Podcast appearances and mentions of Connie Chan

Critical materials like copper, lithium, and gallium have been mined for decades, but their role in core technologies, geopolitics, and the energy transition have come to a height in recent years.In this episode, a16z partner Connie Chan discusses how technology is changing the game of  identification and exploration, together with leading company KoBold and their VP of Geoscience, VP of Technology, and CEO of Africa.Resources:Learn more about KoBold Metals: https://www.koboldmetals.com/Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16zFind a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Lincoln Mitchell is guest host.Part 1:We talk with Jerry Goldfeder, an election Lawyer about the upcoming general election. We all sense a mood of optimism and dread, where we hope to be rid of Trump, and dread that he may win.There is concern about recent court rulings that curtail voting rights and procedures. These serve to depress the votes of minorities, the old, the young, and the more liberal voters. They also create distrust in the process.We discuss what can be done to counter these effects of the MAGA campaign. We should all be prepared for a rough voting process and certification.Part 2:We talk with Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and is up for re-election.We discuss the main issues that will be important for the Board. We also hear about the divisive messaging being put out by the opposition to progressive members of the Board. The opponents have infinite resources, because they are supported by the very rich "tech bros" who want the power for land grab purposesWNHNFM.ORG   productionMusic: David Rovics, "Time to Act", Song for Will Van Sproson

