Tech News

Stellantis is launching a new business unit dedicated to turning all that vehicle data into marketable products — and revenue.

The business unit called Mobilisights, which was announced Thursday at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, is a key piece of the global automaker’s bid to generate 20 billion euro in annual revenue from software-related services by the end of the decade.

The intent is to grow the company’s data-as-a-service business by developing and licensing products, applications and services. Those Mobilisights products will be sold to private enterprises, public-sector utilities, education and research institutions, according to Stellantis.

The idea is to take data generated by its millions of connected vehicles (including information generated from sensors on its cars, trucks and SUVs) and turn it into applications and services that customers might want. For instance, the data could be used to provide personalized usage-based insurance, detect road hazards and provide information on traffic.

Other automakers have launched similar efforts in recent years. For instance, General Motors started in 2020 an insurance service leveraging the vast amounts of data captured through its OnStar connected car service.

The new Mobilisights unit is the latest move by the company to make revenue beyond selling, repairing and financing vehicles. In December 2021, Stellantis laid out the basic framework of a plan to generate billions in annual revenue from software in its vehicles, a vast portfolio that includes 14 brands such as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Peugeot and Ram.

Stellantis has said it will invest more than $33.7 billion through 2025 into software and electrification. That investment will include employing 4,500 software engineers by 2024.

The end goal is to have 34 million connected cars on the road by 2030 that Stellantis can generate revenue from for years after they’re sold to consumers. To reach its target, Stellantis is leaning on partnerships with BMW, Foxconn and Waymo. Today, the company has more than 12 million “monetizable” connected cars globally. Stellantis defines “monetizable” as the vehicle’s first five years of life.

Mobilisights has exclusive access and rights to license vehicle and related data from all Stellantis brands to external customers, according to the automaker. Stellantis contends that controlling this volume and density of data will make it less reliant on other data suppliers.

Of course, collecting all of that data and turning it into products raises privacy questions. The company says it — and its partners — will operation “within a very strict data governance and privacy policy” that includes using anonymized and aggregated data, and only sharing personal data of customers with their consent and only for the specific services of their choosing.

The company added that customers are able to opt out of information being collected even if they had previously given consent.

“The foundation of this whole business is trust,” said Mobilisights CEO Sanjiv Ghate. “Trust in our custodianship of data and trust that we are here to create a better world.”

Stellantis launches new business unit to turn vehicle data into cash by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

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Hello, I hope it is a great Thursday for you so far. For me, it’s the little things that get me excited and today it is Delta Air Lines’ announcement that SkyMiles frequent flyers, including yours truly, will get Wi-Fi for free starting February 1. May you also find something that excites you today. Let’s get into the news. — Christine

The TechCrunch Top 3

Yet more layoffs: Yesterday it was Salesforce; today it is Amazon. Though these layoffs were foreshadowed in recent months, the amount of people being let go was today’s surprise. Knowing doesn’t take the sting away for employees, I imagine. Paul takes you inside the cuts.
Secret secrets hurt someone: Secret secrets are no fun. Just ask CircleCI customers, who were urged to rotate their passwords and private keys after a breach compromised the company’s system, Carly reports.
Take a bite out of this Apple: Apparently you all made a resolution to read more in 2023. Among the announcements Apple made today, the one that got a lot of clicks was the company’s new AI-powered book narrations for select titles on Apple Books, Ivan reports. If fitness is more your goal this year, Apple Fitness+ is adding new features, like kickboxing workouts and sleep meditation, Aisha writes.

Startups and VC

Continuing with what seems to be a trend in layoffs, Natasha M’s story is very important in getting perspectives from former employees laid off from startups to see how they are handling things and how their next jobs might evolve. She also asks the question, “Where do tech workers go from here?”I won’t spoil it for you, but there seems to be a cycle going on.

