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News: Actuator: Stop making sense

• August 19, 2021
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First of all, we’ve got a fancy new name. While “Robotics Roundup” was nothing if not very technically accurate, it lacked the kind of panache one ought to strive for when rounding up robotics. Actuator, on the other hand — that’s a mover and shaker. It’s a name you can take to the bank (or

First of all, we’ve got a fancy new name. While “Robotics Roundup” was nothing if not very technically accurate, it lacked the kind of panache one ought to strive for when rounding up robotics. Actuator, on the other hand — that’s a mover and shaker.

It’s a name you can take to the bank (or at least run by the legal department for clearance). To mark this momentous occasion, we employed our resident graphic design genius Bryce to sketch up something befitting our rebrand.

We’re also using the opportunity to announce that Actuator will be coming soon to an inbox near you as a free TechCrunch newsletter. All of this fun change seems extra fitting, given that this happens to be the 25th edition of the roundup. You can find all of the older updates under our Actuator tag if you want to catch up.

If you’ve been following for a while, you’ve got the gist of what the newsletter is about: a digestible look into the week’s robotics news. We cover all of the startups making waves and the big companies impacting the industry, along with the most fascinating updates in the world of robotic research, as well as dives into labor concerns and various ethical issues stemming from automation and AI.

If all of that sounds good, you can sign up here to get Actuator in your inbox as soon as the first issue hits. I’m told you may have to prove you’re not a robot, so apologies in advance to all of the robots reading this. But hey, if you’ve gotten this far, you’ll figure it out.

Following an earlier report from CRN, Intel has since confirmed with TechCrunch that it will be winding down its 3D imaging platform, RealSense. It’s always a shame to see these sorts of forward-looking initiatives go away. And certainly Intel has been leaning pretty heavily on the division as a leading indicator of its efforts to remain relevant as the industry evolves.

Over the years, we’ve covered RealSense’s involvement in drones, robotics and AR/VR. In June of last year, we covered the platform’s embrace of 5G connectivity.

“We are winding down our RealSense business and transitioning our computer vision talent, technology and products to focus on advancing innovative technologies that better support our core businesses and IDM 2.0 strategy,” the company said in a statement offered to TechCrunch. “We will continue to meet our commitments to our current customers and are working with our employees and customers to ensure a smooth transition.

Translation: The company is choosing to focus its core competency. IDM 2.0 refers specifically to the new chipmaking strategy into which the company is pumping $20 billion. Understandable, but it’s always hopeful to see big companies like Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm really go all in on such forward-facing technologies.

Boston Dynamics, meanwhile, made news this week, ostensibly for another slick viral video, this one featuring the Hyundai-owned company’s humanoid Atlas robot. By now we’re all well aware of the fact that the company makes impressive robots and highly effective YouTube videos that launch a million Black Mirror and Terminator jokes on Twitter.

I’ve seen Atlas do some really impressive stuff in person at BD’s headquarters, and I’ve got a pretty good idea of what it’s currently capable of. So, while Atlas is extremely cool, I didn’t find the recent parkour video especially shocking. What did catch me off guard, however, was the fact that the company also used the opportunity to essentially publish some outtakes from the film.

A six-minute, behind-the-scenes video featured a montage of Atlas falling on its face. Like any great skateboarding video, there are a few gratuitous shots included that demonstrate that, regardless of how advanced the system is, there are still going to be some face-planting, gasket-blowing falls that leave its chest scuffed in a pool of its own fluid. The company notes:

During filming, Atlas gets the vault right about half of the time. On the other runs, Atlas makes it over the barrier, but loses its balance and falls backward, and the engineers look to the logs to see if they can find opportunities for on-the-fly adjustments.

That’s probably enough news of shuttered divisions and bodily robot harm for this week. A couple of fundraising rounds are worth noting.

First is Rapid Robotics, which has been on a fundraising tear of late. The new $36.7 million Series B values the manufacturing robotics company at $192.5 million and marks its third(!) fundraising round in a year that started with a seed raise.