We usually talk about the closing numbers on the SGX at this hour, but today is a special day because we're going to take you through the latest performance of Singapore's state investor Temasek, out just a couple of hours ago.  Temasek is no stranger to Singaporeans. Founded in 1974, the global investment company has a network of 13 offices across nine countries.  The company has a long term investment horizon, where activities are guided by its views on long term structural trends. It also invests off its own balance sheet, which means that the firm is not constrained by the so-called ‘fund life'.  In its latest Temasek Review 2024 out today, the company said its performance over the long term remained resilient, with its net portfolio value having steadily grown over the past two decades across market cycles.  Its net portfolio value or NPV stood at S$389 billion for the financial year ended 31 March 2024, and marking its unlisted portfolio to market would provide a value uplift of S$31 billion and bring its Mark to Market NPV to S$420 billion. Temasek said the increase in portfolio value was largely due to investments returns from the US and India, while Chinese capital markets weighed on its performance.  Meanwhile, the state investor also noted that its 20-year and 10-year Total Shareholder Return (TSR) remained stable. But how does Temasek assess its overall performance, and where is it investing next? On Market View, The Evening Runway's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Connie Chan, Head of Financial Services, Temasek. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A reminder for new readers. That Was The Week collects the best writing on critical issues in tech, startups, and venture capital. I selected the articles because they are of interest. The selections often include things I entirely disagree with. But they express common opinions, or they provoke me to think. The articles are only snippets. Click on the headline to go to the original. I express my point of view in the editorial and the weekly video below.Thanks To This Week's Contributors: @TEDchris, @LilyWhitsitt, @RocketToLulu, @saeedtaji, @geneteare, @EricNewcomer, @jeffbeckervc, @jasonlk, @elonmusk, @benshapiro, @StevenLevy, @apple, @bheater, @bmw, @Growcoot, @illscience, @venturetwins, @omooretweets, @conniechanContents* Editorial: Civility and Civilization* Essays of the Week* US Seed Investment Actually Held Up Pretty Well For The Past 2 Years. Here's What That Means For 2024* Lower Valuations, Higher Bar: What It's Like To Raise A Seed Round In 2024 * Unicorns & Inevitabilities* Sequoia, Founders Fund, USV, Elad Gil & Benchmark Top Venture Manager Survey* Why 2024 May Be Tougher on Venture Capital Than 2023* Video of the Week* The Mac at 40* AI of the Week* BMW will deploy Figure's humanoid robot at South Carolina plant* Google's New AI Video Generator Looks Incredible* OpenAI's Sam Altman seeks funds for AI chip factories as demands surge* The Future of Prosumer: The Rise of “AI Native” Workflows* Andreessen Horowitz's Connie Chan to Leave as Consumer Focus Shifts to AI* OpenAI Is a (Relative) Steal* News Of the Week* Ted fellows resign from organisation after Bill Ackman named as speaker* Tesla's Slowdown Disqualifies It From ‘Magnificent Seven' Group* TikTok's Testing 30 Minute Uploads as It Looks To Expand Its Content Options* Instagram to scan under-18s' messages to protect against ‘inappropriate images'* Tiger Global Investor Relations Staff Depart After Fundraising Challenges* Worldcoin hints at new Orb for a friendlier iris-scanning experience* Startup of the Week* Loyalty Startup Bilt Rewards Hits $3.1B Valuation After $200M Round* X of the Week* Elon Musk visits Auschwitz with Ben ShapiroEditorialThere is a lot to digest in this week's newsletter. Gené Teare's two essays on Seed investing head up the Essays of the Week, along with Jeff Becker talking about unicorns and inevitabilities, Eric Newcomer on who are the top investors and Jason Lemkin on the reasons 2024 might be harder for Venture Capital than 2023.But my attention was distracted from venture capital by a Guardian article announcing (triumphantly, I might add) that several TED fellows had resigned from the organization due to an invite to Bill Ackman to speak at this year's TED event in Vancouver.“Lucianne Walkowicz and Saeed Taji Farouky accuse Ted of taking anti-Palestinian stand over controversial billionaire's inclusion”It seems Ackman is not alone. They also object to Bari Weiss being invited. The leavers are also not alone; up to 30 others have signed a “solidarity” letter.The accusations echo much of the discussion around the medieval assassination of Jews on 7 October and Israel's efforts to defeat Hamas in the aftermath. Because these speakers are against anti-Semitism and so supportive of Israel's war against Hamas, they are accused of the ridiculous claim of supporting “Genocide” against Palestinians.“We refuse for our work and identities to be exploited to promote the Ted brand while the organisation and its speakers generate income and advance their careers through dehumanising Palestinians and justifying their genocide,” the pair said.It probably will not surprise readers of this newsletter that I applaud TED curators Chris Anderson and Lily James Olds for not backing down on the invitations. Whatever one believes about the current conflict in Israel, it is clear that banning opponents of anti-Semitism because of their stance is not a solution to anything. I believe the cause of fighting anti-Semitism should be close to the heart of any progressive person. It is not anti-Palestinian to support Jews against being slaughtered in the street, to oppose anti-Semitism, or to condemn Hamas as anti-Jewish murderers. Supporting Jews against slaughter by Hamas is not incompatible with supporting Palestinians. The Guardian reported that Ackman responded to the resignations with a statement:“I stand unapologetically with Israel and against antisemitism and terrorism, while strongly supporting the Palestinian people. Attempts to cancel speech and eliminate the free and respectful exchange of ideas among people with differing views are driving much of the divisiveness that plagues our nation. Truth, wisdom and ultimately peace are the result of the free exchange of ideas and debate, precisely what Ted is all about. It is sad that this is not more widely understood,”Unsurprisingly, one of the resigners, Farouky, told the Guardian he did not regard the issue as freedom of speech. It clearly IS about freedom of speech. Speech only needs protecting when opinions are wide apart and strongly held.For example, here are my views on the actual issues:These are trying times. Over 25,000 deaths in Gaza are hard to comprehend. And I certainly cannot. But I can understand that Jews have to defend themselves. And I can understand that progressive thinkers MUST stand up to anti-Semitism, whatever form it takes.In case there is doubt about my support for Muslim victims of racism, my book Under Seige is about the attacks on Muslims in the UK between 1961 and 1981. It starts with recognizing that racism targets differences and that Jews and Muslims are both targets. Indeed, the very ghettoes that Pakistani and Bengali immigrants were being attacked in had earlier, in the 1930s, been inhabited by Jewish settlers fleeing pogroms. I am not Jewish, and I am not Muslim. But I will always be on both of their sides when they are attacked for their ethnic and racial origin.In Israel, Jews were killed for being Jews. Palestinians are being killed because Hamas is hiding in their cities and buildings. I do not consider Israel's response to be racist against Palestinians. I consider it reasonable in the context of 7 October. I consider that Hamas has done this to Palestinians and probably wanted that outcome. I am sad that Hamas has done this for the Palestinian victims. But I do not doubt that Hamas is to blame.My views may anger you. But do you want me banned or silenced?My title this week is Civility and Civilization. The TED events bring both to the fore. Like those I write here, opinions are there to be disagreed with, debated, and interrogated. Civilized behavior requires dialogue and civility within the dialogue. I certainly understand opinions I disagree with, and far from banning them or walking away so that I do not have to hear them, I want to hear them. We all should.This is a different editorial than usual. I hope the humanity of refusing to forget 7 October and the determination to preserve the view that fighting anti-Semitism is a non-negotiable minimum requirement of civilization are grasped. By the same token, Islamaphobia must be fought. But in Israel, there is no Islamophobia at work. Jews are simply reacting to an atrocity. They are right to blame Hamas.Essays of the WeekUS Seed Investment Actually Held Up Pretty Well For The Past 2 Years. Here's What That Means For 2024Gené Teare, January 24, 2024, @geneteareEditor's note: This is the first in a two-part series on the state of seed startup investing at the start of 2024. Check back tomorrow for Part 2.Despite a broad pullback in global startup investment over the past two years, investors say the U.S. seed funding environment was the most vibrant compared to other funding stages during the downturn.In fact, U.S. seed funding in 2022 grew by close to 10% in terms of dollars invested, in contrast to a downturn at all other funding stages. In 2023, U.S. seed funding fell 31% — a significant proportion — but still less than other funding stages year over year, an analysis of Crunchbase data shows. (It's also worth noting that those other stages had already experienced year-over-year declines in 2022.)In the current startup funding market, “we're seeing a lot more great talent excited about starting things,” said Renata Quintini, co-founder of Renegade Partners, a Bay Area-based investment firm that focuses on Series A companies and is therefore close to the seed ecosystem.Other investors share that enthusiasm. “Valuations are coming down, more talent is available in the market,” said Michael Cardamone of New York-based seed investor Forum Ventures. “A lot of these companies at seed and Series A are going to scale into what will likely be the next bull market.”Seed trends over the decadeSeed as an asset class, not surprisingly, has grown in the U.S. over the past decade. In 2014 less than $5 billion was invested at seed. At the market peak in 2022, seed investment was more than $16 billion, although it fell to $11.5 billion in 2023.Despite the downturn, seed funding in 2023 was still $2 billion to $3 billion higher in the U.S. than in the pre-pandemic years of 2019 and 2020.Higher bar, pricier rounds, better valuedBut in a tougher market, seed investors are being more selective about which companies they fund.“We're being far more disciplined and patient knowing how hard it is for these companies to get to Series A and beyond,” said Jenny Lefcourt, a general partner at Bay Area-based seed investor Freestyle Capital. “Our bar for conviction is higher than it had been in the heyday where everything was getting funded.”In the slower funding environment, the firm has been investing later at the seed stage, “gravitating toward ‘seed plus' or ‘A minus' — pick your favorite term for it — because I feel like I get to see more risk mitigated. I get to see more data,” she said.Freestyle seeks to have ownership of around 12% to 15% in the companies it backs. “The reason is because of our model,” Lefcourt said. “We are low-volume, high-conviction investors.”And because the firm invests in companies that are pre-Series A, “our reality has been that our valuations have actually been higher in this market, which is not what we would have predicted.“But the data we've seen is, we're not alone in that,” she said.…MoreLower Valuations, Higher Bar: What It's Like To Raise A Seed Round In 2024 Gené Teare, January 25, 2024, @geneteareEditor's note: This is the second in a two-part series on the state of seed startup investing at the start of 2024. Read Part 1, which looked at seed funding trends over the past decade and the median time period between seed and Series A funding, here.Seed funding to startups has grown into its own asset class over the past decade, with round sizes trending larger, and a bigger pool of investors backing these nascent startups. But in the aftermath of 2021's venture funding heyday and subsequent pullback, investors say that while seed funding has held up better than other startup investment stages, these very young startups will see lower valuations and must now clear a much higher bar to get backing.More companies raised seed funding above $1 million in 2021. Those companies — which raised during a record-smashing year for venture funding — are saddled with valuations that could be too high for this current market — even at seed. Many of those startups have been forced to cut costs to extend their runways, and face a tougher sales environment.“You could then be sacrificing growth, which is one of the main levers that Series A investors are looking for,” said Michael Cardamone of New York-based seed investor Forum Ventures.2021 after effectsIn 2021 it was “grow, grow, grow, grow,” said Jenny Lefcourt, a general partner at Bay Area-based seed investor Freestyle Capital. “It's embarrassing to look back on, but that was the game being played.”Investors got sloppy during the boom times, she said. “I think a lot of VCs were thrilled to back you, and then say, ‘we'll figure it out.' ”“The reality is that almost anything that was done then — call it 2021 — was the wrong price,” she said.This led to down rounds, even at seed, though those are generally not viewed negatively like they were in the past, she said.In fact, “when our companies get their down rounds done, it's a sign of it's a good business. It just had the wrong price on it,” she said.While the bar is higher to raise funding these days, “I think it's so much better for a company who gets to start in this environment,” Lefcourt said.Down rounds can actually be a sign of conviction, she said. “None of us would do all the heavy lifting to not only give the company more capital, but recap it, which takes a lot. It's a heavy lift — none of us would do that if we weren't super jazzed about the company. The lazier approach, the easier approach, is to just put it on the note, keep it flat, and be done,” she said.Renata Quintini, co-founder of Renegade Partners, a Bay Area-based investment firm that focuses on Series A companies, is hearing of “more ‘pay-to-play' these days and it's starting to get ugly.” This happens when new investors wipe out the prior investors, and anyone seeking equity needs to pony up into the new funding round.Median and averages climbNonetheless, “seed round valuations haven't dropped a ton from even the peak,” according to Forum Ventures' Cardamone. But, “the bar to raise a seed [round] is a lot higher.”“Most first-time founders especially, and the vast majority of founders generally — they have to get significant traction to be able to raise that same round they used to be able to raise. And a lot fewer of those rounds are happening,” he said.“A priced seed round of $3 million at $15 million [pre-money] is still happening, but you might have to be at $500,000 ARR, to raise that round now. Whereas in 2021, it was the norm to raise that round pre-revenue,” he said.Series A fundings have gotten harder as “companies are going out and raising three seed rounds,” said Cardamone.Based on an analysis of Crunchbase data, median and average seed round sizes in the U.S. have climbed through the past decade.In 2023, median and average raises are not far from the peak of 2022, Crunchbase data shows, and were well above pre-pandemic levels. (However, this will shift downward somewhat as the long tail of seed fundings are retroactively added to the Crunchbase database.)Seed rounds got larger“If I have conviction, we may need them to have more money, cause we know it's going to take them longer to reach the milestones that are now higher,” said Lefcourt.Per an analysis of Crunchbase data, larger seed rounds — those $1 million and above — have increased through the decade.The amount of funding to seed-stage companies below $1 million hasn't budged much, and is a fraction of what it was earlier in the decade.Seed below $1 million in 2014 represented around 25% of all seed funding.That has come down as a proportion every year since then.And as of 2021 that proportion has dipped below 10% for the first time, ranging from 5% to 7% of all seed dollars invested in the U.S. since then.Earlier in the past decade, the number of seed deals in rounds below $1 million outpaced those rounds at $1 million and above significantly.But 2021 was once again a pivotal year. That's when $1 million and above seed rounds outpaced smaller seed for the first time.In 2023, they are neck and neck in count. (That might shift as the long tail of seed rounds are added to the Crunchbase database long after they close.)What this all shows is that seed has become an increasingly significant and elongated phase in a company's early life cycle, where companies are raising multiple million-dollar seed rounds. And as of late, more companies than ever before are wading in the seed pool.What does this mean for the seed funding market in 2024?…MoreUnicorns & InevitabilitiesUp and to the right, or not so much?JEFF BECKER, JAN 22, 2024TLDR: Go read Aileen Lee's update to the Unicorn Club… and a few inevitabilities.Did anyone catch Aileen Lee & Allegra Simon's Welcome Back to the Unicorn Club, 10 Years Later?If not, go read it. That's your MMM.If you did read it, you can't help but wonder if the tech sector isn't going to resemble the public markets over time. Ups and downs, but consistently up and to the right over a long enough period.After all, we are creating leverage in ways we've never seen before.And for unicorns, that meant 14X growth over a 10-year period.Could you imagine another 14 or even 10X from here? That would be stratospheric, from ~500 to ~5,000 unicorns? What if the exit sizes did too? $5B, $10B, $50B?Crazy to think, but hardly impossible. After all, we've already seen near-centicorns like Uber's IPO at $75B in 2019.The interesting part about that thought exercise though is not the crazy zero interest rate IPO's, but the fact that entry valuations didn't and don't move nearly as fast as top end outcomes because of the time horizon to realizing them.For example, Airbnb raised $20K from Y Combinator for 6%, then they took another $600K for 20% in their seed.That was 2009. The idea of an IPO for $47B just 11 years later in 2020 probably wasn't even a consideration. Paul Graham and the YC team would've had to believe Airbnb's IPO could compete with AT&T, General Motors, and Visa.Insane.Fast forward, that $333,333 valuation at YC has moved to $1.78m (125K for 7%), and they'll stack another 2.6% ownership on average from their $375K MFN with the average YC company raising seed at a $14.4m cap instead of Airbnb's $3m.That's a ~5X increase in valuation at pre-seed & seed for a 47X increase in IPO size if you were modeling $1B outcomes into your VC fund model in 2009.I'm not saying that will continue. There are counterforces of course.* Margins are way too high. The fact that software margins have persisted at 80% or more is just craziness. Companies will start to use price more aggressively to compete for market share as cheap AI tools enter the market and try to unseat them. This compression will change the value of discounted cash flow models.* Pricing models need to change. One way to reduce sticker price and maintain some semblance of healthy long-term margins is to pay a smaller implementation fee, but incur ongoing services & upgrade costs. This is a more traditional pricing model, and creative economics that leverage this kind of thinking run rampant in the titans of tech. It's a game of deeper roots, higher switching costs, and long-term contracts. With API calls and data usage more prevalent, we'll also see more pay-per-use models, the same way we buy copiers. We'll also see more pay-for-performance models with attributable ROI, akin to Amazon's ACoS model or Rakuten's affiliate marketing model. Customers will prefer it too, placing a higher emphasis customer value. This will also drive margins to condense.* AI, AI, AI. AI will cut OpEx costs dramatically. SDR teams, gone. Copywriters at agencies, you don't need as many. Data scientists? Just run a query against your data lakes. The list goes on. Costs of running these companies is going to get shellacked. Good for margins for sure, but also a compelling opportunity for newcomers to undercut and unseat incumbents too.* More hardware. With software margins condensing, hardware margins will start to feel more attractive too, the maintenance and upgrade fees will resemble what we see in SaaS, and the software that powers these machines will be incredible. Skynet for autonomous off-road vehicles, absolutely.* Less dilution, earlier exits, and stratification. We already see it in the S&P 500 with the top end accounting for an outsized share of total value. With that kind of cash on balance sheets, bigger companies will just buy the smaller ones. Think about how Broadcom rolls up companies. If you've built the business more efficiently, you've also raised less, incurred less dilution, and that $100m exit when you still own 50% is looking pretty prett-ty good compared to the same outcome 5-10 grueling years later to own 5% of $1B.* Massive founder salaries, less emphasis on growth. If you've built a company that's profitable from day one, and you have complete control of your board, what's your incentive to keep the pedal down on growth, or stay on the VC treadmill? World domination? Why not pay yourself 10X, stop fundraising, and continue to tighten the core business until someone acquires you? It's better for the founding team and employees for sure, and it's probably better for customers in most instances too.These are just some of things I think we'll see over the next five years until we approach ZIRPy-dirpy times again and massive growth becomes irresistible.But there are also a whole slew of things I think are inevitabilities that will benefit from these dynamics because we will not only have new technologies, with more attractive pricing, but we will be tackling new opportunities that were created by the prior evolutions across adjacent industries.For example…* Cost of energy is going to zero with nuclear fusion* Longevity is starting to work; check out Loyal for Dogs* Batteries & cameras continue to improve; medical devices, for one, will be more personal & affordable* Disintermediation of big ad networks with new global distribution channels; check out Benjamin* Massive cost reductions driven by AI* Software will be built by software* An aging population is retiring (10,000 per day); wealth transfer & SMB's with no exit paths* Climate change* …and so on and so on and so onThe list is long. Much longer than this. If you want the rest, just reply or comment so that I know, and I'll go deeper next week.Net of all of it, I think we're going to see a tale of two cities. Stronger, more profitable businesses, with smaller, but better founder founder exits in the near term, and a continued growth both in number of total unicorns, and what that top-end outcomes look like in the longer-term.And like I said, go read Aileen's post.Sequoia, Founders Fund, USV, Elad Gil & Benchmark Top Venture Manager SurveyI got my hands on a VC scorecard circulating among top founders & VCsERIC NEWCOMERJAN 25, 2024Before we get started, I want to be clear — this isn't the end-all, be-all list of the top venture capital firms or the most promising startups.But I got my hands on a survey of 91 people at 69 different venture capital firms conducted by a well-respected investor in venture capital firms.The survey results are spreading hand-to-hand in Silicon Valley. The results of the survey rank the most desirable venture capital firms and companies, according to VCs themselves. When I was out in San Francisco last week for The Information's 10th anniversary gala, sources kept bringing it up.My sources tell me that the survey was conducted by Ed Hutchinson, managing partner at Golden Bell Partners. Hutchinson is ignoring my emails.Which firms and companies would top VCs themselves put their money into? It's a question everyone wants to know the answer to.I've got my hands on their list of favorites:Firms* (1) Sequoia* (2) Founders Fund* (3) Union Square* (4) Elad Gil* (5) Benchmark…Much More (but only for subscribers)Why 2024 May Be Tougher on Venture Capital Than 2023by Jason Lemkin | Blog Posts, Fundraising, ScaleSo I thought the toughest times for venture would be behind us now.  In 2022, we were in free fall, with public market caps falling like a knife, and the IPO markets frozen.  And 2023 was the year of the Work Out in venture.  Bridge rounds slowed down, and VCs acknowledged a lot of portfolio companies just weren't going to make it.  It got real in 2023, and that realness got normalized.  The drama mostly was behind us.  And public SaaS stocks in many cases did really, really well in 2023.  So shouldn't 2024 at least be better for venture?So I thought.But the reality is I'm a bit more worried the venture drama in 2024 will be bigger than 2023.  Why?  Four core reasons:#1:  Now We Have to Deal With the Reality of the Stumbling Unicorns.The ones that are doing $100m+ ARR, still growing, but there just isn't going to be any more money coming.  This is going to burn up a ton of energy in VC funds.  Even tougher, the reality is while many VC funds marked down their unicorns to lower valuations in 2023, they often didn't mark them down enough.#2.  The Chase for AI Unicorns and Decacorns is All-consuming.  It's Still 2021 There.The one place where paper money seems easy to come by is Hot AI Startups.   And that's probably not you.  It's just consuming all the oxygen in venture, trying to get into the next Imaging AI startup worth $1B in 10 months.  In AI, 2021 never went away.  In AI, it's still 2021.#3.  A Lot of Seasoned VCs are Discouraged. This Doesn't Help Founders.A lot of VCs who have been around for a while are quietly discouraged.  They just don't see a great path to making a ton of money in venture these days.  We're in Year 3 of a venture downturn, and that weighs of most of us.  At a practical level, for founders, it makes it harder to lean it.#4.  More Valuation Markdowns Are Still to ComeRelated to the first point, but more markdowns are like mutliple rounds of layoffs.  They're just tough.  LPs lose confidence.  Coworkers lose confidence.  We should have gotten through a lot of this in 2023, but we didn't.  Personally, I've got several investments for example that I marked down. 70%-80% or more — that my co-investors didn't mark down at all.#5.  VCs Have Run out of ReservesVCs used what extra “reserve” capital they had for bridge rounds in 2022 and 2023.  Now it's gone.  That's adds to the stress as companies struggle.  You don't have a play anymore.The bottom line is there likely is at least another full year of working through the excesses of 2021.  That will weigh across venture.  No matter what some AI headlines suggest.Video of the WeekThe Mac at 40Apple Shares the Secret of Why the 40-Year-Old Mac Still RulesThe pioneering PC revolutionized how people interact with computers. As the Mac enters its fifth decade, Apple says it will continue to evolve.STEVEN LEVY, Jan 19, 2024 10:00 AMON JANUARY 24, Apple's Macintosh computer turns 40. Normally that number is an inexorable milestone of middle age. Indeed, in the last reported sales year, Macintosh sales dipped below $30 billion, more than a 25 percent drop from the previous year's $40 billion. But unlike an aging person, Macs now are slimmer, faster, and last much longer before having to recharge.My own relationship with the computer dates back to its beginnings, when I got a prelaunch peek some weeks before its January 1984 launch. I even wrote a book about the Mac—Insanely Great—in which I described it as “the computer that changed everything.” Unlike every other nonfiction subtitle, the hyperbole was justified. The Mac introduced the way all computers would one day work, and the break from controlling a machine with typed commands ushered us into an era that extends to our mobile interactions. It also heralded a focus on design that transformed our devices.That legacy has been long-lasting. For the first half of its existence, the Mac occupied only a slice of the market, even as it inspired so many rivals; now it's a substantial chunk of PC sales. Even within the Apple juggernaut, $30 billion isn't chicken feed! What's more, when people think of PCs these days, many will envision a Macintosh. More often than not, the open laptops populating coffee shops and tech company workstations beam out glowing Apples from their covers. Apple claims that its Macbook Air is the world's best-selling computer model. One 2019 survey reported that more than two-thirds of all college students prefer a Mac. And Apple has relentlessly improved the product, whether with the increasingly slim profile of the iMac or the 22-hour battery life of the Macbook Pro. Moreover, the Mac is still a thing. Chromebooks and Surface PCs come and go, but Apple's creation remains the pinnacle of PC-dom. “It's not a story of nostalgia, or history passing us by,” says Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a rare on-the-record interview with five Apple executives involved in its Macintosh operation. “The fact we did this for 40 years is unbelievable.”…Much MoreAI of the WeekBMW will deploy Figure's humanoid robot at South Carolina plantBrian Heater @bheater / 3:00 AM PST•January 18, 2024Image Credits: FigureFigure today announced a “commercial agreement” that will bring its first humanoid robot to a BMW manufacturing facility in South Carolina. The Spartanburg plant is BMW's only in the United States. As of 2019, the 8 million-square-foot campus boasted the highest yield among the German manufacturer's factories anywhere in the world.BMW has not disclosed how many Figure 01 models it will deploy initially. Nor do we know precisely what jobs the robot will be tasked with when it starts work. Figure did, however, confirm with TechCrunch that it is beginning with an initial five tasks, which will be rolled out one at a time.While folks in the space have been cavalierly tossing out the term “general purpose” to describe these sorts of systems, it's important to temper expectations and point out that they will all arrive as single- or multi-purpose systems, growing their skillset over time. Figure CEO Brett Adcock likens the approach to an app store — something that Boston Dynamics currently offers with its Spot robot via SDK.Likely initial applications include standard manufacturing tasks such as box moving, pick and place and pallet unloading and loading — basically the sort of repetitive tasks for which factory owners claim to have difficulty retaining human workers. Adcock says that Figure expects to ship its first commercial robot within a year, an ambitious timeline even for a company that prides itself on quick turnaround times.The initial batch of applications will be largely determined by Figure's early partners like BMW. The system will, for instance, likely be working with sheet metal to start. Adcock adds that the company has signed up additional clients, but declined to disclose their names. It seems likely Figure will instead opt to announce each individually to keep the news cycle spinning in the intervening 12 months.Unlike some other humanoid designers (including Agility), Figure is focused on creating a dexterous, human like hand for manipulation. The thinking behind such an end effector is the same that's driving many toward the humanoid form factor in the first place: Namely, we've designed our workspaces with us in mind. Adcock alludes to Figure 01 being tasked with an initial set of jobs that require high dexterity.As for the importance of legs, the executive suggests that their importance for maneuvering during certain tasks is as — or more — important than things like walking up stairs and over uneven terrain, which tend to get most of the love during these conversations.