🕶e8: SpaceTech Is On The Horizon and VC’s Have Been Speculating What The Next Big Unicorn Will Be! The Tech Police Use Against The Public!

Jun 21, 2020

👋 Good Morning and Happy Sunday! Welcome to the e8 newsletter, a hand-picked collection of business and start-up news, resources for entrepreneurs, job/internship postings, and noteworthy trends that are happening this week! I hope you find this weekly newsletter informative and engaging!

Business/Start-Up News

🛰️ SpaceTech Is On The Horizon and VC’s Have Been Speculating What The Next Big Unicorn Will Be! Never-mind trying to find specific earthly niches to invest in, Space has become a significant and growing area of government and defense spending, creating endless opportunities for startups and companies to enter into the space (haha, get it?). Currently, the four main sectors VC’s are focusing on include:

Remote sensing — taking “pictures” of the ground using different techniques, including cameras, radar, and a wide variety of wavelengths that have the ability to travel through clouds and ground

Communications — moving information from one place to another, whether replacing point-to-point terrestrial links or “backhaul” from satellites to the ground

Transportation — moving physical items into space and around space, as well as moving people into and out of space (scientific studies and tourism)

Manufacturing — building things that can’t be built on earth, as well as building larger structures in space

Also of note is the market share dominance exerted by many large players due to the perceived riskiness of early-stage companies. For example:

SpaceX launched a ride-share program last year and basically put Spaceflight Inc. (launch brokerage) out of business.
Space X is also hurting small launch vehicles, although small launch vehicles do provide benefits that some satellites will want
The vast majority of satellites projected to launch in the next five years are megaconstellations by SpaceX, Amazon and OneWeb

Ev’s Take

Space has always piqued my interest, particularly the implementation of revolutionizing technology that evolved from Spacetech (i.e. GPS). The number of opportunities is unfathomable. One thing that concerns me with Space Tech Startups is that a majority of talent has been snagged by government, military, and academia, unlike developers who often lean towards early-stage companies.

I’m also a huge car fanatic and I'm curious to see how spacecraft vehicles will evolve as companies leverage advancements in electronics, optics, and materials, making vehicles lighter and stronger. Maybe one day I’ll be cruisin down Mars in my 64.

I’m not too knowledgeable about Spacetech, though everything that I seem to read is super intriguing and I can see the opportunity. Imagine having faster wifi all around the world (this is something that Elon Musk is actually trying to achieve with Starlink!). And this is just the start...

*Check out this startup that will send you to space in a balloon for one heck of a price

📹 The Tech Police Use Against The Public! In June 7th’s newsletter, we talked about the benefits that cybersecurity has on large firms and smaller businesses; however, there is a darker side to cybersecurity that often goes unnoticed. Over the last few weeks, millions of Americans protested the streets to show their support and solidarity. Protesters were met with armed trucks, the National Guard, and drones hovering above. While certain surveillance is obvious such as drones, many question whether law enforcement is using other, more obscure technologies equipped with facial recognition and access to personal records. Furthermore, what happens with the data once accumulated? Let’s see what’s currently going on!

What We Know

Currently, police departments around the U.S. use “stingray” devices that spoof cell towers to trick cell phones into turning over their call, message, and location data
Some agencies partake in reverse-location warrants, forcing companies like Google to report certain information on users’ devices using location-based services called “geofences”
Technology giant IBM was the first to signal the end of its facial recognition business, calling for a “national dialogue” about the rules surrounding police use of face scanning and matching technology, according to TechCrunch
Microsoft also said it will no longer sell to police until more federal regulation “grounded in human rights” is passed by Congress
The Global Cybersecurity Market is Expected to Grow from USD 183.2 Billion in 2019 to USD 230 Billion by 2021, Rising at a CAGR of 12% (COVID-19 Adjusted), a number of startup’s have capitalized on the increasing use of this technology
Inky, a startup focused on anti-phishing and email security, recently raised $20 million in its Series B round, led by Insight Partners
Israeli cybersecurity company Team8 raised $108 million to help expand its own VC branch to invest in not only cybersecurity startups, but also artificial intelligence, data science, and enterprise companies
Bloomberg CityLab reported that neighborhood social networking app Nextdoor will be discontinuing its Forward to Police feature which lets users send message board posts directly to local police

Ev’s Take

It’s apparent that many question the legality of government cybersecurity given the seeming invasion of privacy. Lawmakers are beginning to call for an end to secret surveillance, and intend to find solutions using existing government agencies, from Homeland Security to the Department of Defense. They also plan to pursue police reform measures that would place restrictions on how police can utilize facial recognition with their body cameras. Coupled with the pressure government agencies have been facing, many large corporations are starting to proactively to public pressure. Furthermore, there have been complaints with the flawed facial recognition technology, creating biased and disproportionate misidentifications. With the stated complaints, I have faith that improvements will swiftly be made such that the public can trust this technology once again.

All in all, while I understand the concerns about the government invading our privacy, I believe if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you really should have nothing to worry about. I mean, isn’t this technology supposed to keep us safe? I do think there needs to be more transparency with regards to the type and way that law enforcement employs cybersecurity. This demand may seem insurmountable at present; however, I do believe that companies and lawmakers coming out of this pandemic will sympathize with the request simply in order to maintain the public’s favor.

👀Interesting Follows

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🦜 VC’s Love To Talk. Especially Now That Podcasts Have Exploded

🏎️ The Alfa Romeo Nivola Concept Was Named After The Legendary Italian Racing Driver

🌆 Cities Have A Chance To Become Cycling Havens As Lockdown Lifts

🔪 The Best Chef Knives to Level Up Your Quarantine Cuisine

🛹 Skate4: Electronic Arts Announces The Next Game In The Beloved Series

💼Jobs/Internships

New York

Financial Analyst (Torreya)
Equity Financial Analyst (OneWire)
Client Associate (Bank of America)
Social Media Marketing Intern (EasyKnock)
Investment Banking Analyst (Teneo)
Real Estate Intern (Sculptor Capital Management) / Summer 2021

Los Angeles

Operations Intern (Dirty Lemon)
Real Estate Intern (The Bienstock Group)
Studio Production Intern (Snap Inc.)
Partnership Intern (Almost 30)

San Francisco

Financial Analyst (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco)
Finance Intern (Blend)

Chicago

Fund Accounting Intern (Adams Street Partners)
Summer Analyst Global Banking (UBS) / Summer 2021

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💯Thank You For Reading, See You Next Week!

What's up, my name is Evan Hiltunen! I am a recent finance grad from Indiana University and incoming financial analyst @ Goldman Sachs. I have a strong passion for start-ups, finance, and technology, and I hope you find this newsletter informative!
I’d love your feedback - feel free to email me at thee8newsletter@gmail.com
www.e8newsletter.com

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