CEO Jordan Kretchmer cites pandemic-fueled manufacturing bottlenecks as a big source of interest in the company:

We hear a lot about the semiconductor shortage, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Contract manufacturers can’t produce gaskets, vials, labels — you name it. I’ve seen cases where the inability to produce a single piece of U-shaped black plastic brought an entire auto line to a halt

Rapid will be making its robotic systems available through the increasingly popular RaaS (robotics as a service) model also being employed by Diamond Age. The fellow Bay Area-based firm announced its own $8 million seed round this morning for an intriguing mix of robotics and 3D printing designed at speeding up house construction. The company is still in its early stages, but it claims its technology can dramatically reduce the need for manual labor and shrink house construction time from nine months to 30 days.

Following its own recent funding back in May, Picnic this week announced that it’s finally selling its modular robotic pizza maker. Pizza is, of course, a popular target for food robotics companies, because Americans eat a ton of it — reportedly 100 acres a day, as of 2015. It’s also relatively uniformly constructed as far as self-contained meals go, and is therefore easier to automate.

And speaking of pizza robots, before we leave you this week, a note to check out the EC-1 on Nuro. Here’s a fun anecdote from Domino’s chief innovation officer that seems to ring true across the robotic spectrum:

One of the things we laugh about is how customers constantly talk to the bot. It’s almost like they think it’s ‘Knight Rider.’ It’s very common for customers to thank it or say goodbye, which is great because that indicates we’re creating an engaging experience that they’re not frustrated by.

News: In growing battle with TikTok, Facebook to test ‘Facebook Reels’ in the US

• August 19, 2021
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Reels are coming to Facebook in the U.S. The company this morning announced it will begin testing a new feature, Facebook Reels, which will give Facebook users the ability to create and share short-form video content directly within the News Feed or within Facebook Groups. The addition is an expansion of tests launched earlier this

Reels are coming to Facebook in the U.S. The company this morning announced it will begin testing a new feature, Facebook Reels, which will give Facebook users the ability to create and share short-form video content directly within the News Feed or within Facebook Groups. The addition is an expansion of tests launched earlier this year in India, Mexico and Canada, which had focused on bringing short-form videos to Facebook users, including by sharing existing Instagram Reels to Facebook, as had been reported.

In addition, Facebook today says it will also test a new feature that will give Instagram creators in the U.S. the option to have their Instagram Reels shown as recommended content on Facebook. If the creators opt in, their videos will appear in the “Reels” section in users’ News Feed, alongside other Reels created on Facebook.

There will be many places where users can create Reels from Facebook, as the new feature launches.

Initially, you’ll be able to tap a “Create” button from the Reels section that appears as you scroll the News Feed, while you’re watching Reels or by tapping on “Reels” at the top of your News Feed. From here, users will gain access to a standard set of creation tools, including those for video capture, music selection, camera roll import, timed text and more — much like you would have access to on Instagram.

For audio, you can either choose a song from Facebook’s music library, record your own original audio or even use someone else’s audio, if their Reels are set to “public.” There are also a variety of effects and editing tools to choose from, including a timer for recording Reels hands-free, tools to speed up or slow down a part of the video or your original audio and a number of augmented reality effects created either by Facebook or third-party developers.

Facebook told us that, for the time being, “most” of Instagram Reels’ features will also be available on Facebook Reels. But other features — like Remix (its take on TikTok’s side-by-side videos called Duets) — will be added over time as the test scales to more people. The user interface for Reels may also evolve over time to look somewhat different from Reels on Instagram, depending on user feedback.

After a Reel has been created, you can choose who to share it with — such as “Friends,” a specific audience like “Friends except…”, or the general public. The latter is the default setting.

The feature will be made available within Facebook Groups, where Reels can be created then shared with members of the community who have similar interests.

Users can also choose to tap into “My Reels” to view past creations. And you can browse Reels created by others in the News Feed, and in select Groups and Pages — where you can like, comment on or share them, just as you could with any other type of post. Reels will now be surfaced in Search results, too, Facebook told us.

Like much of what appears on Facebook, Reels will be recommended to users based on what people are interested in, what they engage with and what’s broadly popular. This will apply to both the shared Instagram Reels and the Facebook Reels.

The company explained the decision to replicate the Reels product inside Facebook is a result of consumers’ growing interest in video, and particularly short-form video. Today, video accounts for almost half of all time spent on Facebook, in fact. On Facebook’s latest earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg remarked that Reels was “already the largest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram,” given the popularity of short-form video.

