 2024

Carta's rivals benefit from its struggle / OpenSea's NFT trading volume slumps / Siemens buys fast charging firm Heliox

Plus, proptech startup ReAlpha to leverage ML to identify investment prospects

Inside Startups

For January 15, 2024

Here's a look at today's Startups briefing.

❗ Carta's competitors are benefitting from the startup's struggles.
📉 NFT startup OpenSea tumbled down the order in NFT marketplace rankings.
⚡ Siemens acquired DC fast-charging startup Heliox.

Thank you.

Karan
p/karan-chafekar

Carta's competitors are capitalizing on the struggles faced by the startup after it announced the closure of its secondary trading division due to the misuse of clients' information. The firm's competitors are experiencing a surge in new users. Rival Eqvista has seen a fourfold increase in potential clients and added a few hundred customers. Secondary trading service Augment's CEO Noel Moldvai claims that about 15% of last week's signups came from Carta.

More:

Carta offers capitalization table management and secondary share trading software to about 40,000 companies.
The firm reached a peak valuation of $7.4B in 2021.
In the first week of this month, software startup Linear's CEO Karri Saarinen accused Carta of using its confidential investor data to approach them about selling shares on the secondary market.
This accusation led to Carta shutting down its secondary trading business to maintain the trust of its client base.

NFT startup OpenSea has tumbled down the order in the global NFT marketplace ranking after being overtaken by new entrants like Blur, OKX NFT Marketplace, and Magic Eden, per Bloomberg.

What the numbers say: OpenSea's NFT trading volume dipped in recent times, causing it to lay off 50% of its staff in November 2023. Additionally, the firm faced heavy criticism for removing mandatory royalties for NFT creators.

What happened: CEO and co-founder Devin Finzer dismissed the low trading volumes, calling it "misleading." He believes that the trading numbers alone do not define success in the NFT industry. "One of the things we've been most excited about is not necessarily how do you drive the most volume, but rather, how do you build sort of the most compelling use cases for NFTs," said Finzer.

Relevance: The company is currently working on a 2.0 upgrade for the platform, which will improve the user experience and provide differentiation in NFT categories. OpenSea achieved a peak valuation of $13B during the crypto bull run of 2021 and early 2022.

German multinational conglomerate Siemens AG acquired DC fast-charging startup Heliox from private equity firm Waterland. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition will strengthen Siemens' existing eMobility charging product portfolio and increase its market reach in North America and Europe.

More:

With Heliox's acquisition, Siemens will be able to add new depot and en-route charging solutions for eBus and eTruck customers.
Siemens expects to scale production by tapping Heliox's industrialization capability, global sales network, and infrastructure.
In addition to DC fast charging products, Heliox also offered charger monitoring and energy management solutions.
Heliox installed its first charging networks for the e-bus fleet in Eindhoven in The Netherlands.
Over the past two years, the firm has built charging networks across Scotland and Maryland, U.S.

Proptech startup ReAlpha Tech Corp. is training its machine learning software to identify prospective real estate investment opportunities. As part of this transition, the company has quietly sold off its short-term rental properties. It aims to acquire properties recommended by its machine learning platform in the second quarter or later.

More:

ReAlpha is bolstering its technological capabilities by bringing more functions in-house.
The company increased its technology stack by acquiring data analytics and AI software firm Naamche and IT consulting and software firm Dublin IT for $40M last year.
The firm is currently integrating fractional investment solutions into its platform, which it secured after acquiring Rhove for $13M last year.
Last November, the company launched a software platform that uses AI to generate descriptions for short-term rental listings.

Genomics and precision health companies Illumina Venture Labs started operations in California, U.S., and Cambridge, U.K. The incubator focuses on early-stage genomics and precision health companies. The firm provides startups with advanced genomics laboratories and state-of-the-art life science technologies.

