Tag: east coast

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How one state’s aggressive climate policy could boost its economy

Rhode Island leaped ahead in the race to 100% renewable power last week as Governor Dan McKee signed a bill that would mandate the state reach the target by 2033, the most aggressive state target so far. Only Oregon comes close, and it’s shooting for 2040.

In some respects, Rhode Island has it easy. With a population of a little over 1 million people, it’s smaller than many metro areas, so switching to renewables isn’t the enormous undertaking it would be in California or Texas.

But on the other hand, renewables tend to need a lot of space, and the state’s 1 million people are tightly packed — Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state in the country.

While Rhode Island may not have space, it does have plenty of open water blessed with strong and consistent winds, which makes it an ideal place for offshore wind. Which is why the state’s swift move to renewable power is as much about addressing climate change as it is about securing the state’s economic future.

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Armed with experience, insurtech MGAs are paving the way for insurtech 2.0

Dave Wechsler Contributor
Dave Wechsler leads insurtech investing for OMERS Ventures. After serving as the VP of Growth at Hippo, Dave is one of the first insurtech operators to become a full-time investor.

Just over five years ago, the insurance industry entered the crosshairs of the tech world. Despite serving as the backbone of global growth, insurance lagged the pace of technology adoption enjoyed by other industries.

Entrepreneurs saw this as an opportunity to disrupt incumbents, and soon there were lofty claims that everything about the industry was about to change. With tech’s embrace, people were about to soon “love their insurance!” Venture capitalists noticed, and startups closed large rounds of capital.

Fast-forward to today, and it’s safe to say that none of us have found an intimate connection with our insurers. That said, the industry is in a transformational moment as it races to keep pace with technology.

Many like to refute the underlying disruption by pointing to public valuations of insurtech firms, some of which are down as much as 85%-90%. But we are experiencing a typical phenomenon that occurs in industries transformed by technology: Early challengers often lack appreciation for the complexities of the market and sometimes overpromise short-term visions.

We learned that it’s hard to change a highly regulated industry with a disinterested customer base who rarely shops the competition.

Now, a new crop of challengers is learning from their predecessors’ mistakes. As we enter “insurtech 2.0,” the lessons learned are becoming the new best practices, and nowhere is this more evident than at the startups building an MGA (a managing general agent).

The MGA (R)evolution

An MGA is a hybrid between an insurance agency (policy sales) and insurance carrier (underwriting and assumption of the risk). MGAs started off during the U.S.’ frontier years. East coast carriers pursued the emerging westward market by granting remote agents unique underwriting and servicing authorities. In return for their added responsibilities, these MGAs received higher sales commissions from their carrier partners.

When they arrived on the scene, insurtech challengers revived the dormant MGA structure to monetize their more scalable solutions. Founders pitched carriers a tech-forward relationship with the customer, focusing on:

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Despite regulatory hurdles, these 4 US cannabis investors are planting seeds for tomorrow

Bearish markets and high interest rates often cause private investors to turn away from anything resembling a risky investment. Yet, now is a very apt time to take another look at the cannabis opportunity in the U.S.

Quite a lot has changed since our previous U.S. cannabis survey from 2020. Recreational cannabis is now legal in a few more states, including New Jersey and New York, the latter of which has even launched a social equity program that aims to help communities affected by the War on Drugs. Despite the market downturn, the sector is growing — legal sales of marijuana and related products are slated to rise about 32% from 2021 to top $33 billion this year and reach $52 billion by 2026, according to MJBiz.

But cannabis startups still have a long way to go before they can begin to truly thrive in the country. The biggest roadblock is cannabis’ illegal status at the federal level, which makes things even more difficult and fragmented than in Europe.

As we learnt in our European cannabis survey, despite cannabis being illegal at a federal level in the EU, companies can produce cannabis in one country and sell to businesses across borders as long as they have the necessary licenses. It’s a stark contrast to the barriers to selling across states in the U.S., and the banking and tax headaches it creates.

The lack of access to traditional financing services — commercial banking, credit card merchant processors, etc. — is holding the industry back. “Banking reform is the key to unlocking access to the capital markets,” said Emily Paxhia, managing director at Poseidon. “Offering mainstream banking services to cannabis operators would break the market open and could change custody rules that prevent institutional capital from participating. It would also create better liquidity and efficiency for market dynamics around publicly traded companies.”

TechCrunch is widening our lens, looking for more, and more diverse investors to include in our surveys where we poll top professionals about problems and challenges in their industry.

If you’re an investor and would like to participate in future surveys, fill out this form.

No one has a clue when banking reforms, let alone federal legalization, could happen, so should investors just wait for more momentum? That’s perhaps what generalist investors are doing but not the specialists. No, indeed, they are looking to preempt institutional capital.

To turn today’s early bets into tomorrow’s lucrative investments, specialized firms like Entourage Effect Capital and Poseidon are deploying capital into so-called “plant-touching” and ancillary businesses. The latter refers to companies that are working on the infrastructure the sector will rely on once in full bloom, and the consensus among specialized investors is that they make for very worthy bets. Funds need funders too, however, and the lack of traditional LPs willing to write checks for this industry can be problematic even though investments are trending upward.

But VCs have found allies in family offices — a category of investors who are less constrained than their institutional peers and have plenty of capital to deploy. “We are seeing more and more first-time family office investors enter the industry at a pace we haven’t seen to date,” said Matt Hawkins, managing partner at Entourage Effect Capital.

We polled four active investors in the space to better understand the cannabis market right now in the U.S. and the regulatory hurdles the sector will have to overcome in the future.

We spoke with:

Jacqueline Bennett, managing partner and co-founder, Highlands Venture Partners

As cannabis companies struggle to maintain their market cap in public markets and compete with the black market, what is keeping you excited about the space?

The backdrop for public cannabis companies remains bleak with no signs of a near-term recovery. That said, the fundamental business opportunity remains intact.

Weak markets and a challenging macro environment will test operators, expose misplaced strategies and tighten the wedge between cannabis capital (public or private) and liquidity.

While exhaustion is setting in and industry constituents long for a break, now is the best time for investors to discover talent and promising ideas. We saw record levels of M&A activity in cannabis over the past 12-18 months. Most of these acquisitions were paid for with large amounts of stock, and given where stock prices are trading today relative to 52-week-highs, seller’s remorse is the theme.

While economic loss is never fun, what this dynamic does promise is the re-entry of experienced talent in the market.

Have you seen a flight of generalist investors from this sector?

“Given regulatory hurdles surrounding plant-touching companies, investing in ancillary businesses has also provided us an opportunity to bring in more traditional investors into the space.” Yoni Meyer, partner, Casa Verde Capital

Any pullback from investors, I believe, is temporary and driven by current market conditions as opposed to loss of confidence in the sector. It feels impossible to not see opportunity after being submerged in the industry and exposed to the endless potential of both the plant and resulting innovation across verticals.

In the near term, what are you more interested in: Ancillary businesses or plant-touching companies?

I’ve never bifurcated the industry in this way for investing purposes. We have a good balance of ancillary and plant-touching companies in our portfolio, and this is reflective of the diversity in my partnership with Tahira [Rehmatullah] and our category-agnostic investment thesis.

What we won’t compromise on is: strength and experience of management, purpose-driven products or services and a TAM that expands at the intersection of industries.

Do you see any opportunities in this space that are being overlooked by investors and entrepreneurs?

Companies led by women, people of color and minorities. While not unique to cannabis, subconscious bias amongst investors and operators guarantees missed opportunities. Cannabis also happens to be an industry best understood by these overlooked demographics.

Health equity and innovation in women’s wellness is slowly unlocking in parallel with the cannabis industry, and we see significant synergies in R&D and product innovation. The challenge I pose to myself and my peers is to pause, look up and break habits.

There is significant trapped value in cannabis, and until we acknowledge and remove bias from business, we will continue to miss opportunities for justice and innovation.

Cannabis production is still illegal under federal law, which means companies in this industry can’t use traditional financial services. How much of a roadblock is this to the industry’s growth, and how do you advise your portfolio companies to deal with these restrictions?

Restricted [access to] financial services is a massive impediment for the industry and affects every industry participant in a material way. The silver lining is that we get creative, collaborative and deepen a sense of community. These are the same traits we look for in our portfolio teams and so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Cannabis is not for someone needing a well-trodden path void of obstacles. People join and stay in cannabis because of a connection that extends beyond business. It’s the mission. At least that’s true of myself and many of the wonderful folks I’ve been fortunate to meet.

With New Jersey legalizing recreational use, several U.S. states could legalize medical or adult use this year. Do you expect these milestones to impact valuations? Are you watching for any changes in regulation that would break this market open even wider?

Following the 2020 U.S. election results, the markets showed us what could happen with regulatory change at the federal level with an immediate uptick in valuations. Since then, Congress has made little to no progress toward federal legalization and cannabis stock prices barely flinch at news of regulatory advances at the state or federal level.

All this is to say that I believe the markets are now waiting for the actual implementation of legislation that has potential for sustained value creation in the industry, like SAFE Banking.

Has the type of LPs willing to invest in cannabis-related funds changed at the pace you hoped?

There has absolutely been an evolution in LP community interest in cannabis. Cannabis remains one of the very few industries with guaranteed growth for many years to come. The challenge is understanding where to find this growth and be comfortable with locking up cash for longer-than-expected periods.

We still meet LPs with strict policies that do not allow investment in the industry, mostly on the plant-touching side. LPs who previously held back because of sentiment or lack of knowledge have been gradually crossing the floor.

My strong advice to new capital in the industry is to partner with experienced cannabis investors. You cannot prepare for the degree of surprise in the space. Never a dull moment!

NY is creating a social and economic equity program as part of its retail license attribution. Are you seeing investors adopting an equity-minded approach to open up the space to communities harmed by legacy drug enforcement policies?

We are gradually seeing more investors and operators acknowledge social equity and the importance of creating and prioritizing opportunities for communities harmed by the War on Drugs and other social injustices.

How do you prefer to be approached, a cold email, or a warm pitch?

I do love a warm pitch.

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Einride founder Robert Falck on his moral obligation to electrify autonomous trucking

Robert Falck used to work at a Russian trucking factory by day, and by night, he built a nightclub guest list startup. He also collects old books, and once guessed that Chinese author Gao Xingjian would win the Nobel Prize in literature. He grew up on a farm, but has degrees in finance, economics and mechanical engineering.

No, this isn’t a game of two truths and a lie — indeed, these are snippets from the life of a serial entrepreneur who harbors a vendetta against the carbon emissions produced by the world’s trucking industry.

Falck, now the CEO and founder of Swedish autonomous freight company Einride, also worked as the director of manufacturing engineering assembly at Volvo GTO Powertrain. He learned how heavy duty vehicles are produced en masse during his three-and-a-half years there, and also helped start and invest in other companies. Einride, which he founded in 2016, is his seventh company.

Einride’s business is threefold. It currently operates one of Europe’s largest fleets of electric trucks, but its main offering is its electric autonomous pods, self-driving freight trucks built without a front cab and no room for a human operator. The startup also offers an IoT system called Saga that runs through its fleet and helps the company and its shipping partners optimize routes, and manage and electrify fleets.

Einride launched its U.S. operations this month and plans to operate its pods, trucks and OS with partners like GE Appliances, Bridgestone and Oatly. In May, the company raised $110 million to help fund its U.S. expansion, bringing its total funding to $150 million.

We sat down with Falck to talk about Einride’s strategy for scaling revenue, the need for autonomous vehicles to be built on electric platforms and why the future is in startups’ hands.

“The average OEM will need to write off between six and seven years of profit to get rid of the legacy investments in diesel platforms.”

The following interview, part of an ongoing series with founders who are building transportation companies, has been edited for length and clarity.

TechCrunch: In addition to your work at Volvo, you’ve started two nightclub-related platforms and a hunting app. Why start an autonomous trucking company?

Robert Falck: Working at Volvo, producing diesel engines, gearboxes and trucks, made it clear to me the challenges the industry was facing and that I have a moral obligation. I mean, the heavy freight transport industry stands for between 7% to 8% of global CO2 emissions, and the engines that I helped to produce contribute roughly 1% of global CO2 emissions. That’s how much of an impact my previous position was actually making, and I realized that I was part of the problem.

It doesn’t exactly make sense to start a company. You’re either crazy, or if you’re in it for money, you’re not going to get there, because there are much easier ways to make money. But for me, I consider the CO2 emissions to be our generation’s greatest challenge. And it’s quite fascinating how secondary failure becomes when you know that you do it for the right reasons.

You have been described as a serial entrepreneur. Are you with Einride for the long run, or are you already thinking about your next startup?

I think all entrepreneurs get a thrill out of entrepreneurship. And I’m definitely more of an entrepreneur and company builder than I am an administrator and manager. I’m not the kind of person to sit there and keep the status quo. It’s not my thing.

So will your next startup tackle CO2 emissions, but just in a different industry?

A lot of the very traditional industries are ready for disruption, and that’s going to challenge and change society at its core. The main driver behind it is that if you look globally, there’s a huge demand for sustainability.

I think most of the companies that are going to change or save the planet will be created in the next five to 10 years, and there’s lot of potential in some of the more traditional parts of the economy. Everything from trucking and the automotive space to real estate, a lot of those big plays are still up for grabs. I think energy — smart grids and how we structure energy production — is going to be another one of them.

So you think most of the climate tech that’ll solve the biggest issues will come from startups rather than legacy companies?

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US government offers $10M bounty for DarkSide ransomware hackers

The U.S. Department of State is upping the ante in its fight against ransomware by offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps identify or track down leaders of the notorious DarkSide ransomware group.

The State Department said it’s also offering as much as $5 million for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of anyone ”conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in a DarkSide variant ransomware incident.” This is likely a nod to the group’s affiliate program, in which members receive a custom variant of the DarkSide ransomware and receive a chunk of any ransom payment profits.

“In offering this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting ransomware victims around the world from exploitation by cybercriminals,” the State Department said. “The United States looks to nations who harbor ransomware criminals that are willing to bring justice for those victim businesses and organizations affected by ransomware.”

The FBI’s wanted poster for the DarkSide ransomware group. (Image: FBI)

The State Department says it launched the bounty in the wake of DarkSide’s attack on Colonial Pipeline earlier this year, which led to the shut down of a 5,500-mile pipeline that carries 45% of the fuel used on the U.S. east coast.

The group went dark shortly after its servers were hacked, and later rebranded as BlackMatter, which went on to attack Japanese technology giant Olympus in September and “multiple” organizations deemed critical infrastructure, including two companies in the U.S. food and agriculture sector. BlackMatter said this week that it was also ceasing operations due to pressure from law enforcement agencies.

The $10 million reward is being offered under the Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), which it manages with federal law enforcement partners as part of the government’s effort to disrupt and dismantle international crime syndicates. The State Department noted that it had paid $135 million in rewards since it was created in 1986.

Jake Wiliams, CTO at BreachQuest, told TechCrunch that the State Department’s bumper reward will cause ripples far beyond DarkSide: “With rewards this large, there’s a substantial incentive for these criminals to turn on one another. Perhaps more importantly than the specific impacts to DarkSide, this action undermines trust across the ransomware as a service affiliate model.

“This is especially good timing since it capitalizes on the recent REvil infiltration by law enforcement. The law enforcement action against REvil in July already caused significant trust issues among operators. This drives that wedge deeper and will extend far beyond DarkSide.”

This is the latest in a long line of efforts by the Biden administration to crack down on the growing ransomware threat. Most recently, the Treasury took steps to crack down on virtual currency exchanges by sanctioning Suex for its role in facilitating ransomware payments.

BlackMatter ransomware gang says it’s shutting down over law enforcement pressure

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Bowery Farming is forcing us all to look up at the future of vertical agriculture

Food is the very nourishment of life, but it’s also becoming increasingly challenging to grow at scale. A combination of explosive and unsustainable population growth, human-made climate change and depleted sources of clean water is contributing to overcultivation across the world.

For its many advocates, vertical farming is a critical piece to solving that puzzle, even as skeptics cite its intensive power demands as a major hurdle toward achieving the long-term positive climate impact it promises.

Existential crises of climate change and substantial food shortages have fueled interest in alternative forms of food production, while innovations in technology have created the potential for delivering those ideas at scale.

The pursuit of sustainability was a key catalyst in the formation of Bowery Farming — and, for that matter, the development of vertical farming as a whole. Global climate disasters have spurred companies and governments to increasingly explore large-scale solutions, and that’s why increasingly bullish investors are pumping money into the space — the company raised a $300 million round this May.

Companies like Bowery have captured the imagination of the public for the role they might eventually play in helping reshape the 10,000-year-old practice of agriculture. It’s big talk, but it’s unsurprising in a world inexorably drawn to the notion that the solution to righting the wrongs of decades of harmful technologies can be found in technology itself. It’s a hopeful thought.

In the first part of this TC-1, I will look at the origins of Bowery Farming as well as the vertical farming movement as a whole. I’ll also discuss how Japan’s 2011 tragic earthquake catalyzed interest in the model and also explore how these new approaches to agriculture could usher in critical changes on an Earth with rapidly changing climates.

We’re not in Kansas anymore

The best way to understand a farm is to visit it, so I set up a tour to see what Bowery is building. I intend to arrive early, making some vague plans to walk to a nearby coffee shop, set up camp with caffeine and Wi-Fi, and prep for the day. As we approached the destination, however, that plan is quickly scrapped.

As the crow flies, Bowery Farming’s Kearny, New Jersey R&D center is roughly five miles from Manhattan, but the surrounding neighborhood contains none of the trappings of bustling city life. Just industrial warehouses and little else as far as the eye can see.

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Sustainable e-commerce startup Olive now ships beauty products, in addition to apparel

Earlier this year, a startup called Olive launched its new shopping site and app with the goal of making e-commerce more efficient, convenient, and sustainable by offering a way for consumers to aggregate their orders from across retailers into single shipments that arrive in reusable packaging, not cardboard. If items need to be returned, those same packages are reused. Otherwise, Olive will return to pick them up. Since its February 2021 debut, the company has grown to include over 100 retailers, predominately in the fashion space. Today, it’s expanding again by adding support for another 25 beauty retailers.

Launch partners on the new effort include brands like Supergoop!, Kora Organics, Pai Skincare, Erno Laszlo, Jecca Blac, Sahajan, Clark’s Botanicals, NuFace, Purlisse, Cover FX, LYS Beauty, SiO Beauty, Peace Out Skincare, Koh Gen Do, Julep Beauty, In Common Beauty, Indie Lee, Glow Recipe, Ursa Major, RMS Beauty, Ceremonia, Sweet Chef, Follain, and BalmLabs.

They join Olive’s numerous apparel and accessory retailers like Adidas, Superga, Rag & Bone, Birdies, Vince, Goop, Khaite, and Veronica Beard, among others.

To support the expansion, Olive also developed a new set of reusable packaging that has protective elements for more damageable items. While before, the company had offered a variety of packages like soft-sided garment bags and various sizes of more rigid containers (see below), it’s now introducing its own alternative to the air bubble strips you’ll find in most Amazon boxes these days. Olive’s version is integrated into its reusable packaging and can be easily deflated by the customer when it’s time to return the package at pickup.

Image Credits: Olive, founder Nate Faust

The idea for Olive is a timely one. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce adoption has soared. But so has consumers’ guilt. Multiple packages land on doorsteps every week, with cardboard and plastic to recycle — if that’s even available in your area. Delivery trucks — Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and others — are now a daily spectacle on every city street. Meanwhile, market leaders like Amazon and Walmart seem largely interested in increasing the speed of delivery, not necessarily the efficiency and sustainability. (Amazon allows shoppers to pick an Amazon Day delivery, for consolidated shipments, but it’s opt-in.)

Olive founder Nate Faust says he was inspired to build the company after realizing how little interest there was from larger e-commerce players in addressing some of the inconveniences and inefficiencies in the market. Faust had previously served as a vice president at Quidsi (which ran Diapers.com and Soap.com and sold to Amazon), then co-founder and COO at Jet, which was acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion. Before Olive, he was a senior vice president at Walmart.

After some soul searching, he realized he wanted to build something in the e-commerce space that was focused more on the social and environmental impact, not just on driving growth and consumption.

Image Credits: Olive

“I had an epiphany one evening when taking out the trash and recycling,” Faust explains. “It’s pretty crazy that we’re this far into e-commerce and this is the status quo delivery experience —  all this waste, which is both an environmental issue and a hassle for consumers,” he says. “And the bigger issue than the packaging is actually the fact that the majority of those packages are delivered one at a time, and those last-mile emissions are actually the biggest contributor of carbon emissions in the post-purchase e-commerce supply chain.”

Consumers may not think about all the issues, because many of them are hidden, but they do struggle in other ways beyond dealing with the waste. Returns are still a hassle — so much so, that Amazon now allows customers to go to Kohl’s where it’s partnered on in-store return kiosks that also help the brick-and-mortar retailer increase their own foot traffic.

Plus, consumers who shop from different sites have to set up online accounts over and over, entering in addresses and payment information many times, which is an annoyance. Olive offers the convenience of an Amazon-like one-stop-shop experience on that front.

Meanwhile, Olive addresses the return issue by allowing consumers to simply place their unwanted items back in Olive’s packaging then leave them on their doorstep or with the building’s doorman for return. It works with both the USPS and a network of local carriers to serve the customers in its current footprint, which is about 100 million U.S. consumers on both coasts.

While customers don’t have to deal with packaging, it hasn’t been entirely eliminated from the equation at this point. Olive today partners with retailers who ship packages to its own west coast and east coast warehouses, where they repackage them into the reusable containers to deliver to customers. Right now, that means Olive is responsible for the recycling issues. But it’s working with its brand partners to have them pack orders directly into the reusable packaging from the start — before shipping to Olive’s consolidation warehouses for delivery. Today, it has a few retailers on board with this effort, but it hopes that will eventually expand to include all partners.

The company generates revenue on an affiliate commission model, which works for now. But over time, it may need to evolve that business model over time, as its customer base and partnerships grow. At present, around 10,000 consumers have used Olive, ahead of any large-scale marketing and customer acquisition efforts on the startup’s part.

For now, New York-based Olive is growing its business by way of a fundraise of around $15 million from investors including Invus, Primary Venture Partners, and SignalFire.

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Google announces the Firmina subsea cable between the U.S. and Argentina

Google today announced its plans to build a new subsea cable that will connect the East Coast of the U.S. and Las Toninas, Argentina — with additional landings in Brazil and Uruguay. The idea here is to provide users in South America with improved low-latency access to Google’s portfolio of consumer and cloud services.

The closest Google data center in the region (and its only one in South America) can be found near Santiago, Chile, which is connected to the U.S. West Coast through Google’s Curie cable.

The Firmina cable, named after Brazilian abolitionist and author Maria Firmina dos Reis, will augment Google’s existing cable investments in the region. The Tannat cable, a joint venture between Antel Uruguay and Google, for example, already connects the same locations while the Monet cable connects the U.S. and Brazil, where Google’s Junior cable already connects various parts of the country.

Image Credits: Google

The new cable doesn’t just add capacity but also resilience to Google’s existing network. Specifically, one technical feat that makes this new cable, which consists of 12 fiver pairs, stand out is the system’s ability to power the cable from a single-end power source.

“With submarine cables, data travels as pulses of light inside the cable’s optical fibers,” Google explains. “That light signal is amplified every 100 km with a high-voltage electrical current supplied at landing stations in each country. While shorter cable systems can enjoy the higher availability of power feeding from a single end, recent longer cables with large fiber pair count have made this harder and harder.” To achieve this, the Firmina cable is supplied by a cable with a voltage that is 20% higher than previous cables.