“We’re very focused on making it easy for anyone to create video, and then for those videos to be viewed across all of our different services, starting with Facebook and Instagram first,” he had told investors.

But Facebook also understands that people have different communities and audiences on Instagram and Facebook, so simply offering a cross-posting option may not have sufficed.

However, for existing Reels creators who do want to tap into Facebook’s large audience, a new option will allow them to opt-in to have their Reels shared to Facebook. This could be useful for those producing more general-interest Reels content.

These shared Reels will display the creator’s Instagram username, as well, which could help them build a following. Creators’ Reels can also be remixed, with the creator’s permission, and their original audio can be re-used in other people’s Reels — again, much like on TikTok.

This feature will also be introduced as a “test,” Facebook said.

While Instagram is already beginning to monetize Reels through ads, Facebook told us that Reels on Facebook don’t currently include ads. But, “we plan to roll out ads in the future,” a Facebook spokesperson added.

Reels, which is Facebook’s answer to the growing threat of TikTok, first launched to global audiences a year ago. This launch alone was not enough to win Instagram the top spot as the world’s most downloaded mobile app. In 2020, that win went to TikTok, after years where Facebook-owned apps dominated the top charts. And TikTok today continues to sit at the top of App Store charts in terms of both app installs and consumer spending, according to multiple third-party reports. 

For Facebook, TikTok represents an existential threat to its business. If users’ time and attention are being spent elsewhere, Facebook’s advertisers could then follow, impacting Facebook’s bottom line. So instead of competing with TikTok in just one app, Facebook is now using two. And it’s leveraging its apps’ interoperability to ensure the best content can easily flow to both places.

The company is also directly investing in the creator community in hopes of tipping the scales back in its direction.

In July, the company announced a plan to invest more than $1 billion in creators across both Facebook and Instagram through 2022. This fund will reward more than just Reels’ creators, to be clear, as it will also pay out bonuses for videos with in-stream ads enabled or for enabling IGTV ads, among other things. It will also bonus top creators who have invited fans to send them tips in the form of a virtual currency, “stars.” But Instagram Reels, and now Facebook Reels, will be looped into that initiative.

Today, Facebook said it will announce additional bonus programs and seed funding in the months ahead that will pay out bonuses for Reels on Facebook. These will be funded from that $1 billion commitment. The company declined to share details on this front, but this news alone indicates Facebook Reels is far more than just “a test” in Facebook’s eyes.

The new Facebook Reels features will begin to roll out starting today, August 19, in the U.S. It will first be available to a “small percentage” of U.S. users on iOS and Android.

The feature will continue to operate in India, Mexico and Canada, as well.

News: Indian fintech CRED launches peer-to-peer lending feature Mint

• August 19, 2021
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India’s CRED, which rewards users for paying their credit-card bills on time, is broadening its offerings to help its 7.5 million members gain more from the service. The Bangalore-based startup said on Thursday that CRED users can now lend to one another at an interest rate of up to 9% annually. Kunal Shah, founder and

India’s CRED, which rewards users for paying their credit-card bills on time, is broadening its offerings to help its 7.5 million members gain more from the service.

The Bangalore-based startup said on Thursday that CRED users can now lend to one another at an interest rate of up to 9% annually.

Kunal Shah, founder and chief executive of CRED, said the startup is rolling out this feature, dubbed CRED Mint, initially to some users after testing this internally for months.

“We’re super excited about this because it’s the first time our community members will be able to invest in one another directly. It’s going to focus on high-quality, low-risk, but much better, inflation-beating returns you can get on your money,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch.

CRED members have on average 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,685) sitting in their savings accounts, the startup said. “At up to 9% interest, CRED Mint will help these users India’s most creditworthy individuals to be rewarded for responsible financial behaviour with a smarter way to make idle money work for them. CRED members can apply for early access to Mint.”

Peer-to-peer lending is not a new business idea. Several large and small firms operate in this space, but CRED appears to be uniquely positioned to solve one of the biggest challenges this category faces: defaulters. According to some estimates, more than 20% of individuals taking a loan in a peer-to-peer service don’t pay back.

CRED members have a credit score of 750 or higher, making them the most trustworthy audience to provide financial services. On CRED, a user has to have a credit score of 750 or higher to join the app.

