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Month: April 2020

World on Edge: How Edge Computing Can Make Us More Resilient in Times of Crisis

by jlk
This post is by jlk from The Barefoot VC

“Edge computing” has been heralded as a way to increase access to real-time information and to analyze that information more efficiently. But in this moment of public health crisis, we should recognize a potentially significant opportunity that these technologies offer beyond efficiency: the ability of edge computing to weather massive disruption.

To see why, it’s worth remembering what edge computing involves. These technologies move computer workloads to “the edge” of networks, shifting the collection, processing, and storage of data from central locations (like servers or the cloud) to individual devices such as cell phones.

This is significant because of the massive increase of computing power seen in devices that live away from the center of networks. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore famously observed that computer processing doubles every two years, while the cost of that processing power halves in the same time period. The effects of Moore’s Law mean our smartphones now have more processing capability than NASA’s computers when they sent a man to the Moon. This, combined with the associated proliferation of data, enables our devices to get “smarter,” as well as to make select information available to more centralized applications (such as Uber or Instacart) in a more efficient way.
Edge computing during COVID-19

What does this mean for emergency situations like the current pandemic? In times of crisis, the systems on which we depend are closely examined. Dangers test our preparedness, our ability to improvise and our capacity to act and think locally. Globalization through (Read more...)

220. Crisis Coverage w/ Ash Fontana – The AI Investing Playbook; Why “Dev Tools” for Data Scientists is the Next Great Opportunity; When Fund Returns Don’t Fit the Power Law; and Ash’s Favorite Investment Heuristic from Naval Ravikant

by Nick Moran

Ash Fontana of Zetta Venture Partners joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss The AI Investing Playbook; Why "Dev Tools" for Data Scientists is the Next Great Opportunity; When Fund Returns Don't Fit the Power Law; and Ash's Favorite Investment Heuristic from Naval Ravikant. In this episode, we cover:

  • Zetta III was announced recently, a $180M fund for founders building AI-first companies.
  • You went from $60M -> $125M -> $180M... how was the fundraise different this time around?
  • Quickly can you give us your definition of an AI-first company?
  • What will you be doing differently with the new fund and how does the pandemic affect your approach?
  • Tom Tunguz just mentioned that in the data they're analyzing they are seeing a drop in spend on Machine Learning Infrastructure.  How much of a concern is this to you and your portfolio companies?
  • With the launch of the new fund, you outline focus areas both Applications as well as infrastructure and tools...Is the application-layer ready to leverage AI in a significant way or is there still a lot headway that needs to be made at the infrastructure level first?
  • Carlota Perez has written about technology cycles and how new technologies typically go through this installment phase, w/ rapid development and heavy investment, followed by crash and subsequent recovery leading to the deployment phase...  in your estimation where are we in the tech life cycle of AI and is it really ready (or will it be ready over the next (Read more...)

220. Crisis Coverage w/ Ash Fontana – The AI Investing Playbook; Why “Dev Tools” for Data Scientists is the Next Great Opportunity; When Fund Returns Don’t Fit the Power Law; and Ash’s Favorite Investment Heuristic from Naval Ravikant

by Nick Moran

Ash Fontana of Zetta Venture Partners joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss The AI Investing Playbook; Why "Dev Tools" for Data Scientists is the Next Great Opportunity; When Fund Returns Don't Fit the Power Law; and Ash's Favorite Investment Heuristic from Naval Ravikant. In this episode, we cover:

  • Zetta III was announced recently, a $180M fund for founders building AI-first companies.
  • You went from $60M -> $125M -> $180M... how was the fundraise different this time around?
  • Quickly can you give us your definition of an AI-first company?
  • What will you be doing differently with the new fund and how does the pandemic affect your approach?
  • Tom Tunguz just mentioned that in the data they're analyzing they are seeing a drop in spend on Machine Learning Infrastructure.  How much of a concern is this to you and your portfolio companies?
  • With the launch of the new fund, you outline focus areas both Applications as well as infrastructure and tools...Is the application-layer ready to leverage AI in a significant way or is there still a lot headway that needs to be made at the infrastructure level first?
  • Carlota Perez has written about technology cycles and how new technologies typically go through this installment phase, w/ rapid development and heavy investment, followed by crash and subsequent recovery leading to the deployment phase...  in your estimation where are we in the tech life cycle of AI and is it really ready (or will it be ready over the next (Read more...)

