poll says Musk was lying

Oh, that crazy Elon

Hi there,

A couple weeks ago, we asked if you thought Elon Musk actually had funding secured when he posted that now infamous tweet.

The results are in:

Musk confirmed he was “just kidding” late last week, so most of you were right that he was making it all up for lolz or to squeeze short sellers.

The moral of the story is that if you say enough crazy, outlandish stuff, it seems folks won’t know what is information and what’s not.

It’s a pretty popular playbook these days.

Go to print

Global spending on 3D printing is estimated to reach $12B this year. The technology is thriving in the industrial world, and its applications are virtually endless.

From construction to pharmaceuticals to food, we take a look at 25 industries 3D printing could disrupt.

I’m the captain now

Last week, Norwegian shipbuilder Vard Holdings said it would produce the world’s first fully-autonomous, fully-electric container ship. It’s expected to be completed in 2020.

Autonomous technology is quickly changing the massive shipping industry. We take a look at initiatives in the space driven by corporates and startups, and what autonomous shipping means for the global trade supply chain.

The joys of parenthood

A marketing company in Minneapolis is now offering “fur-ternity leave” as part of its benefits package. Employees will be able to work from home for a week when they adopt new dogs or cats.

Maybe if more companies adopt this policy, we’ll have more entrepreneurs…

Vacation, all I ever wanted

Vacation rentals is one of the hottest segments in travel tech right now. Startups are getting in on the action, fighting to compete with Airbnb and its 5M+ rental listings.

We take a look at which companies are making moves in the space and how they stack up against Airbnb. Clients can also check out yesterday’s client-only note for more.

Elon being Elon

One of the best essays on the “funding secured” debacle was by Matt Levine of Bloomberg (see The Blurb).

The whole thing is worth reading.

In particular, this:

 Feeling like a natural woman

The women’s health movement is catching on, and startups are running with it.

From organic tampon subscriptions to period tracking apps to all natural condoms, we take a look at how startups are shaking up feminine care and sexual wellness. Clients can check it out here.

Robo-etiquette

Microsoft wants robots to be able to read a room. Its recently published patent application describes a system that helps robots adapt to unpredictable situations, like being in a crowd of people.

We take a closer look at the patent here.

The Industry Standard

CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.

Forbes. Kelly Hoey (@jkhoey) profiles 7 women leaders in corporate venture capital and refers to CB Insights’ Global CVC Report.

Furniture Today. Anne Flynn Wear writes about notable D2C mattress companies and cites CB Insights research.

VentureBeat. Chris O’Brien (@obrien) reports that BuzzFeed might start asking readers to “chip in” to fund its newsroom and references CB Insights research.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. On September 6, we’ll be discussing how the CPG industry is being disrupted. Sign up for the briefing here.

P.P.S. Ticket prices for our TRANSFORM conference go up on September 7. If you’re a growth-focused executive from a company with $1B+ in revenue, buy your ticket today.