“We do believe that the product-market fit of our offering is very strong. We believe that this could set a new benchmark for what fintechs should be doing,” said Shah. CRED also does lending itself — which is available to limited members — and has disbursed about $269 million to customers in loans,

“Even at the scale of CRED Cash, the default rate has historically been less than 1%. To reduce risk further, the invested money will be routed directly to an escrow account held by CRED’s NBFC partner, Liquiloans, and diversified across 200+ borrowers on average,” the startup said.

For CRED Mint, the startup has partnered with Liquiloans, an RBI-registered P2P NBFC. Shah said CRED will eventually partner with more players. Users can invest between 100,000 Indian rupees ($1,345) to $13,450 in about two minutes, and also request withdrawal at any time with no penalty.

“The withdrawal process is fully online, and the money with interest will be returned to the investor within a working day. As a digital platform, CRED reduces friction, inefficiency, commissions, and overheads to pass on higher earnings for members,” the startup said.

CRED, backed by Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and Sequoia Capital India and valued at $2.2 billion in April round, has also received inbound requests from internal investors to raise a new round of over $300 million. The proposed terms value CRED at about $4 billion post-money. CRED isn’t currently in advanced stages to close a round. Shah declined to comment on fundraise talks.

News: Spatial audio is coming to Netflix on iPhone and iPad

• August 19, 2021
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If you use AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, your mobile Netflix-watching is about to get a bit more immersive. Yesterday, Netflix confirmed that it has begun rolling out spatial audio support on iPhone and iPad on iOS 14 after the feature was spotted by a Reddit user. Netflix joins streaming competitors like HBO Max, Disney+,

If you use AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, your mobile Netflix-watching is about to get a bit more immersive. Yesterday, Netflix confirmed that it has begun rolling out spatial audio support on iPhone and iPad on iOS 14 after the feature was spotted by a Reddit user.

Netflix joins streaming competitors like HBO Max, Disney+, and Peacock in enabling this feature, while other popular apps like Amazon Prime Video and YouTube still don’t have this functionality. Still, Netflix said the rollout won’t be immediate — users who have the update should be able to toggle it on or off in the Control Center.

Recently, Apple has been emphasizing its spatial audio features. The company first announced that it would bring spatial audio to AirPods Pro during the WWDC conference in 2020 — during this year’s conference, Apple added that Apple Music subscribers would gain access to spatial audio and lossless audio streaming at no extra charge. This even supports dynamic head tracking, which adjusts the sound when you move your head.  The Android version of the Apple Music app also supports spatial and lossless audio. In February, Spotify said it would rollout a high-end subscription service, Spotify HiFi, which would enable lossless audio, though there’s been no news since.

Last month, Netflix revealed that it start looking toward mobile gaming in addition to its original movies and television series. The company has already experimented with interactive entertainment with projects like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and its Stranger Things games.

“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” the company said in its quarterly earnings report.

Spatial audio is popular among video game players — so while this update will enhance the streaming video experience on iPhone and iPad, perhaps we’ll see this feature at play in eventual Netflix mobile games, too.

News: Eaze to become America’s largest cannabis delivery service after buying Green Dragon

• August 19, 2021
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Eaze this week announced  significant plans to expand into one the U.S.’s largest cannabis delivery services. One of the original on-demand cannabis delivery services, the Bay Area-based company is set to acquire cannabis retailer and cultivator Green Dragon, which operates in the hot markets of Colorado and Florida. Combined with existing operations in California and

Eaze this week announced  significant plans to expand into one the U.S.’s largest cannabis delivery services. One of the original on-demand cannabis delivery services, the Bay Area-based company is set to acquire cannabis retailer and cultivator Green Dragon, which operates in the hot markets of Colorado and Florida. Combined with existing operations in California and Michigan, the deal would find Eaze operating in America’s four largest cannabis markets.

Less than two years ago, it was unclear if Eaze would have enough cash to continue operating. According to TechCrunch’s reporting, it was experiencing significant trouble raising funds and went through unannounced layoffs. The company was switching from providing delivery services to operating as a delivery dispensary. Eaze was effectively the Uber of Weed, attempting to become the Amazon of Weed.

