Hey Snackers,
The most adorable automation play of 2020: Bobacino. This robo boba-making prototype would be the star of any WeWork (kombucha on tap < tapioca on tap).
Markets dipped yesterday while bitcoin hit $17K for the first time in nearly three years.
It's hereeee... Amazon Pharmacy. Two years ago, Amazon acquired PillPack for $1B. Pharmacies were shook, but not as shook as they were yesterday when: the Zon launched an online pharmacy, built off PillPack's biz. Starting this week, people in 45 US states can send their prescriptions to Amazon and order meds.
"Code red!"... Overhead at CVS corporate. Amazon's entering a massive market — nearly half of Americans take prescription drugs. In 2018, pharmacies sold $336B worth of prescription meds. But Amazon has over 110M US Prime members, which could make its ePharmacy seem more convenient (and cheaper). That's why:
Brick-and-mortar could save pharmacies... CVS and Walgreens each have 10K+ locations across the US, and they're expanding on-site healthcare to offer what Amazon can't. Walgreens dropped $1B to open hundreds of doctors offices, CVS is opening 1.5K "HealthHUBs," and Walmart offers on-site care — all to make buying prescription meds more convenient. Then again: telehealth has surged, and Amazon's discounts could be worth a two-day wait.
Calm down... Airbnb got some inspo from Genesis as it prepped its IPO filing, kicking off its origin story with "In the beginning..." The home-sharing giant plans to go public in December under ticker symbol ABNB (STAY and CASA were too edgy).
Nespresso machine en suite... 5 stars. Investors are giving Airbnb some credit. Earlier this year, Airbnb's valuation plunged to $18B as it took out high-interest loans to cover guest refunds and $250M for hosts' losses. Then it majorly turned its desperate fate around, filed to IPO, and is expected to notch a $30B valuation.
Airbnb needs to think like Uber (not like Lyft)... Airbnb is just a sharing platform for homes, like Lyft is just a ride-hailing platform. Meanwhile, Uber has become a platform to transport anything — from food, to cargo, to meds. If Airbnb becomes an "anything-sharing" platform (think: parking spaces, storage, boats, RVs) it could protect itself from pandemic pain — it warned that the recent COVID surge could bruise bookings this quarter.
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Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Tesla, Twitter, and Walmart
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