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Sealed built a business around predicting energy use and getting homeowners to ditch fossil fuels. So, naturally, the company’s first acquisition is a startup that tracks energy on a granular level.

Sealed did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said in a statement that scooping up Burlington, Vermont-based InfiSense would help it “cut home energy waste.”

Headquartered in Manhattan, Sealed finances and oversees electrification upgrades, such as replacing oil or gas heaters with electric heat pumps and insulation. Ridding homes of fossil fuels can lower energy bills, cut household emissions and improve your health. You may have seen this topic in the news recently, because potential stove regulations are now the latest flashpoint in a culture war over clean energy.

To that point, InfiSense’s sensors and software monitor air quality in addition to energy use in buildings, and Sealed plans to share this sort of air-quality data with customers down the line.

Sealed is unique in covering installation and weatherization costs upfront. Instead, it charges a fixed fee based on the energy its machine learning algorithms predict homeowners will save over time. If Sealed underestimates a homes’ energy use, it eats the cost — hence the need to hone those predictions.

The “lifeblood of our company is our ability to predict people’s energy usage over time, and that relies on great access to data,” co-founder and CEO Lauren Salz said in a call with TechCrunch. Currently, Sealed’s algorithms rely on monthly energy data from utilities, but buying InfiSense will give it “access to a deeper level of data from customers,” Salz said.

Sealed plans to install InfiSense’s sensors in some of its customers’ homes, but Salz said it won’t require them. The data Sealed gathers will inform its predictions as well as enable it to offer curious customers an up-close look at their energy usage and air quality.

Sealed buys sensor startup InfiSense to fuel energy-saving services by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

Last night, at an industry event hosted in San Francisco by this editor, venture capitalist Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital sat down for a fireside conversation about the evolution of his storied investment firm, which has enjoyed a largely unblemished record of stunning success — a record since marred by its roughly $200 million investment in the crypto currency exchange FTX.

The investment, once a source of pride for the firm, has tarnished not Sequoia but also Lin, who led the deal on behalf of Sequoia, was the firm’s point of contact with CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for a year-and-a-half and who spoke thoughtfully yesterday about how he feels today about a bet gone so wrong.

Asked, for example, whether looking back, there were signs that Lin sees now that he missed earlier, he answered after a pause: “I thought [Bankman-Fried] was very smart . . . he answers questions very logically and very succinctly. Could we have spotted any tells? I don’t know. There’s what I know today and what I knew at the time. If I knew at the time, we wouldn’t have invested. So today, I think the thing that gets me to reassess is . . . it’s not that we made the investment. It’s the year-and-a-half working relationship afterward, and I still didn’t see it. And that is difficult.”

If it was particularly challenging for Lin given that just a year earlier, he topped Forbes’s annual Midas List, he didn’t say so. But he suggested that experience remains disturbing to him because Bankman-Fried seemed to seize on what the venture industry sees as one of its greatest strengths.

Explained Lin, it’s “a trust business. And yes, we need to trust and verify, and we try to verify what we can. But we start from a position of trust, because if we don’t trust the founders that we work with, why would you ever invest in them?”

Lin had a lot more to say about FTX, including whether he has sympathy for Bankman-Fried. He defended Sequoia’s decision to manage its positions in its portfolio companies well past the point that they go public.

Lin also confirmed during the event that in a gesture to its limited partners, Sequoia last year reduced its management fees on two funds that it rolled out a year ago — a $950 million ecosystem fund that it uses to back other managers’ funds and a $600 million crypto fund. Lin said that rather than charge its backers on committed capital, which is standard in the industry, it is charging them management fees on their committed capital alone. (On that front, he said that just 10% of the crypto fund has been deployed, adding that Sequoia remains “long-term optimistic” about crypto.)

Lastly, Lin shared his views regarding how generative AI — one of the buzziest areas of interest for the venture industry right now — is changing the opportunity for both VCs and investors.

Full video of the conversation follows.

Sequoia Capital’s Alfred Lin in his first public interview since the implosion of FTX (video) by Connie Loizos originally published on TechCrunch

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The team who went to CES is back at their desks. If you missed the barrage of stories — or simply couldn’t stay on top of them — Brian wrote up an amazing CES 2023 debrief. Give that a skim, and you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you didn’t miss anything major as you grab your favorite easy chair and a book to settle in for the weekend. — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

Slasher movie, but IRL: Tesla is reducing its prices again, this time for U.S. buyers, by as much as 20%, Kirsten reports. This new lower base, which dips below $55,000, “is important because it allows buyers to qualify for the $7,500 federal tax incentive,” she writes.
Claws out: Fintech startup Mayfair debuted its high-yield APR for businesses, buoyed by $10 million in funding from investors like Tiger Global. Mary Ann has more on how the company is able to offer such a high interest rate.
If A then B: Manish writes about Google warning India that if its antitrust ruling is allowed to stand, it will pose a threat to national security and cause Android device prices to rise in the region.

