Emily Forlini (Dreibelbis)

Being an avid armchair watcher of tech advances and disruption - I'm wondering how this one is going to play out. Amazon is now selling cars online and working directly with the car manufacturers. Similar to other brick and mortar retailer woes, does this mean that dealerships will just become showrooms as people try the cars and then leave to buy online? If successful, this could certainly demand a new business model for the auto industry. Interesting to see how this all plays out.... #technology #amazon #cars #carsales #cardealers #online #disruption https://lnkd.in/g_vKvJWK

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Who did this? Seriously, who was responsible for this at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles? I want to thank them. I live in New York and, to be honest, there aren’t many innovations coming from Uncle Sam that are getting my attention. This one is different. Showing your ID on your phone is a sneaky gamechanger - one of those lightbulb “why did this take so long to happen” type innovations. We’ve done our fair share of government work at The Gnar and we know how tricky it can be to make change. There’s a lot of risk aversion in that sector and it normally takes a smart, thoughtful, and tenacious leader to introduce something new like this. I know there’s a broader technology ecosystem that has to buy-in to get this to wide adoption (a verifier app, businesses actually using it, etc), but I can’t help but feel like this is a great step, and I’m proud of my home state for being a first mover. And I’m not joking - I’d love to find out who championed this in NY state, great work. #government #digitaltransformation #innovation #DMV https://lnkd.in/eGxASNkK

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The goal we’re trying to get to as an industry is autonomous advertising. That means media planning, bidding, measurement, and optimization are automated. The first jump in automation was direct IOs to electronic buying (DSPs). We’re about to experience another quantum leap from today’s DSPs to autonomous advertising driven by AI. People will say, “You can’t just give me start date, end date, budget, and goal and hand it off to the machines.” Except… you can. This is already what Google and Meta do for SMBs via PMax and Advantage+. Of course, the largest brands will want more control. But as they see how effective this technology is, they will adopt it — and humans will stop doing the grunt work of programmatic doom scrolling. Very soon, creating a media plan, bidding, and optimizing manually will seem ridiculous. A trader will enter instructions into an LLM to create a media plan in minutes. An AI bidding agent will work on your behalf to get the cheapest possible price from the publisher. The religion of attribution will give way to a more simplified approach of measurement that flips the scales toward incrementality. And optimization algorithms will break out of the current rules based system to give way to autonomous decisioning. Yes there will be humans who orchestrate all of this. It’s the humans that provide the context. AI can generate machine driven insights but it’s the human that turns it into a strategic insight. Advertising is about to experience its greatest leap since the dawn of programmatic.

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At BBG Ventures we continue to think about changing demographic shifts and the groups of overlooked Americans at the centre of those shifts. We ask: what are the opportunities to build something valuable for those groups across the biggest areas of the economy to drive prosperity, growth and wellbeing for all Americans, not just some. Future of Work and underserved workers is an arena we've long dug into. This summer, my partner Susan Lyne and investor Carol Magalhães Isaacs, CFA went deeper on Boomers - by 2030, Boomers will outnumber under 18s - living longer, working longer, spending longer - what will their Third Act be? How might AI supercharge their productivity? Check out their post below and share your thoughts with us. Longevity and Prosperity > Death and Decay. If you're building at the intersection of Aging x Work reach out!

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This week on Decoder I sat down with Anthropic's new chief product officer Mike Krieger to discuss his journey from cofounding Instagram and Artifact to now working for one of the hottest AI companies in the industry. Anthropic has billions in funding from some of the biggest names in tech, primarily Amazon, to develop Claude, the name of both its industry-leading AI model and a chatbot that competes with ChatGPT. At the same time, Anthropic has an intense safety culture that’s distinct among the big AI firms of today. The company is notable for employing some people who legitimately worry AI might destroy mankind, and I wanted to know all about how that tension plays out in product design. I was a big fan of Artifact, too, so I wanted to know more about Mike's decision to shut it down as well as the decision to sell the underlying tech to Yahoo. Then I wanted to know why he decided to join Anthropic and work in AI, an industry with a lot of investment but very few consumer products to justify it. What’s this all for? What products does Mike see in the future that make all the AI turmoil worth it, and how is he thinking about building them? Check out a clip from the conversation below that's all about where Anthropic sources training data, a contentious topic in the AI industry, and read and listen to the full interview on The Verge: https://lnkd.in/eiJBr7se

