|
See your competitor's strategy
Hi there,
If you can find 3 people in Silicon Valley into some weird isht, it is now a trend.
How we saw Walmart's strategy early
Two months ago, we'd written about a Walmart patent that allows shoppers to see 3D renderings of their fresh produce prior to purchasing them or pickup.
On the CBI platform via our patent search engine, we could see that Walmart had quickly (early in 2017) filed for several patents related to identification of fresh produce and perishables.
(Note: if you're a client with access to patent search, click here to see these patents.)
Last week, Walmart's Parvez Musani announced Eden in a blog post on Walmart confirming what the patents filed in early 2017 had revealed. He wrote:
"Eden’s suite of apps helps Walmart associates better monitor and care for fresh fruits and vegetables that are waiting to be shipped from distribution centers to stores. That could mean more efficiently ripening bananas, predicting the shelf life of tomatoes while they’re still on the vine, or prioritizing the flow of green grocery items from the back of the store to the shelf."
If you want a legal but unfair view into your competitor's strategy, you should be analyzing their patents.
Analyzing does not mean reading individual patents.
The volume and length of patents (thousands of pages) makes them too large a dataset for human cognition.
Yes, machines are made for this. (See: Expert Automation & Augmentation Software.)
If you're interested in how machine intelligence can reveal where your competitors are focused, we should chat — or you can check out our patent search engine & analytics platform.
Everything was blockchain, and nothing hurt
On March 1, the total market cap of cryptocurrencies hovered around $460B. Initial coin offerings are already closing on $2B+ — and it's only March.
If none of that makes sense to you, don't worry. Our blockchain explainer breaks down the technology, cryptocurrency, and more.
Put a ring on it
Last week, Amazon announced that it is acquiring Santa Monica-based smart doorbell company Ring for $1.8B. This is LA tech's third-largest VC-backed exit.
Check out the rest of the list here.
Hitting the bricks (and mortar)
Online mattress startup Casper opened its first store in New York City last week. Meanwhile, clothing company Everlane is opening its second brick-and-mortar location in San Francisco.
We looked at these direct-to-consumer startups and seven others to figure out the secrets to their growth. Check it out here.
Podcast: rare look into Google’s anti-aging project
Recently, Daphne Koller, announced she’s leaving her role as Chief Computing Officer at Calico, Alphabet’s secretive group focused on understanding the biology of human aging.
Nearly all of the public record about Calico’s work is contained in a December conversation between The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Dwoskin and Daphne. It took place at CB Insights' A-ha Conference.
That conversation is this week’s CB Insights podcast.
The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
Quartz. Alison Griswold (@alisongriswold) writes about food delivery startups and cites CB Insights data.
Wired. Gian Volpicelli (@gmvolpi) writes about the ICO bubble and references CB Insights research.
Supply Chain Dive. Kate Patrick (@katepatrick_) reports on automation, AI, and 3D printing and cites CB Insights' State of Auto Tech Report.
Happy Monday.
I love you.
Anand
@asanwal
P.S. Join us tomorrow as we discuss the top food tech trends to watch for in 2018. Sign up for the briefing here.
|