…MoreGoogle's New AI Video Generator Looks IncredibleJAN 25, 2024MATT GROWCOOTGoogle has announced Lumiere: an AI video generator that looks to be one of the most advanced text-to-video models yet.The name Lumiere is seemingly a nod to the Lumiere brothers who are credited with putting on the first ever cinema showing in 1895. Just as motion picture was cutting-edge technology at the end of the 19th century, the Lumiere name is once more being associated with something new and original.The demo of Lumiere that Google put out focuses firmly on animals. The model can generate a scene using just text; much the same way AI image generators work, the user can dream up any scenario they would like to see a short video clip of.However, the user can also use an image as a prompt. Google provided multiple examples: including some that are real photos such as Joe Rosenthal's iconic Raising the Flag photo; “Soldiers raising the united states flag on a windy day” saw one of the 20th-centuries most recognizable photos suddently come to life as the soliders struggle with the flag that's being affected by gusts.Also in Lumiere is a “Video Stylization” setting which allows users to upload a source video and then ask the generative AI model for various element changes. For example, a person running may be suddenly turned into a toy made of colorful bricks.Another feature Google showed off is “Cinemagraphs”, where just a section of an image is animated while the rest stays still. “Video Inpainting” is included too which involves masking part of the image so that section can be changed to the user's desire.Space-Time Diffusion ModelLumiere is powered by “Space-Time U-Net architecture that generates the entire temporal duration of the video at once, through a single pass in the model.”This difficult-to-understand concept is apparently in contrast to existing video models which “synthesize distant keyframes followed by temporal super-resolution — an approach that inherently makes global temporal consistency difficult to achieve.”…Much MoreOpenAI's Sam Altman seeks funds for AI chip factories as demands surgeOpenAI CEO Sam Altman has opened discussions with global investors over the possibility of funding a network of artificial intelligence (AI) chip factories to keep pace with soaring demand.Altman is seeking around $8 billion to $10 billion worth of funds to set up several AI chip fabrication plants around the globe, an endeavor that will require synergy between leading chip manufacturers backed by investment giants.Altman is reportedly in talks with Japanese-based financial giant SoftBank Group (NASDAQ: SFTBF) and Abu Dhabi's G42 over funding plans, but details remain sparse. The discussions with G42 have been underway since 2023, with Altman describing a potential chip partnership as laying the foundation “for equitable advancements in generative AI across the globe.”Aside from SoftBank and G42, insiders say that Altman is still pursuing collaborations with other industry players to set up a network of chip fabrication plants. Although exact entities were not namechecked, industry experts are noting Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Samsung Electronics, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NASDAQ: TSM) as potential partners.Altman's approach to raising funds hinges on concerns that the chip supply will not be able to meet global demands for AI offerings by 2030. The OpenAI's CEO argues that the ideal solution will be a collaborative effort to set up chip manufacturing plants rather than build in silos.OpenAI has had its fair share of chip scarcity, rolling back a number of its offerings over a steady chip supply. To meet the rising demand, the company is reportedly mulling several options, including the prospect of building its chips from scratch and joining ranks with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to explore an in-house solution.Given the costs associated with an in-house approach, OpenAI may pursue the acquisition of a chip manufacturer as a short-term solution or expand its collaboration with existing partners. However, a potential acquisition opens its own can of worms, including an inquiry by antitrust regulators.Governments are also involvedIn 2023, Altman urged the South Korean government to double their investments in AI chip manufacturing as a veritable strategy to play a leading role in the nascent ecosystem. Currently, South Korea ranks behind the U.S., China, and Japan in chip manufacturing, but a concerted government involvement could see the country climb up the charts.The OpenAI boss disclosed during his visit to South Korea that his firm will back local entities building chips for AI and other emerging technologies, with Samsung rumored to be in top position.“We are exploring how to increase our investment in Korean startups,” said Altman. “We are excited to meet as many as we can here today. I think this type of collaboration is essential to our work.”..MoreThe Future of Prosumer: The Rise of “AI Native” WorkflowsAnish Acharya, Justine Moore, and Olivia MoorePosted January 25, 2024Few people love the software they use to get things done. And it's no surprise why. Whether it's a slide deck builder, a video editor, or a photo enhancer, today's work tools were conceived decades ago — and it shows! Even best-in-class products often feel either too inflexible and unsophisticated to do real work, or have steep, inaccessible learning curves (we're looking at you, Adobe InDesign). Generative AI offers founders an opportunity to completely reinvent workflows — and will spawn a new cohort of companies that are not just AI-augmented, but fully AI-native. These companies will start from scratch with the technology we have now, and build new products around the generation, editing, and composition capabilities that are uniquely possible due to AI. On the most surface level, we believe AI will help users do their existing work more efficiently. AI-native platforms will “up level” user interactions with software, allowing them to delegate lower skill tasks to an AI assistant and spend their time on higher-level thinking. This applies not only to traditional office workers, but to small business owners, freelancers, creators, and artists — who arguably have even more complex demands on their time. But AI will also help users unlock completely new skill sets, on both a technical and an aesthetic level. We've already seen this with products like Midjourney and ChatGPT's Code Interpreter. Everyone can now be a programmer, a producer, a designer, or a musician, shrinking the gap between creativity and craft. With access to professional-grade yet consumer-friendly products with AI-powered workflows, everyone can be a part of a new generation of “prosumers.”In this piece, we aim to highlight the features of today's — and tomorrow's — most successful Gen AI-native workflows, as well as hypothesize about how we see these products evolving.What Will GenAI Native Prosumer Products Look Like?All products with Gen AI-native workflows will share one crucial trait: translating cutting-edge models into an accessible, effective UI.Users of workflow tools typically don't care what infrastructure is behind a product; they care about how it helps them! While the technological leaps we've made with Generative AI are amazing, successful products will importantly still start from a deep understanding of the user and their pain points. What can be abstracted away with AI? Where are the key “decision points” that need approval, if any? And where are the highest points of leverage? There are a few key features we believe products in this category will have: * Generation tools that kill the “blank page” problem. The earliest and most obvious consumer AI use cases have come from translating a natural language prompt into a media output — e.g., image, video, and text generators. The same will be true in prosumer. These tools might help transform true “blank pages” (e.g., a text prompt to slide deck), or take incremental assets (e.g., a sketch or an outline) and turn them into a more fleshed-out product.Some companies will do this via a proprietary model, while others may mix or stitch together multiple models (open source, proprietary, or via API) behind the scenes. One example here is Vizcom's rendering tool. Users can input a text prompt, sketch, or 3D model, and instantly get a photorealistic rendering to further iterate on.Another example is Durable's website builder product, which the company says has been used to generate more than 6 million sites so far. Users input their company name, segment, and location, and Durable will spit out a site for them to customize. As LLMs get more powerful, we expect to see products like Durable pull real information about your business from elsewhere on the internet and social media — the history, team, reviews, logos, etc. — and generate an even more sophisticated output from just one generation. * Multimodal (and multimedia!) combinations. Many creative projects require more than one type of content. For example, you may want to combine an image with text, music with video, or an animation with a voiceover. As of now, there isn't one model that can generate all of these asset types. This creates an opportunity for workflow products which allow users to generate, refine, and stitch different content types in one place.…MoreAndreessen Horowitz's Connie Chan to Leave as Consumer Focus Shifts to AIBy Kate Clark, Erin Woo and Cory WeinbergJan 23, 2024, 7:22am PSTFor years, partners at Andreessen Horowitz proclaimed they would scour the startup world for the next big consumer marketplace like Airbnb or the next hit consumer app out of China, areas in which the firm had unique expertise. Now, it's shifting toward an area more en vogue across venture capital: consumer apps powered by artificial intelligence.Those changes are happening amid an overhaul of its consumer team. Connie Chan, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz who formerly led a team of consumer investors and was known for spotting internet trends coming from China, said she is leaving the firm.  She may raise her own fund, a person familiar with the matter said. Anish Acharya, a general partner at the firm who invested in enterprise-focused and financial technology businesses, now leads the consumer team, said people familiar with the change.Chan's move also follows a distancing by U.S. VC firms from investments in China tech, once a hotbed for U.S.  investors. In recent months, Chan has privately said it's becoming more difficult for her to work at Andreessen Horowitz because the partners have been increasingly disinterested in anything China related, another person said.The Takeaway• Fintech-focused GP Anish Acharya leading consumer deals• Consumer GP Connie Chan is leaving the firm• Consumer partner Anne Lee Skates left to start own fundThe changes are part of a broader personnel shakeup, including the decision by senior consumer investor and Airbnb board member Jeff Jordan to step back from making new investments last year. Of the four general partners that led the firm through a consumer deal blitz, none remain on the consumer team.Meanwhile, Anne Lee Skates, a consumer partner who worked on the firm's investment in live shopping app WhatNot, left in the fall to raise her own fund, according to two people familiar with the matter. Axios first reported that Chan was leaving the firm.The Andreessen Horowitz changes are emblematic of a broader VC industry gravitation toward AI and away from once-hot sectors like consumer marketplaces and financial technology, as a spike in interest rates undercut the growth aspirations of startups trying to elbow out incumbent social platforms and banking institutions.“We've gotten into this cycle now where, generally speaking, investors are less interested in consumer,” said Ben Lerer, managing partner at Lerer Hippeau. Known for its consumer investments in Warby Parker and Allbirds, the firm has invested 70% of its latest fund in enterprise companies, he said. “And AI feels like this very hopeful, very exciting, fresh thing.”Founders of some consumer startups have noticed the shift at Andreessen Horowitz. One founder of a consumer startup in the firm's portfolio said they had heard little from investment partners over the last year, a contrast to a steady drumbeat of emails the founder got in prior years from Andreessen staff who support portfolio companies with marketing and operations advice.Andreessen Horowitz's consumer investing team has been perhaps most well known for its focus on backing digital marketplaces, from peer-to-peer self-storage to real estate investment marketplaces, that could turn into the next Airbnb. Every year, it releases a ranking of top marketplace startups. “We are obsessed with marketplaces and have been since our inception,” Chan, who led investments in  social fashion startup Cider for the firm in 2021.But some of those startups backed by the firm, such as self-storage startup Neighbor, have struggled to take off in recent years. And like other venture firms, Andreessen Horowitz has also stepped back from investing in Chinese startups, an area of focus for Chan. She had championed the idea that the next wave of breakout U.S. consumer startups will model themselves after China's internet success stories, like all-in-one app WeChat.With $53 billion in assets under management, Andreessen Horowitz is one of the largest of traditional Silicon Valley firms and closely watched among other VC firms as a trend setter. And its track record of sniffing out hitmakers primed its partners to find the next trendy consumer app.The number of consumer deals Andreessen Horowitz has led dropped to 13 last year from 30 in 2021, a record for the firm, according to PitchBook data. It's possible the firm completed more consumer deals and that those investments haven't been announced. Its investments in AI companies have jumped to 23 from nine over the same years, including leading a $415 million investment in Mistral, the French developer of an open-source large language model.The firm has beefed up this team of investors primarily focused on enterprise, software infrastructure and AI startups. Led by Martin Casado, a close confidante to the firm's founders Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, it is raising its first standalone fund and has brought on two new general partners, Anjney Midha and Zane Lackey, since 2022, as well as a number of junior partners.As the infrastructure team gained power, the consumer team's profile shrank. The firm in 2023 combined its consumer and fintech teams and created a new group, called apps, led by general partner Alex Rampell, who previously co-founded installment lender Affirm, The Information reported last year. Under Rampell's leadership, the newly formed apps team will also soon launch a dedicated apps fund, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The consolidated team has been encouraged to pursue AI deals.Within Rampell's apps group, Acharya now leads the consumer sub-group. His portfolio of companies includes payroll company Deel and Silo, a provider of supply chain automation software. He's also an investor in Titan, a consumer investment application.Fueling the firm's shift away from consumer apps are likely disappointing returns. The startups that captivated consumers during the pandemic shutdowns have failed to retain their attention. Growth at companies the consumer team bet on, like Clubhouse, which Andreessen Horowitz backed three times in one year, and photo-sharing app BeReal, which it backed in 2021, has stalled.…MoreOpenAI Is a (Relative) StealBy Stephanie PalazzoloJan 22, 2024, 7:35am PSTOver the past year, we've seen billions in funding thrown at AI startups at eye-popping valuations. More important than the absolute valuation figures, though, is how they stack up to those startups' revenue numbers.In the chart above, we've tracked the valuations of eight AI startups that have recently raised funding, calculated against their projected revenue. On average, these companies raised money at a price that is 83 times their projected sales for the next twelve months. That's a big multiple by any measure, reflecting the rocket ship nature of these startups. But what makes the comparison noteworthy is that OpenAI has one of the lowest multiples, even though its business has the most traction.Venture capitalists tend to value early-stage startups at a premium based on their growth rates. OpenAI's business is far bigger and more mature—if we can use that word for a company growing as fast as OpenAI—than other generative AI companies. So, as fast as its revenue pace is growing—more than 20% in just two months most recently—newer firms are growing even faster.For instance, AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI doubled its annual recurring revenue from $3 million to $6 million from October to January. VCs were likely taking that expected growth into account at the time of investment, as the company would have garnered a much lower 75-times forward revenue multiple if it had raised at the same price just a few months later. Similarly, even though OpenAI rival Anthropic was likely generating around $200 million in annualized revenue at the end of last year (according to its October estimates), its projection that it would reach $850 million in annualized revenue by the end of this year surely made its mind-boggling valuation more palatable to investors.When you see the details of these AI startup funding rounds, it can sometimes feel like investors are throwing darts at nine-figure numbers on a wall. The chart suggests there's a method to the madness. Typically, startups selling to companies are valued based on the sector in which they operate. The lowest valuation multiples are accorded to startups offering industry-specific applications, while those offering more generalized applications draw a premium. The most highly valued firms are often infrastructure startups, which create the tools that developers use to build these apps. This order stems from how big the target market of these startups are, ranging from a specific industry (like healthcare or education) to all developers. We can see that general order reflected in burgeoning AI startups. For instance, Harvey, which sells an AI application for lawyers, has one of the lower multiples, while broader-reaching companies like Glean and VAST Data land higher multiples.It seems like investors aren't quite sure yet where model developers like OpenAI and Anthropic fall on this spectrum. Their costs are very different from a typical software startup due to how much computing power they need, and many investors are still worried that closed-source model developers may be overtaken by their cheaper, open-source counterparts.…MoreNews Of the WeekTed fellows resign from organisation after Bill Ackman named as speakerLucianne Walkowicz and Saeed Taji Farouky accuse Ted of taking anti-Palestinian stand over controversial billionaire's inclusionChris McGrealThe Ted organisation has been hit with resignations and criticisms after naming the controversial activist billionaire Bill Ackman, who was instrumental in forcing out Harvard's president over antisemitism allegations, among its main speakers at this year's conference.Four Ted fellows, led by the astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz and the filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky, resigned from the group on Wednesday, accusing it of taking an anti-Palestinian stand and aligning itself “with enablers and supporters of genocide” in Gaza.“2024 main stage speaker Bill Ackman has defended Israel's genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and has cynically weaponised antisemitism in his programme to purge American universities of Pro-Palestinian freedom of speech,” the pair wrote to Chris Anderson, who leads Ted, and Lily James Olds, director of the fellows programme.“We've become increasingly concerned about the fundamental values and moral compass of the organisation over the years, but with this year's speaker selection, it is clear Ted has crossed a red line.”The conference will be held in Vancouver, Canada, in April, under the banner The Brave and the Brilliant”. The theme of Ackman's talk has not been revealed but his selection was announced last week after he was accused of using his money and influence to help force Claudine Gay's resignation as Harvard's president following her disastrous appearance before Congress in December when she was questioned about on-campus antisemitism during the Israel-Gaza war.Ackman has taken stridently pro-Israel positions, including justifying the scale of the attacks on Gaza in which more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and the forced removal of about 2 million Palestinians from their homes. He has described criticism of Israel as antisemitism and called for the blacklisting from employment of American students who signed petitions denouncing the offensive in Gaza in the wake of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.Farouky and Walkowicz's resignation letter noted that other speakers announced by Ted include the journalist Bari Weiss, who they describe as having “a long, sordid, and well-documented history of anti-Palestinian speech”, but that there are no Palestinians in the line-up.“We refuse for our work and identities to be exploited to promote the Ted brand while the organisation and its speakers generate income and advance their careers through dehumanising Palestinians and justifying their genocide,” the pair said.After the resignation letter was published, two other fellows – the entrepreneur Ayah Bdeir and cosmologist Renée Hlozek – also quit. Nearly 30 others added their names “in solidarity” without leaving Ted.…MoreTesla's Slowdown Disqualifies It From ‘Magnificent Seven' GroupBy Martin Peers, Jan 24, 2024, 5:00pm PSTStock market pundits may want to come up with a new name for the big tech stocks driving the overall market. The “magnificent seven” descriptor—referring to Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Nvidia and Tesla—no longer seems to make much sense. I'd like to suggest that's because none of the company CEOs look like cowboy gunslingers from the 1960 movie that made the phrase famous. It's hard to imagine Steve McQueen playing Tim Cook or Andy Jassy, for instance (although Yul Brynner admittedly could have filled the role of horseback-riding Jeff Bezos).The real reason the moniker no longer works, however, is that at least one member of the group, Tesla, has had anything but a magnificent 2024 so far, and its fourth-quarter earnings report, released Wednesday, only made things worse. Before Tesla reported earnings tonight, its stock had fallen 16% so far this year, and it tumbled another 3% after hours to around $200 a share. This isn't a reaction to CEO Elon Musk's antics, which include asking for a bunch more stock, although that surely doesn't help. The stock decline reflects the slowdown in sales suffered by Tesla, which observers attribute to increased competition and a loss of government incentives. Automotive revenues, which make up the bulk of Tesla's top line, grew just 1% in the fourth quarter—down from 18% in the first quarter.In its outlook for this year issued today, the company said its growth in the volume of car sales would be lower than in 2023, and noted that its team is working on its “next-generation vehicle.” Meantime, expenses have been skyrocketing, eroding its profit margin. But our less-than-rigorous takedown of the magnificent seven branding isn't just about Tesla. If you look at the year-to-date performance of big tech stocks, or even their 2023 performance, you can see that just two tech stocks have roared this year. One is Nvidia, which is in a class of its own: up 27% since Jan. 1, thanks to its stranglehold on the specialized chips used in artificial intelligence. The other is Meta Platforms, which is up nearly 13%, reflecting confidence in its ad business.  In comparison, Microsoft and Alphabet are each up around 8%, likely thanks to expectations that AI will lift their businesses, while Apple and Amazon lag behind with year-to-date stock price rises of less than 5% each. Instead of the magnificent seven, it might be more appropriate to refer to the group as Nvidia, Meta and the humble five.… MoreTikTok's Testing 30 Minute Uploads as It Looks To Expand Its Content OptionsBy Andrew Hutchinson Content and Social Media ManagerThe next stage of TikTok is coming, with some users now seeing the option to upload 30 minute long videos in the app.As you can see in this example, shared by social media expert Matt Navarra, TikTok's currently testing the new 30 minute upload option in the beta version of the app.Which, if you've been paying attention, is not really any big surprise.TikTok has been steadily increasing its maximum post limit for years, with the platform originally starting at 15 seconds per clip, which was then extended to 60 seconds, then 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, before rising to 10 minutes in 2022.Last October, TikTok began experimenting with 15 minute uploads, so the trend towards longer clips isn't new.Though 30 minutes is likely the upper limit, based on the Chinese version of the app. Douyin, which is TikTok in China, expanded its upload limit to 30 minutes per clip in 2022, and it hasn't gone any further as yet.And presumably, Douyin has also seen good response to this longer time limit, which is why TikTok is now looking to implement the same, though it does seem like a long time to be watching a TikTok clip in-stream.Will users really warm to TV show length clips in the app?…MoreInstagram to scan under-18s' messages to protect against ‘inappropriate images'Feature will work even on encrypted messages, suggesting platform plans to implement client-side scanningAlex Hern and Dan MilmoInstagram will begin scanning messages sent to and from under-18s to protect them from “inappropriate images”, Meta has announced.The feature, being kept under wraps until later this year, would work even on encrypted messages, a spokesperson said, suggesting the company intends to implement a so-called client-side scanning service for the first time.But the update will not meet controversial demands for inappropriate messages to be reported back to Instagram servers.Instead, only a user's personal device will ever know whether or not a message has been filtered out, leading to criticism of the promise as another example of the company “grading its own homework”.“We're planning to launch a new feature designed to help protect teens from seeing unwanted and potentially inappropriate images in their messages from people they're already connected to,” the company said in a blogpost, “and to discourage them from sending these types of images themselves. We'll have more to share on this feature, which will also work in encrypted chats, later this year.”…Much MoreTiger Global Investor Relations Staff Depart After Fundraising ChallengesBy Francesca Friday and Maria HeeterJan 24, 2024, 4:46pm PSTSeveral Tiger Global Management employees focused on raising capital for the New York firm's venture funds have taken buyout offers, according to a person familiar with the matter. The departures of the staff, who worked with prospective investors, come as the firm has struggled to raise money for its latest venture capital fund after a collapse in startup valuations soured its paper returns for earlier funds.As of the second quarter of 2023, a $12.7 billion fund that Tiger started making investments from in October 2021 had a paper loss of 18%, calculated as an annualized return net of management fees, according to internal data distributed to investors in the fund. That's a slight improvement from six months earlier, when the 2021 fund showed a loss of 20%. The fund's performance is in the bottom quartile of funds started that year, the document said, and has also lagged the S&P 500's annualized net return in the same period.The Takeaway• Tiger employee buyouts are the latest example of VC cost-cutting• Tiger's $12.7 billion had lost 18% on paper as of June* Tiger could soon show a $350 million gain from OpenAI stakeAs of June 30, 2023, the $12.7 billion fund hadn't returned any cash to investors, which isn't unusual for such a young fund. But the paper losses are closely guarded secrets that reflect the kind of write-downs other venture firms have been making over the past two years as tech valuations have fallen.It isn't clear how big Tiger's investor relations team is, but the departures are the latest example of belt-tightening across the venture industry. Firms are raising smaller funds and striking fewer deals, reducing the need for sprawling support staff—including those who help firms raise money from pension funds and endowments...MoreWorldcoin hints at new Orb for a friendlier iris-scanning experienceby Vivian NguyenThe next-gen device will feature various colors and shapes to enhance its visual appeal.Worldcoin, an iris biometric crypto project, is set to launch a new Orb that aims to offer a more user-friendly iris-scanning experience, said Alex Blania, CEO and co-founder of Tools for Humanity, the developer behind the project, in an exclusive interview with TechCrunch today.“The next Orb will roll out in the first half of this year and will feature alternative colors and form factors in an effort to look ‘much more friendly,'” Blania explained. “Overall, it is going to look way more tuned down and similar to an Apple product.”Blania acknowledges that the initial design of the Orb predated his time at the company. “The new orb is coming and the next iterations will look quite different,” he remarked during a fireside chat at a recent StrictlyVC event, signaling a departure from the current, more controversial design.The goal of Worldcoin, as described by Blania, is to reach billions of users as fast as possible.“The thesis is very simple. We race toward billions of users as fast as we possibly can,” said Blania.Founded by Blania, Sam Altman, and Max Novendstern, Tools for Humanity has raised around $250 million from prominent investors like a16z and Bain Capital Crypto, among others. The project is famous for its unique Orb device designed to scan people's irises and assign them a “World ID,” granting access to Worldcoin's application and a digital passport. Worldcoin's vision is to authenticate individual identities and prevent the creation of multiple accounts.The current design of the Orb has been a topic of much debate due to its intimidating look, similar to a prop from a sci-fi movie, according to Blania. The company has also faced criticism for its beta testing approaches in developing economies and concerns over privacy and data security.Despite some skepticism, the Orb has seen practical use. At the StrictlyVC event in downtown San Francisco, a Tools for Humanity employee reported that a “couple dozen” attendees scanned their iris to receive a World ID. There has also been “field testing” of the new Orb design.…MoreStartup of the WeekLoyalty Startup Bilt Rewards Hits $3.1B Valuation After $200M RoundChris MetinkoJanuary 24, 2024Bilt Rewards, a loyalty rewards startup, raised a $200 million round led by General Catalyst at a $3.1 billion valuation — more than double the number after its last fundraising in 2022.The round also included participation from Eldridge Industries, Left Lane Capital, Camber Creek and Prosus Ventures.The New York-based startup allows consumers to earn rewards on the rent they pay. Bilt plans to use some of the proceeds to expand its network to include local dining, grocery stores, ridesharing and other retail purchases.“We're not just building a loyalty program; we're creating a community-centric ecosystem that benefits everyone from renters to local businesses,” said founder and CEO Ankur Jain.The company also appointed some big names to roles in the company. Bilt named Ken Chenault, former chairman and CEO of American Express, as its chairman, and Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, as an independent director.Big moneyThe company reported its annualized member spend is nearing $20 billion. It also became profitable on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization basis last year.Those metrics must have impressed investors, as Bilt has seen its valuation shoot up after raising a $150 million Series B at a pre-money valuation of $1.4 billion in October 2022. Founded in 2021, the company has raised a total of $413 million, per Crunchbase.Last year was a slow go for loyalty startups. Such companies raised only $74 million, per Crunchbase data. However in 2022, loyalty startups raised more than a half-billion dollars thanks to big raises that included Bilt's Series B and Madison, Wisconsin-based Fetch's $240 million Series E.With this fundraise, things are looking up for loyalty startups again.X of the Week This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thatwastheweek.substack.com/subscribe

with @davidmarcus @smc90This wide-ranging conversation covers company building, big to small -- including what cadence and when is the right "time" to ship; the relationship between centralization, decentralization, platforms, and financial freedom; moving from web2 to web3 in both crypto AND payments... as well as why bitcoin, views on remote work, and much much more. Our guest is David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark; Marcus was also a co-creator of Diem (aka Libra and Novi, the cryptocurrency project initiated by Facebook). Before that, he was vice president of messaging products there, where he ran the Facebook Messenger unit; and prior to joining Facebook, Marcus was the former president of PayPal (which had acquired his previous startup).  This episode begins with an interview just to help kick things off and then features a rich set of questions from the audience -- as this originally took place live on stage at our Crypto Startup School 2023. As a reminder: none of this should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.related readings:Regulate apps, not protocols series (2022-2023) - Miles Jennings et al, a16z crypto)What it will take to create the next great Silicon Valleys (2014) - Marc Andreessen (Politico, a16z)Why bitcoin matters (2014) - Marc Andreeessen (NYT, a16z)When one app rules them all: The case of WeChat and Mobile in China (2015) - Connie Chan (a16z) Subscribe to web3 with a16z: https://link.chtbl.com/web3witha16z Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. 

Jack O'Brien speaks with Connie Chan Wang, SVP of marketing at Headspace, about the state of mental health in America. SHOW DESCRIPTION LONG: Jack O'Brien speaks with Connie Chan Wang, SVP of marketing at Headspace, about the state of mental health in America, how the company is seeking to expand access to behavioral services and why it's important to destigmatize mental health.

with @davidmarcus @smc90This wide-ranging conversation covers company building, big to small -- including what cadence and when is the right "time" to ship; the relationship between centralization, decentralization, platforms, and financial freedom; moving from web2 to web3 in both crypto AND payments... as well as why bitcoin, views on remote work, and much much more. Our guest is David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark; Marcus was also a co-creator of Diem (aka Libra and Novi, the cryptocurrency project initiated by Facebook). Before that, he was vice president of messaging products there, where he ran the Facebook Messenger unit; and prior to joining Facebook, Marcus was the former president of PayPal (which had acquired his previous startup).  This episode begins with an interview just to help kick things off and then features a rich set of questions from the audience -- as this originally took place live on stage at our Crypto Startup School 2023. As a reminder: none of this should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.related readings:Regulate apps, not protocols series (2022-2023) - Miles Jennings et al, a16z crypto)What it will take to create the next great Silicon Valleys (2014) - Marc Andreessen (Politico, a16z)Why bitcoin matters (2014) - Marc Andreeessen (NYT, a16z) When one app rules them all: The case of WeChat and Mobile in China (2015) - Connie Chan (a16z)  

Today's guest is Connie Chan, General Partner at a16z. In conversation with Emerj Senior Editor Matthew DeMello, Connie discusses the challenges consumer companies are facing from distribution to mobile technology. Later, she addresses how AI use cases in personalization and the consolidation of social media as marketing distribution channels will shape the future of consumer technology.    A note from a16z on today's episode: The content here is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures.  

