Month: December 2024

Finnish startup Oura has closed its Series D funding round with $200 million, bringing the smart ring maker's valuation to a hefty $5.2 billion.

The Oura Smart Ring uses 20 biometric markers to track sleep, physical activity and stress resilience. The device displays this data in an app that gives you a personalized “readiness” score. We tested the wearable earlier this year and were really impressed.

Founded in 2013, Oura secured its first funding on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding website, in 2016. With this new tranche of capital, the technology startup has raised $550 million since its founding.

“We have made significant progress in advancing our mission to make health a daily practice and will use this funding to pursue new opportunities, with AI development at the core of our strategy,” said Tom Hale, CEO of Oura .

In 2022, Oura became a unicorn and sold his millionth ring. Two years later, the company claims to have recently sold its 2.5 millionth device and made $500 million in revenue this year alone.

“We know that Oura has the potential to transform lives on a massive scale, and we are excited to continue to be leaders in innovation while pursuing opportunities that extend beyond the ring,” said Hale.

Oura said it signed partnerships with major retailers such as Amazon and Target this year. The ring is particularly popular with celebrities – including Prince Harry, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston. Even the Pentagon awarded a $96 million contract in October to install the devices in (or should I say “on”) Hands of soldiers.

When selling smartwatches Flatlined this year, pMart rings are becoming increasingly popular. Global smart ring sales will nearly double from an estimated 1.7 million by the end of 2024 to 3.2 million in 2028, according to market research firm IDC.

For many users They are considered a more practical alternative to smartwatches like the AppleWatch, but still have many of the same features. Smart rings also tend to move less and fit better on the skin.

According to IDC, smart ring manufacturers sold 880,000 units in 2023. The Oura Ring assembled The company accounts for 80% of these sales, surpassing competitors such as Ultrahuman and Samsung.

Based on these numbers, Oura actually seems to be the current Lord of the (smart) rings. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

​​Fidelity Management led the funding round, which also included participation from Dexcom, a German provider of glucose monitoring sensors for diabetes patients.

Love them or hate them, robotaxis are sure to make headlines in 2024. And aside from the glamorous, sci-fi-inspired marketing surrounding Tesla's recently unveiled Cybercab robot taxi, safety has remained a recurring theme in one way or another.

Earlier this year, a survey found that the majority of the U.S. public (68%) expressed safety concerns when asked how they feel about deploying self-driving vehicles (SDVs) on public roads. Yet within that majority, more than half believe that SDV safety issues can be solved or that SDVs will actually be safer than humans.

It's no wonder that Alphabet-owned Waymo, which offers the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., is putting a lot of energy into addressing these concerns.

Please enable JavaScript to view this content

Now, in a just-released research study with insurance company Swiss Re, Waymo says its Waymo Driver service has better safety performance metrics than human drivers.

The study compared insurance claims against Waymo with those against human drivers, using Swiss Re's data from over 500,000 claims and over 200 billion claims miles. Compared to humans, the data for the Waymo driver showed an 88% decrease in property damage claims and a 92% decrease in personal injury claims.

In real terms, the service was only involved in nine property damage claims and two bodily injury claims over the 25.3 million miles already driven by the Waymo driver. According to Swiss Re, human drivers would face 78 property damage and 26 bodily injury claims for the same distance.

“This analysis complements our safety impact data showing that over 25 million fully autonomous miles, Waymo drivers had fewer serious collisions than human drivers, regardless of who was at fault,” Waymo says in its blog.

So far, Waymo, an Alphabet-owned company, has been the only robotaxi service provider to convince U.S. regulators of the safety of its technology.

On the other hand, General Motors-backed Cruise had to stop testing last year after one of its vehicles fatally struck a pedestrian. GM also recently announced that it would stop funding Cruise altogether.

As for Tesla, regulators have opened an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with full self-driving software after three reported collisions and one fatal accident. Tesla still hopes to launch its Cybercab robotaxi as a service in 2025.

Of course, Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to be taking a different approach than Waymo to addressing safety concerns: Now freshly named head of a newly created government agency, Musk appears to have convinced the new Trump administration to relax regulations self-driving vehicles, including accident reporting.

Millions of companies are founded around the world every year. For these big ideas to become successful startups, most of them inevitably face the challenges of fundraising.

While there is no magic formula, there are variables that founders can focus on when working with potential investors. TNW met with San Francisco-based VC Plug and Play early-stage investor Letizia Royo-Villanova during the year Red Bull Basement global finals in Tokyo to gain their insights.

The only thing that really needs to stand out, according to Royo-Villanova, is the founder's drive and authenticity. “Maybe they have experienced a problem or know someone who has had that problem and are desperate to solve it. Not because they make money – that’s a plus, of course – but because they actually care about solving this problem.”

In addition to this passion, the ability to sell is another key competency. Founders are constantly challenged to sell their ideas to investors, customers – and also to talent. “The best founders will have the best talent on their team,” says Royo-Villanova.

The 💜 of EU technology

The latest rumors from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise old founder Boris and questionable AI art. It's free in your inbox every week. Register now!

While direct industry experience is valuable, it is not always essential. “There are great entrepreneurs who don’t necessarily have that experience. The urge to start a business is something they are born with.”

However, insight into the customer and an understanding of the market are non-negotiable: “You have to really understand the pain point and the industry.” This will open many doors in the future,” adds the VC.

Ultimately it depends on personality and the relationship. “I think you can feel it in the first half hour,” says Royo-Villanova, referring to understanding whether a founder is someone the VC wants to spend time with. “If you end up investing in a founder, you’re going to have a lot of meetings with that person. So if you don’t feel the vibe, you don’t want to invest in it.”

Mistakes founders make when pitching

Even if a founder has the best idea imaginable, it's important to create an effective pitch to get investors on board. (Not everyone is lucky enough to survive a disastrous pitch like the one from Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang In 1993 he gave Don Valentine of Sequoia.)

One of the most common mistakes Royo-Villanova sees is that founders spend too much time describing the general problem instead of focusing on their specific solution. “If it’s a climate or sustainability startup,” the VC explains, “and they spend 15 minutes talking about how there’s a climate problem, I don’t have to listen to it.” You could break it down to me in an or say two sentences. Then we can concentrate on more important things.”

And while individual entrepreneurs can certainly be successful, the VC is more likely to consider financing a founding team of two or more people. “Building a startup is hard enough, and if you do it alone, what if you suddenly have a bad week or month? You need that other person to support you,” she says. Additionally, teams with complementary skills are more likely to achieve success in the future.

Common pitfalls when running an early-stage startup

Of course, in addition to the pitch, there is also the small matter of actually running the company. Particularly when it comes to fundraising, Royo-Villanova believes that taking money away from every available investor without considering strategic direction is a major misstep.

“The money will run out, but the support of the people who invest in you shouldn’t run out,” she says. The right VC can provide help with recruiting, sales, or networking with the industry.

Going back to the question of talent, hiring decisions are a crucial area for running the company. Founders often try to save money by hiring cheaper talent, but Royo-Villanova says this can backfire later. “It’s about finding the right solution for your company and building a culture from day one,” she says.

Finally, the inability to rotate is another potentially fatal flaw. “If you have an idea, talk to potential customers from day one and understand if this is actually a problem and that they will prioritize and pay for it. If not, it's okay to pivot. If you’re going to fail, fail fast – and it’s not even a failure, it just changes into something else.”

A focus on education and supportive regulation could drive European innovation

Given all the concerns and recent discourse about the innovation gap between the US and Europe, we couldn't help but ask the California-based VC what she believes are the key areas holding Europe back.

She sees the lack of early contact with innovation and entrepreneurship as one of the main problems. “I don’t think I was as aware of the world of innovation or venture capital as probably some students in the US,” says Royo-Villanova (who is from Spain). “If you start instilling this culture of innovation at a young age and explaining how important it is, it will be very helpful in the future.”

Regulation and company attitudes also play a role. European companies can often display a risk-averse mindset, in contrast to the more dynamic and entrepreneurial culture of their North American counterparts. Additionally, complex regulatory frameworks can prevent startups from scaling quickly – something that affects initiatives such as the recently launched initiative EU Inc hope to overcome.

Founders who want to build successful startups must embody passion, salesmanship and customer insight, while avoiding common pitfalls including neglecting strategic fundraising and failing to pivot quickly. Meanwhile, the European innovation ecosystem would benefit from early education, a change in business attitudes and a streamlining of regulations.

Tackling all these challenges together could open up enormous opportunities for European startups to create a virtuous circle of innovation and investment produce more winners on the global stage.

This appears to be another sign that hybrids are leading the charge while sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are declining.

The giant car company Stellantis is postponing the planned market launches of two highly anticipated Ram models. The brand's first electric pickup has been pushed back to 2026, while the Ramcharger plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will take center stage next year.

“The decision to launch Ramcharger first was driven by overwhelming consumer interest, maintaining a competitive advantage in technology, and slowing industry demand for half-ton (battery EV) pickup trucks,” Stellantis said in a statement.

Please enable JavaScript to view this content

Orders for the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger will open in the first half of 2025.

Hybrid vehicle sales drove overall electric vehicle sales higher in the third quarter, reaching a record 10.8% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales. According to a Consumer Reports survey, hybrid vehicles are now considered just as reliable as gasoline-powered vehicles. They also offer a cheaper option than pure electric vehicles while saving drivers the worry of finding available chargers.

Meanwhile, consumer hesitancy toward electric vehicle charging and lifestyle changes explains why RAM delayed the launch of its all-electric pickup truck, seen as a potential competitor to Tesla's Cybertruck and the Ford F-150 Lightning, to 2026.

The new Ramcharger promises innovations, including in the area of ​​plug-in hybrids. It's essentially an electric vehicle with an electric range of 145 miles, but its gas generator extends the range up to 690 miles. It features a 92-kilowatt-hour battery pack paired with an integrated 130-kW generator that sends power to 250-kW front and 238-kW rear electric drive modules (EDMs).

The new Ramcharger also enables bi-directional vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-home charging, giving it the flexibility to charge another electric vehicle with a Stellantis battery or feed power back to the grid.