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Last week I published in Business Insider some observations after spending quality time on the road with San Francisco's robot taxis; these are rolling out (ahem) in other cities, too. As a longtime driver, I'll just say that the experience of riding in a car with an empty drivers seat and the steering wheel spinning itself was uncanny—like a theme park dark ride, only the "immersive environment" was just real life. I can't imagine that the economics of this business will work out; surely it costs more to have support infrastructure in the cloud and years and billions of dollars worth of R&D than it does to simply pay a driver. And research suggests that ride hail services (whether there's a human or a robot behind the wheel) increase traffic and pollution. I do suspect they'll be safer, depending on where they're allowed to drive—in San Francisco they still can't go on the freeway. And I figure the thing was a perfectly acceptable driver, and probably safer than a human after a couple of drinks. But I don't know if, when it comes to moving around a city, they're *better*. Anything that puts us inside steel boxes, alone with our phones...well. That's a strange future. #autonomouscars #waymo #sanfrancisco https://lnkd.in/gYvmiX2c

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Congestion pricing has been a long fight in NYC — more than 50 years! Kudos to the MTA for finally getting it done, set to go live this summer. I’m really excited for it. Yes it means Revels will pay a little more going into downtown Manhattan, but the positive effects on our service will be greater when there are way fewer cars on the streets. We did an analysis that projects pick-up and total trip time will decrease by about 10%. That means a more efficient, higher utilized rideshare business. But even more, I’m excited for this as a New Yorker who walks and bikes wherever I can. We love New York for its density, for the ability to get to the best shops, restaurants, museums, parks, etc. without having to get behind the wheel and drive there. This is going to be amazing for quality of life and make our city that much more attractive for residents and tourists alike, which is good for our economy. Congestion pricing is not a finish line, it’s a starting gun. I wrote about other ways we can make our city more about people, and less about cars, to the benefit of everyone, in the New York Daily News: https://lnkd.in/dmynx4JT

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INTERVIEWS OF 2024 SXSW PITCH WINNERS: Dhavel Patel of Lotus Every March in Austin, 50 of the world's most impactful startups showcase their talents at SXSW Pitch. Today we begin a series of short interviews with some of the category winners from the 2024 event. Founder and CEO Dhaval Patel has been growing Lotus for three years. At this year's SXSW Pitch, his San Jose based startup emerged as the winner of the "Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability" category. Patel's short answers to our questions are below. SXSW: What is Lotus?  Patel: A wearable ring that controls objects at home by pointing. See https://www.getlotus.com/ SXSW: What community does Lotus serve? Patel: Folks with limited mobility -- older adults, veteran soldiers, people with disabilities.  SXSW: Who is your all-time favorite entrepreneur? Patel: Warren Buffett. SXSW: Best startup-related advice you have received? Patel: Don't start building first, find the need first. SXSW: Current entrepreneurial trend that excites you the most? Patel: Desire for tech that is intuitive and simple. SXSW: Fail fast or perseverance? Patel: Persevere in failing fast repeatedly. SXSW: Favorite VC? Patel: Andreessen Horowitz. SXSW: Favorite gadget or device? Patel: Apple AirPods. SXSW: Government can best support startups by Patel: Moving faster. SXSW: Most over-hyped technology at present? Patel: AI. SXSW: Most under-hyped technology at present? Patel: Consumer hardware. SXSW: What did you enjoy most about your experience at SXSW? Patel: The people -- each person wanting to make the world a better place. SXSW: What is your best trait as an entrepreneur? Patel: Simplifying complex problems. SXSW: What is your best advice for other startups? Patel: Focus (say "no" to more). Learn more about Dhaval Patel of Lotus plus other 2024 SXSW Pitch winners by listening to the audio of their session at this year's event. See https://lnkd.in/gHtwQB8n Applications for SXSW Pitch 2025 will open in late summer. See https://lnkd.in/gE2hcVPK #sxsw, #sxsw2024, #startups, #founders, Chris Valentine, Dhaval Patel, SXSW, #venturecapital, #entrepreneur, #entrepreneurs, #startup, #founderstories, #sxswpitch, Lotus (Techstars'23), #techstars, #Austin, #ATX, #creativity, #innovation, #hardware, #consumerhardware, #pitch, #accessibility,

