daily crunch: saving-investing app acorns files to go public in $2.2b spac deal

Daily Crunch: May 27th Update

Greetings and welcome to today’s Daily Crunch for Thursday, May 27th. TechCrunch brings you several updates directly from our headquarters.

Startup Events and Opportunities

We are pleased to announce a virtual meetup event scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh. This event is part of our ongoing national tour, designed to highlight promising startup ecosystems.

For founders in the very early stages of development, applications are still being accepted for the Battlefield competition at Disrupt. Don't miss this opportunity to showcase your venture.

Participation in the Battlefield competition promises to be an exciting and rewarding experience. We encourage eligible founders to apply without delay.

We look forward to connecting with you at both the Pittsburgh meetup and Disrupt! — Alex

TechCrunch's Top 3 Updates

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and today's headlines reflect that. Here's a quick rundown of three key stories from TechCrunch.

NFTs Continue to Gain Traction

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are attracting significant attention, even for those outside the cryptocurrency sphere. Beyond the initial excitement surrounding platforms like NBA TopShot, considerable development is still occurring within the NFT ecosystem.

Companies like Anima are innovating by integrating augmented reality (AR) with NFTs. They have recently secured new funding from Coinbase to further their efforts.

Infinite Objects is also making waves, having raised $6 million to facilitate the transition of NFTs into physical reality.

European Scrutiny of US Cloud Services

Recent weeks have seen a rise in complex interactions between governments and technology companies. A concerning trend has emerged, and today’s news adds to this pattern.

Natasha reports that Europe’s primary data protection authority has initiated two investigations concerning the utilization of cloud services from major US providers by EU institutions.

This investigation highlights growing concerns regarding data privacy and sovereignty.

Fintech Economics: A Closer Look at Acorns

Acorns, a US-based fintech company focused on assisting individuals with saving and investing, is preparing to become a publicly traded entity through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

A detailed analysis of Acorns’ financial performance reveals that while these fintech startups are capable of establishing successful businesses, achieving profitability requires substantial investment.

We examined their results to gain a deeper understanding of the economic realities facing companies in this sector.

Startups and Venture Capital

Below is a summary of recent funding activity. However, before diving into the details, it’s important to acknowledge the ongoing discussion surrounding diversity within the venture capital landscape.

Collab Capital recently unveiled a $50 million fund specifically designed for investment in Black founders, as reported by TechCrunch. Additionally, a $250 million growth fund was announced, committing half of its profits to donations benefiting historically Black colleges and universities. Increased initiatives of this nature are highly encouraged.

Now, let's examine the most notable funding rounds from today:

Breinify Secures $11M for Data Science in Marketing

A prevalent trend in the technology sector involves democratizing advanced capabilities, making them accessible to individuals without specialized technical training. The no-code movement exemplifies this approach.

Breinify is contributing to this trend by focusing on the application of data science to personalization. Their platform aims to empower marketing teams – even those lacking extensive technical expertise – to create more impactful customer experiences, as detailed in TechCrunch’s coverage.

RevenueCat Raises $40M to Simplify In-App Subscriptions

RevenueCat has successfully secured a substantial $40 million investment, resulting in a company valuation of $300 million. Beyond the funding itself, the company has implemented a revised pricing model.

Instead of charging on a per-user basis, RevenueCat now offers tiered services priced according to the total revenue a company manages through the platform. This on-demand pricing structure is gaining popularity. The cost ranges from 0.8% to 1.2% of tracked revenue, depending on the features required.

RevenueCat aims to provide an affordable entry point for developers while remaining profitable as their clients expand.

The Expanding World of Robotics

Our contributor, Brian Heater, has compiled an insightful overview of the robotics startup ecosystem and their recent funding achievements.

TerraClear, for example, recently raised $25 million to further develop its autonomous rock-picking tractor-robot. Bowery Farms secured $300 million, as previously noted, and leverages robots, sensors, and AI as integral components of its vertical farming operations.

Heater’s analysis highlights that the field of robotics extends beyond the often-cited examples of advanced, human-like robots.

• Not all robotic innovation originates from highly complex and potentially unsettling designs.
• The application of robotics is becoming increasingly diverse and practical.

Lessons from Crypto: Why SaaS Onboarding Needs a New Approach

The current environment appears favorable for launching a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) venture. However, the market is saturated with applications boasting superior design and streamlined user experiences.

A significant number of these startups will ultimately not succeed, and the reason often isn’t related to marketing efforts or technical issues. Seed-stage investor John Chen of Fika Ventures identifies a common pitfall: “the myth of frictionless onboarding.”

Contrary to popular belief, businesses consistently require training when adopting new software solutions. Chen explains this is similar to starting a new exercise routine; while users feel positive after completion, substantial effort is needed to begin and maintain progress.

Rather than expecting customers to independently invest the necessary effort, SaaS companies should draw inspiration from the cryptocurrency community. They should explore methods to “incentivize users to complete the essential steps for optimal product utilization.”

This involves actively guiding users through the initial setup and learning curve.

(Extra Crunch is a membership program designed to empower founders and startup teams. Registration is available here.)

Big Tech Inc.

Our focus today is primarily on Twitter, however, a pertinent question arises regarding Ford’s potential gains within the electric vehicle sector. While such a possibility seemed unlikely two years prior, the substantial pre-order numbers for their electric pickup and significant investment in internal battery research and development now warrant consideration.

Concerning Twitter, two key developments are noteworthy. Firstly, the platform is actively responding to challenges presented by the Indian government. Secondly, Twitter has demonstrated a notably accelerated pace of product development, a welcome change for its users.

Reports from TechCrunch, specifically from Manish Singh, indicate that “Twitter has characterized recent visits by law enforcement to its Indian offices as intimidation and expressed concerns regarding stipulations within New Delhi’s updated IT regulations.” This stance is commendable.

We at Daily Crunch previously identified this situation as an instance of intimidation, and it is encouraging to see the company explicitly acknowledge this fact and actively resist. The Indian government’s efforts to control Twitter’s content bear a resemblance to the CCP’s suppression of speech considered unfavorable by the governing authorities. Such practices are unacceptable.

In terms of product innovation, Twitter is now extending its Spaces feature – a competitor to Clubhouse – to desktop computers. While typically minor updates might be overlooked, this release aligns with the recent, accelerated release schedule from the social network. For years, Twitter was known for its slow development cycle.

A shift occurred internally, enabling the company to launch a variety of new products and services. They are even exploring a combined offering of email newsletters, subscription models, and audio-based tipping, which could be exceptionally appealing to content creators.

Few anticipated experiencing enthusiasm for Twitter’s engineering team this year. It represents a pleasant and unexpected development.

TechCrunch Experts: Email Marketing

TechCrunch Experts is currently gathering feedback through surveys to pinpoint leading email marketing professionals within the technology sector.

Currently, we are prioritizing recommendations originating from clients, rather than accepting direct self-submissions.

Nomination Process

We are interested in learning about your experiences and the process you undertook to locate a suitable expert. Your insights are valuable to us.

Please complete the survey available at this link to share your feedback.

• The survey focuses on client experiences.
• Self-nominations will not be considered.

We anticipate significant progress with this initiative and look forward to sharing the results.

Further details regarding TechCrunch Experts can be found on our website at techcrunch.com/experts.