The Geographic Concentration of Venture Capital(ists)

by Ian Hathaway
This post is by Ian Hathaway from Blog - Ian Hathaway

Last week, The New York Times published an article arguing that a “wave of venture capitalists is heading to quieter, less-expensive locales, where they are helping fund start-ups.” The article supported this claim by pointing to three venture capitalists who left Silicon Valley and launched funds in other places. One of them, Mark Kvamme, left Sequoia Capital to found Drive Capital in Columbus, Ohio; but that was back in 2013.

I don’t doubt that some venture capitalists have left The Valley to start funds elsewhere. However, The Times is massively overselling the reality. It is already well-advertised that venture-backed startups (the recipients of venture capital) are highly concentrated by geography. However, venture capitalists (the ones investing in startups) are concentrated by geography even more. Let’s take a look at the data.

The chart below illustrates the geographic concentration of venture capitalists along four dimensions: firm counts, active portfolio companies, assets under management (value of portfolios), and dry powder (venture capital available to be deployed). I aggregated the four measures by U.S. metropolitan area according to each active venture capital firm’s headquarters location. The data are presented as a share of the U.S. total.

fig1.png

To no surprise, the San Francisco Bay Area (including the San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas) dominates: 28 percent of active venture capital firms in the United States are headquartered in this region, yet 42 percent of active portfolio companies, 55 percent of portfolio company value held, and 56 percent of venture capital available to (Read more...)

The Geographic Concentration of Venture Capital(ists)

by Ian Hathaway
This post is by Ian Hathaway from Blog - Ian Hathaway

Last week, The New York Times published an article arguing that a “wave of venture capitalists is heading to quieter, less-expensive locales, where they are helping fund start-ups.” The article supported this claim by pointing to three venture capitalists who left Silicon Valley and launched funds in other places. One of them, Mark Kvamme, left Sequoia Capital to found Drive Capital in Columbus, Ohio; but that was back in 2013.

I don’t doubt that some venture capitalists have left The Valley to start funds elsewhere. However, The Times is massively overselling the reality. It is already well-advertised that venture-backed startups (the recipients of venture capital) are highly concentrated by geography. However, venture capitalists (the ones investing in startups) are concentrated by geography even more. Let’s take a look at the data.

The chart below illustrates the geographic concentration of venture capitalists along four dimensions: firm counts, active portfolio companies, assets under management (value of portfolios), and dry powder (venture capital available to be deployed). I aggregated the four measures by U.S. metropolitan area according to each active venture capital firm’s headquarters location. The data are presented as a share of the U.S. total.

fig1.png

To no surprise, the San Francisco Bay Area (including the San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas) dominates: 28 percent of active venture capital firms in the United States are headquartered in this region, yet 42 percent of active portfolio companies, 55 percent of portfolio company value held, and 56 percent of venture capital available to (Read more...)

219. Crisis Coverage w/ Tomasz Tunguz – SaaS Strategies, Sector Data, and the $ Ceiling for Deals over Zoom

by Nick Moran

Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss SaaS Strategies, Sector Data, and the $ Ceiling for Deals over Zoom. In this episode, we cover:

  • September of 2015 was the last time we had you on the program...  bring us up-to-speed on major milestones and changes since then?
  • Has your thesis changed at all?
  • Aside from the effects of the pandemic now, what has been the biggest change in SaaS investing since then?
  • Lots of varying advice from so-called experts... some suggesting to deep cuts across the board, extend runway out for a few years... others saying now is the time to lean-in, expand and take advantage of opportunities that are created by the crisis.  You put together a pretty simple two by two decision-matrix for startups.  Can you talk through this and how you're providing different counsel to startups in different positions?
  • If you're vetting a startup for a Series A that has benefited from the crisis, how do you disentangle or segregate temporary or non-sustainable revenue sources from the steady-state?
  • Have you adjusted your vetting criteria or expectations around metrics due to the crisis?
  • What's something you look for and analyze that is less common?
  • What's your take on situations where there is an agreed MRR but the contract is structured such that the bulk of the contract value is paid upfront.  On one hand is a great boost to working capital but how do you look at that from an (Read more...)