Founded in 2014 by Keith McCarty, Eaze has raised over $255 million to date. The company cycled through leadership and has seen three CEOs, with Rogelio Choy leading it since 2019. Former CEO Jim Patterson recently pleaded guilty in a $100 million scheme to deceive banks into processing credit and debit payments in cannabis purchases. The case is similar to one brought against Eaze in 2019, though the company denied involvement and is not a defendant in the case against Patterson. The future was unclear, but now two years later, it’s raising more funds and is on track to become the nation’s largest multi-state cannabis delivery service.

The company switched gears in 2019 and closed a previously-announced Series D financing round of $90 million in August 2020. This year, Eaze is trying to close a $75 million Series E with 80% of the funds already committed. The company expects this round to close in November. Eaze tells TechCrunch that this round will value Eaze at more than $700 million — double its fundraising valuation in 2019. The anticipated funding will be used to drive additional retail expansion.

Eaze Chief Strategy Officer Cory Azzalino justifies the higher valuation as such, “The company is fundamentally different. Even our California operations are significantly larger than they were back in 2019 from a revenue standpoint. But also just in terms of future growth opportunities. There’s a substantial increase in our addressable market. Florida, Michigan and Colorado create some $6 billion worth of incremental market size.”

Eaze is quickly becoming a major national cannabis operator. Earlier in 2021, it announced that its delivery service will be moving into Michigan, the hottest cannabis market in the midwest. If the Green Dragon purchase closes, the company also gains delivery operations in Colorado (now approving cannabis delivery companies) and Florida (a state with a massive medical marijuana market). According to a press release, Green Dragon saw more than one million transactions in 2020, and its Colorado stores grew 39% in 2020. In July, the company turned to Florida, announcing the opening of its first two dispensaries in the state and its intention to secure 20 more locations by the end of 2021.

The timing couldn’t be better for Eaze. In June 2021 Apple changed an App Story policy, allowing licensed cannabis dispensaries to list and sell cannabis products (flower, edibles, and vapes) directly from an iOS app. Eaze jumped, becoming the first retailer to sell weed from an iPhone app. However, purchases are only possible in Eaze’s two markets: California and (soon) Michigan.

“Eaze has achieved exponential growth over the last two years by successfully shifting to vertical operations and continuing to grow our loyal customer base,” said Eaze CEO Rogelio Choy said in a released statement. “Green Dragon’s airtight operations in Colorado and expansion into Florida’s booming market adds key operational capabilities to our national footprint and cements our leadership as California’s largest MSO. Together, we are well-positioned to leverage the market’s explosive growth now and into the future.”

News: Senators challenge TikTok’s ‘alarming’ plan to collect users’ voice and face biometrics

• August 19, 2021
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TikTok’s plans to collect biometric identifiers from its users has prompted concern among U.S. lawmakers, who are demanding the company reveal exactly what information it collects and what it plans to do with that data. In a letter sent earlier this month addressed to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John

TikTok’s plans to collect biometric identifiers from its users has prompted concern among U.S. lawmakers, who are demanding the company reveal exactly what information it collects and what it plans to do with that data.

In a letter sent earlier this month addressed to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Thune, (R-SD) say they are “alarmed” by the recent change to TikTok’s privacy policy, which allows the company to “automatically collect biometric data, including certain physical and behavioral characteristics from video content posted by its users.”

TechCrunch first reported details of the new privacy policy back in June, when TikTok said it will seek “required permissions” to collect “faceprints and voiceprints” where required by law, but failed to elaborate on whether it’s considering federal law, states laws, or both (only a handful of U.S. states have biometric privacy laws, including Illinois, Washington, California, Texas and New York).

Klobuchar and Thune’s letter asks TikTok to explicitly explain what constitutes a “faceprint” and “voiceprint”, as well as to explain how this data will be used and how long it will be retained. The senators also quizzed TikTok on whether any data is gathered for users under the age of 18; whether it makes any inferences about its users based on the biometric data it collects; and to provide a list of all third parties that have access to the data.

“The coronavirus pandemic led to an increase in online activity, which has magnified the need to protect consumers’ privacy,” the letter reads. “This is especially true for children and teenagers, who comprise more than 32% of TikTok’s active users and have relied on online applications such as TikTok for entertainment and for interaction with their friends and loved ones.”

TikTok has been given until August 25 to respond to the lawmakers’ questions. A TikTok spokesperson did not immediately comment.

This isn’t the first time TikTok’s excessive data collection plans have come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, the company paid out $92 million to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming it unlawfully collected users’ biometric data and shared it with third parties. This came after the FTC in 2019 slapped TikTok with a $5.7 million fine for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires apps to receive parental permission before collecting a minor’s data.

News: Regology snares $8M Series A to help navigate maze of global regulations

• August 19, 2021
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Every country has its own bundle of laws, rules and regulations, and they change on a regular basis making it an enormous challenge to keep up with it all. That usually requires large staffs filling in spreadsheets and unwieldy processes, but Regology, an early stage startup wants to change that by putting some automation to

Every country has its own bundle of laws, rules and regulations, and they change on a regular basis making it an enormous challenge to keep up with it all. That usually requires large staffs filling in spreadsheets and unwieldy processes, but Regology, an early stage startup wants to change that by putting some automation to work on the problem.

Today the company announced an $8 million Series A led by Acme Capital with participation from existing investors Gagarin Capital and Pine Wave Investments.

Company co-founder and CEO Mukund Goenka spent more than 15 years working in the banking industry where he saw first-hand the difficulties in keeping up with regulations and the financial consequences of failing to do so. He formed Regology to provide large global companies with a way to stay on top of these myriad regulations.

Goenka says that his company started by compiling a database of laws. “We have a very large database of laws that is constantly updated, covering geographies from five continents, and a number of countries and jurisdictions. We also cover the lawmaking process of going from bills all the way to laws to regulations and a number of agencies and their regular updates on a daily basis. And it covers a number of industries and topic areas as well,” Goenka explained.

They don’t stop there though. They also give customers a framework for automating compliance wherever they are doing business, and they constantly review the laws and updates to help sure their customers are staying in compliance over time. Their target market is large Fortune 500. companies, and while Goenka couldn’t name specific ones, he did say that it included some of the largest tech companies and biggest banks.

 

The company launched in 2017 and today has 20 full time employees with plans to at least double that by the end of the year. He says that being diverse is essential in a business that is already looking at the regulatory environment in 25 countries. Understanding how each of these countries works is essential to the business and that requires a diverse workforce to pull off.

Goenka says that the company has been remote from day one, long before COVID. While there is still a small office in Palo Alto, he intends to keep remain mostly remote, even when it’s considered safe to reopen offices.

News: Diamond Age raises $8M to speed up home construction with 3D printing and robot arms

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Bay Area-based Diamond Age this week announced that it has raised $8 million. The seed round is led by Prime Movers Lab and Alpaca VC and features a slew of additional firms, including Dolby Family Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels, Towerview Ventures, GFA Venture Partners and Suffolk Construction. The startup looks to put a slew of

Bay Area-based Diamond Age this week announced that it has raised $8 million. The seed round is led by Prime Movers Lab and Alpaca VC and features a slew of additional firms, including Dolby Family Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels, Towerview Ventures, GFA Venture Partners and Suffolk Construction.

The startup looks to put a slew of key emerging technologies to work in service of building houses with fewer workers in a significantly truncated time frame. Diamond Age claims that when, fully realized, its tech will be able to reduce manual human labor by 55% and shrink the construction time on a single family home from nine months to 30 days. Part of this funding will go toward putting the processes in place to construct a 1,100-square-foot “demonstration house” as proof of concept.

“We need to build high-quality affordable single-family homes for the next generation striving for the American dream,” co-founder and CEO Jack Oslan said in a release, “and the only way we can solve this problem is with automation.”

Specifically, the company relies on robotic and 3D printing solutions. The former involves a set of 26 different robotic arm attachments to assist with the construction. That tech is coupled with a gantry-based 3D printing technology designed to construct interior and exterior walls for the structure.

Specifically, the company is looking to target the housing crunch in its Bay Area backyard. The systems will be available to construction companies through a RaaS (robotics as a service) rental model. Pricing specifics for the system have not been revealed.