Now here’s four more:

That next text might be from Fido: My dog has trouble telling me when he needs to go outside, so I am eyeing FluentPet’s talking button system that has programmable buttons that, when pressed, speak voice commands and text you. Sarah has more.
VR isn’t just for the youngins: Rendever, a big startup in the virtual reality space, acquired Alcove from AARP, showing “VR comes of age,” Ingrid reports.
Neighbors don’t shake hands; neighbors gotta hug!: Okay, well maybe not hug, but if you live in an apartment complex and want to get to know the others living nearby, you might want to check out my story on OneRoof grabbing some funding to help apartment dwellers cozy up to their neighbors.
Here’s a metaverse optimist: Conversational AI startup MeetKai is expanding its offerings with new room-scanning tech and a metaverse builder with a focus on capturing objects and spaces, Kyle writes.

Teach yourself growth marketing: How to set up a landing page

In the first article of a five-part series on growth marketing fundamentals, Jonathan Martinez explains how to create an essential part of every startup’s sales funnel: a landing page.

This overview includes basic steps for writing a clear headline, offering visitors social proof that builds credibility, and crafting calls to action that drive results.

Next week, Martinez, who helped scale startups like Uber, Postmates and Chime, will share his tips for launching a paid acquisition channel.

Three more from the TC+ team:

AI think not: We’re only five days into 2023 and just getting the hang of asking ChatGPT things, but investors are already thinking generative AI is the next bubble. Becca has more.
What settlement?: Coinbase had a hiccup to the tune of $100 million, but the company is humming a new song after a post-settlement stock bump. Anna goes over what happened.
Time to charge that EV playbook: Tim reports on Toyota’s tumble from being top EV dog and which carmaker was there to pick up the pieces.

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

Big Tech Inc.

If you couldn’t tell by your Twitter feed, CES is happening. Brian introduces CES and how you can get all.the.juicy details for the rest of the conference. Kyle also helped you out by rounding up a list of the top AI-powered products seen at the conference.

One of the stories that particularly caught our eye today was Kyle’s story on Ring bringing back its Peephole Cam. It was something ahead of its time apparently, with Ring shuttering the product in 2021. Now it’s back in all of its glory and can be yours at the starting price of $129.

Here are a few favs from today’s batch of CES stories:

Haje has your look at Trova’s stylish hiding spot for your unmentionables.
Rebecca’s CES car talk got us all excited, including Sony and Honda revealing Afeela, their joint EV brand, and BMW unveiling its Dee prototype, promising “the next level of human-machine interaction.”
Ingrid reported on John Deere and its robotics-based fertilizer system and new electric excavator.
Meanwhile, Brian has a CES success story for you about Aeo’s robot designed to patrol and disinfect hospitals.

Our team wrote 51 Big Tech stories today, so I’m gifting you an extra one over the usual five:

Back in the saddle again: Who had Stitch Fix’s former CEO taking back the helm on their 2023 BINGO card? No one? Connie fills in some details surrounding Katrina Lake coming back for an interim stint, adding to a CNBC report that included another round of layoffs, this time 20% of the company’s 1,700 employees.
You gotta fight for your right to communicate privately: And WhatsApp is behind you 100%. Aisha reports that the messaging giant launched a proxy support for users globally to be able to maintain access even if their connection is blocked or disrupted.
Art is in the eye of the AI-powered beholder: Kyle reports on Picsart’s AI-powered SketchAI app that turns images and outlines into digital art.
And the streaming crown goes to…: Lauren writes about Roku ending 2022 with a new milestone — over 70 million active accounts. The streaming company is claiming it’s still No. 1 among TV streaming platforms in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed.
Another bytes the crypto dust: Jacquelyn reports that the New York Attorney General sued Alex Mashinsky, the former Celsius CEO, for defrauding crypto investors. The crypto lender filed for bankruptcy over the summer.
Privacy ping: As Natasha L notes, Apple received a rare fine. France’s data protection watchdog group fined the consumer tech giant about $8.5 million related to Apple’s practice of “not obtaining local mobile users’ consent prior to placing (and/or reading) ad identifiers on their devices in breach of local data protection law.”