Supervisor Connie Chan keeps a decorative sign in her office that says “I'll be nicer, if you'll be smarter.” She is chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and has made it a point to call for hearings about department overspending or inefficient spending. As part of our Soup With the Supes series, Chan tells the story of how she was introduced to clam chowder in a bread bowl and shares her vision of San Francisco's economic future. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle's SFNext Project Got a tip, question, comment? Email us at sfnext@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is arguably nothing that impacts our daily lives more than consumer technology. This technology can drive our ability to change careers, build an audience, or feel understood. And in this episode, listeners get a sneak peek into our new consumer series, Field Notes, where a16z's very own Connie Chan speaks with the builders, creators, and investors behind the technology that shapes our daily lives.If you like these segments, you can find the full episodes at a16z.com/fieldnotes. Resources: Find the full series: https://a16z.com/fieldnotesFind Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechanDeb's Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is2pm06MNt8Deb's Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osJp6S66u2UChris's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zux1wVirUjs Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Over the last decade, we've seen the marketplace model evolve and grow, and this year a16z is back with our fourth edition of the Marketplace100 – a ranking of the top private marketplaces by GMV – giving a unique window into what may be to come.This year's list features nearly three dozen newcomers, including marketplaces for refurbished electronics, precious metals, and sustainably raised meat. And in this episode, we break down key trends from the report together with a16z's Consumer partners Connie Chan, Olivia Moore, and Zach Cohen.If you'd like to see the full ranking of the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies, you can find the full report at https://a16z.com/marketplace-100.Resources:Find the full Marketplace 100 report: https://a16z.com/marketplace-100Find Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechanFind Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweetsFind Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zachcohen25Topics Covered:00:00- Introduction02:28 - Why marketplaces? 05:18 - What metrics matter07:55 - Newcomers on the list09:49 - Entertainment and personalization13:46 - Curated marketplaces14:47 - Trust and safety21:23 - Mental health trends22:42 - Untapped supply24:40 - Disintermediation27:42 - Transient vs foundational trends31:33 - Companies entering the category36:52 - Sleeper categories for 2024 Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Connie Chan is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley-based technology venture capital firm with over $7 billion under management, where she focuses on investing in consumer technology. Chan joined the firm in 2011 as a deal partner on the investment team before becoming a general partner in 2018. She serves on the boards of Cider, Whatnot, and KoBold. In this conversation with Stanford adjunct lecturer Ravi Belani, Chan shares her career and life advice for college students and aspiring venture capitalists.

Connie Chan is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a leading Silicon Valley VC firm with over $35B under management. Connie joined Andreessen Horowitz in 2011 after working at HP in China and in private equity and became a general partner in 2018. She also spearheaded the firm's Asia network to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley startups looking to navigate opportunities in the Chinese consumer tech ecosystem and companies in Asia seeking to better understand Silicon Valley. Connie has been named a LinkedIn NextWave Top Professional 35 and Under, Wired's Next 20 Tech Visionary, Fast Company's Most Creative People 2017, and won a Sydney award for her writing on WeChat, and is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Connie received her B.A. in Economics and M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. -- Get 20% off Lyvecom for your Shopify store at lyvecom.com/dulma

A16z Podcast Podcast Notes Key Takeaways Social platforms will become a natural place for product discovery as platforms will ease the friction between inspiration, purchase intent, and completed purchases China is mobile-only, compared to the U.S. which is mobile-first, so China tends to iterate on mobile features much faster than the U.S. In 2019, two-thirds of Americans said they had a favorite local place they went to regularly. Four years later, that two-thirds has decreased to one-half. Gaming bots have historically been scripted procedures but are increasingly becoming network-based AIs that are more convincing to humansMultiplayer games of the future may consist of perfectly catered AIs specifically designed for each gamerBrands will lean into the platforms that enable interoperability across platformsOf the group of digital natives, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha, 2 in 5 already believe that self-expression via fashion is more important in the digital world than the physicalGenerative AI will advance beyond “text to image” to more complex workflows, such as “text to SQL queries” or, eventually, “text to excel modeling” and more Much of the truly useful data is actually proprietary enterprise data and is not widely available on the internet for AIs to train on “If your company does not have an AI strategy, it should really be thinking about one yesterday.” – Sarah Wang  Fintech companies will need to strike a delicate balance between building with new technology rails while maintaining customer trust Regardless of the platform shift, distribution is always keyRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAt the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.In our 2-part series, we'll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.Here in part 1, we'll cover Consumer, Games, and Enterprise, with a little Fintech sprinkled in. Listen in as we chat with Connie Chan, Anne Lee Skates, Jack Soslow, Doug McCracken, Sarah Wang, and Sumeet Singh.And look out for part 2 dropping soon, covering Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health!For the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/Topics Covered:(1:30) Breakthroughs in Buying (Finally!) - Connie Chan(16:40) Unlocking the “Third Place” - Anne Lee Skates(30:14) Games as a Neverending Turing Test - Jack Soslow(46:09) The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward - Doug McCracken(59:24) Generative AI Advances Beyond “Text to Image” to Complex Workflows - Sarah Wang(1:12:23) Embracing Large Language Models and Maintaining Trust - Sumeet SinghStay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

A16z Podcast Podcast Notes Key Takeaways Social platforms will become a natural place for product discovery as platforms will ease the friction between inspiration, purchase intent, and completed purchases China is mobile-only, compared to the U.S. which is mobile-first, so China tends to iterate on mobile features much faster than the U.S. In 2019, two-thirds of Americans said they had a favorite local place they went to regularly. Four years later, that two-thirds has decreased to one-half. Gaming bots have historically been scripted procedures but are increasingly becoming network-based AIs that are more convincing to humansMultiplayer games of the future may consist of perfectly catered AIs specifically designed for each gamerBrands will lean into the platforms that enable interoperability across platformsOf the group of digital natives, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha, 2 in 5 already believe that self-expression via fashion is more important in the digital world than the physicalGenerative AI will advance beyond “text to image” to more complex workflows, such as “text to SQL queries” or, eventually, “text to excel modeling” and more Much of the truly useful data is actually proprietary enterprise data and is not widely available on the internet for AIs to train on “If your company does not have an AI strategy, it should really be thinking about one yesterday.” – Sarah Wang  Fintech companies will need to strike a delicate balance between building with new technology rails while maintaining customer trust Regardless of the platform shift, distribution is always keyRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgAt the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.In our 2-part series, we'll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.Here in part 1, we'll cover Consumer, Games, and Enterprise, with a little Fintech sprinkled in. Listen in as we chat with Connie Chan, Anne Lee Skates, Jack Soslow, Doug McCracken, Sarah Wang, and Sumeet Singh.And look out for part 2 dropping soon, covering Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health!For the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/Topics Covered:(1:30) Breakthroughs in Buying (Finally!) - Connie Chan(16:40) Unlocking the “Third Place” - Anne Lee Skates(30:14) Games as a Neverending Turing Test - Jack Soslow(46:09) The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward - Doug McCracken(59:24) Generative AI Advances Beyond “Text to Image” to Complex Workflows - Sarah Wang(1:12:23) Embracing Large Language Models and Maintaining Trust - Sumeet SinghStay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.In our 2-part series, we'll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.Here in part 1, we'll cover Consumer, Games, and Enterprise, with a little Fintech sprinkled in. Listen in as we chat with Connie Chan, Anne Lee Skates, Jack Soslow, Doug McCracken, Sarah Wang, and Sumeet Singh.And look out for part 2 dropping soon, covering Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health!For the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/Topics Covered:(1:30) Breakthroughs in Buying (Finally!) - Connie Chan(16:40) Unlocking the “Third Place” - Anne Lee Skates(30:14) Games as a Neverending Turing Test - Jack Soslow(46:09) The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward - Doug McCracken(59:24) Generative AI Advances Beyond “Text to Image” to Complex Workflows - Sarah Wang(1:12:23) Embracing Large Language Models and Maintaining Trust - Sumeet SinghStay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Today, we're breaking down one of the most important apps in the world, WeChat. WeChat is the default operating system for life and business in China. Founded inside of Tencent in 2011, it is the original super app and its 1.3 billion monthly active users can order food, message friends, play games, pay bills, shop, and more on the service. To break down WeChat, I'm joined by Connie Chan. Connie is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and is well-known across Silicon Valley for her deep knowledge of the Chinese consumer technology landscape. We discuss WeChat's legendary founder, how trust is integral to the app's success, and why we haven't seen super apps proliferate in the West. Please enjoy this breakdown of WeChat.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus is the new digital hub for market intelligence. The Tegus platform empowers Investors and Corporate Development teams to invest smarter by pairing best-in-class technology with the highest quality user-generated content and data. Find out why a majority of the top firms are using Tegus on a daily basis. If you're ready to go deeper on any company and you appreciate the value of primary research, head to tegus.co/breakdowns for a free trial.   -----   Business Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Business Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @JoinColossus | @patrick_oshag | @jspujji | @zbfuss | @ReustleMatt   Show Notes [00:02:40] - [First question] - Overview of the super app model [00:04:43] - How apps and software from the Western world differ from WeChat [00:06:19] - WeChat's history in China and why it dominates [00:08:27] - Seeing WeChat as an OS within an app [00:09:19] - How service unification in WeChat affects privacy, identity, and marketing [00:13:16] - High-level analysis of their business model and reach [00:16:53] - What Westerners would find surprising about using WeChat [00:18:04] - History and functionality of WeChat Pay [00:23:14] - The importance of their integrated Mini Programs  [00:25:56] - Factors impacting their margin structure [00:28:51] - Holistic design philosophies for maintaining user engagement and trust [00:30:44] - WeChat's saturation point and how future growth might look [00:32:02] - How they leveraged mobile-only coding, self-disruption, and internal competition [00:37:21] - Initial app build - simplicity for steady growth [00:38:36] - How her understanding of WeChat influences her investment decisions [00:41:47] - Western companies that have super app potential [00:43:52] - Exporting the philosophy of treating your app users like friends to Western developers [00:44:25] - The relationship between WeChat and the suppliers on their platform [00:47:14] - Uncertainty caused by software regulations in China [00:47:53] - Attributes of her typical investments [00:49:42] - Lessons for operators and investors when studying WeChat's story

The online ad market is declining and social media companies are struggling to maintain their primary source of revenue. A paid subscription model might be the answer. Nora talks with Connie Chan, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and consumer tech expert, about the way Chinese tech companies utilize a paid subscription model to increase user engagement, which ultimately bolsters their advertising revenue. For more info on our presenting sponsor, check out https://purple.com.  Host: Nora Ali Producer: Raymond Luu   Video Editors: Sebastian Vega Production, Mixing & Sound Design: Daniel Markus &Rosemary Minkler Music: Daniel Markus & Breakmaster Cylinder Fact Checker: Kate Brandt  Senior Producer: Katherine Milsop Full transcripts for all Business Casual episodes available at https://businesscasual.fm

You might have noticed that more and more social media platforms are offering paid versions of their services, like Twitter Blue, Snapchat Plus, and Discord Nitro. But what you may not have noticed is that this is nothing new. Social media platforms in China have had a huge head start in getting users to not only pay for features, but in creating features that truly are innovative. In this episode, Connie Chan, general partner at the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, analyzes what Western companies should be learning from their successes.

Young & Connie discuss the importance of mental health and ways to instill positive coping techniques in your children at a young age. They talk about creating a supportive environment for kids while allowing for the freedom to find their own way. Connie also emphasizes perseverance and our ability to learn any skill, even if that skill doesn't come naturally to us.Please enjoy & subscribe! ABOUT OUR GUEST:Connie Chan Wang is a builder, storyteller, and connector who is passionate about building purpose-driven teams and businesses, telling human-centered stories that win hearts and minds, and connecting dots and people to drive impact. She has the privilege of transforming and destigmatizing mental healthcare through her work at Headspace Health as VP of Enterprise Marketing. Connie also serves on the board of the Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club. She lives in the SF Bay Area with her husband and her 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.STUFF WE LOVE:Attention founders and investors:Two12.co is the best cap table and fundraising toolkit. Use code TGDS for 25% off!https://bit.ly/3Q7wHsnTry Young's online recording studio!https://riverside.fm/homepage?utm_campaign=campaign_1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=youngLooking to outsource graphic design? Try Young's favorite resource, Penji: unlimited designs for one fixed cost from some of the world's top design talent!https://penji.co/pricing/?affiliate=3I86N6MSF5358220Learn more about us!Our website: https://thegirldadshow.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheGirlDadShow/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGirlDadShowShop here for The Girl Dad Show products: https://thegirldadshow.com/collections*If you click on our links, we may receive a tiny commission AND… most of the time, you will receive an offer. Win/Win! The products that The Girl Dad Show recommends are the ones we believe in.

Audio is no longer just audio anymore -- podcasts now pull from new video platforms like TikTok and older ones like radio, user experience is growing and changing, and it's easier than ever to create audio content. Where do all these mediums converge and where do they diverge -- when it comes to user experience, product design, recommendations, discovery, and more?In this episode from October 2020, a16z general partner Connie Chan and Spotify's chief R&D officer Gustav Söderström join host Sonal Choksi to discuss the past, present and future of audio. They dig into everything from what the past in radio can tell us about the future, what audio can and will borrow from mediums like video and platforms like TikTok, the role for more interactivity and increased use of tools like machine learning and AI, and more. 

In this episode from July 2019, Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of Kobold Metals, John Thompson, professor of earth and geosciences at Cornell; and Connie Chan, a16z general partner for consumer, talk with editorial partner Hanne Winarsky about the way technology is transforming how we find cobalt, and the mining industry as a whole, as well as the science behind why cobalt is so critical for batteries, the data and knowledge behind mining today vs the past, and more. 

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://feedssoundcloudcomuserssoundcloudusers.wordpress.com/2020/12/07/in-a-new-era-of-video-ushered-in-by-tiktok-real-time-interactivity-is-baked-into-viewing-experiences-which-may-lead-to-shifts-in-education-shopping-and-more-connie-chan-andreessen-horowitz/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/you-betterknow4/message

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://feedssoundcloudcomuserssoundcloudusers.wordpress.com/2020/12/07/in-a-new-era-of-video-ushered-in-by-tiktok-real-time-interactivity-is-baked-into-viewing-experiences-which-may-lead-to-shifts-in-education-shopping-and-more-connie-chan-andreessen-horowitz/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/you-betterknow4/message

In this podcast, Connie picks up where she left off in Part 1. After living in San Francisco for about five years, she decided to go to UC Davis. While at college, she rode a bike for the first time, a story she shares with us. She majored in religious studies and classical Chinese. Both subjects were of interest for Connie; they didn't necessarily constitute a post-graduation or career plan. After her time in Davis, she came back to The City and spent some time trying to figure out her direction. Initially, translation work drew her in. She found a volunteer gig translating for the SF Bar Association, and one of her first jobs was translating for a pro-bono tenants attorney. She shares the story of her work that day, and, as you'll see, it ended up setting her off on a purposeful path. ​Having that experience of helping people bridge differences with the context of deeper cultural understanding, Connie now had a reason to wake up in the morning—in her own words, she "loves" to sleep. Connie worked on a few campaigns here in town over the years—in 2007 to help get Kamala Harris re-elected district attorney; in 2015, she helped Aaron Peskin resume his old office of D3 supervisor, which is Chinatown, North Beach, and a few other neighborhoods. She met her partner (they'd known each other since they were 16) when she was 26. He was a bartender at North Star and Connie lived next door. Today, they have an eight-year-old son. Around the time then-D1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer was up for re-election, she called Connie. Connie thought Sandy was going to tell her that she was running for mayor. Instead, Sandy asked Connie if she wanted to run to replace her on the Board of Supervisors in District 1. She talks about the process of deciding to go for it, all the people, friends, family, and community members she talked with, and the actual work of fighting a tough battle. Ultimately, she prevailed, narrowly, and assumed office in January 2021. We end the podcast with Connie's thoughts on what it means to still be here. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Connie Chan used to love listening to music at Tower Records. In this podcast, we get to know Connie, who's beginning her second year as supervisor of San Francisco's District 1 (more or less the Inner and Outer Richmond). She and her brother were born in Hong Kong and raised in Taiwan. Connie shares the story of how her parents met: Her dad was a Hong Kong cop who worked with youth; Connie's mom was a social worker who also spent a lot of time with kids. They met through their work. When Connie was 5, the family moved to Taiwan. It was the Eighties and Connie and her brother were very much latch-key kids. Connie was exposed to plenty of pop culture, although it took some time for music and movies to reach eastern Asia. She talks about how members of her family had various trades and interests in Asia (piano teacher, opera singer, university professor) that they had to give up when they immigrated to the US. An aunt and uncle came over before her own family, and they landed in San Francisco's Chinatown. Her aunt served dim sum and her uncle worked as a bookkeeper for the famed Empress of China restaurant. ​Connie talks about the well-established immigrant and Chinese-American community in Chinatown and the role they played in her family's move there when she was 13. The networks that existed, the opportunities that opened to newcomers ... it all played a part in establishing a trust that was almost always paid forward. Her mom moved Connie and her brother there, where the three lived with her aunt and uncle in a not-very-big apartment. But she got her first impression of San Francisco on a trip here the year before. Connie plays the mandolin and visited as part of a band that toured the US for two weeks, SF being one of the stops. It was also the beginning of her really learning English. Her family speaks Cantonese, but from an early age, Connie learned Mandarin in school. She talks about some racism and bullying she experienced at school shortly after her arrival here. But Connie adjusted and made the most of her new circumstances. She would stop at Tower Records and visit their listening stations, where she would read along to the music and learn even more English. As a teen, Connie felt she had everything she needed in Chinatown. But when she returned to San Francisco as a 21-year-old after college, The City really opened up for her. ​Check back Thursday for Part 2 and the story of how Connie ended up running for and becoming a supervisor in San Francisco. Related Episode D9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen Part 1/Part 2 ​We recorded this podcast at San Francisco City Hall in February 2022. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

The Buzz: During 2020, video was the “king” of media types. Americans were Zooming into work meetings, logging into online classrooms, FaceTiming friends and family, and streaming entertainment more than ever. Binge-watching and gaming were up 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Americans spent an average of 42 minutes a day viewing digital video on their phones last year, compared to 23 minutes on computers. [Connie Chan: https://a16z.com/2020/12/07/social-strikes-back-video/] But this began way before COVID. Since 2015, video streaming has risen 13 percent year-over-year. Now, we're about to enter a new era of video-first products beyond entertainment and gaming. If video 1.0 phase was laid-back, video 2.0 will be more interactive and participatory, with users engaging with the platform, giving direct feedback on the content, and shaping the experience in real time. How did we get to this moment? The first era was television – controlled by big budgets and lead time to produce 30 or 60 minute shows. In the second era, YouTube unleashed a new category where anyone can be a creator – videos 1 minute, 10 minutes, even 24 hours long. Then the TikTok era— video condensed to one minute or less, with some of the best just 10 or 20 seconds long. All you need is a smartphone. TikTok reached 1 billion monthly active users in just four years, half the time it took Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We'll ask Kirsten Boileau, Karl Yeh, Ryan Sonnenberg, Loic Simon and Vincenzo Landino for their take on The Future of Video: How Many Words Will A Picture Be Worth?

The Buzz: During 2020, video was the “king” of media types. Americans were Zooming into work meetings, logging into online classrooms, FaceTiming friends and family, and streaming entertainment more than ever. Binge-watching and gaming were up 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Americans spent an average of 42 minutes a day viewing digital video on their phones last year, compared to 23 minutes on computers. [Connie Chan: https://a16z.com/2020/12/07/social-strikes-back-video/] But this began way before COVID. Since 2015, video streaming has risen 13 percent year-over-year. Now, we're about to enter a new era of video-first products beyond entertainment and gaming. If video 1.0 phase was laid-back, video 2.0 will be more interactive and participatory, with users engaging with the platform, giving direct feedback on the content, and shaping the experience in real time. How did we get to this moment? The first era was television – controlled by big budgets and lead time to produce 30 or 60 minute shows. In the second era, YouTube unleashed a new category where anyone can be a creator – videos 1 minute, 10 minutes, even 24 hours long. Then the TikTok era— video condensed to one minute or less, with some of the best just 10 or 20 seconds long. All you need is a smartphone. TikTok reached 1 billion monthly active users in just four years, half the time it took Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We'll ask Kirsten Boileau, Karl Yeh, Ryan Sonnenberg, Loic Simon and Vincenzo Landino for their take on The Future of Video: How Many Words Will A Picture Be Worth?

The Buzz: During 2020, video was the “king” of media types. Americans were Zooming into work meetings, logging into online classrooms, FaceTiming friends and family, and streaming entertainment more than ever. Binge-watching and gaming were up 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Americans spent an average of 42 minutes a day viewing digital video on their phones last year, compared to 23 minutes on computers. [Connie Chan: https://a16z.com/2020/12/07/social-strikes-back-video/] But this began way before COVID. Since 2015, video streaming has risen 13 percent year-over-year. Now, we’re about to enter a new era of video-first products beyond entertainment and gaming. If video 1.0 phase was laid-back, video 2.0 will be more interactive and participatory, with users engaging with the platform, giving direct feedback on the content, and shaping the experience in real time. How did we get to this moment? The first era was television – controlled by big budgets and lead time to produce 30 or 60 minute shows. In the second era, YouTube unleashed a new category where anyone can be a creator – videos 1 minute, 10 minutes, even 24 hours long. Then the TikTok era— video condensed to one minute or less, with some of the best just 10 or 20 seconds long. All you need is a smartphone. TikTok reached 1 billion monthly active users in just four years, half the time it took Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We’ll ask Kirsten Boileau, Karl Yeh, Ryan Sonnenberg, Loic Simon and Vincenzo Landino for their take on The Future of Video: How Many Words Will A Picture Be Worth?

The CEOs of GOAT, StyleSeat, Cameo, Faire, Whatnot, and Neighbor join a16z partners Andrew Chen, Connie Chan, D'Arcy Coolican, Jeff Jordan, Katie Baynes, and Anne Lee Skates to talk about the cold start problem,  2020 metrics, growth, and the tricky business of scaling a marketplace company.See more marketplace analysis, including a ranking of the 100 largest marketplace startups & private companies, in the Marketplace 100.

In the tech world, marketplaces are a hot topic. That term—marketplace—encompasses a huge swath of services we use every day, from grocery delivery to online shopping to remote learning. How have marketplace dynamics changed since pre-pandemic, and what COVID-propelled consumer behaviors will persist into 2021 and beyond?  In this episode, we discuss the most promising marketplace companies and categories on the rise, based on data from the Marketplace 100, a ranking of the largest and fastest-growing consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies.The report provides rich fodder for looking ahead at the future of marketplaces: Which companies are on a tear and which are locked in close competition? Which marketplace categories are poised for growth, and which may make a comeback? Host Lauren Murrow is joined by a16z consumer team partners Connie Chan, D’Arcy Coolican, Jeff Jordan, and Sriram Krishnan. 

This podcast -- which was recorded at the Computer History Museum in a live event, before the pandemic (first published in December 2019) is all about how companies create culture: A lot's changed... and a lot hasn't. a16z editor in chief Sonal Chokshi interviews a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz -- author of the book What You Do Is Who You Are -- on whether companies and people can change; how the very thing that is your strength can also be your weakness; how startups evolve from pirates to the navy; actions vs words and values; and more. The discussion also covers common tropes that often come up in Silicon Valley folklore -- whether it’s “fake it til you make it” and the “reality distortion fields” of visionaries… vs. liars. Drawing on historical themes and examples from a thousand years ago to today -- spanning empires, wars, revolutions, hip-hop, and prisons -- the discussion covers key themes and nuances, as well as practical advice, on creating company culture. Please note -- especially if you’re listening on smart speakers at home with children or with kids in a car -- that the discussion that follows includes various mentions of violence.  100% of the proceeds of the book go to anti-recidivism as well as towards helping Haiti.   Nick Quah, writer and publisher of Hot Pod (also at Vulture) joins a16z general partner Connie Chan -- and editor in chief (and showrunner of the a16z Podcast) Sonal Chokshi -- to talk about all this and more in this hallway-style jam. 

Connie Chan, from Andreessen Horowitz, talking about: Live, Social, and Shoppable: The Future of VideoSponsors:VistaPrint.com/techmemeTinyCapital.com

Connie Chan won a close race and will represent the Richmond on the Board of Supervisors starting in January. She talks with Heather Knight about fighting for cash for small businesses hit hard by the coronavirus shutdown, as well as the need for more public transportation in District 1. She also weighs in on homelessness, property crime and the push to reopen public schools. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod New podcast! Chronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? sfchronicle.com/chronicled Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gen Z—those born between 1995 and 2010—now makes up 35 percent of the population and represent $143 billion dollars in spending power. This episode is all about how brands can better understand, collaborate with, and resonate with this hugely influential segment of consumers. Our guest, Tiffany Zhong, is the 24-year-old CEO of Zebra IQ, a company that helps brands interpret the wants of Gen Z consumers and helps Gen Z creators turn their content into businesses. In its recent Gen Z Trends Report, her company highlights important cultural trends and Gen Z behaviors based on a trove of proprietary research. In this conversation, Tiffany and a16z general partner Connie Chan discuss the key differences between Gen Z and millennials, the growing power of short-form video on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, our changing perception of luxury, and how Gen Z is shifting the paradigm around money, education, and work.The pair breaks down how brands can partner with Gen Z influencers in a way that’s compelling, not cringeworthy, and why when it comes to memes and the art of emoji, you’re probably doing it wrong.

We've already talked a lot about podcasting, both evolution of the industry as well as the form, but where are we going with the future of audio, more broadly? Can we borrow from the present and future of video (e.g., TikTok) to see what's next in audio (more layers, more interactivity)? Can we borrow from the past of audio (i.e., radio) to see what's next for audio experiences (more blending of music, talk, podcasting)? Where do all these mediums converge and where do they diverge -- when it comes to user experience, product design, recommendations, discovery?Gustav Söderström, chief R&D officer (who oversees the product, design, data, and engineering teams) at Spotify -- the world's most popular audio streaming subscription service -- joins this episode of the a16z Podcast for a deep dive on all things audio with a16z general partner Connie Chan and editor in chief Sonal Chokshi. They cover the past, present, and future of audio -- going high level into the big trends and also dipping down into the trenches -- especially given the increased blending of talk/ podcasting, music, more. What are the challenges to designing for different mediums, on both front end and back end (including machine learning and different graphs), when listeners want everything in one place when and where they want it... yet their contexts shift?But the conversation more broadly is really more about what happens when we give creators (of all kinds!) tools -- not just for expression but for fan engagement and monetization too. We also discuss the themes of super apps and full-stack approaches when it comes to innovating on top of a protocol, as well as how innovation happens in practice: How do mediums -- and organizations -- evolve, prioritize, "disrupt themselves"? All this and more in this episode.---The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

GeneralSubscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.Companies Which Raised Money During Covid TimesRun The WorldBased in Mountain View, California, Run The World is a startup founded in July 2019 which builds software tools to help conference organizers produce virtual conferences. It provides event templates, streaming video, real-time chat and other features which help structure interactions between conference speakers and attendees, as well as community features to help attendees network with one another. At time of recording, the company has raised $14.8 million to date. Run The World closed $10.8 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz. Articles:Connecting the next Nobel Prize Winner and Billboard artist, one idea at a time (Run The World's funding announcement, from the company's Substack-hosted blog)With High-Profile And Celebrity Backers, Run The World Closes $11M Series A For Its Event Platform (Christine Hall for Crunchbase News)Virtual events startup Run The World just nabbed $10.8 million from a16z and Founders Fund (Connie Loizos for TechCrunch)Investing in Run The World (Andreessen Horowitz partner Connie Chan on the a16z blog)TockTock is a Chicago-based company behind restaurant and winery booking software of the same name. The company's business user base consists of nearly 3,000 restaurants, wineries, and pop-ups across 28 countries, as of February 2020, according to the company. Many of those businesses were forced to close due to the public health response to COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. In response, Tock built out Tock To Go, which aims to help restaurants with pickup and delivery booking. Tock has onboarded 1,000 businesses in April onto the new platform. Tock's take rate is 3% as opposed to the 25% or more charged by bigger platform providers like Uber Eats and DoorDash. It looks like mostly high-end restaurants use the platform.Tock raised $10 million in an "oversubscribed" funding round led by Valor Siren Ventures with participation from prior investor Origin Ventures. The round was announced on May 12.Articles:Tock Announces $10M in Funding (Press release)Tock raises $10 million to help fancy restaurants do takeout (Ari Levy for CNBC)QuillBotFounded by alumni (and one dropout) from the University of Illinois system, Chicago-based QuillBot is a company which uses natural language processing technology to summarize and paraphrase text. It identifies and suggests synonyms to replace words and phrases contained within text. The company offers its service through its website and offers extensions for Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Google's Chrome web browser. QuillBot's service is free to try with limited functionality, but the company sells premium subscriptions for as little as $80 per year, depending on billing frequency.In late April, QuillBot announced that it raised $4.25 million in a seed funding round co-led by Sierra Ventures and GSV Ventures, which saw participation from Service Provider Capital.Articles:Announcing QuillBot’s $4.25M Seed Round (QuillBot's official announcement)QuillBot Raises $4M to Help You Become a Better Writer Using AI (Gordon Gottsegen for Built In Chicago)About The Co-HostsJason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

This episode is all about education and technology, a topic that’s especially top of mind this week as students in much of the country return to school—virtually. The intersection of learning and technology has been accelerated by the pandemic, but the debate around education's "disruption," and what that means for educators doing the hands-on work of teaching, has been swirling for years.In this episode, a16z general partner Connie Chan and host Lauren Murrow are joined by educators and experts Josh Kim, the Director of Online Programs and Strategy at  Dartmouth College (whose most recent book, Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education, was published earlier this year), and David Deming, Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.We explore the complicated issue of online education from a variety of angles: Can the quality of online learning stack up to an  in-person education? What improvements have we seen over the past decade and what improvements are we likely to see this fall, compared to the COVID scramble last spring? And might this moment be the push we need for educators and technologists—sometimes at odds—to collaborate more closely?We discuss and debate the research behind online learning, the dual impact of tech and COVID on the future of higher ed, and tech's potential in everything from curriculum to access to structural inequality.

Text me! +1 (917) 540-3402For as long as there’s been consumer tech to talk about, we’ve framed it as a winner-takes-all battle between the U.S. and China. But is that really fair?Many argue it’s not. One of those many is Connie Chan, general partner at famed VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and this week’s guest on Business Casual. Chan is an expert in the relationship between China and Silicon Valley, and she’s spilling Sand Hill secrets.Her biggest bet is on the video-centric future of consumer tech and e-commerce. Because nothing sells goods and services or breeds engagement like watching good video. But who’s positioned to win in a social commerce economy?In the episode, Chan answers that question and so many more, including what TikTok’s uncertain future might look like, plus…Why super apps that can do it all (like WeChat in China) are becoming the rageWhat both social commerce and super apps mean for regulation, innovation, competition, and integrationAnd when and how we choose convenience over perceived moralsAs Chan sees it, whatever happens in consumer tech in China will make its way to the U.S. in about 3–5 years. The best way to be 3–5 years ahead of the curve? Listen to this episode.+ Keep in mind: In our next episode, we’re talking about the possible TikTok ban and what it means for creators. Subscribe wherever you’re reading this so you don’t miss it.

Today we're continuing a series we started a while ago of read-alouds (for more context on the why and why now check out episode #500 on how we podcast!).The first was episode #544 in April, It's Time to Build, read out loud by Marc Andreessen; what follows are  three more pieces read out loud by their authors:"Why Every Company Will Become a Fintech Company: The Next Era of Financial Services and the 'AWS Phase' for Fintech" by Angela Strange"When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China" by Connie Chan, first published August 2015"Why We Shouldn’t Fear the ‘Black Box’ of AI (in Healthcare and Everywhere)" by Vijay Pande, first published in the New York Times January 2018 

"When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China" by Connie Chan. First published August 2015. You can also find and share this essay at a16z.com/mobilefirstchina

A number of features were announced at Apple's WWDC/ Worldwide Developers Conference this week, but this episode of 16 Minutes on the News focuses on just one: Apple's "App Clips" coming to iOS14. Because App Clips -- small, lightweight, fast, parts of a full app that can quickly execute just one specific action for users in context, when and where they need them -- and App Clip Codes -- stickers that encode a URL and incorporate an NFC tag so the code can be scanned by camera, much like QR codes -- are part of a growing trend. Other examples include Snap Minis, announced at Snap's recent Partner Summit (and which we discussed on 16 Minutes last week in the context of messaging/ HTML5 games); Google's Instant Apps (2018); and We Chat's Mini Programs in China (2017).Such mini-apps are sort of like bookmarks or shortcuts to digital destinations dropped all over our physical world, connecting online to offline through smartphone. But what are they, really? What are the use cases for businesses and brands big and small; where do (and don't) the parallels to WeChat apply; and what are the broader implications for discovery, super apps, and the future of context-aware computing... especially when more mainstream AR glasses arrive to, er, augment smartphones?But: people have also been talking about this kind of thing for decades... is this time really different? We discuss in this week's episode with with a16z general partner Connie Chan and special guest Dan Frommer -- former editor in chief at Recode and founder and publisher of The New Consumer -- in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi.related headlines/ background reading:"Why Apple's new 'App Clips' matter", The New Consumer, June 2020, @Fromedome"Someone, please, explain: WTF are App Clips exactly?", Gizmodo, June 2020, @vicmsongon "mini programs": what they are, how they work in WeChat / examples 2017-2019 by @ConnieChan---The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

At last week's Snap Partner Summit, a number of announcements -- including a navigation redesign and Bitmoji for Games -- have broader implications for the gaming industry and beyond. Especially when such messaging games, built on HTML5 and "mini programs" or apps-within-apps (as discussed by Connie Chan in context of WeChat and more), merge the key trends of mobile, social, and cloud gaming; in fact, they:could be a serious contender in the "cloud gaming" wars, but coming at it from the low end of the market (as in classic disruption theory);have inherent multiplayer virality, thanks to the original social network/ social graph of one's phone book;are not only built social-first (e.g., not as an afterthought to gameplay), but can incorporate personal expression through avatars and identity across games; andcould layer on maps as social networks and AR filters (and marketplaces) as other ways to extend gaming and monetization.We break it all down in this week's episode of 16 Minutes on the News with a16z consumer partners on gaming Jonathan Lai (formerly head of BD for Tencent North America and former product manager at Riot Games) and Andrew Green (who worked at Take-Two Interactive, Atari, Electronic Arts, and TinyCo) in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi... what do such announcements-as-news tell us about where we are and where we're going on the long arc of innovation?This week, we have two separate episodes of 16 Minutes, both about gaming -- but based on very different news  -- be sure to also check out the other episode, on the first videogame approved by the FDA as a prescription medicine for ADHD. related headlines/ background reading:"Snapchat redesigns its app with new action bar", TechCrunch June 2020, @RomainDillet"Snap lets you play as your Bitmoji in third-party games", TechCrunch June 2020, @RomainDilleton "mini programs": what they are, how they work in WeChat / examples 2017-2019 by @ConnieChanon Google Maps as social network and more 2018 @eugenewei

This episode is the second in a two-part series that examines the pandemic’s impact on real estate. Part 1 focused on prospective home buyers, sellers, and existing homeowners. This episode, Part 2, addresses renters and landlords.The conversation with host Lauren Murrow features a16z general partner Connie Chan, whose experience as a landlord herself has fueled her interest in residential real estate and technology; Richard Green, the director of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate, and Adena Hefets, the CEO of Divvy Homes, a company that allows people to build up equity while renting a home, with the option to eventually buy it.We begin with the pressures on renters—and the uncertainty around federal relief measures—as well as the cascading effects on mom-and-pop landlords. Then we turn to the outlook for prices and volume in the rental market, particularly in large cities like New York and San Francisco. Finally, we discuss the opportunity for tech to solve outdated and inefficient processes for both renters and landlords.For more a16z content on real estate and proptech, visit a16z.com/realestate.

Connie Chan on how she led Andressen Horowitz’s investments in Run the World and her thoughts on the current landscape of venture capital. By scottmcgrew

This podcast (first recorded in 2019, now being rerun) -- is a podcast about podcasting: But it's really all about audio. A lot's changed... and a lot hasn't. How do we define "podcasts"; how does the feeds ecosystem currently work; what content and entertainment experiments might change how people not just consume, but create, in the medium? Not to mention monetize, discover, etc... Nick Quah, writer and publisher of Hot Pod (also at Vulture) joins a16z general partner Connie Chan -- and editor in chief (and showrunner of the a16z Podcast) Sonal Chokshi -- to talk about all this and more in this hallway-style jam.  The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates.This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund which should be read in their entirety.)Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

In today’s episode, we cover:KoBold’s team and its businessWhy cobalt is known as the “goblin metal”The collaboration of software engineering, data science and mineral exploration at KoBoldKoBold’s “machine prospector”Kurt’s journey to taking action on climate changeWhy cobalt makes for a good ingredient in batteriesWhy cobalt is known as the “blood diamond of metals”KoBold’s technology and the “messy data problem”KoBold’s business modelInvestment from Equinor and reconciling working with an oil and gas companyLinks to topics discussed in this episode:KoBold Metals: https://www.koboldmetals.com/Connie Chan’s announcement of Andreessen Horowitz’ investment: https://a16z.com/2019/03/04/kobold-metals/Equinor: https://www.equinor.com/en.html

Connie and Alex talk about this week's tech news, including the coronavirus and its impact on startups and a weird story involving a top exec at Softbank's Vision Fund; and Connie interviews Connie Chan of Andreessen Horowitz about four trends in consumer tech.Thanks for listening!Music:1. "Inspired" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired)2. "Dream Catcher" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4650-dream-catcher)3. "Blippy Trance" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance)4. "EDM Detection Mode" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3687-edm-detection-mode)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This is the 15th episode of 16 Minutes, our news show where we cover the top headlines, the a16z Podcast way: what’s real / what’s hype; what's interesting from our vantage point in tech. This week (after a brief hiatus for our annual innovation event and November holidays), we cover the following news... in conversation with Sonal Chokshi:use of alternative data in credit underwriting -- Five federal regulatory agencies (the Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Controller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration) recently issued a joint statement on the use of alternative data in credit underwriting; what does this news really indicate, and what are the implications for both consumers and companies? -- with Seema Amble and Rex Salisbury;big annual shopping days and retail trends -- From Black Friday to Cyber Monday to Singles' Day and Prime Day and seemingly unprecedented sales, where are we in the shift from offline to online commerce, on the so-called "death of retail", and on other tech (chatbots, logistics) changing shopping? -- with Jeff Jordan and Connie Chan.Relevant/ related links:credit, banking, data:use of cash-flow data in underwriting credit: empirical findings via FinRegLaba brief history of credit cards (or, what actually happens when you swipe) [animated video] with Alex Rampellon managing risk and uncertainty with Angela Strangeon non-bank financial firms (aka fintech is eating the world) by Angela Strangeon money, risk, and software [podcast] with Alex Rampellretail, logistics, etc.:the golden era of productivity, retail, supply chains [podcast] with Marc Levinson, Hanne Tidnam, and Sonal Chokshiwhere's my stuff, the lowdown on logistics and ops [podcast] with Jeff Jordanonline to offline 2.0 - experiments and examples from China with Connie Chanonline to offline (O2O) commerce by Alex Rampell the tipping point (e-commerce version) by Jeff Jordanso you want to compete with Amazon? by Jeff Jordan---The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

"Hi everyone, welcome to the a16z Podcast..." ... and welcome to our 500th episode, where, for the first time, we reveal behind-the-scenes details and the backstory of how we built this show, and the broader editorial operation. [You can also listen to episode 499, with head of marketing Margit Wennmachers, on building the a16z brand, here.]We've talked a lot about the podcasting industry, and even done podcasts about podcasting, so for this special episode, editor-in-chief and showrunner Sonal Chokshi reveals the how, what, and why in conversation with a16z general partner (and guest-host for this special episode) podcasting fan Connie Chan. We also answer some frequently asked questions that we often get (and recently got via Twitter), such as:how we program podcastswhat's the process, from ideas to publishingdo we edit them and how!do guests prep, do we have a scripttechnical stack...and much more. In fact, much of the conversation goes beyond the a16z Podcast and towards Sonal's broader principles of 'editorial content marketing', which hopefully helps those thinking about their own content operations and podcasts, too. Including where podcasting may be going.Finally, we share some unexpected moments, and lessons learned along the way; our positions on "tics", swear-words, and talking too fast; failed experiments, and new directions. But most importantly, we share some of the people behind the scenes who help make the a16z Podcast what it was, is, and can be... with thanks most of all to *you*, our wonderful fans!