219. Crisis Coverage w/ Tomasz Tunguz – SaaS Strategies, Sector Data, and the $ Ceiling for Deals over Zoom

by Nick Moran

Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss SaaS Strategies, Sector Data, and the $ Ceiling for Deals over Zoom. In this episode, we cover:

  • September of 2015 was the last time we had you on the program...  bring us up-to-speed on major milestones and changes since then?
  • Has your thesis changed at all?
  • Aside from the effects of the pandemic now, what has been the biggest change in SaaS investing since then?
  • Lots of varying advice from so-called experts... some suggesting to deep cuts across the board, extend runway out for a few years... others saying now is the time to lean-in, expand and take advantage of opportunities that are created by the crisis.  You put together a pretty simple two by two decision-matrix for startups.  Can you talk through this and how you're providing different counsel to startups in different positions?
  • If you're vetting a startup for a Series A that has benefited from the crisis, how do you disentangle or segregate temporary or non-sustainable revenue sources from the steady-state?
  • Have you adjusted your vetting criteria or expectations around metrics due to the crisis?
  • What's something you look for and analyze that is less common?
  • What's your take on situations where there is an agreed MRR but the contract is structured such that the bulk of the contract value is paid upfront.  On one hand is a great boost to working capital but how do you look at that from an (Read more...)

A Viral Market Update VII: Mayhem with Multiples

by Aswath Damodaran

I get a sense that I am approaching the end of this series of weekly posts, or perhaps I am just hoping that it is true, as the COVID crisis continued to play out in markets in the last two weeks, albeit on a more subdued scale and with a more positive twist. In this post, I will, as in the prior weeks, update the prior weeks’ market action (for two weeks, from April 4 to April 17) in different asset classes, and within equities, across regions, sectors and stock classifications. I will close this post by looking at how pricing tools, including a range of multiples (from PE ratios to price to book to EV to EBITDA multiples) will become shakier and less reliable in the aftermath of the crisis, and suggest ways in which we can compensate for the uncertainties.

Asset Classes
I started my crisis clock on February 14, reflecting the fact that I am US-based, and markets outside China did not wake up to the crisis until that week. In the weeks since, we have seen volatility rise and equity markets get whipsawed, with much of the pain being dispensed in February and the first three weeks in March. In the last month, equity indices around the world have seen positive returns, and in some cases, very good positive returns, as can be seen in the table below.
Download data
The week of April 10 to April 17 was a benign week, at least in sum, (Read more...)

A Viral Market Update VII: Mayhem with Multiples

by Aswath Damodaran

I get a sense that I am approaching the end of this series of weekly posts, or perhaps I am just hoping that it is true, as the COVID crisis continued to play out in markets in the last two weeks, albeit on a more subdued scale and with a more positive twist. In this post, I will, as in the prior weeks, update the prior weeks’ market action (for two weeks, from April 4 to April 17) in different asset classes, and within equities, across regions, sectors and stock classifications. I will close this post by looking at how pricing tools, including a range of multiples (from PE ratios to price to book to EV to EBITDA multiples) will become shakier and less reliable in the aftermath of the crisis, and suggest ways in which we can compensate for the uncertainties.

Asset Classes
I started my crisis clock on February 14, reflecting the fact that I am US-based, and markets outside China did not wake up to the crisis until that week. In the weeks since, we have seen volatility rise and equity markets get whipsawed, with much of the pain being dispensed in February and the first three weeks in March. In the last month, equity indices around the world have seen positive returns, and in some cases, very good positive returns, as can be seen in the table below.
Download data
The week of April 10 to April 17 was a benign week, at least in sum, (Read more...)