🚙 The $50B self-driving IPO

PLUS: Philanthropy as a service, defined. December 9, 2021 [The Hustle]( A Massachusetts cannabis company baked a 3-by-3-foot, 850-pound THC-infused brownie Wednesday in celebration of National Brownie Day. The price is still being determined, though it’ll probably cost more than your average birthday cake. (FYI: Tomorrow is the final day to enter our $7k+ tech giveaway. Below, find out how you can get a shot at winning a MacBook Pro, iPhone 13, Apple Watch, and more.) Today’s rundown: - Mobileye: Breaking down Intel’s $50B autonomous driving spinoff. - Break the bank: Exploring the world’s most expensive cities. - PaaS: What is “philanthropy as a service”? - Around the web: Bedtime routine advice from toddlers, an ice cube that doesn’t melt, and more wild internet finds. Let’s do it. The big idea [Intel car]( Intel is spinning off its self-driving unit for $50B -- why? Intel has taken a number of Ls in recent decades. The chipmaker’s main competitors -- Nvidia ($810B market cap) and TSMC ($630B) -- have passed it ($213B) in size. More recently, Apple dropped it like a bad habit as a chip supplier. However, the company is amid a turnaround under CEO Pat Gelsinger and just announced a big move: Intel is spinning off… … Mobileye -- its self-driving unit -- at a projected valuation of $50B, per [The Wall Street Journal](. If the deal is completed by mid-2022 as planned, Intel will retain a majority stake. Founded in Israel in [1999](, Mobileye initially sought to reduce car accidents with collision-avoidance systems. Today, it develops chip-based cameras to “see” the road, guiding a car’s steering and braking mechanisms. Mobileye previously went public in 2014, before Intel acquired it for $15.3B in 2017. Why another IPO? Public markets have shown significant appetite for next-gen auto stocks. Tesla is a $1T+ company while Rivian went public at [$100B]( with zero (as in $0) revenue. Mobileye notched $326m in sales in the latest quarter. Meanwhile, semiconductor chips are estimated to rise from 4% of a car’s material costs in 2019 to 20% by 2030, per WSJ. Intel could use the cash It’s committing $100B to build semiconductor plants in the coming years. A Mobileye listing may spur a rush for other autonomous vehicle tech IPOs. Two potential spinoffs come to mind: Cruise (owned by GM) and Waymo (owned by Alphabet). For the 1st time in a long time, Intel looks to be a trailblazer. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Intel+is+spinning+off+its+self-driving+unit+for+%2450B+--+why%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12092021-Intel-Mobileye%3Futm_campaign%3DIntel%2BMobileye%26utm_content%3D12092021-Intel-Mobileye%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS Twitter’s new toy: Twitter [acquired]( Quill, for an undisclosed price, in an attempt to improve its direct messaging functionality. Heaps of cash: Heap, an analytics platform that helps companies better engage with customers, [raised]( $110m in a round valuing the company at $960m. Creator’s cut: Discord [piloted]( a Premium Memberships feature that allows creators to monetize their Discord servers. The pilot kicked off with 10 creators. Apple’s secret: A new report [uncovered]( a $275B agreement struck between Apple’s Tim Cook and Chinese officials to prevent regulatory action against Apple in the region. Selling stars: Meta [launched]( a new website where users can buy “Stars,” virtual goods that can be used to support creators on Meta’s platforms without having to pay app store commissions. Currently, $9.99 will buy you 530 Stars. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( Money Map [World's most expensive cities map]( Visual: Singdhi Sokpo Some findings on the world’s priciest spots The numbers are in. According to the [Economic Intelligence Unit](, this year’s most expensive city is… (drumroll, please)... 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 Tel Aviv, Israel! Congrats -- er, wait -- sorry? Soaring currency, grocery, and transportation prices contributed to its rise. Some other findings of note: - Rome saw the biggest drop in rankings, from 32nd to 48th. - Tehran saw the biggest climb, from 79th to 29th (think: US sanctions). - Hong Kong recorded the most expensive gas prices. - Damascus was the cheapest city for a 2nd year in a row (think: civil war). [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Some+findings+on+the+world%E2%80%99s+priciest+spots%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12092021-worlds-most-expensive-cities%3Futm_campaign%3DIntel%2BMobileye%26utm_content%3D12092021-worlds-most-expensive-cities%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource How brands are using Instagram link stickers Instagram eliminated swipe-up links for Stories in August, and all hell broke loose. Just kidding. They replaced them with cute, customizable link stickers, and brands and influencer marketers around the world were pleased. Those little buttons have a bigger impact than you think. Here’s how: [How to drive clicks with link stickers]( (5 min read): - Why Instagram got rid of swiping up - How HubSpot social media teams are executing - 3 lovely link sticker examples (ASHYA, Lil’ Libros, Neatly Nested) This fine piece of blog is brought to you by HubSpot. [Instagram sticker tips →]( Giving App [packaging donation items]( What’s philanthropy as a service? What if your charitable donations were part of your employee benefits, like insurance or PTO? That’s what Groundswell envisions with its “philanthropy as a service” platform. The startup raised [$15m]( in seed funding, to ramp up for an early 2022 launch. Groundswell sells its services to companies... … who set employees up with personal funds to donate as they see fit, using Groundswell’s platform. The app also: - Makes suggestions based on issues employees identify as important - Lets users build shareable portfolios of charities they support - Tracks donations for tax purposes To grow the fund, employees can automatically divert a percentage of their paycheck, which employers can match. But Groundswell founder and CEO Jake Wood told The Hustle he hopes companies just give away money to “empower employees to solve the problems that they think are most pressing in their communities.” Companies not only get a tax deduction… … but receive [data]( about the issues that attract their employees’ dollars. “There's a role for companies to be writing big checks [and] tackling issues at a systemic level,” Wood told us. “If they know what their people care about and can align those big checks to those values, then it's a win-win for the organization that actually makes that corporate philanthropy more sustainable.” So far, Groundswell has signed on a variety of companies, from hedge funds to consumer brands, with ~200 to 10k+ employees (though they haven’t officially named any names). BTW: If you’re looking for charities to support, [Charity Navigator]( is a searchable database of 195k+ nonprofits. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=What%E2%80%99s+philanthropy+as+a+service%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12092021-philanthropy-as-a-service%3Futm_campaign%3DIntel%2BMobileye%26utm_content%3D12092021-philanthropy-as-a-service%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Tech Giveaway [prizes]( Our Biggest Holiday Giveaway, Ever Want a shot at one of the prizes above?* Here’s what you need to do: Step 1: Copy your personal referral link below. Step 2: Share your link with everyone you know. Send emails, post it on social, give it to your mailman -- we don’t care, the more the merrier. Every friend that signs up through your link gives you one ticket in the raffle (1 referral = 1 ticket). Step 3: Cross your fingers and find out if you’re one of the 10 winners after December 10th! [Share To Win →]( Copy & paste your referral link to others: [ Prizes: Airpods Pro, Nintendo Switch OLED, Apple Watch Series 7, Fully Standing Desk, iPad Pro, Trends Lifetime Membership, iPhone 13, Macbook Air, Samsung 49-Inch Monitor, Macbook Pro *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States or D.C. 21 years and older. Ends 12/10/21, 12pm ET. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions, visit [thehustle.co/tech-sweepstakes-rules/](. Void where prohibited. AROUND THE WEB 🎭 On this day: In 1979, scientists [announced]( that smallpox had been eradicated. The disease had been around since at least 2 B.C. 🛌🏽 How to: This [3-step sleep routine]( sounds very luxurious. But the steps come from… toddlers? ⚱️ Wait, what?: Hedge fund billionaire Michael Steinhardt has been [banned]( from acquiring relics after prosecutors accused him of having a “rapacious appetite” for stolen art. He also had to surrender 180 smuggled pieces worth $70m. 👂 Useful: Have a noisy pet or roommate? Zooming from a coffee shop? [Krisp]( is a free app that helps decrease background noise during online meetings. 🧊 That’s cool: Researchers made a new [ice cube]( that doesn’t melt and can be composted. It can be used for up to 13 hours, rinsed clean, then tossed back in the freezer. 🐕 Aww: And now, a [dog]( who likes to pet other dogs. Meme of the day [trust issues meme] You don’t even need collision detection with this (Source: Imgflip) How did you like today’s email? Refer friends. Help us grow. 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