The Observer's Notebook: Gel Pens in 43 Minutes

1. Amazon Delivered to my Backyard in just 43 Minutes.

2 days? Too slow (pun intended).

Try 43 minutes. 

That’s how long it took Amazon this week to deliver the pack of gel pens I ordered.

Drone delivery is here.

And I just so happen to live in one of two places in the entire world where Amazon is rolling this out: College Station, TX (the other is the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area).

Talk about an unexpected benefit of living in Aggieland!

I’ve looked at dozens of logistics and drone startups over the last couple of years. All of them talk about the “possibilities” afforded by drone technology.

But with this service, Amazon is plopping drone tech into the literal backyard of thousands of everyday consumers.

It’s no longer just a possibility, it’s a reality. What a world.

Surprisingly, after cursory PitchBook analysis I didn’t find any major drone related acquisitions under Amazon’s belt despite having made over 300 investments. They’re clearly an active acquirer but this suggests they may have built this all in-house or under wraps over the last decade.

I’ll be running some “tests” over the next few weeks with the new service, more to come.

2. It’s all About the Semis.

In this week’s episode with Patrick Sweeney of Elevate Ventures, we talked about his recent fascination with the microchip manufacturing process.

He mentioned a stat that blew my mind:

This is a reference to research published by historian and Tufts professor Chris Miller, who wrote the book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology in 2022.

Conveniently, Chris recently joined Patrick O’Shaughnessy and Andrew Homan (MP of Maverick Silicon) on my favorite podcast to discuss what makes this ecosystem so unique and what the future could look like for the industry. 100% worth a listen.

So what does all this mean for Angel investors? Good question. I’m working on a miniseries focused on investing in Nuclear Energy at the moment, but semiconductors might just be next in line…

3. Google will be Disrupted.

“Who are the top 10 media influencers in the X industry?”

Stick that question in Google. Then stick the same question in Perplexity AI.

My bet: you’ll find Perplexity is materially better at answering.

In fact, I’m noticing myself naturally starting to port from a Google search default over to a Perplexity search default, especially for more complex queries. Apparently so are a ton of other people, and it’s got a cool name: “plexing.” The capacity to understand my questions, quickly aggregate multiple relevant sources, output results in whatever format I request, and accept follow-ups / clarifications is just so stinking convenient.

Takeaway: Google’s search supremacy is not eternal.

I’m obviously not the mainstream market here - after all, grandma still has no idea what the heck “a ChatGPT” is. But noticing this transition in myself in conjunction with the DOJ’s recent demands for Google to sell off Chrome highlights the reality that despite all the massive advantages Google has, the company (like any other leading enterprise) will eventually be disrupted, either internally or by some incumbent like Perplexity.

Bookmarks

1. Inside the mind of the perpetually-bored Patrick O’Shaughnessy🧠| Frederik Gieschen @Compound Planning (link)

2. The state of venture-backed genetic testing (PSA: it’s bigger than just 23andMe)🧬| Joanna Glasner @Crunchbase (link)

3. What’s the next evolution for the early-stage venture ecosystem? 3 potential future states.🔮| Charles Hudson @Precursor Ventures & (link)

Thanks for reading - have a great week.

-Andrew

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About Me

I cultivate flourishing.

I'm also the CEO of PitchFact, where our mission is to cultivate flourishing specifically through efficient and collaborative early-stage diligence. I'm a proud husband, grateful father, and honest friend. My love languages include brisket, bourbon, and espresso.