Startups and VC

It seems like SPACs aren’t completely dead yet, as World View, a company developing stratospheric balloons for Earth observation and tourism, is heading to the public markets, Aria reports. The company announced Friday that it would merge with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Leo Holdings Corp. II in a deal worth $350 million, as it seeks to build out what it calls “the stratospheric economy.”

And we have five more for you:

E Ink leaves monochrome behind: Harri writes that E Ink’s latest color displays have her dreaming of electronic paper magazines.
Twitter rival raises moneys: Twitter rival T2 raises its first outside funding — $1.1 million from a group of high-profile angels, reports Ingrid.
Layoffs in crypto: Manish reports that Crypto.com cuts 20% of jobs amid “unforeseeable” industry events.
Layoffs in crime reporting: Amanda reports that crime reporting app Citizen lays off 33 employees.
Layoffs in fintech: Jagmeet reports that Greenlight, a kids-focused fintech startup, lays off 104 employees to optimize expenses.

You’re not going to grow into your 2021 valuation

Many, if not most, of the founders who are attached to their 2021 valuations are living in a fantasy, according to Jeremy Abelson and Jacob Sonnenberg of Irving Investors.

For this TC+ post, they worked out “the simple math behind how long it will take companies to price their IPO at a flat round to their previous 2021 valuations.”

Companies with 75% YoY growth “can entertain the discussion,” but “if you are growing sub 30%, there is a strong chance that growing into your 2021 valuation is impossible.”

Three more from the TC+ team:

The right funds, the right way: Carlos Antequera shares 4 tips to find the funding that fits your business.
Much strategery: Becca asks whether it makes sense to raise a structured round over taking a valuation cut?
Crypto chaos continues: Crypto in for a “choppy year” of slow capital deployment, investors share with Jacquelyn.

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.

Are you scooting around Paris right now? Well, this could be your last time. Romain has a lengthy look at how scooters in Paris are at a crossroads as the city ponders whether to put the brakes on renewing contracts with three companies. As Michael Scott said, “Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy one.”

Meanwhile, Sarah and Kirsten paired up on a scoop that Tokyo-based news aggregator SmartNews laid off 40% of staff in the U.S. and China.

And we have five more for you:

The tweet is on: Ivan writes that Twitter users are reporting that third-party apps on the site are facing issues. Meanwhile, over at Twitter alternative Mastodon, Medium launches its own community. Sarah has more.
A little bit of history repeating: Devin writes that President Biden’s call to “unite against big tech abuses” sounds kinda familiar.
Layoffs in robotics: Alphabet’s robotics division is letting people go, Brian reports.
If you like clickety-clack on your keyboard: Frederic reports that Keychron gets it right with its Q10 Alice-style keyboard.
Do you hear what I hear?: VALL-E’s quickie voice deepfakes should worry you, Devin writes.

Daily Crunch: 2 Tesla models qualify for EV tax credits after company marks prices down by 20% by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Somewhere hidden amid the thousands of flashy displays and exhibits at CES 2023 in Las Vegas was the newly upgraded 2023 Bugatti electric scooter.

TechCrunch never saw it. Did anyone?

Luckily, details and images of the 2023 model, a 10% larger, more premium electric scooter, have now been released into the world.

Bugatti, through a partnership with tech accessory company Bytech, launched a $1,200 electric scooter in 2022. The two companies paired up again for a second-generation scooter that is beefier, equipped with new features and colors, and has larger “self-repairing” tires.

The 2023 scooter is 10% larger than its predecessor and is equipped with an 36-volt/15.6Ah battery and an electric motor with a maximum output of 1,000 watts, according to the companies. That battery and motor combo allows the scooter to handle up to an 18-degree incline, max speed of 22 miles per hour and can cover 35 miles on a single charge, according to the company. (That’s up from the 22-mile range in the previous model).

No word yet on the pricing for this bigger second-generation model. Perhaps, this is one of those “if you have to ask” moments.)

The overall expanded size extends to a larger deck area for standing and a 10-inch tire (the previous one was 9 inches) with a pneumatic tubeless design that comes with a built-in glue repair mechanism that repairs potential tire punctures. (The technology sounds a lot like tubeless tires used in bicycles. The tires can be filled with a sealant that is released and coats the interior if there is a puncture.)

The new Bugatti scooter now has passcode protection, a touchscreen that displays speed, rider mode, battery life and headlight operations. The scooter is equipped with leather handle grips and comes in three colors, including a new yellow and black design that gives homage to Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti (apparently his favorite color combo) and the W16 Mistral roadster, which has a similar color scheme.

At the end of those leather handles are two small LED lights. For added safety and visibility, the turn signals are synchronized and displayed on the accompanying MIPS certified helmet.

Bugatti’s new electric scooter is bigger with W16 Mistral vibes by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch