Tech
- Nothing stopping the European venture capital space. Pitchbook’s Venture report for 2019 is out. Deal activity reached €32.4 Bn up from €24.3 Bn in 2018. Number of deals reduced from 5,929 to 5,017 Pitchbook
- Atomico btw announced its largest fund to date. Fund V closed at USD 820 M Sifted
- Wallenstam invest to become significant (25%) shareholders in CoLive DI
- Gustaf Söderström, Head of R&D at Spotify explains how the product became a success and what brought them there Wired
Media
- Podcast platform Supercast announced USD 2M round to support podcast streamers to monetise their audience Supercast
- Netflix launching top 10 chart on its website TheVerge
- Spotify adds service for labels and artists to pay to market their content on the platform – interesting move in the name of building awareness of new content Bloomberg
- Bob Iger steps down as CEO of Disney and leaves the floor to another Bob – Bob Chapek previously head of Disney Parks WSJ
- Quibi announced another USD 750 M of funding ahead of launch in April WSJ
- Bad Boys 3 brings an extraordinary box office success Forbes
Transportation
- Expedia lays off 12% of its staff (3,000 people) citing an attitude of “all life, no work” and a disappointing autumn CNBC
- We are closing in on autonomous cars BenEvans and Waymo raise another USD 2.25 Bn in a first external funding round CNBC
XR
- How AR/VR is changing consumer behaviour in retail Voguebusiness
- The next version of Chrome adds Web AR and NFC features to it Engadget
- Magic Leap planning to expand dev relations in 2020 VirtualRealityTimes
- HTC announce Magic Leap like AR glasses to be released in 2020 Venturebeat
- The story of the USD 300 M Daqri attempt to build AR glasses Protocol
- AR Smart glasses maker MAD Gaze raise USD 19 M to continue to build its AR glasses Forbes
Statistics
- Another real-time map of the COVID-19 virus confirmed cases Healthmap | and here is how it impacts societies in terms of dividing working classes between hourly paid services and full-time services NYTimes
Binge
- Netflix launched the Second season of Drive to survive – this time Mercedes is on the roaster of the show Playpilot
Podcast
- Who would’ve thought a Swedish inventor – Waldemar Jungner – drove a fully electric vehicle from Stockholm to Nyköping (150km) in 1901 (!). He invented the basic rechargeable Nickel-Cadmium batteries but received little credit after a patent dispute with Edison Wikipedia | SverigesRadio
Finance & Politics
- Remember the strong winds a couple of weeks ago? Did you see this Airbus A380 landing? News18
- Malena Ernman, mother of Greta Thunberg about how her daughter’s life took a drastic turn TheGuardian
- The eleven year bull market is being tested by the COVID-19 spread WSJ
