by tyler | Apr 25, 2024 | Tech
Anduril Industries has taken another step forward in its quest to become the next great American prime, this time by beating out major defense companies to develop and test small unmanned fighter jet prototypes.
The venture capital darling beat out Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman on the deal, under the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. General Atomics was the other awardee out of the group of five.
Anduril and General Atomics will design, manufacture and test “production representative test articles” as part of the contract work, the Air Force said in a statement. Eventually, the Air Force will make a final, multibillion-dollar production decision in fiscal year 2026 and have fully operational aircraft from suppliers before the end of the decade. It is unclear if the Air Force will select more than one company to deliver production aircraft.
The deal could prove very lucrative for Anduril: Eventually, the CCA program aims to deliver at least 1,000 combat aircraft, which will fly in concert with manned platforms, like the F-35, and deliver their own weapons. The CCA program is part of an Air Force initiative called Next Generation Air Dominance; the aim is to modernize the entire fleet of flying systems, including piloted aircraft (Boeing and Lockheed are still in the running for manned system contracts).
At the center of Anduril’s victory is Fury, an autonomous air vehicle that it acquired when it bought North Carolina-based Blue Force Technologies last year. Anduril moved from acquisition of the tech to winning a major defense award with it in less than a year.
Seven-year-old Anduril was valued at $8.5 billion by investors, including Founders Fund, in 2022, when it announced its $1.48 billion Series E. The outfit’s famous 31-year-old co-founder, Palmer Luckey, has been outspoken about reversing the zero-sum paradigm that has dominated defense spending — which is to say, the defense primes win and the taxpayer loses — by building cheaper assets at a much faster pace.
“Anduril’s work on this program is just beginning,” Anduril SVP Jason Levin said in a statement. “U.S. and allied success in the future requires CCAs to be delivered at a speed, cost, and scale to beat the pacing threat. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the U.S. Air Force to deliver this critical capability to our Airmen as quickly as possible.”
by tyler | Apr 25, 2024 | Tech
Advances in generative AI have taken the tech world by storm. Biotech investors are making a big bet that similar computational methods could revolutionize drug discovery.
On Tuesday, ARCH Venture Partners and Foresite Labs , an affiliate of Foresite Capital, announced that they incubated Xaira Therapeutics and funded the AI biotech with $1 billion. Other investors in the new company, which has been operating in stealth mode for about six months, include F-Prime, NEA, Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures and SV Angel.
Xaira’s CEO Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a former Stanford president and chief scientific officer at Genentech, says the company is ready to start developing drugs that were impossible to make without recent breakthroughs in AI. “We’ve done such a large capital raise because we believe the technology is at an inflection point where it can have a transformative effect on the field,” he said.
The advances in foundational models come from the University of Washington’s Institute of Protein Design, run by David Baker, one of Xaira’s co-founders. These models are similar to diffusion models that power image generators like OpenAI’s DALL-E and Midjourney. But rather than creating art, Baker’s models aim to design molecular structures that can be made in a three-dimensional, physical world.
While Xaira’s investors are convinced that the company can revolutionize data design, they emphasized that generative AI applications in biology are still in the early innings.
Vik Bajaj, CEO of Foresite Labs and managing director of Foresite Capital, said that unlike in technology, where data that train AI models is created by consumers, biology and medicine are “data poor. You have to create the datasets that drive model development.”
Other biotech companies using generative AI to design drugs include Recursion , which went public in 2021, and Genesis Therapeutics, a startup that last year raised a $200 million Series B co-led by Andreessen Horowitz.
The company declined to say when it expects to have its first drug available for human trials. However, ARCH Venture Partners managing director Bob Nelsen underscored that Xaira and its investors are ready to play the long game.
“You need billions of dollars to be a real drug company and also think AI. Both of those are expensive disciplines,” he said.
Xaira wants to position itself as a powerhouse of AI drug discovery. However, some view bringing on Tessier-Lavigne as CEO as an unexpected move. Tessier-Lavigne resigned just seven months ago from his position as Stanford president following explosive reports — including in the Stanford Daily — that his laboratory at Genetech had manipulated research data.
Tessier-Lavigne was not himself accused of manipulating any data and denied knowing there was falsified research being published by his colleagues.
Indeed, after a special committee of Stanford’s Board of Trustees initiated a review related to Tessier-Lavigne’s scientific research, he let it be known that the panel concluded he “did not engage in any fraud or falsification of scientific data.” Still, as he wrote in his last public communication from Stanford last summer, “[a]lthough the report clearly refutes the allegations of fraud and misconduct that were made against me,” the investigation itself had become so big a distraction that he decided to step down “for the good of the University.”
Investors don’t seem bothered by the events. They say they’re confident that Tessier-Lavigne — who left Genentech in 2011 to lead Rockefeller University, then joined Stanford in 2016 — is the right person for the job.
“I have known Marc for many years and know him to be a person of integrity and scientific vision who will be an exceptional CEO,” Nelsen said in an email. “Stanford exonerated him of any wrongdoing or scientific misconduct.”
by tyler | Apr 25, 2024 | Tech
Threads, the Twitter/X rival from Meta, is growing at a stable pace. The social network now has more than 150 million monthly active users — up from 130 million in February — Mark Zuckerberg mentioned during the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call.
Since the last quarterly earnings call, Threads has notably taken steps toward integrating with ActivityPub, the decentralized protocol that powers networks like Mastodon. In March, the company allowed U.S.-based users over 18 to connect their accounts to the Fediverse so their posts would show up on other servers.
The company also plans to release its API to a wide set of developers by June , allowing them to build experiences around the social network. However, it is still not clear if Threads will allow developers to make full-fledged third-party clients.
Last week, Meta launched its AI chatbot across Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram . Threads was a notable exclusion from this list, possibly because of the lack of native DM functionality.
On Wednesday, Threads also released a test feature to let users auto-archive their posts after a period of defined time. They can also archive or unarchive individual posts and make them public.
Threads is roughly nine months old, and Meta has steadily built out the audience. However, it is not exactly an X alternative, as Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in October that Threads won’t “amplify news on the platform.” But Meta’s social network is still gaining steam. Earlier this week, according to app analytics firm Apptopia, Business Insider reported that Threads now has more daily active users in the U.S. than X.
by tyler | Apr 25, 2024 | Tech
Swiggy , an Indian food delivery and instant commerce startup, plans to raise $1.25 billion in an initial public offering and has secured approval from its shareholders, it disclosed in a filing to the local regulator.
The Bengaluru-headquartered startup plans to raise $450 million through the issuance of new shares and offer $800 million of shares from existing backers in the IPO, it wrote in a filing to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It competes with publicly-listed Zomato and Zepto , a StepStone Group-backed unicorn .
The Indian startup ecosystem has been eagerly anticipating Swiggy’s public debut, which is slated for later this year. Swiggy counts Prosus, Accel, SoftBank and Invesco among its backers. It was last valued at $10.7 billion in a funding round unveiled in early 2022. Some of its investors, including Invesco and Baron, have since publicly marked up the valuation of Swiggy to over $12 billion .
Swiggy had earlier intended to go public in 2023 , TechCrunch previously reported, but deferred the plan due to not-so-favorable market conditions.
Swiggy commands about 45.8% of the Indian food delivery market and clocked a GMV of $2.57 billion in that business in 2023, Bernstein analysts wrote in a recent note. It serves between 16 million to 17 million monthly transacting users and works with a network of about 375,000 delivery personnels, the analysts said.
The startup’s food delivery business, which operates in 600 Indian cities, is profitable according to the company’s past statements.
Swiggy today faces fierce competition from Zomato, which also commands the market leading position in the instant commerce business. Zomato acquired Blinkit for $568 million in mid-2022 and since then, its quick commerce business has already reached a size that is equivalent to half of its food delivery business. An indicator of its growth: Zomato, which went public in 2021, reached a record high of more than $20 billion in market cap earlier this month.
“Despite Zomato being a late entrant in the food delivery market, it has gone from a laggard in CY19 to gaining market share in the duopoly. Both players were similar size in CY20 at $ 1.2 Bn,” Bernstein analysts wrote.
