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EV Startups Rivian and Xos Highlight Uncertainty in a Volatile World
David Shultz
David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.
The world of electric vehicle startups remains a rollercoaster of uncertainty. This week, we saw news from two of Southern California’s biggest names in the space with radically different announcements.
Let's start with the good: At Rivian, a tweet from CEO RJ Scaringe suggested that the company was back on pace to hit its production targets of 25,000 vehicles this year.
\u201cSupply chain and production are ramping! We just announced production of 4,401 vehicles for Q2 bringing our cumulative total since start of production to 7,969 \u2014 keeping us on track to reach our year-end goals. Thank you to our team & suppliers.\u201d— RJ Scaringe (@RJ Scaringe) 1657112781
So what do I feel when I see a tweet like this?
A cautious optimism? Yes, but wrapped in a skepticism that the company has been wrong so many times before. This is a company that has historically failed to hit targets. Earlier this year supply chain and inflationary woes forced the company to raise prices on several of its vehicles earlier this year, which led to a shareholder lawsuit, some eventual backtracking, an apology, a stock slide, etc. They very well may turn the corner, and this news (among other things) is encouraging, but call me when that 25,000th car rolls off the line.
On the other side of town, electric trucking company, Xos, announced that it would lay off 8% of its staff according to reporting from Business Insider. This is a company that went public via SPAC merger on August 20, 2021 in a deal valued at $2 billion and has subsequently seen its stock lose nearly 80% of its value. According to the report, yesterday’s bad news is attributable to a cash shortage and “slowing macroeconomic growth.” It’s a common refrain for many startups across the nation: Inflation prompts the Fed to raise interest rates; investors get skittish; suddenly VC cash is hard to come by and profitability becomes more attractive than growth at all costs.
The whole EV space is an absolute rollercoaster, but it’s a roller coaster where you’re blindfolded and half the track may or may not exist in front of you. One minute you’re building momentum and the next minute your supply of door handle computer chips that you’re importing from Taiwan dries up without warning. Why car doors need computer chips is a great question, but we’ll leave that discussion for another time.
Why we need EVs, generally, is a much easier question, and its answer also partially explains why the sector (and the world) is so rife with uncertainty. Climate change is one of those rare problems that undermines its own solution: We need new technology to solve climate change, but climate change is stymying our ability to create that technology. Not every flood, heatwave, disease, or humanitarian crisis is directly attributable to climate change (you’d have a tough time convincing me that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is, at its core, a climate issue) but climate change makes flooding, heatwaves, zoonosis and civil strife more likely. And, as a result, at a time where societal cohesion is more critical than ever, it seems like the amplitude of uncertainty in business has never been higher.
Because we waited until the eleventh hour to start addressing it, climate change has become a pressure cooker on business. Mitigating its impacts requires that many things all happen simultaneously. It’s not enough to decarbonize the grid and convert cars to electric. We also need carbon capture, sustainable aviation fuels, a new way to make cement and a battery technology revolution. All at the same time. And any hiccup or setback means that the uncertainty we’re fighting to protect against grows.
And because the threats are so existential and multivariate it’s hard to imagine any CEO being able to anticipate them. Nobody saw COVID coming, not really. Not with the temporal acuity to steer a startup around the pothole. The other day my friend bought a bunch of Rivian stock. When I asked him why, he told me that he likes that they actually have cars on the road. Now, my friend is an idiot for a variety of reasons, but when it comes to betting on EV startups, actually delivering cars to consumers may be as good a tea leaf as any.
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David Shultz
David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.
Kippo, a Dating App For Gamers, Enters the Metaverse
09:00 AM | January 20, 2022
Image courtesy of Kippo
Gamers’ favorite dating app is taking romance into the metaverse.
Los Angeles-based Kippo has unveiled an update to its app, called Kippo 2.0, that allows users to create avatars and make connections through an in-app virtual world.
“Our vision always was to create a very immersive experience,” Kippo co-founder and CEO David Park told dot.LA. “Dating should be fun, meeting people should be fun, and all of that is bundled into what Kippo 2.0 is going to be.”
Gaming is still core to Kippo’s mission. The company says that 93% of its users played games together before meeting in person. Most users would exchange gamer tags before exchanging phone numbers. But with the 2.0 update, users are incentivized to stay in the app and communicate through the new game-like interface.
Park said that Kippo is focused on monetizing the app’s cosmetic features, such as clothing and accessories that users can buy to style their avatars. “We think about all the experiences that humans have in the physical world and [how we can] bring them onto a digital platform,” he said.
The refreshed app will feature Kippo Arcade, a virtual world that allows users’ avatars to participate in shared experiences, like go-kart racing and soccer games. Park noted that Kippo doesn’t need to only function as a tool for romance; it can also help users meet new friends.
“Bars don't call themselves ‘dating bars’ and parties don't call themselves ‘dating parties,’” he said. “As soon as you create a dating party or a dating event, it loses all of its cool factor right away and it feels like there's this agenda.”
Kippo also stands out for its cost—or lack thereof. While other dating apps have plenty of features, many of them require payment to access. (Bumble, for instance, makes users pay in order to extend the 24-hour window in which they can match.) Park said his app “offer[s] more for free than any other dating app, and our goal long-term is to make more and more features free.”
“Imagine if Facebook had a paywall, or Instagram had a paywall, or TikTok had a paywall,” he continued. “It's just not the same.”
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Decerry Donato
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
This Digital 'Mirror' Measures Every Aspect of Your Body, Making It Easier To Try On Clothes Online
02:56 PM | September 15, 2022
Photo by Decerry Donato
Online shopping surged in the past few years and nowadays some may feel trying on clothes in stores takes too much time. But too often, purchasing clothes on the internet can lead to making multiple returns because let’s face it, it’s not always easy to ensure the items fit properly.
Former New York lawyer Lenny Adams knows how difficult it is to shop with time constraints. Most of his day is spent in the office, and Adams wanted a solution. That’s why he created Toli 360, a retail mirror that has the ability to measure an item of clothing on any individual and body type.
Here’s How It Works:
First, the shopper stands on a turntable that performs a complete 360 degree measurement of the body. The platform measures every centimeter of the individual, then weighs and photographs the body (over 200 images taken) using four high definition cameras. This all takes place in less than 30 seconds.
Toli 360 example of a person's measurements
Photo by Decerry Donato
Once the process is complete, a digital version is produced, allowing the shopper to try on clothing in the mirror and see how it will fit, drape and cling on their body. Every person that goes through the full body process will also have the option to view the digital version on the app at no additional cost.
When the customer is ready to shop, Toli will redirect them to the brand’s website. Adams said that they do not hold inventory—Toli will act as a marketplace where customers can buy clothing and accessories.
Founded in 2016, Adams’ vision came to life and he decided to step away from his law practice and put 100% of his time into building Toli 360. The fashion tech startup also partnered with Oracle earlier this year to help with data protection and cloud computing assistance.
Toli 360 expects to open its first retail location in 2023. The location has not been determined, but Adams said they are looking to place a store in a higher end shopping mall.
Once the physical location opens, customers will be able to walk in and use one of the mirrors for a full body measurement and then shop from the comfort of their phone. The app will store each person’s specific measurements and allow them to walk away and shop from anywhere. If the customer feels their body type has changed (weight loss or gain, for example), they can come back to receive an update of their measurements. The physical location will have several mirrors lined up in addition to a gallery so customers can feel the fabrics of the items they plan to purchase.
Earlier this month, Toli inked a deal with five different fashion brands from high end to streetwear and lifestyle. Adams did not disclose any of the names, but he did say that they were all highly recognizable brands.
“They each wanted to carve it out for their sector of fashion,” Adams told dot.LA, “The foundation is all the same, but in terms of what to do with it, I like seeing all designers and brands have a different idea of implementation for it.”
Toli 360 founder Lenny AdamsCourtesy of Toli 360
Aside from Toli’s other capabilities, Adams confirmed the mirror’s four built-in cameras can also be utilized for creating TikToks and recording YouTube videos.
As someone who enjoys buying clothes, Adams said that Toli’s mission “is about ushering in the next generation of fashion retail and part two of that is to bring the world's largest mall into your living room.”
Adams believes that the model of fashion retail will benefit greatly from this technology, especially because we’ve been buying clothes in the same way for the last 50 years.
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Decerry Donato
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
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