Rishi Taparia - Issue #26
This week Amazon Go finally launched, Coinbase showed just how good selling shovels can be, Anthony Noto left the flock, Robinhood joins bitcoin mania, scientists cloned primates for the first time ever (!!!) and more. Enjoy!
Commerce
Seeing a retail future beyond Amazon Go
Amazon opened their long awaited Amazon Go store this week, promising no lines and a seamless checkout experience (of note, the lines to get in to the store lasted the whole day. The irony…) This article, however, explores a small business owner in Seattle and his thoughts on Amazon Go, Amazon in general and where retail is heading. His biggest issues, Amazon employees and other tech workers “work so many hours they can’t shop” and “more and more people aren’t reading. It’s all on their smartphones and computers, so much entertainment — how can we compete?”
The Retail Industry Has Come To Its Senses On Technology
Retailers are finally starting to get more realistic about technology. Gimmicks are not the answer to bring customers back into stores and spending more money. VR and AR aren’t ready for prime time and gimmicks like virtual fitting rooms may attract eyeballs initially, but they haven’t translated into sales. Back to basics is where most have to go.
FinTech
Bitcoin broker Coinbase booked $1 billion in revenue last year
In a word: yowza! Talk about selling shovels. Bitcoin trading platform Coinbase announced massive revenues in 2017, riding bitcoin mania to $1bn in revenues. It doesn’t matter whether you believe Bitcoin is the future or the next massive crash, those numbers are remarkable.
Senior Twitter Executive to Run Troubled Finance Start-Up SoFi
Anthony Noto, Twitter’s COO, is taking a page out of his boss’ book and going to run a fintech company. The company which, before sexual harassment claims were filed against its founder and former CEO Mike Cagney four months ago, was a money making machine is looking to put that chapter behind them. A great grab that leaves a big hole at the top of Twitter.
Robinhood adds zero-fee cryptocurrency trading and tracking
Not to miss out on the party, no-commission stock trading app Robinhood is now tapping into the Bitcoin craze. The app will let customers buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum without any added transaction fees starting in February. compared to the 1.5% - 4% paid by customers using Coinbase.
Industry players unite to drive mobile payments in Singapore
Seven mobile wallets, acquirers and payment networks, including Diners Club, EZi Wallet, EZ-Link, Liquid Pay, MasterCard, UnionPay International and Wirecard, have formed a consortium to enable interoperable QR payments in Singapore for consumers and merchants. Notably absent from the list are Alipay and WeChat Pay, the largest QR code players in the world. I wonder why…
The PCI Council Announces a Standard for Software-Based PIN Entry
Smartphones and tablets paired with dongles for payment acceptance have long been considered to be insecure, relative to traditional payment terminals. Entering a secure PIN code onto a phone is a big no-no. This week, under pressure from evolving technology trends and merchant demands, the PCI council introduced a standard for software based PIN entry. Not in the announcement are what will surely be numerous requirements that payment providers need to abide by in order to secure pin on glass.
Technology
Scientists Just Broke the Technical Barrier to Cloning Primates, Including Humans
Chinese researchers just cloned primates. Using the same technique that cloned Dolly the sheep (remember Dolly!), but for the first time on primates, twin long-tailed macaques were born. In theory, given the similarities in genetic makeup, this means humans can now be cloned. “The technical barrier of cloning primate species, including humans, is now broken” according to Qiang Sun, the lead researcher on the project at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Forget Face ID. The Future of Secure Authentication Is Your Voice
Obvious statement: Voice as a convenient interface with technology has gained tremendous momentum over the last few years. Non obvious statement: Voice could be a better at security than physical biometrics. Thanks to a combination of artificial intelligence and compute power, a concept called voice profiling (identifying individuals based only on their voices) is exploding, seeing early usage in both law enforcement and banking. An fascinating entrant into the security and authentication field, this technology could make protecting identity a whole lot cheaper.
Random Tidbits
When Cities and Private Mobility Companies Vie For Data
Data driven decision making is (rightfully so) a must in today’s technology-centric world. For policymakers expected to write regulations, getting access to the data is a challenge. An interesting piece focused on transit, and how policy makers can work with ride-sharing companies to enact better policies.