Daily Crunch: In layoff update, Amazon CEO tells workers ‘we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles’ by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Today at its special launch event, home backup power giant EcoFlow launched a flurry of new products, including a ‘Whole-home Backup Power Solution.’ The company also launched a battery-powered fridge and a portable battery-powered air conditioning unit, which both makes sense. There’s also a lawnmower, which makes me think that preppers will have delightfully pristine lawns, even as the apocalypse looms.

Today at CES in Las Vegas, hidden among all its other news, a spokesperson for the company told TechCrunch it is also planning to release full-house battery backup power solutions to go with its more portable battery backup systems, and its RV-focused solutions. The company was tight-lipped about exactly what it was releasing, or when, but it’ll be interesting to see what the battery backup powerhouse comes up with later in the year

Power backup

EcoFlow’s Whole-home Backup Power Solution is a backup power system that aims to keep a house running without noisy, gas-guzzling generators. The kit is available in three different kits to scale based on a user’s needs. The company has built the solution around its high-end Delta Pro portable power station.

“We’re excited to be showcasing our innovative Whole-home Backup Power Solution and our new smart devices at CES 2023. In recent years we’ve been through the pandemic which was a life-altering event, we’ve got electricity bills that are rising and extreme weather that is creating an ever more unstable energy situation,” said EcoFlow’s Head of Business Development, Brian Essenmacher, at the company’s press event at CES. “That’s why EcoFlow is providing power that’s easier than ever and helping users to make the most of life, whether that’s by saving users time and money to devote to the things that matter most to them, or by making life more enjoyable at home, outdoors and in mobile spaces.”

The Advanced Kit connects two Delta Pro units via the company’s Double Voltage Hub, resulting in an impressive 7,200W output. That should be plenty to power pretty much any device you have in the house. Take it easy on the power consumption, and the company claims you can keep an average home running for about a week. For folks who want to keep the party going for even longer can hook up a duel-fuel generator (powered by a propane tank or good old-fashioned gasoline) to further reduce grid dependence.

EcoFlow Wave 2: portable air conditioner and heater

It’s not exactly a powerhouse in terms of cooling or heating, but for a portable, battery-powered unit, the upgraded EcoFlow Wave 2 is a welcome breath of fresh (or hot) air. With the add-on battery, it can run for up to 8 hours on a charge, and at 14 kg (33 lbs), it’s reasonably portable as well.

The heating/cooling unit packs 5,100 BTUs of cooling and 6,100 BTUs of heating – on par with an entry-level window AC unit. It’s enough to cool or heat a room or a small space such as an RV – assuming the RV itself is well insulated.

EcoFlow Glacier: portable fridge with ice maker

The end of days just won’t be the same if you can’t enjoy it with an ice-cold margarita, so EcoFlow has you covered on that front as well. The Glacier has a high-capacity ice makers that the company says will produce 18 ice cubes four times per hour. The fridge can run for 24 hours on a single charge, and has an option for direct solar charging: Plug in a solar panel, and you’re good pretty much indefinitely.

The fridge has a 297Wh battery built in, and features a bunch of power saving features to stretch the cooling powers even further.

EcoFlow Blade: the robotic lawn mower

So far, EcoFlow’s marketing and messaging has been focused on disaster response and power cuts, with a side of ‘hey you want to live out of an RV, we’ve got power stations for that’. The lawnmower is operable via an app, and features automatic leaf collection, virtual boundary navigation and all sorts of other neat fully-robotic-lawnmower features.

The company says the device has advanced route planning and virtual boundary planning, obstacle climbing and avoidance, and theft protection. The device comes with 4G built-in, so it can merrily roam around your property out of Wi-Fi range.

The products will be available in April this year, pricing has not yet been set.

EcoFlow teases full-house battery backup coming later this year by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch