PodcastsThis Week in StartupsNEWS: Anthropic targets $20B+ valuation, Flexport chaos & more! | E1823

NEWS: Anthropic targets $20B+ valuation, Flexport chaos & more! | E1823
This Week in StartupsThu Oct 05 2023
DoorDash Dine Out Feature:
- DoorDash is testing a new feature called Dine Out, which offers users cash credit for dining out at local restaurants.
- Users can earn DoorDash credits by checking in and dining at participating restaurants.
- The feature aims to incentivize customers to dine at local establishments and build loyalty with those restaurants.
- By offering rewards for dining out, DoorDash hopes to strengthen its relationship with partner restaurants and potentially secure exclusivity deals.
Flexport CEO Transition:
- Ryan Peterson stepped down as CEO of Flexport in June 2022 and transitioned into the role of Executive Chair.
- Dave Clark, a former Amazon executive, was hired as the new CEO of Flexport.
- However, in September 2023, Peterson announced that he would be returning as CEO and Clark resigned on the same day.
- The transition back to Peterson's leadership came after a significant drop in revenue for Flexport due to challenges in the shipping industry during the pandemic.
- There are conflicting reports about the reasons behind Clark's departure and tensions between him and Peterson.
Amazon Investment in Anthropic:
- Amazon has made an investment deal with AI startup Anthropic, led by Dario Amodei.
- The initial investment from Amazon is $1.25 billion, with potential for an additional $2.75 billion investment if triggered by either party.
- As part of the deal, Amazon will offer early access to Anthropic's models through its AWS platform.
- This partnership aims to enhance Amazon's AI offerings and provide growth opportunities for Anthropic.
Reasons Behind Amazon's Investment:
- The strategic investment allows Amazon to collaborate with Anthropic on AI development and gain insights into cutting-edge technologies in the field.
- It provides an opportunity for Amazon to use Anthropic's models within its own services, such as chatbots or generative AI playgrounds like Amazon Bedrock.
Loyalty Programs:
- Lena Kahn claims Amazon created Prime to increase customer loyalty.
- Similar programs include airline miles, Costco membership, and DoorDash Rewards.
Gamification and Loyalty:
- Gamification and loyalty programs effective in increasing engagement and usage among consumers.
- Speaker mentions games like Farmville as an example of how gamification works on humans.
- Loyalty programs tap into human desire for rewards and incentives.
Startups Building on Each Other's Ideas:
- Startups often build on each other's ideas, leading to innovative features or services.
- Check-in app trend started with FourSquare but did not reach expected potential. However, similar concepts can resurface successfully later on.
- Yelp now incorporates discovery and restaurant recommendations, making it more comprehensive.
Importance of Packed Restaurants:
- Speaker expresses belief that life is better when restaurants are packed with people.
- Negative impact of empty restaurants in San Francisco; hopes initiatives like DoorDash's "Dine Out" will bring more customers back.
Expanding Services in Transportation Industry:
- Uber, DoorDash, Airbnb likely to expand services beyond current offerings in transportation and food delivery.
- Companies could explore areas such as travel, manual labor services, payments systems, trains, flights.
New York City Subway:
- Speaker shares positive experience using Apple Pay on the New York City subway.
- Expresses excitement about being able to use digital payments instead of traditional methods like MetroCards.