Disruptiv Newsletter: TikTok fulfillment centers 📦 GM batteries 🔌 Delta x Joby 🚁 Meta Quest Pro VR 🕶️ Crypto 🎨 and more

Welcome to the Disruptiv newsletter! You're about to get this week's top tech and innovation insight that we saw this week. Enjoy! [disruptivflow-header] Good morning, FlowBankers Welcome to the Disruptiv newsletter! A weekly aggregate of relevant tech-focused quick takes. . Saturday 15th October, 2022 [Start trading](113/cXx8Z04/VWkYmD3_Wy00W2wq_jl2PtHk9W33LWhB4R8pbbN1YBntV2-MK5V1-WJV7CgQPPW1dqNzL6zh4VFW5T8__Z18XK4TW6Ln5sb4JH9YqW1GYp-377TYGVW7dtbhR47yXKXW43g-4m9b1-yKW92xSFT2Ldb4fN37hnBnWVsdWW6z8LCN3761ZBW23Bm9764JTCfW7V6pc04fz5zXW3PpwTM7NGck6W4VL7Ps7P0K-qW4rlbqr7qf8F3W7xJPQn4SNczhVLhqFK1QyFFXW1RKZhS2qpz_JV7phQX8FYxDXW1JyJRC5wTj8-N3t_slhR7HjN3mXg1) FlowBank tech articles 📚 Dating apps: fertile ground for innovation? [Dating app main](113/cXx8Z04/VWkYmD3_Wy00W2wq_jl2PtHk9W33LWhB4R8pbbN1YBnv92-MKpV1-WJV7CgWXsT9WC01rDFXFW4Mcs5J1rXfx-W1QW2X11TY4KpW28Cykf2L4GhQW4C2TSX5GqhLGVjVWLC79GhtjW6T_6dW55PPy_N6-zz5ZVlvZbV5GvF58TqSvbW7zVH941kYvM3W56vFFj6rYlbkW1BbYKX3HfGhdW8D2KFQ7n9HxlW7d6gBY20T2HMW8-whpv1l-Gh3W7TNHSv7W0dQjW6HQX2x4dH0j3W42kDJD4QzrmtW2m4R3L3JzLmHW82N8ln3hwxMDW1WhfVf3LXrv-W35whcx1wvHJy3ftr1) Dating apps offer a unique success story on their own. Discover the latest app novelties and whether the leading matchmaking apps could become key market darlings. And, is it time to ‘swipe right’? [Read me](113/cXx8Z04/VWkYmD3_Wy00W2wq_jl2PtHk9W33LWhB4R8pbbN1YBntV2-MK5V1-WJV7CgP4GW3Stndm3yGCpPW7ZQ4fX6qJgJQW9dsqfy3LRDC5W8fyVd-3TJ8LfW7fjDQz8x27hhW7l5_nz7cGGPSW26-MfC6q4cXCW3Mg2223pm_jpN7fn0F8CwZPqW5QZ1H66G7FjFW29F_L38XfT46W3xzyVS6NkblZN3dmG7ysfsKTW5FX_rL1XWvRTW8jh0M72VR0j3W98lwrR1RtHvMN1C2JywBtC0LV_dlH92BWgf6W57GlDW8y27D9W8Pmxht438W833d011) Big Technology 🍎 - TikTok is planning to build its own product fulfillment centers in the US, creating an e-commerce supply chain system that could directly challenge Amazon. It is also exploring a QVC-like live shopping feature. c - GM is launching a new business to connect homes and businesses with EV chargers and energy storage. The new unit called GM Energy will provide battery packs, EV chargers, and software to optimize charging. c - Delta is investing USD60 million in public startup Joby Aviation, which is planning to build and operate an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL, effectively an air taxi, to make trips to airports faster. c - Lyft began offering self-driving vehicles on its ride hailing app earlier this year. Its president John Zimmer confirmed Lyft's ambition to have the majority of rides be in self-driving vehicles, within 2 to 3 years.c - Meta unveiled a new headset, the Meta Quest Pro VR, that will cost USD1'500 (the Quest 2 headset sells for USD400). And Microsoft will partner with Meta to bring its work-collab apps to Quest VR devices. VC + Startups 🎯 - Almacena, a Dutch startup aiming to digitally transform coffee supply chains raises €3.5 million. It is developping a digital coffee marketplace, targeting the African market, to bring transparency and efficiency. - Factorial, a Spanish all-in-one people-first automated HR management platform raises €122 million at a €1 billion-plus valuation. The HRtech innovators have experienced 200% annual revenue growth since 2019. - FlyFeed, an Estonian startup aiming to develop insect proteins to feed the world raises €3 million to build an insect farm in Vietnam. It has developed an eco-friendly process that reduces the final price of protein. - Go Autonomous, a Copenhagen-based tech startup enhancing email communication raises €3.1 million. It developed an IA-powered solution to identify the customer's intent when an email arrives in the mailbox. - Cloud Factory, an Estonian startup bringing a new approach to fine jewelry using 3D printing tech raises €2 million to scale up its jewelry production aiming to be cost-effecting, sustainable, and highly scalable. Crypto 👾 - Ethereum had its first deflationary run, where more Ethereum is destroyed than created since the network's landmark move POS in September. The number of tokens in circulation dropped by 4'000 ETH. c - Google will allow customers to pay for cloud services with crypto. It will explore using Coinbase Prime for storing and trading cryptocurrencies. Coinbase will increase the use of Google Cloud, and reduce use of AWS. c - Web3 startup Space and Time which uses a cryptographic protocol to store data in a decentralised way, landed an investment from Microsoft. Law and regulation 🕵️ - The Portuguese government is proposing to impose a 28% capital gains tax on crypto gains made within one year, starting next year. c - Europe is one step further on its way to regulating the crypto industry. Lawmakers signed off the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), a landmark legislation that hopes to regulate digital assets in the EU. c - The US government released a proposal to make companies such as Uber and Lyft reclassify independent contractors as employees. Disruptiv Figure 📊 . The rapid rise of TikTok The number of active social media users is expected to grow to nearly 6 billion by 2027, from 4.6 billion currently. TikTok stands out from the competition due to its sky-high growth. Between 2018 and 2022, it attracted an average of 340 million new active users per year. The network overtook Instagram in 2021 for the number of users, and its user base is expected to reach 2 billion by 2024. For comparison, well-established player, Facebook is projected to grow to nearly 3 billion users by 2025. [TikTok statista] Don't forget to... [Start trading](113/cXx8Z04/VWkYmD3_Wy00W2wq_jl2PtHk9W33LWhB4R8pbbN1YBntV2-MK5V1-WJV7CgZB-W1P3qLc4kcCVcW1cPcrZ1nw5kZV4l_wg1g-pMTVbPPKg7X7G-kMQYcFGnB5BfW6dqjzZ26qSdsW3lq_Ng4kS_nXW8KTvwD6STQGPW5yXGBL6nwH0dW5ZV6Pt4RgFYgW4L_TLK9l6Y-7W8KdcQw7zdr3bW1Lty0P32KML5W6-DvPN5YdWgmW62scFk3ftctZN6g0tdW6mSrPW5Tl2yz7jkc0nN2-l_H_MTv5VW8jzRxw34rcSZW70d-xG3Y10Gw3q8s1) [logo_white] [Contact us](mailto:research@flowbank.com) Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram FlowBank SA, Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 6, P.O. Box 1303, 1211 Geneva 26, Switzerland, +41 (0) 22 888 60 00 [Unsubscribe]( [Manage preferences](