Nextdoor Coming Public; Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Signifyd CEO Raj Ramanand +More
Your daily head start in the business of tech + filtered + focused
The most important thing in tech today is …
Nextdoor is about to be a public company. The startup announced this morning that it will use a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by Khosla Ventures to join the public markets, targeting a value of about $4.3 billion.
Nextdoor is a social network based not on who you are and whom you know, but where you live. It connects neighbors based on verified addresses. I’ve been a member for about nine years, and have seen the practical usefulness and thorny challenges on the platform. It’s a great way to connect with neighbors you otherwise wouldn’t see or hear from. It’s also a window into what kinds of strangers your neighbors consider “suspicious.” Mileage may vary.
Why it’s important: Facebook dominates the larger social networking market, but Snapchat is managing to carve out a niche. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nextdoor manages to do the same. My big question will be whether Nextdoor can achieve the escape velocity in its business model that has eluded Yelp. Who knows — eventually a company like Nextdoor might be able to acquire some local digital plays (like Yelp) and scale.
The Newsletter’s A Little Different Today
It was a holiday weekend, so I decided to chill a bit and combine the weekend edition with this first one to start the week.
Could Didi Have the Best Local Delivery Model? On the Other Hand
Is Didi positioned to be the dominant global player in local rides and delivery? I argued both sides in this week's On the Other Hand, on CNBC's Squawk Box. Worth considering the opportunities and challenges given the trouble Didi’s having with Chinese regulators to start the week:
In Depth on His First Day As CEO: Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon
On July 1, his first official day with the top job, Amon joined me to talk about Qualcomm’s challenge of being seen as more than the engine of the smartphone, and his own path from a kid in Brazil to a leader of one of tech’s most inventive companies:
Perseverance Attacking Payment Fraud: Signifyd CEO Raj Ramanand
Raj Ramanand, cofounder and CEO of Signifyd, had a failed startup and stints at bigger companies before launching this assault on digital payment fraud. He kept pursuing a vision through all of it:
After 20 Years, LegalZoom Goes Public: CEO Dan Wernikoff
As LegalZoom made its Nasdaq debut, CEO Dan Wernikoff joined me on CNBC’s TechCheck to explain how the business model is different than many might assume:
Chip Demand HasLong Runway: Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra
The semiconductor market is turbulent, with supply shortages kneecapping many companies in the recovery. Micron reported a beat, a raise and a strong guide — but investors were still skittish. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra joined me on TechCheck to talk about it:
