And Their Digital Democracies.

If home is where the heart is, then where you live is where your mind is. For many people, that’s on the internet.

In 2020, the average American spent 7 hours and 50 minutes online per day. That’s nearly 120 full days spent online during the year — equivalent to spending every single moment from January 1 through April 30 online.

Much of this time online is spent building, creating, consuming, and communicating. As a result, almost every industry — including retail, banking, payments, automobiles, and more — has been disrupted by our increasingly digital world.

…

And what it means for the future

We’re living through a period of incredible innovation. 10 years ago, Instagram, Doordash, Venmo, Siri, and Slack didn’t exist. Plant-based meat wasn’t a thing, Airbnb and Uber had just been founded, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was basically only Iron Man. 10 — or even just five — years from now, who knows what will be mainstream. It’s hard to imagine an industry that won’t be touched by advances in transportation, artificial intelligence, and digitization (to name a few).

In a world that’s constantly changing, will anything remain the same? Most likely yes…

And fend off competitors from Twitter, Instagram, and more

Clubhouse, an audio-only content platform founded last April, has gained immense popularity in recent months. The startup was most recently valued at eyewatering $1 billion in a Series B funding round led by Andreesen Horowitz. Yet, despite this valuation, the company is still pre-revenue and its path to monetization remains unclear.

Because Clubhouse is so new, there’s a lot of debate about what Clubhouse actually is. Is it a social media company? What about a competitor to Spotify and podcasts? …

Coinbase, a crypto exchange, just filed its S-1 to go public via direct listing. This comes on the back of recent months’ massive runup in cryptocurrencies, a SPAC frenzy, and an increasingly frothy market.

What’s caught many people’s attention is Coinbase’s supposed doubling in valuation over the past month. In late January, the company was valued at roughly $54 billion in a private secondary share offering. Now, less than a month later, it’s seeking a $100 billion public debut.

Some are claiming this is yet another case of an extended valuation in an overpriced market. Others are stating that Coinbase’s…

Sizing the EV Market Opportunity

Nearly every automaker has committed to producing EVs within the next few years — from pure-play electric vehicle makers like Tesla or Nio, to primarily internal combustion engine (ICE) automakers like GM and Ford, to (sometimes pre-revenue) newcomers like Rivian, Lucid Motors, and Lordstown Motors.

But while many have made commitments to a more electric future, key questions regarding market share, demand dynamics, and supply constraints remain unanswered. Understanding the overall market size can help. …

In the race to capture EV market share and gain traction with consumers, Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio is attempting to differentiate itself in a key way: by offering its batteries as a service (BaaS).

Many have wondered whether the service will work. After all, Tesla introduced battery swaps in 2013 but abandoned the service just two years later. And if Tesla didn’t succeed, surely another EV maker won’t either, right? It’s not that simple.

Part One of this series assessed Nio’s standalone operations and compared key metrics with Tesla. Read it here. This is Part Two, which looks specifically…

The EV market is heating up. Only a few companies will survive —here’s why Nio may be one of them.

Summary

· Nio has had strong delivery growth over the last year and could be at an important inflection point. Recent capital raises indicate Nio is investing heavily in its future.

· Costs are declining rapidly, and gross margin could be as high as 30% by 2025.

· While still far behind Tesla in terms of production and data, Nio is differentiating itself via its unique battery-as-a-service model. This could provide a competitive edge in gaining market share.

Part One of…