 

 

 

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SpaceX bought two oil rigs to convert into offshore launch pads for Starship

SpaceX’s next spacecraft is in development in Texas, and CEO Elon Musk previously revealed that the company was planning to build floating spaceports for Starship operations, after a job ad was posted looking for someone to oversee their development. Now, SpaceX has purchased two oil rigs to convert for this purpose, as first reported by spaceflight.com’s Michael Baylor, and confirmed by CNBC.

The rigs have been named Deimos and Phoibos by SpaceX, which are the names of the two moons of Mars (and the names of the gods of both dread and fear in Greek mythology before that). The rigs were originally designed for offshore deepwater drilling, up to a maximum depth of 8,500 feet. They’re currently located in Brownsville, a port city on the Gulf of Mexico near SpaceX’s Starship development site in Brownsville, Texas.

These vessels measure 240 feet by 255 feet and will in theory be repurposed to support launching of Starship (and perhaps return landing, given their reusable design). Thus far, SpaceX has been launching and landing its Starship prototypes on land at its Boca Chica site, though it’s only done lower altitude flights so far. The company also operates two drone ships, which are 300 feet long by around 170 feet wide, as autonomous floating landing pads for its current Falcon 9 rocket boosters.

SpaceX also posted another ad seeking a resort development manager to turn its south Texas facility into a “21st century spaceport,” specifically looking for someone with resort expertise. Meanwhile, Musk confirmed that he has moved to Texas last December, following a number of public suggestions that he would do so owing in part to California’s taxation and regulatory environment.

Tesla picks Austin for its next US factory to build Cybertruck, Semi truck, Model Y

Musk’s other company Tesla also selected Austin as the site of its next gigafactory in the U.S., intended for assembly of its Cybertruck, Model Y and Tesla Semi, as well as Model 3 cars destined for customers on the east coast. SpaceX has maintained engine test facilities in McGreger, Texas, and set up Boca Chica as one of two Starship development sites alongside Florida, before making the south Texas location the sole focus for that spacecraft’s construction and testing after consolidating its efforts.

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Plant-centered prepared food delivery startup Thistle raises $10.3 million

Eating less meat is the easiest way for anyone to lower their carbon footprint and the prepared food delivery startup, Thistle, has just raised $10.3 million to make that choice even easier for consumers. 

The company delivers plant-based full menus (with meat options available for customers that want them) for its customers along with a range of juices and sides.

That pitch of making tweaks to customer behavior for more conscious consumerism and healthy eating was enough to attract Series B funding from PowerPlant Ventures, with participation from Siddhi Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, and the venture arm of Rich Products Corp.

The company said it would use the financing to expand geographically — setting up a production facility on the East Coast to bring its healthy prepared meals to potential customers along the Eastern seaboard.

“With this funding, we’ll be able to support even more people through scientific, evidence-based principles of nutrition that lead to optimal wellness, enjoyable eating, and a healthier planet,” said Ashwin Cheryian, Co-Founder and CEO of Thistle in a statement. 

Since its launch seven years ago, Thistle has served over 5 million meals and is intent to not just launch in new geographies, but provide more robust services for its customers. Those services will include virtual consultations with an in-house registered Thistle dietitian who can give customers guidance on the best diet for their needs, the company said.   

The new offering was born from customer feedback, according to chief operating officer and Thistle co-founder Shiri Avnery.

“We tested the program last fall, and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. We’re excited to be able to officially roll out the program to our customers this month, with the primary goal to further support our customers along each stage of their wellness journey,” Avnery said. 

The husband and wife duo offer menu plans starting at $42 a week or $11.50 per meal, according to the company’s website and all meals are gluten and dairy free (with vegan options available).

The financing for Thistle comes during a plant-based food boom that’s been sweeping the nation — and the nation’s investors.

“Eating a plant-forward diet is the single most impactful way to reduce your overall environmental footprint, reducing climate change, pollution, resource consumption, and species extinction,” said Dan Gluck, Managing Partner of PowerPlant Ventures, in a statement. “Consumer demand for plant-based foods is outperforming total food growth today, and this trend is expected to increase over the next decade as more people realize that eating more plants is a critical component to the long-term health of both the planet and our population.”