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Read more President-elect Joseph Biden has plucked Ron Klain, a longtime colleague and confidant and the current executive vice president of the venture capital firm Revolution, as his White House chief of staff, reports The New York Times.
Klain was Biden’s chief of staff for two years during the Obama administration and left his post as chief of staff in 2011 to join Revolution, the firm founded by former AOL chief executive and founder Steve Case. Revolution did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If Klain makes his second entrance into the White House, Biden will be bringing on a chief of staff he’s known for more than 35 years. The duo first worked together in 1989, when the president-elect was a senator and Klain was a newly graduated law student from Harvard Law School. He most recently worked as the White House Ebola Response coordinator from October 2014 to February 2015, and helped as a debate advisor to President Obama and President Clinton, as well as nominees Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton.
Klain’s appointment could pacify some of the presumed tension that could occur between startups and the government under the Biden-Harris administration. Biden has been vocal about pursuing aggressive regulation on the tech industry, which could negatively impact behemoths like Google, Apple and Facebook. Klain has spoken up (in TechCrunch!) about how regulatory hurdles could hinder key innovation in startup-land. Klain also helped lead efforts for Higher Ground Labs, an incubator and accelerator focused on politically-focused (and Democrat-loved) startups. While that likely wouldn’t impact Big Tech, it doesn’t hurt that, reportedly, one of Biden’s closest confidants will have a soft spot for startups.
Rivian is opening up pre-orders for three editions of its upcoming electric pickup truck and SUV that start as low as $67,500 and with a battery range of more than 300 miles. However, more options will follow, including a base version that will have a smaller range of at least 250 miles and a price below $67,000.
Information on the three editions and their accompanying equipment packages, paint options and pricing is just a few of the numerous details released Wednesday on Rivian’s website. Perhaps one of the more notable tidbits include the addition of cheaper base version of the pickup and SUV, the official inclusion of the camp kitchen accessory and confirmation that a battery pack capable of more than 400 miles will be offered at some point in the future.
Rivian, which has attracted investment from the likes of Ford, Amazon, funds managed by BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Associates and Cox Automotive, is aiming to become the first to bring an EV pickup truck to market. But it’s facing competition from legacy automakers such as GM as well as Tesla, which says it will start production of its futuristic looking Cybertruck in late 2021. Ford is also planning to bring an all-electric F-150 pickup truck to market in 2022.
Image Credits: Rivian
Deliveries of the first and, so far, most expensive version of the pickup truck called the Launch edition will begin in June 2021. The Launch edition of the RT1 truck will start at $75,000 (that’s before federal tax incentives are applied) and be able to travel more than 300 miles on the standard battery. The Launch edition will also have a special paint color called “Launch Green” along with other special badging and 20-inch all-terrain or 22-inch sport wheel upgrades included.
Tho other packages — the Adventure and Explore — will be offered for the RT1 truck and the R1S SUV. All of these versions will have more than 300 miles of range. The big differences come in the finishes. The Launch and Adventure editions, for instance, come standard with an off-road upgrade with reinforced underbody shield, dual front bumper tow hooks and air compressor as well as “compass yellow” interior accents, 100% recycled microfiber headliner and “Chilewich floor mats.”
The various pickup truck editions range between $75,000 and $67,500 in price. The R1S SUV prices range between $77,500 and $70,000. And all of these editions will arrive in the marketplace at different times between June 2021 and into January 2022.
Customers who place pre-orders now, which requires a $1,000 deposit, will have access to a configurator November 16. Everyone else will have access to the configurator, which allows customers to pick the paint color, equipment package and other details, on November 23.
The bigger 400-plus mile battery will come to the pickup truck first, starting in January 2022, according to Rivian. A longer range R1S SUV with both five- and seven-passenger seating will be announced following start of production, the company said on its website.
New research has found that San Francisco and London have become two of the world’s leading hubs for VC investment into tech solutions that address one or more of the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), more commonly referred to as “Impact Tech”. They are followed by Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Shanghai and Beijing.
Tech solutions for such pressing issues as the climate crisis and social inequality have seen a 280% increase in global VC investment from 2015 to 2020, while investment in this space more than doubled in both cities over the past five years. The report was put together by London & Partners and Dealroom as part of this week’s Silicon Valley Comes to the UK virtual event. More than 5,000 startups were surveyed to create the data.
According to the research, VC investment into London-based impact tech startups has grown by almost 800% (7.8 times) since 2015, compared to 3.1 times in Europe as a whole. 2020 is set to be a record year for London’s impact tech companies, which have received $1.2 billion in VC investment from January to October, already matching 2019 levels. London’s impact firms have also secured 429 deals between 2015 and 2020, more than any other city globally.
San Francisco’s impact-based tech companies have also shown strong growth over the past five years, with the data revealing that VC investment into its impact tech companies has almost tripled (2.8 times) from 2015 to 2020. So far this year, SF-based impact tech companies attracted $1.7 billion of VC investment in 2020 — more than any other city globally. At a national level, the United States received more VC funding for impact tech companies than any other country in the past five years, with investors pumping $35.8 billion into U.S. firms since 2015, double the amount invested into China ($16.8 billion) and the United Kingdom ($6.1 billion).
The research also found that the U.K. capital has produced 241 impact startups since 2006, with 95 companies founded in San Francisco. In London, “impact unicorns” include Octopus Energy (green energy), Arrival (zero-emission, public transportation vehicles), Gousto (food) and Babylon Health (AI health tech).