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As the premiere date for #SideHustlers on Roku approaches, I've been reflecting on my mindset going into filming Season 2. I had a clear vision of the type of entrepreneurs I wanted to mentor and work with. Here are some key attributes I was looking for 👉🏻 Key Attributes of a Successful Founder: 1. Resourcefulness 2. Self-Motivation & Confidence 3. Financial Literacy 4. Knowing Your Customer and Connecting with Your Target Audience 5. Understanding Your Product 6. Being a Problem Solver What are some other traits you would add to this list?

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You’ve probably seen a lot of headlines pointing out that red states outpace blue states with clean tech growth — including here at Cipher! — so we set out to dig deeper to determine the “why” behind this trend by interviewing renewable energy developers, lawyers, economists and analysts involved in the U.S. energy transition. The answer lies in a mix of natural resources and regulatory policies that give these states “the competitive edge,” especially when IRA credits are factored in, said Peter Gardett, head of research at Karbone, a New York-based firm specializing in decarbonization and renewable markets. In other words, development goes where the economics make sense — even if the politics don’t. Read more from Amena H. Saiyid in Cipher News:

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💥 "The two can coexist: making #sustainable choices can still lead you to profitability as a business." That's Carolyn Chiang Rosebrough, the chief brand and communications officer for Lime, who spoke with me for The Cool Down about how the #micromobility leader has grown a profitable business while also making a positive impact on the planet. Take design choices like introducing "swappable" batteries (which can switch between scooters and bikes), that help operations become more efficient and more sustainable at the same time. "There's been a lot of design choices that we've made that are also more green, that ultimately also drive the business." 🛴 Could electric scooters and bikes be the unsung heroes of transportation electrification -- and help us to realize a future with less traffic and pollution? 🛴 What about safety? 🛴 How can we get more people in the habit of using bikes and scooters? We get into it all in our conversation -- and in this week's Business Edition newsletter we get some real-world feedback about consumer attitudes towards micromobility. Check out the interview 👉 https://lnkd.in/gJ7d2hHb Sign up for the newsletter (Free!) 👉 https://lnkd.in/g7jZ5nZV #climatesolutions #electrification #transportation #scooters #ebikes #lime

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We have a new addition to the VentureFizz weekly email (signup here: https://lnkd.in/eMWsg9U). Announcing Boston Tech Time Warp!!! It's crazy to think that I've been publishing this email for something like 15 years (how is that possible???). I started archiving the emails 10 years ago, so I thought it would be fun to look back at the archives each week. I'll pull pieces of info through the years. So... what was happening in the Boston tech scene 10 years ago on January 5th, 2015??? * Who raised capital?  Swoop, Qualtre, Appcues * Event: the next WebInno event was coming up featuring Flyp, RocketBoard, & Upware Labs. * Some of the companies who were hiring: Swipely, Codeship, Backupify, Digital Lumens, CloudHealth, & Kiva Systems. * Blog post: Matt Fates (a VC at Innospark Ventures but was at Ascent Venture Partners at the time) published a blog post titled: The New Normal: Cloud, It’s Not Just Early Adopters Anymore - READ Part 1: https://lnkd.in/dDcNJbFr Part 2: https://lnkd.in/deBzUrNp