More:

In addition to direct mentorship, startups will also receive opportunities to partner strategically with Illumina and its portfolio companies.
Startups participating in the incubator program will get to leverage Illumina's R&D expertise and use its facilities for up to 18 months.
The new venture is part of the broader Illumina Ventures division.
Illumina's partner Ron Mazumder said, "Our facilities, mentorship, and investment model, based on both cash and in-kind contributions, are uniquely suited to the needs of startups whose value proposition is enhanced through substantial genomics and sequencing capabilities."

Japanese spacetech startup EX-Fusion is developing laser beam technology to address the rising space debris. The firm signed a memorandum of understanding with Australian space debris detection firm EOS Space last October.

More:

EX-Fusion plans to install a high-powered laser within an observatory operated by EOS Space.
The collaborative effort will initially focus on tracking debris measuring less than 10 cm.
In the second phase, the duo will blast the laser beams to slow the debris.
- The objective is to facilitate controlled re-entry of the debris into Earth's atmosphere, where it would burn up.
The firm will use diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers instead of the fiber lasers that are currently used.
EX-Fusion CEO Kazuki Matsuo said, "The power of a laser for destroying space junk is an order of magnitude lower than for nuclear fusion, but they share technical challenges such as controlling them via special mirrors."

Quick Hits:

Are you creating the unique user journeys your customers demand? You can by Mastering Personalization with AI.*
Avante, an employee intelligence platform startup currently working in stealth mode, raised $10M in seed funding led by Fuse Venture Partners.
AI-powered trip planner startup Steller raised $5M funding from Pioneer Venture Partners and other investors to launch a new collaborative trip planning feature called Trips.
Pan-African VC firm Norrsken22 is inviting applications for its eight-week accelerator program. Startups participating in the Norrsken Accelerator Program will receive an upfront funding of $125,000. Norrsken22 raised a $205M fund in Nov. 2023 to support African startups.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fined food box delivery startup HelloFresh £140,000 (~$178,523) after an investigation uncovered that it violated the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations of 2003. The investigation found that the company sent 79 million emails and one million SMS without proper consent over seven months.

*This is sponsored content.

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Karan Chafekar

Analyst

Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.

This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike

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Apple Watch redesign sidesteps import ban / Microsoft tops Apple as most valuable company / GameStop to shut down NFT marketplace

Plus: FedEx is launching an e-commerce platform to compete with Amazon.

Inside Tech

For January 15, 2024

Here are today's top tech stories:

Apple presents redesign of smartwatches to avoid U.S. import ban.
Microsoft overtakes Apple as the most valuable public company.
GameStop will shut down its NFT marketplace.

Beth
p/beth-duckett

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has approved a redesign of Apple's newest smartwatches that allows the company to continue selling the devices in the U.S. According to a legal filing, Apple plans to disable pulse oximetry features on newly sold Watch models through software, allowing it to avoid an import ban.

More:

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently found that Apple infringed on tech company Masimo's patents for technology that reads blood oxygen levels, known as pulse oximetry.
The agency issued an import ban on Apple's Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches.
Shortly after Apple stopped selling the watches in the U.S., a federal appeals court paused the ban, allowing sales to continue while the case goes through the courts.
In court, Apple argued that a redesign of the watches should negate the ban. Apple developed a software workaround and presented it last week to the customs agency, which approved it, although the ITC has the authority to overrule the decision if it disagrees.
The redesigned watches do not contain the disputed pulse oximetry technology.

Microsoft has surpassed Apple to become the world's most valuable public company by market capitalization. At the end of Friday's trading session, Microsoft stock closed at $388.47 per share, giving it a market cap of $2.89 trillion, while Apple closed at $185.92 per share, for a market cap of $2.87 trillion.

Details: Market capitalization is the total value of all the shares of a publicly traded company. After trailing Apple for much of the past decade, Microsoft has taken the No. 1 spot after its market value surged by over $1 trillion in the past year.

What it means: Microsoft's strategic integration of OpenAI's technology into its productivity software has rejuvenated its cloud-computing business, positioning it to challenge Google. Meanwhile, Apple has grappled with dwindling demand for its hardware, particularly in China, where economic recovery is sluggish, and competition from Huawei has intensified. Other AI-focused tech giants like Nvidia, Meta, and Alphabet have also experienced substantial market cap growth in the past year.

