I have been writing about the real estate startup Opendoor for many years here on the blog. Another promising startup in this space is Knock, and today it was announced that they just raised a $400 million Series B round (led by Foundry Group).

They share some similarities with Opendoor, but they are also different in that their focus is on home trade-ins. They tell you what your current home is worth, help you find a new home, and then coordinate “a seamless swap.” For more on how they work, go here.

One of the ways in which they are similar to Opendoor is that they front the cash for new home purchases. In the case of Opendoor, they buy your home with the plan of selling it in the future. And with Knock, they buy your home with the understanding that your old home will get sold.

It is certainly a more capital intensive model compared to the way that home sales are handled today. But many investors are clearly betting that it is exactly what is needed to change the status quo. 

(Credit to Jeremiah Shamess for sharing the above news with me today.)

CES is underway right now in Las Vegas. About 200,000 people are in attendance. 

Since tech and mobility are today closely intertwined, the show has become an important platform for the automative industry.

Here is a video showcasing BMW’s new iNext concept (expected by 2021):

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9-f3cALABk&w=560&h=315]

It is based on level 3 autonomy, which means the car will do mostly everything, but you need to be ready to take over at any time.

The video is interesting because it begins to show you what becomes possible when you no longer need to pay attention to the road. It is a bit like flying (but hopefully more enjoyable). 

And here is a video of Bell’s new urban air taxi, which is called Nexus (expected by the mid-2020s):

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o4d8N-A1G8&w=560&h=315]

At the beginning of this year – January 2nd to be exact – Apple revised its earnings guidance, downward. It was the first time in 15 years that the company had to do this. 

Tim Cook’s letter to shareholders, which can be found here, focuses a lot on China and its “economic deceleration.” But M.G. Siegler of 500ish Words believes that a greater pivot could be underway. His piece can be found here. It’s a good read.

Firstly, Apple’s current growth period is probably over. And secondly, the company is likely going to need to diversify away from high margin hardware/software sales and continue to grow its Services business (something that Microsoft has, ironically, already done).

Here is an excerpt from M.G. Siegler’s essay (Apple’s Precarious and Pivotal 2019):