Climate change and clean energy solutions have attracted the most interest from investors in both cities, making up over 50% of overall VC investment over the last five years. Funding rounds including at least one North American investor made up $234 million of VC investment so far this year in London, up from $85 million in 2018, and equating to a fifth of all VC investment into London’s impact startups.
Funding rounds for London impact companies involving North American investors in 2020 include a $118 million growth equity round into Arrival by BlackRock, an $80 million Series B round for COMPASS Pathways and a $25 million Series C funding for Tractable.
Meanwhile, impact startups are crossing the pond in both directions. Arrival is now operating in Los Angeles, while Octopus Energy launched in the U.S. market in September after closing a $360 million funding round in April and acquiring Silicon Valley-based startup Evolve Energy. And San Francisco-based Allbirds, the sustainable shoe retailer, opened its first European flagship store in London in July 2018.
Commenting, Janet Coyle, managing director for business, London & Partners said: “San Francisco and London are two of the world’s top hubs for innovation and technology. But today’s figures also show that they are leading the way in creating purpose-driven companies striving to tackle some of the most pressing environmental and social challenges.”
Electric automaker Rivian will makes its hands-free driver assistance system standard in every vehicle it builds, including its first two vehicles — the RT1 pickup truck and R1S SUV — that are coming to market in 2021.
Details about the system, which is branded as Driver+, was just one of numerous new bits of information released Wednesday on its website, including prices and specs on its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV.
Rivian said the driver assistance system will automatically steer, adjust speed and change lanes on command. The capabilities of the system that Rivian describes suggests it is a Level 2 system as designated by SAE International. Level 2 means the system can perform two or more parts of the driving task under supervision of the driver. To support this level of driving, the system will be powered by two redundant compute platforms, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 10 exterior cameras, five radars and high-precision GPS. This essentially gives the vehicle 360-camera and radar visibility. It’s a robust suite of hardware that exceeds what Tesla uses for its driver assistance system. The hardware suite is similar to GM’s hands-free Super Cruise system, with the exception that Rivian appears to have more cameras.
Rivian is also placing a driver-monitoring system that includes a cabin-facing camera in its vehicles to ensure that drivers keep their eyes on the road when the system is engaged. Initially, the hands-free system will only be available on select highways and will then expand over time — improvements achieved via over-the-air software updates — to include a broader geographic area and more road types. This is similar to GM’s approach with its hands-free Super Cruise system, which was initially limited to certain divided highways and eventually expanded.
While there are a number of automakers with Level 2 systems, they vary in capability. GM’s hands-free Super Cruise and Tesla’s Autopilot systems are considered some of the most capable and easy to use, per a recent Consumer Reports evaluation of driver assistance systems. However, Tesla’s system scored lower overall because it lacks a driver monitoring system that makes sure the driver is alert and paying attention to the road.
Google changes its storage policy, Facebook extends its political ad ban and Ring doorbells are recalled. This is your Daily Crunch for November 11, 2020.
The big story: Google Photos will end free, unlimited storage
Google is changing its storage policies for free accounts in a way that could have a big impact on anyone regularly using Google Photos.
Currently, Google Photos allows users to store unlimited images (and HD video) as long as they’re under 16 megapixels. Starting on June 1, 2021, new photos and videos will all count toward the 15 gigabytes of free storage that the company offers to anyone with a free Google account.
Google says it will take the average user three years to reach 15 gigabytes — at which point they’ll either need to delete some photos or pay for a Google One account. Also on June 1: Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard files will start counting toward your storage total as well.
The tech giants
Facebook extends its temporary ban on political ads for another month — The company says the temporary ban will continue for at least another month.
ByteDance asks federal appeals court to vacate US order forcing it to sell TikTok — TikTok’s parent company says it remains committed to a negotiated solution and will only try to stop the government from forcing a sale “if discussions reach an impasse.”
Ring doorbells recalled over fire threat — The recall comes in the wake of 23 reports of fire and eight reports of minor burns.
Startups, funding and venture capital
SentinelOne, an AI-based endpoint security firm, confirms $267M raise on a $3.1B valuation — SentinelOne’s Singularity monitors and secures laptops, phones and other network-connected devices and services.
E-commerce startup Heroes raises $65M in equity and debt to become the Thrasio of Europe — The company has a strategy of acquiring and scaling high-performing Amazon businesses.
Seedcamp raises £78M for its fifth fund — This new fund increases the amount of capital the firm will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage companies.
Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch
Dear Sophie: What does Biden’s win mean for tech immigration? — Attorney Sophie Alcorn looks at the presidential election’s impact on U.S. immigration and immigration reform.
Greylock’s Asheem Chandna on ‘shifting left’ in cybersecurity and the future of enterprise startups — Enterprise software is changing faster this year than it has in a decade.
Square and PayPal earnings bring good (and bad) news for fintech startups — Square’s earnings give us a window into consumer payment activity, card usage, stock purchases and more.
(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
Everything else
Honda to mass-produce Level 3 autonomous cars by March — Honda claims it will be the first automaker to mass-produce vehicles with autonomous capabilities that meet SAE Level 3 standards.
Data audit of UK political parties finds laundry list of failings — The audit claims parties are failing to come clean with voters about how they’re being invisibly profiled and targeted.
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