GameStop is shutting down its NFT marketplace, citing "continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space." The marketplace, which launched in July 2022, will no longer be usable as of Feb. 2.

More:

At that time, customers will no longer be able to create, purchase, or sell NFTs, according to a notice posted to GameStop's website.
As the NFTs were minted on the blockchain, they will continue to be accessible and sellable through other platforms, the company noted.
GameStop has now made a complete exit from the NFT business.
Last year the company discontinued its crypto wallet, also citing regulatory uncertainty. The self-custodial Ethereum wallet allowed users to manage cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
The company's heavy investment in NFTs faced challenges, including a failed partnership with FTX and consumer backlash.

FedEx plans to launch "FDX," a data-driven e-commerce platform, later this year. The platform is poised to rival Amazon by providing merchants with services like order fulfillment, tracking, and returns.

More:

Sellers on FDX will be able to tap into the customer network of ShopRunner, an e-commerce site owned by FedEx.
They will receive carbon emissions reports about their supply chain and optimal shipping routes,
Meanwhile, customers on FDX will be able to view delivery estimates for products while browsing and adding items to their carts.
The platform is currently in a private preview stage. FedEx is aiming for an official launch this fall.

Zoom out:

Amazon is now the largest delivery business in the U.S., surpassing both UPS and FedEx in parcel volume. Amazon expects to reach 5.9 billion deliveries by the end of 2023, up from 5.2 billion in 2022.

Apple has decided to merge its Siri testing team in San Diego with another team located in Austin, Texas, possibly resulting in layoffs for employees who choose not to move to Austin. According to Bloomberg, the San Diego staff was caught off guard by the move as they were originally told they would be relocating to another campus in San Diego.

More:

Most of the San Diego team of 121 employees do not plan to move, Bloomberg reported.
The employees can still apply for other positions.
Workers who do relocate will receive $7,000 stipends. Those who don't will receive severance pay of four weeks plus an additional week per year worked, along with six months of health insurance.

Zoom out:

Unlike other tech companies, Apple has largely managed to avoid workforce reductions in recent years.
In 2023, the company slowed its pace of hiring and laid off a small number of corporate retail employees and contractors
At the time, CEO Tim Cook said Apple was not currently planning mass layoffs and would only do so as a "last resort."

Microsoft could auto-launch Copilot, its AI assistant, as a sidebar in Windows 11 during boot-up. The company is now testing the change in its latest Dev Channel preview of Windows 11, allowing testers to give feedback before a wider release.

More:

Microsoft plans to automatically launch Copilot only on "widescreen devices" at first, though it hasn't clarified whether it applies to 16:9 and 16:10 displays or exclusively to ultrawide displays like 21:9.
Users could also disable the automatic launch by navigating to Settings > Personalization > Copilot.
The change has drawn some criticism online. A user on Reddit wrote that it is "guaranteed to be the most annoying feature ever implemented."
Microsoft is also adding a dedicated "Copilot" key to keyboards on some new Windows 11 PCs. The key, which will summon Microsoft's AI-powered assistant with one click, is described as "the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades."

QUICK HITS

Are you creating the unique user journeys your customers demand? You can by Mastering Personalization with AI.*
Swiss IT company SoftwareOne Holding AG has rejected a $3.5B takeover offer from Bain Capital, choosing to stay independent after months of negotiations.
Lost Boys Interactive, the developer of games like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, has laid off an undisclosed number of employees.
Swarovski showed off smart binoculars that identify bird species using AI technology.

* This is a sponsored post.

Upcoming Events

JAN
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Join TruEra for an expert discussion about the impact of the EU AI Act on US and Canadian firms. *

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MAR
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Beth Duckett

AI and technology writer

Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for notable publications like USA Today and the Arizona Business Gazette. During her time as a public policy reporter at The Arizona Republic, she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for her collaborative reporting on pension cost increases. Beth also authored a book on the solar photovoltaic industry in 2016. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com.