This is the 13th episode of 16 Minutes, our weekly-ish news show where we quickly cover the top headlines of the week, the a16z Podcast way: what’s real, what’s hype from our vantage point in tech. This week, we cover the following news -- with a16z experts general partner Connie Chan and D'arcy Coolican from the consumer team, and former CSO/ a16z security operating partner Joel de la Garza -- in conversation with Sonal Chokshi:OK Boomer meme and meaning -- What makes this meme news, given current and coming tech trends around meme-to-merchandise, ecommerce, video, app design, the future of social... and the overall zeitgeist between generations and cultural transitions?fraud in gaming microtransactions/ trading -- Is money laundering really happening through gaming microtransactions? What to make of Valve's recent restriction that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive container keys cannot be traded or sold on the Steam marketplace because they are now "believed to be fraud-sourced" by worldwide fraud networks?Relevant/ related links:on Ok Boomer:on ecommerce as video's killer app by Connie Chan & Avery Segalon short-form video and the rise of AI-based consumer apps by Connie Chanon when advertising isn't enough, and the shift from "eyeballs" to "wallets" by Connie Chanon design by livestream (as well as other trends from China) by Connie Chanon memes and livestreaming in China with Connie Chan, Christina Xu, and Sonal Chokshion the rise of the super app by Connie Chanon gaming economies:on crypto and new business models for gaming with Kevin Chou, Chris Dixon, and Sonal Chokshicredits: @linzrinzz on TikTok

At the end of 2018, Connie Chan of Andreesen Horowitz, wrote about how podcasts in China monetize. However, what she calls podcasts aren't really what we call podcasts: they're more like paid-for educational audio content. Podcasting, like what we do at China Tech Talk, is actually still very immature in China. But that doesn't mean there aren't content creators following the "traditional" podcasting model. To talk about this, we're joined this week by Rio Zhan, early stage VC and host of the Crazy Capital podcast. We share notes on podcasting and talk about how China's content models have evolved away from the open web. Key questions Why is the China market different for audio content? Why is the open web almost non-existent in China? What role does culture play in creating acceptance of paying for content? How might Facebook's Libra enable monetization for Western podcasts? Links Crazy Capital (in Chinese) Outgrowing Advertising: Multimodal Business Models as a Product Strategy The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet WeChat Conference: CHina CHat 2019! Become a member of TechNode Squared Guest Rio Zhan, @RioJot Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel Editor Peter Isachenko Podcast information iTunes Spotify RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

with Kurt House (@kurtzhouse), John Thompson, Connie Chan (@conniechan) and Hanne Tidnam (@omnivorousread) The exploration for and mining of certain metals has driven huge epochs of human civilization, from copper and iron to gold and diamonds. In this conversation, Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of KoBold Metals; John Thompson, professor of earth and geosciences at Cornell and longtime advisor to the mining industry; and Connie Chan, general partner for consume, talk with Hanne Tidnam about why it is that cobalt is suddenly one of the most important metals on the planet. Because this metal makes today's best batteries for phones, electric cars, and more, we have gone from little to enormous demand -- with that demand expected to only increase. This conversation covers the way technology is transforming how we find cobalt, and the mining industry as a whole. Along the way we touch on the science behind why exactly it is that cobalt is so damn good in batteries; what we know about what makes cobalt as a metal 'tick', where it's currently mined, and where it's most likely to be found; what data and knowledge used to drive mining; and what the new data sources, technologies, and techniques are today, from geophysical/ geochemical data, to agricultural information, to old boxes collected over centuries in the basements and attics of mining cos…. all of this to satisfy the incredible spike of demand for this material, as we enter a new age of battery metals.

with Nick Quah (@nwquah), Connie Chan (@conniechan), and Sonal Chokshi (@smc90) It's a podcast about podcasting! About the state of the industry, that is. Because a lot has changed since we recorded "a podcast about podcasts" about four years ago: podcasts, and interest in podcasting -- listening, making, building -- is growing. But by how much, exactly? (since various stats are constantly floating around and often out of context); and what do we even know (given that no one really knows what a download is)?And in fact, how do we define "podcasts": Should the definition include audio books... why not music, too, then? So much of the podcasting ecosystem -- from editing tools to the notion of a "CD phase" to music companies like Spotify doing more audio deals -- stems from the legacy of the music industry. But other analogies -- like that of the web and of blogging! -- may be more useful for understanding the podcasting ecosystem, too. Heck, we even throw in an analogy of container ships (yes, the ocean kind!) to help out there.If we really think medium-native -- and borrow from other mediums and entertainment models, like TV and streaming and even terrestrial radio -- what may or may not apply to podcasting as experiments evolve? In this hallway-style jam of an episode, Nick Quah (writer and publisher of Hot Pod) joins a16z general partner Connie Chan (who covers consumer startups among other things) in conversation with Sonal Chokshi (who is also showrunner of the a16z Podcast) to talk about all this and more. We also discuss the obvious and the not-so-obvious aspects of monetization, discovery, search, platforms... and where are we in the cycles of industry fragmentation vs. consolidation, bundling vs. unbundling, more? And where might opportunities for entrepreneurs, toolmakers, and creators lie? The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates.This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund which should be read in their entirety.)Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

When people talk about trends in education technology, they often focus on how to disrupt higher education in the U.S., whether it's about breaking free of the "signaling" factor of elite educations or how to shift education out of its "cottage industry" mindset to achieve greater scale. However, in China, the transformation of education is already well underway, with a fast-growing ecosystem built around lifelong learning. In fact, one of the largest demographic groups paying for education in China is actually not college students -- it's college graduates, aged 26 through 35.In this episode -- which originally aired as a video on our YouTube channel -- a16z general partner Connie Chan talks with operating partner Frank Chen about the lifelong learning ecosystem in China; what it means for startups there; and lessons for entrepreneurs everywhere... or will these techniques even work outside of China?

So, I hope you read the piece I mentioned in the long reads, Called Outgrowing Advertising, by Andreessen Horowitz's general partner Connie Chan. Link in the show notes. Again, I think this points a way forward for the one trick pony-ism that I've bemoaned on this podcast. A model for new startups now that the low hanging fruit of "let's just get to a billion users and throw some ads up" is kinda, sorta, done.

In this hallway-style episode of the podcast, a16z partners Connie Chan and Kyle Russell discuss recent announcements at Facebook's annual developer conference, F8, in the context of trends such as: messaging and QR codes; brain computer interfaces; augmented reality and social VR; and, bots (again). As online platforms built on "real" identity and brands bring more of the real world into the digital realm, will we experience filter fatigue... or will the mundane become more profound? The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

"Mobile-first" (and now too AI-first) has been a mantra of sorts in design, but what does that mean at a company, product management, and competitive level? Especially when someone in company X will always say "we should do what Y did" -- even if they have no idea let alone data why Y did it. And while designing for screens is "like growing a carp in a bathtub" (will inevitably grow to the size of the container), what do design constraints mean in an increasingly screen-less world -- one where everything will eventually become an input ... and even an output? What does it mean to design for a mobile world where "an app isn't really an app" -- and the very definition of apps are themselves evolving, including cross-culturally? From the age-old question of whether there are design universals to the age-old dynamic of bundling/unbundling, the guests on this episode of the a16z Podcast -- Luke Wroblewski and a16z's Connie Chan (in conversation with Sonal Chokshi) riff, hallway style, on all things design in practice. And on why startups may have the ultimate design advantage.

From glittery reaction gifs modded by grandparents to rage faces on Reddit, stickers (gifs and other layered images) and emotive “biaoqing” have taken over messaging culture in China and beyond. Stickers are tied to filter culture, too — whether originating in real life as purikura photo sticker booths in Japan or digitally as Snapchat filters. Why are these forms of social communication so popular? Because sometimes you just want to say “I feel totally Nicki Minaj side-eye dot-GIF about this”, and no one can give a side-eye as good as Nicki Minaj can. But it's not just about isolated expressions, celebrity stickers like Kimoji, or personalized bitmoji; stickers are shaping and codifying the way people talk to each other online in new and multi-layered ways. It's even connected to mobile livestreaming, a phenomenon that's taking off in China right now, in the most mundane (food eating streams) to subversive (seductive banana eating streams) ways. And how are all these memes tied to monetization and payments? In this episode of the a16z Podcast, ROFLCon co-founder and human-centered researcher/writer Christina Xu and Connie Chan in conversation with Sonal Chokshi take us on a wild tour of cultural messaging memes and messaging tech in China and beyond.

Innovation or invention? Platform or app? Vertical or horizontal? Strategy or tactic? Does the smartphone eat VR? And (not to get all existential about it or anything but), what is an app, really? a16z partners Benedict Evans, Connie Chan, Kyle Russell, and board partner Steven Sinofsky explore these tensions in this episode of the podcast as they share some quick reactions to Google I/O, Google's annual developer conference, where the company announced a number of new platform products -- for VR to messaging to the smart home. Maybe most new things are really old things, but maybe those distinctions don't matter as artificial intelligence leaps into how we live our lives, automating (and anticipating) things in a new way...

So... about those bots. Bots bots bots. Bots! In this episode of the botcast, a16z partners Benedict Evans and Connie Chan -- along with Chris Messina, longtime advocate of the open web and more -- pull apart various threads related to the topic of bots, mobile, and beyond: the (evolution?) from web to apps to messaging to bots; chat as an interface; “conversational commerce”; and so on. They also discuss why framing messaging through the lens of WeChat both reveals useful things (what works/ might not work) and not-so-useful things (such as seeking the “WeChat of the West”). More importantly, how can we keep bots, and what they represent, in perspective -- beyond the fad? Especially when it comes to considering innovation on the 'web' vs. 'mobile' (remember the mobile browser!) and when it comes to removing friction (vs. adding limited interaction). What contexts (like customer service) are most useful for thinking about bots? And how can we even know, given it's early days yet and we haven't moved much beyond the command-line interface... Finally, as computing moves outside the classic work-centric paradigm to room- and urban-scale, how do we think about integrating online and offline, ubiquitous and “diffuse” computing through bots? The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

No matter how one views Xiaomi -- and there are many ways to view it, for better or worse -- one thing is clear: It, and other such companies (like WeChat and Alibaba), indicate a broader trend around innovation coming from China. Companies and countries that were once positioned as copycats or followers are becoming leaders, and in unexpected, non-obvious ways. For example, through scale, distribution, logistics, infrastructure, O2O, a different kind of ecommerce, mobile marketing, even design... But of a very different kind than iconic examples like, say, SpaceX. Or Apple, which arguably could damage the U.S. if single-mindedly regarded as "our official most innovative company". Or so argue the guests on this podcast, which include a16z partner Connie Chan and author/long-time observer of internet and social media culture Clay Shirky, who is currently based at NYU Shanghai, wrote the popular book Here Comes Everybody, and most recently authored Little Rice on "smartphones, Xiaomi, and the Chinese Dream".

India and China. The two most populous countries on the planet are also two of the most tantalizing markets for companies of all size, from startups to conglomerates. But those markets are also intensely, densely competitive: There's a lot of capital, a lot of players, and a whole lot of people. So do local players really have the home-court advantage here? Can they compete with the global players who have unparalleled execution ability and scale? And how does timing and structuring of companies entering those markets matter? Andreessen Horowitz partners Connie Chan and Anu Hariharan discuss these topics and more -- everything from logistics and infrastructure to design and talent -- on this episode of the a16z Podcast. As well as how domains like e-commerce, payments, and ride-sharing are playing out against the incredibly layered sociocultural backdrop of these two countries.

Messaging app WeChat tells us a lot about mobile and business in China. In a recent deep-dive primer on the WeChat phenomenon, a16z partner Connie Chan analyzed WeChat and the notion of app-within-apps, payments as a gateway drug, platforms vs portals, and what happens when utility is more important than being "social". Wired senior writer David Pierce also describes the power of conversational messaging as the main interface, further arguing that “A great messaging app could be to the web browser what the browser was to the internet before it.” So what happens when a messaging app essentially becomes an operating system for our lives? What conditions made the mobile, business, and cultural environment in China so ripe for a phenomenon like WeChat? How does voice change everything? And, let's face it, what are the tradeoffs users (both consumer and business) as well as developers may have to make when one app does in fact rule an entire ecosystem? Connie and David discuss on this episode of the a16z Podcast. Plus what happens to loneliness, work-life balance, and more.

IPN 本周的两档新节目与《無次元》会员计划，台湾科技作者傅瑞德被 Facebook 强制要求实名，a16z 合伙人关于微信的长文，超低碳足迹生活方式的可能性，以及 Rio 为什么认为只取本地食材的饮食方式是扯淡。 本期会员通讯将于北京时间今天下午发至各位会员邮箱。每月三十元，支持不鸟万如一和 Rio 把《IT 公论》做成最好的科技播客。请访问 itgonglun.com/member。若您无意入会，但喜欢某一期节目，也欢迎用支付宝或 PayPal 支付小费至 hi@itgonglun.com，支付宝用户亦可扫描下方二维码： 相关链接 《無次元》会员计划 talich 的知乎页面 傅瑞德告别 Facebook Theft, Lies, and Facebook Video 党支部下连队，网警进企业 《不许联想》 Blogroll Hossein Derakhshan: The Web We Have to Save a16z 合伙人 Connie Chan 关于微信的长文 Connie Chan WebOS Stop Trying to be Creative Picbreeder Rob Rhinehart: 《我是如何放弃使用交流电的》 《我是如何放弃使用交流电的》后续 Chez Panisse Alice Waters IPN 播客网络常见问题解答 人物简介 不鸟万如一：字节社创始人。 Rio: Apple4us 程序员。

IPN 本周的两档新节目与《無次元》会员计划，台湾科技作者傅瑞德被 Facebook 强制要求实名，a16z 合伙人关于微信的长文，超低碳足迹生活方式的可能性，以及 Rio 为什么认为只取本地食材的饮食方式是扯淡。 本期会员通讯将于北京时间今天下午发至各位会员邮箱。每月三十元，支持不鸟万如一和 Rio 把《IT 公论》做成最好的科技播客。请访问 itgonglun.com/member。若您无意入会，但喜欢某一期节目，也欢迎用支付宝或 PayPal 支付小费至 hi@itgonglun.com，支付宝用户亦可扫描下方二维码： 相关链接 《無次元》会员计划 talich 的知乎页面 傅瑞德告别 Facebook Theft, Lies, and Facebook Video 党支部下连队，网警进企业 《不许联想》 Blogroll Hossein Derakhshan: The Web We Have to Save a16z 合伙人 Connie Chan 关于微信的长文 Connie Chan WebOS Stop Trying to be Creative Picbreeder Rob Rhinehart: 《我是如何放弃使用交流电的》 《我是如何放弃使用交流电的》后续 Chez Panisse Alice Waters IPN 播客网络常见问题解答 人物简介 不鸟万如一：字节社创始人。 Rio: Apple4us 程序员。

China has been a tough market to crack for U.S. internet companies. One of the key reasons is China has its own crop of hugely successful and highly innovative companies. Andreessen Horowitz's Chris Dixon, Connie Chan and Benedict Evans highlight the key players in China, and what non-Chinese companies can learn from them. Where Chinese companies and money are headed next.

Connie Chan provides an introduction to the course. Ben Galbraith then gives an overview of web application development. (April 1, 2010)

Episode 59 is an interview with Connie Chan, Levitate Yoga in Times Square, New York, and Lara Hedin,? of YogaPeeps.com. In this episode, Connie and Lara talk about the Summer Solstice Yoga Celebration in Times Square,? yoga teachers as tour guides inward, walking meditation, VOTE-ing, and Santosha. To listen click: YogaPeeps_103108_ConnieChanInterview Subscribe with iTunes ShowNotes Connie?s Bio Slower Connections: If you have choppy playback, right click the link and download the mp3 to your desktop (Firefox Save link as?) (Internet Explorer Save target as?)