Good morning!
This edition features:
Florida’s early-stage deal count is up 111% YoY
Apple debuts updated AirPods, faster MacBook Pros
One of the largest owners of broadcast stations in the U.S. was hit with a ransomware attack
Google search updates its UX
And Amazon’s AV arm is testing its vehicles in Seattle
It’s Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
1. Florida Tech
As US early-stage funding soared, these states outperformed (Crunchbase)
U.S. early-stage funding has more than doubled year over year in the past two quarters. But not all tech hubs are sharing equally in the gains. At least 11 states have seen early-stage funding more than triple, according to a Crunchbase analysis of U.S. states with $100 million or more in Series A and B investment.
Top gainers by percentage, deal count, and total investment include New York, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan. Meanwhile, a number of states with sizable tech hubs are seeing smaller investment gains, well below the national average. This includes Texas, Washington, and Illinois.
It’s clear that narratives of the San Francisco Bay Area’s entrepreneurial decline are premature. Early-stage venture funding in California hewed fairly close to the national average. The nation’s third-largest venture hub, Massachusetts, was also only a bit below the U.S. average.
Still, other tech ecosystems are seeing faster growth, and in particular, the distribution of really large early-stage rounds appears to be happening across a wider swath of geographies. The size of the typical early-stage round has also been on the rise. In Q2 and Q3, the average early-stage round was $28 million, up from $18 million a year earlier.
2. 🍎
Apple debuts updated AirPods, faster MacBook Pro laptops (Axios)
Apple on Monday announced an updated MacBook Pro lineup featuring higher-performance chips, faster screen refresh rates, and the return of MagSafe magnetic charging cords. It also introduced redesigned AirPods wireless headphones that feature a new, water-resistant design and spatial audio. Details:
The MacBook Pro comes in 14-inch and 16-inch models, featuring either the M1 Pro or M1 Max processors that Apple introduced on Monday.
Apple has brought back the physical row of function keys, dumping the Touch Bar, a small touchscreen that Apple had included on the MacBook Pro in recent years. There's an HDMI port to connect to displays and TVs as well as an SD card reader, the MagSafe charging port, and a headphone jack.
The 14-inch model starts at $1,999, while the 16-inch version starts at $2,499. Pre-orders start today and the new laptops will be available next week.
Apple's new MacBooks bring together a variety of hardware features that Apple has added to other products in recent months, including a mini-LED display similar to the latest iPad Pro and the faster ProMotion screen refresh found on the latest iPhones.
As for the new AirPods, they will be available starting next week for $179, while the previous design remains in the lineup for $129. Apple is also adding a cheaper $4.99-per-month Apple Music plan for those willing to exclusively use their voice to access their tunes.
3. Cybersecurity
Sinclair Broadcast Group says it was hit by a ransomware attack (Wall Street Journal)
Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the largest owners of broadcast stations in the U.S., said it is working to contain a cybersecurity incident that disrupted some of its networks and had some of its servers and workstations encrypted with ransomware.
Sinclair said the event, which it identified over the weekend, has caused a disruption and may continue to do so, to parts of the business, including its local advertisements. The company said it has yet to determine whether the cyberattack will have a “material impact on its business, operations or financial results.”
Social-media posts from local network anchors and customers on Sunday and early Monday reported Sinclair-owned stations were down. Some Twitter posts noted the outage cut into broadcasts of NFL games and morning news. Sinclair operates 185 broadcast networks in 86 markets and owns 21 regional sports networks.
In a statement yesterday, Sinclair said it was working with a cybersecurity firm and notified law enforcement and other government agencies. The company said it was working “to restore operations quickly and securely.” A spokesman didn’t comment on the magnitude of the breach.
4. UX
Google search on mobile now lets yous scroll endlessly (ZDNet)
Google is rolling out continuous scrolling on mobile – a feature most people probably didn't notice they lacked on smartphones. Continuous scrolling, as the name suggests, means that reaching the bottom of the results page just goes on and on instead of requiring a click a "See More" button to view the next page of results.
According to Google's data, most people click through four pages to find the information they're looking for. Of course, the most relevant links should be at the top, but people like exploring more sources than Google puts up front on mobile devices.
"While you can often find what you're looking for in the first few results, sometimes you want to keep looking," explains Google product manager Niru Anand in a blog post. He says it should help satisfy Google search users who have bigger appetites for curiosity.
The continuous scrolling feature builds on Google's rework of the look of its mobile search product. The redesign aimed to make text easier to read and supported devices with edge-to-edge screens. Google more broadly has been aiming to make search on mobile faster on all mediums.
5. Autonomous Vehicles
Amazon’s Zoox expands testing to Seattle for the rain and talent (Bloomberg)
Amazon’s self-driving unit Zoox will start testing autonomous cars in Seattle, bringing the robotaxi maker closer to its parent company and a pool of engineers it sees as key to launching commercially. The company hopes Seattle’s climate will help prepare its technology to drive in a wider range of environments.
Currently, Zoox is testing vehicles in the comparatively drier precincts of Las Vegas and San Francisco. A growing number of autonomous-technology startups are expanding their testing outside of the Bay Area, long a locus of activity for the nascent industry. Like Zoox, many are looking to create fleets of robotaxis.
Zoox assembles its vehicles at a small production facility in Fremont, California. The bug-eyed machines have no steering wheel or pedals and can carry four passengers, facing one another from two seats. Currently, Zoox is testing only the retrofitted Toyotas on public roads.
Amazon announced in June 2020 that it was acquiring Zoox for an undisclosed sum. The e-commerce giant has since been relatively hands-off, echoing its approach with such subsidiaries as video doorbell maker Ring and Whole Foods Market. The company has secured all of the relevant regulatory approvals to test in Seattle and the state of Washington, he said.
6. Funding, IPOs, M&As
🎰 Aristocrat To Buy Playtech For $3.7 Billion: The Australian slot-machine maker will acquire the gambling software developer.
☁️ Expensify Files For IPO: The expense management software maker has filed for an offering of $100 million.
☁️ Backblaze Files For IPO: The Amazon cloud storage challenger reported a $2.4 million loss on $16.2 million in revenue in Q2.
👩💻 Deel Raises $425 Million Series D: San Francisco-based remote hiring startup Deel is now valued at over $5.5 billion.
⚡️ Enpal Closes $147 Million Series C: Enpal makes it easier for homeowners to make the switch to solar energy.
☁️ Bionexo Lands $82.5 Million: The LatAm cloud software and data analytics provider has raised funds led by Bain Capital.
🌱 Allplants Scoops Up $52 Million Series B: Vegan meal delivery startup Allplants has nabbed funding led by Draper Espirit.
🔒 Spot AI Emerges With $22 Million: Spot AI has a security platform to draw out more intelligence from basic security videos.
☁️ Spacelift Nabs $15 Million Series B: Spacelift is an infrastructure-as-a-code management platform.
📖 StudySmarter Raises €13.7 Million Series A: The German edtech startup has raised new funds led by Goodwater Capital.
💰 Pagos Raises $10 Million: Founded by former PayPal execs, Pagos is a payment intelligence infrastructure startup.
👩💻 Immediation Raises $3.6 Million AUD: The Aussie dispute resolution platform will now expand to the US.
As always, please feel free to share questions, feedback, or requests for future newsletters.
Cheers!
Eric
#BeAmbitious