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"We're just going to steamroll you". So so many startups building new AI products (with hopes of becoming businesses) are just solving near-term obvious problems or filling gaps that they see in current generation AI platforms. The (vast?) majority of these are really just features that will be absorbed by the platforms as they mature. Or as Sam Altman comments in this video - it's not because we don't like you, it's because we have a mission and we're "just going to steamroll you". The insane pace of advancement in platforms at this market stage makes a time-to-market advantage a foolish thing to bet on. Go deeper with critical thinking on moats, customer-centered product experience, and always build ahead of today's models... https://lnkd.in/gXe5nTHf

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Here’s something I’ve been thinking about lately: I want to do more podcasts. Not just the typical ones where we talk about the plant industry or legislative updates (though those are cool, too). I also want to dive into other passions of mine—like (but not limited to) plant culture, dogs, tattoos, life, fitness, freelance careers, horror, and so much more. I want to have fun, engage in meaningful conversations, and explore new topics that challenge and inspire. If you know of any great shows I should check out—or if you think I’d be a good fit as a guest for one—let me know in the comments or DMs. Let’s make this happen.

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BW Businessworld Weekly Tech Newsletter for this past week. Link >> https://lnkd.in/gsGEWHWr This past week was headlined by CES 2025, the premier consumer technology expo on the planet. We witnessed numerous launches from companies like HP, Asus, Acer, Dell, Gigabyte, MSI, Samsung and Valve. In other news, among the talks about low yields and high cost of TSMC's 2nm process, Qualcomm and Nvidia are rumoured to be considering Samsung's foundry services. Meanwhile, privacy concerns are high yet again after popular virtual assistant Siri has been accused of eavesdropping on users' conversations. Apple settled the suit for $95 million amounting to approximately $20 per person (the apparent price of your privacy). Intel and AMD launch new processor at CES 2025 displaying x86 in all its glory wrapped in an AI gift wrap. Nvidia was far behind as it unveiled its new RTX 50 series GPUs with Blackwell architecture. Yes, the same architecture it uses in its flagship GB200 AI chips. CEO Huang also unveiled the Digits, a $3,000 portable supercomputer that will probably democratise personal AI computing like no other. We also L'Oreal step up with its L'Oréal's Cell BioPrint, a skin analysis device capable of providing a personalised skin analysis in just five minutes. Netherlands and Nvidia's partnership to set up an AI supercomputer facility, Apple raising Tim Cook's salary to $74.6 million, tariff cuts on smartphone components and smartphones like the OnePlus 13 and Poco X7 Pro making their debut, all of this in this edition of BW Tech Weekly. Qualcomm | NVIDIA | Samsung Semiconductor | Apple | EY | FICCI | OnePlus | Microsoft | POCO India | Intel Corporation | AMD | MediaTek | Lenovo | L'Oréal | Valve corporation | #tech #consumertech #CES2025 #technewsletter #BWWeeklyTech

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Some interesting proposals regarding tips for delivery drivers in New York. --- "Now, City Councilman Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan) is set to bring more pain: Convinced that the apps’ changes were an attempt to are retaliate against workers (instead of an effort not to sink under the new laws), he’s introduced two bills that would 1) require apps to prompt users to tip before the delivery is made, and 2) set a default minimum suggested tip of 10%, leaving it to customers to notice, and then choose to opt out or manually change the tip amount." --- Link to the full story is in the comments.

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Can a mayonnaise company be a venture-backed startup? For Term Sheet, I spoke with Ben Lerer, Harley Miller, and David McCormick about the rise and fall of consumer tech investing—and whether we might see an AI-fueled return. https://lnkd.in/e4yRkuY4

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