Instamart, Swiggy’s quick commerce business, and Zomato’s Blinkit are also increasingly facing heightened competition from Zepto. The Mumbai-headquartered startup was recently on pace to achieve $1.2 billion in annual sales .
Zepto has outpaced Swiggy’s Instamart to become the No. 2 instant commerce startup in India, according to recent estimates by HSBC.
Zepto has outpaced Swiggy’s Instamart to become the No. 2 instant commerce startup in India, according to recent estimates by HSBC.
by tyler | Apr 25, 2024 | Tech
As the world’s population continues to grow, the need to be able to feed everyone is something a number of entities are working on. Paris-based Edonia , is one of the startups working on creating protein ingredients using microalgae.
Edonia joins companies like Bevel , AlgaeCore Technologies , Algenuity and NewFish that are all tapping into the global market for commercial algae expected to be valued at $25.4 billion by 2033 .
Now armed with €2 million ($2.1 million), the company is moving forward with producing plant-based ingredients from microalgae biomass generated from spirulina or chlorella that Valentin claims is more nutritious than meat, Edonia CEO Hugo Valentin told TechCrunch.
Edonia is Valentin’s second company. He was also co-founder of Ammi, a company that was also working on spirulina consumption. Prior to that he was an account director for consulting firm Uzik. He said while at Ammi he was convinced that microalgae would play an important role in the current protein transition.
Edonia makes the protein via a unique microalgae transformation process called “edonization.” This transforms the microalgae biomass into a textured super ingredient with numerous taste, odor, texture, nutritional and environmental qualities.
“We want to solve the organoleptic (sense organs) aspects of microalgae,” Valentin said. “Today, it’s mainly known as a green powder with a bitter taste. The goal of the technologies is to solve this problem.”
Brevel sprouts $18.5M to develop microalgae-based alternative proteins
The edonization technique changes the color from green to a darker richer-looking brown. It converts the texture to “meaty-like tender grains” with aromatics similar to one that smoking or grilling would produce, Valentin said.
Edonia’s microalgae product replaces ground meat, like meatballs. (Image credit: Lilie Bedos + Edonia)
Edonia’s microalgae product replaces ground meat, like meatballs. (Image credit: Lilie Bedos + Edonia)
Edo-1 is the startup’s first product, which Valentin said offered an umami-like flavor and texture closer to ground meat than that of soy proteins. Therefore, it’s a good plant-based replacement for ground meat, he said.
In addition, the minimally processed Edo-1 is 30% protein, comprised of essential amino acids, and contains other minerals and vitamins. That’s a bit higher percentage of protein than, for instance, ground beef, which can be around 20% (a large percentage of beef is water).
At a time when 34% of greenhouse gas emissions are generated by our food, Valentin also wanted to show that microalgae could reduce emissions. Edonia worked with university institution AgroParisTech to develop a Life Cycle Assessment that shows Edonia’s product could emit 40 times less carbon dioxide than its ground meat equivalent, and three times less than its textured soy equivalent.
Edonia is already able to produce a few kilograms of Edo-1. Valentin’s next goal is to scale the technology so it can deliver thousands of tons of the product to the market. Valentin expects to have a full-scale factory in about two years.
The company is also working with food manufacturer beta testers to develope recipes and food products using Edonia’s ingredients.
“We plan to go to the market by the end of this year with commercial proofs of concepts,” he said.
Edonia isn’t subject to the “Novel Food” category regulations, so it does not need French or European Union authorization to go to market. This will enable it to commercialize its production more rapidly. The official launch will be European, and then the startup aims to quickly expand to other continents, like Asia and the United States, through strategic partnerships, Valentin said.
The €2 million investment was led by French venture capital firm Asterion Ventures, which recently invested in another “green” company Diamfab . BPI also participated. The capital will enable the company to finance a pilot plant and extend its R&D, Valentin said.
The quality of Edonia’s product has already been tested and approved by French R&D chef Laurent Sicre , whose culinary creation and development expertise is recognized by food industry professionals and restaurateurs.
In addition to meat alternatives, Valentin said Edo-1 can improve nutrition for other products, including bread, cakes, cream and cereal bars, without impairing the eating experience.
Edonia is now setting up its industrial demonstrator and Valentin expects to be able to execute at an industrial scale beginning this summer. The next step is to secure additional letters of intent for food makers to go to market with a product containing Edo-1.
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by tyler | Apr 25, 2024 | Tech
It’s still unclear whether cloud gaming will ever become the next big thing. The appeal is clear: The game you’re playing runs in a data center near you, and the video output is directly streamed to your local device. When you interact with the game, everything is relayed back to the data center.
When it works, it’s an amazing experience . It’s a flexible, easy way to play games across multiple devices without buying new hardware. That’s why many companies have launched services that let you play games remotely — there’s Nvidia’s GeForce Now service, Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna, and Google’s now-defunct Stadia cloud gaming service.
But the vast majority of people still play video games on their own, local devices. A French company called Shadow tried something different by bringing your entire computer to the cloud: It isn’t just cloud gaming, it’s cloud computing . You can access Windows in the cloud and install anything you want. But Shadow hasn’t become a mainstream service either.
Fergus Leleu, Jean-Baptiste Kempf and Yannis Weinbach — three former employees at Shadow — decided to leave the company and try something different with their new startup, Playruo . Instead of letting you play your games in the cloud, their new company lets you play game demos in the cloud.
In many ways, Playruo delivers on the original promise of Google’s Stadia: It lets you launch and play a video game from your web browser without having to install anything. Just like people share Google Docs links to share a document, game publishers can turn a game demo into a shareable link.
Behind the scenes, Playruo’s streaming technology is based on Kyber , a bi-directional streaming technology created by Jean-Baptiste Kempf, the CTO of Playruo. Kempf is also better known as the president of VideoLAN , the organization behind the popular open-source video player, VLC. He has also worked on various video encoders and decoders used by some of the largest video platforms, including Netflix and YouTube.
Playruo relies heavily on open-source software components, such as FFmpeg to encode the audio and video streams, and libVLC to decode the stream on your local device. The company uses QUIC for the transport layer network protocol.
I tried a couple of demos in Google Chrome on macOS, and the service worked as expected. You can start playing just a few seconds after clicking on the demo link, and on a solid fiber connection via Wi-Fi, it felt like I was playing a game locally.
There are thousands of games released on PC and game consoles every year. Unless you have a gigantic marketing budget, it’s hard to stand out.
Even worse, game publishers are also competing with old games. Some of the most played games of 2023 have been around for more than a decade — think Minecraft, DOTA 2, GTA V, or League of Legends. It’s arguably one of the reasons why there have been so many rounds of layoffs in the game industry recently.
Playruo’s pitch is that it can be used by game publishers as part of a launch campaign to maximize their chances of success. For instance, at the end of a video trailer, a publisher could embed thumbnail on YouTube with a link to the demo so you can try out the game easily.
Playruo links can also be integrated in game launchers. Imagine a popular Twitch streamer sharing a link to a multiplayer game demo so that viewers can team up with their favorite Twitch content creator.
Unlike traditional cloud gaming services, Playruo’s client here is the game’s publisher, and they pay the startup to offer a demo. Chances are that a demo that becomes viral will lead to increased game sales. Playruo is already working with Old Skull Games to promote Cryptical Path .
“We know the cloud gaming business model pretty well from our past experience. The big pitfall is that the various platforms do everything they can to prevent you from using the service too much,” Playruo’s co-founder and head of product, Weinbach, told me.
“It’s a bit ridiculous and counterintuitive. So we thought about a business model where it’s interesting for us that people stay for a long time,” he said. In other words, a viral demo could be considered as a success for a game publisher.
Playruo will have to make sure that it can quickly scale its fleet of servers (up and down) based on demand. The company relies on public cloud companies that offer virtual machines with GPUs, such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Scaleway.
This will be a critical part of Playruo’s model. If the startup has too many servers running without anyone launching demos, it’ll lead to an expensive hosting bill at the end of the month. If the startup doesn’t have enough servers, many gamers will receive an error when they try to launch a demo.
But if it works well, Playruo can act as the top of the funnel for game purchases. After a 15-minute demo, players can get a link to add a game to their Steam wishlist, join a Discord server, or enter their email address to get more information. And they may not even realize that they played a game that wasn’t installed on their system.
