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Daily Crunch: July 15, 2021

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Welcome and Conference Update

Greetings, and welcome to the Daily Crunch for July 15, 2021. Exciting developments are occurring at TechCrunch. The full schedule for our flagship Disrupt conference, scheduled for this September, has been released.

The event promises to be exceptionally impressive, and we encourage you to review the agenda. Furthermore, the newest EC-1 report is now available.

EC-1 Report on CockroachDB

For those seeking detailed insights into CockroachDB, our latest EC-1 report provides a comprehensive overview. This report serves as an essential resource for understanding the company and its technology.

— Alex

TechCrunch's Leading Three Stories

Here's a rundown of the most significant tech news as reported by TechCrunch.

Revolut's Valuation Soars

Revolut, the U.K.-based financial technology company, has successfully secured $800 million in new funding. This investment has resulted in a company valuation of $33 billion.

The current valuation represents a substantial increase compared to Revolut’s worth in early 2020. TechCrunch investigated the factors contributing to this significant growth.

Valve Enters the Handheld Gaming Arena

Valve, the creator of the Steam gaming platform, is now venturing into the handheld gaming device market.

Their new device, the Steam Deck, will be available for $399. It features a powerful configuration, including a quad-core Zen 2 CPU, AMD RDNA 2 graphics, and 16 GB of RAM, as detailed by Brian Heater.

Users requiring more storage capacity can opt for a higher-priced model, reaching up to $649 for the handheld computer.

Aurora to Become a Publicly Traded Company

Aurora, a prominent autonomous vehicle company, is preparing to go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

The company anticipates a valuation of $13 billion upon commencement of trading. It’s worth noting that Aurora previously acquired Uber’s self-driving vehicle division in a deal valued at approximately $10 billion.

This move signifies a major step for Aurora in the autonomous vehicle industry.

Startups and Venture Capital Updates

Recent activity in the venture capital landscape has been exceptionally high, characterized by a swift pace of transactions and a substantial volume of funding rounds. For companies currently seeking capital, insights from Norwest’s Lisa Wu could prove invaluable.

Her primary recommendation? Adopt a venture capitalist’s mindset as you approach fundraising efforts.

Recent Funding Rounds and Developments

• American Express Expands into Financial Planning: It was reported today that American Express, through its venture division, made an investment in BodesWell last year. Subsequently, the company has initiated a pilot program for its inaugural self-service digital financial planning tool, developed in collaboration with the startup. This represents a significant early adopter for BodesWell.
• Abodu Secures $20 Million for Prefab Construction: Abodu, a name combining “abode” and “you,” has received $20 million in new funding. While the prefab construction company Katerra previously failed, Abodu is pursuing a direct-to-consumer approach.
• Lightyear Attains $13.1M for Online Network Procurement: Lightyear, a company positioning itself as “the first tool for buying your telecom infrastructure on the web,” announced a $13.1 million funding round today. The CEO highlights the trend of online migration, extending it to network procurement.
• Daloopa Raises $20M for Financial Data Extraction: Daloopa has successfully closed a Series A funding round of $20 million, led by NEXT Investors from Credit Suisse Asset Management.

This funding will enable Daloopa to assist financial professionals in automating data extraction, thereby streamlining the process of gathering insights for analysis and forecasting. The deal is notable due to its clear connection to corporate venture capital, an area that has seen increased activity in recent quarters.

CockroachDB EC-1: A Deep Dive

The remarkable resilience of creatures like ants and camels served as inspiration when naming the company offering this open-source, cloud-native distributed database. Consequently, “Cockroach Labs” emerged as the chosen name.

Due to its foundational role as core infrastructure, database technology historically demonstrates a strong resistance to change. For instance, Oracle Database first appeared in 1979, while MySQL’s initial release wasn’t until 1995.

Since its introduction, CockroachDB has evolved into a significant database competitor, currently valued at $2 billion. Enterprise reporter Bob Reselman recently conducted interviews with the company’s founders, resulting in a comprehensive four-part series.

Series Overview

• Part 1: The Genesis: This section details the company’s beginnings, tracing back to the development of the widely-used open-source image editor GIMP and contributions to Google’s infrastructure.
• Part 2: Architectural Insights: This installment provides an analysis of CockroachDB’s key differentiators, with a particular emphasis on its geographical considerations and data storage methodologies.
• Part 3: Community and Commercialization: Here, the focus shifts to how CockroachDB cultivates relationships with developers and its strategic transition towards a cloud-centric business model.
• Part 4: Market Position and Outlook: This concluding part examines the competitive environment and explores potential future scenarios, including possible exit strategies.

The series offers a thorough examination of the company’s journey and its place within the broader database landscape.

(Access to exclusive content and resources is available through Extra Crunch, our membership program designed to support founders and startup teams. Registration can be completed here.)

Big Tech Inc.

Recent developments indicate a potential shift in the financial technology landscape, with Apple exploring entry into the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market.

This news significantly impacted the stock values of companies like Affirm and Afterpay.

Industry analysts are now assessing the implications for other startups operating within the BNPL sector, as reported by TechCrunch.

Handset Market Share

Xiaomi experienced substantial growth in handset shipments during the second quarter, achieving an impressive 83% increase.

This surge propelled the Chinese hardware manufacturer past Apple and its iPhone series, according to data from Canalys.

Despite Apple’s own growth in shipments, Xiaomi now holds the second-largest position in the global smartphone market.

Samsung continues to lead the market in terms of unit volume.

Space Tourism Update

An 18-year-old student, Oliver Daemen, is set to travel to space on Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos.

Daemen, a recent high school graduate planning to attend the University of Utrecht, will take the place of the original winning bidder who was unable to make the flight.

The original auction price for the seat reached $28 million.

It is noted that Daemen’s family possesses significant financial resources, enabling him to participate in this unique opportunity.

This development has sparked considerable interest and a degree of envy regarding access to space tourism.

TechCrunch Seeks Growth Marketing Professionals

TechCrunch is currently soliciting recommendations for skilled growth marketers.

These professionals should demonstrate proficiency in areas such as SEO, social media marketing, and content creation.

Growth Marketer Survey

Growth marketers are encouraged to share a survey with their clients.

The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback regarding positive client experiences and the value provided by these marketing experts.

Insights into TechCrunch’s Coverage

Interested parties can gain insight into how these surveys influence TechCrunch’s reporting.

A guest article published on Extra Crunch, authored by Mark Spera, titled “5 advanced-ish SEO tactics in 2021,” details this process.

The article provides a deeper understanding of the criteria used to evaluate and feature growth marketing strategies.