News: UIPath CEO Daniel Dines is coming to TC Sessions: SaaS to talk RPA and automation

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UIPath came seemingly out of nowhere in the last several years, going public last year in a successful IPO during which it raised over $527 million. It raised $2 billion in private money prior to that with its final private valuation coming in at an amazing $35 billion. UIPath CEO Daniel Dines will be joining

UIPath came seemingly out of nowhere in the last several years, going public last year in a successful IPO during which it raised over $527 million. It raised $2 billion in private money prior to that with its final private valuation coming in at an amazing $35 billion. UIPath CEO Daniel Dines will be joining us on a panel on automation at TC Sessions: Saas on October 27th.

The company has been able capture all this investor attention doing something called Robotic Process Automation, which provides a way to automate a series of highly mundane tasks. It has become quite popular, especially to help bring a level of automation to legacy systems that might not be able to handle more modern approaches to automation involving artificial intelligence and machine learning. In 2019 Gartner found that RPA was the fastest growing category in enterprise software.

In point of fact,  UIPath didn’t actually come out of nowhere. It was founded in 2005 as a consulting company and transitioned to software over the years. The company took its first VC funding, a modest $1.5 million seed round in 2015, according to Crunchbase data.

As RPA found its market, the startup began to take off, raising gobs of money including a $568 million round in April 2019 and $750 million in its final private raise in February 2021.

Dines will be appearing on a panel discussing the role of automation in the enterprise. Certainly, the pandemic drove home the need for increased automation as masses of office workers moved to work from home, a trend that is likely to continue even after the pandemic slows.

As the RPA market leader, he is uniquely positioned to discuss how this software and other similar types will evolve in the coming years and how it could combine with related trends like no-code and process mapping. Dines will be joined on the panel by investor Laela Sturdy from Capital G and ServiceNow’s Dave Wright where they will discuss the state of the automation market, why it’s so hot and where the next opportunities could be.

In addition to our discussion with Dines, the conference will also include Databricks’ Ali Ghodsi, Salesforce’s Kathy Baxter and Puppet’s Abby Kearns, as well as investors Casey Aylward and Sarah Guo, among others. We hope you’ll join us. It’s going to be a stimulating day.

Buy your pass now to save up to $100. We can’t wait to see you in October!

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: SaaS 2021? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

News: Aileen Lee and Guild Education’s Rachel Carlson will share how to get to yes on Extra Crunch Live

• August 19, 2021
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Aileen Lee is one of the most prestigious and successful venture capitalists of the past decade. Before starting her own firm in Cowboy Ventures, Lee was a partner at KPCB for more than 12 years. Her portfolio includes DocSend, Ironclad, Philz Coffee, StyleSeat and many, many more. So it should come as no surprise that

Aileen Lee is one of the most prestigious and successful venture capitalists of the past decade. Before starting her own firm in Cowboy Ventures, Lee was a partner at KPCB for more than 12 years. Her portfolio includes DocSend, Ironclad, Philz Coffee, StyleSeat and many, many more.

So it should come as no surprise that we’re absolutely thrilled to have Lee join us alongside one of her portfolio company founders, Guild Education’s Rachel Carlson, on an upcoming episode of Extra Crunch Live. Click to register for free!

Extra Crunch Live brings founders and their investors together to pop the lid off of the black box that is fundraising. How did they meet? Why did they choose each other? What got them to yes? How do they work together now?

These are the pieces of the fundraising process that often aren’t covered in your average “how to fundraise” blog posts and programming, and we’re here to get these questions answered.

Extra Crunch Live also features the ECL Pitch-off, which gives folks in the audience the chance to raise their hand and pitch their startup to our guests, who will give their live feedback.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get to know our guests.

Lee has been one of the most sought-after investors in Silicon Valley for as long as I’ve been in tech. A founding partner at All Raise, she is committed to diversity and inclusion and has an eye for talent, realizing that the former often precedes the latter.

She’s been on the Midas List a handful of times, and is also listed as one of Forbes’ most influential people.

Rachel Carlson founded Guild Education in 2015 and has led the company since. Guild has raised upwards of $370 million from investors that include General Catalyst, Felicis, Bessemer and more.

We’ll talk to these two about how to get to yes, what sings in a pitch deck and how they operate as partners to this day.

Extra Crunch Live is 100% free to folks who attend live, but only Extra Crunch members can access the content on-demand. If you’re not yet an Extra Crunch member, sign up here.

This episode of Extra Crunch Live goes down August 25 at 12pm PT/3pm ET. See you there!