PUBLIC HEALTH

Coach, Put the Alternates In

Countries are writing pandemic response playbooks on the fly and hoovering up data to track COVID-19. When official numbers are incomplete, missing, or suppressed, alternative data can be a good supplement. 

Think about alternative data as search keywords, app downloads, satellite images, GPS data, shipping container logs, traffic, pollution, or network stress levels. 

The case of Malaysia

Australian company Kaspr Datahaus, which monitors millions of internet connections around the globe, noticed deteriorating speeds on Malaysian devices earlier this month. The firm later confirmed Malaysia's internet was unusually strained from March 12–13, Wired UK reports. 

An educated guess? More people self-quarantining and preparing for coronavirus → surging internet usage → increased network loads. Sure enough, Malaysia issued a nationwide lockdown on March 16 and had around 1,800 confirmed cases today. 

What's the lesson?

Alternative data streams can be treasure troves of signals and patterns. 

• Pro example: Aggregate Google search data can point toward a flu outbreak. 
• Amateur example: I used Google Maps to check rush hour traffic activity in major U.S. cities. 

Skeptical of official numbers, some analysts use electricity consumption as a proxy for economic activity in China. But like most other alternative data sources, that's not a perfect measure. Operators can keep industrial plants open without making anything, giving the impression everything is gravy when really they're just burning electricity. 

Measuring social distancing

Citymapper Mobility Index provides info on how much a city's population is moving around, based on data from its app. On Tuesday, some of the West’s top cities were virtually immobile compared to the average day. Milan, Barcelona, and Rome were at 4% of average movement. Madrid and Paris, 5%. Brussels, NYC, SF, and D.C. were all below 10%. 

Then there's Unacast's Social Distancing Scoreboard, which scores states and counties on how well their population is reducing travel: 

Screenshot of state grades from Unacast (turquoise = A, bright orange = F)

This scoreboard is a dicey privacy proposition, since the location data is extracted from tens of millions of phones. 

Big picture: Alternative data can function as an early warning indicator, a gauge for economic activity, or a tool to assess compliance with stay-in-your-dang-house orders. 

AR/VR

Virtual to Real?

At least 2.8 billion people globally are in some sort of lockdown. VR is a portal to new and unfamiliar environments. Could the technology finally have its moment?

The bear case: Many gateway VR experiences occur in suburban mall arcades or urban retail locations. Now, they're all closed.

In between: Like many other headsets, the Oculus Quest and Rift S are sold out. Facebook attributed this to sustained demand and disruptions to its supply chain. "We are working to restore availability as soon as we can," a FB spokesperson told me. 

The bull case: Half-Life: Alyx, Valve's flagship VR title that earned very high marks from reviewers, dropped Monday. The game created so much hype that Valve's high-end VR headsets have been sold out for months. 

Bottom line: There are more reasons than ever to get a headset. But with 2019 headset shipments at just 5.7 million units, VR is still in early adopter territory. And coronavirus isn't helping 2020 supply. 

SPONSORED BY WHOOP

Night Is When Your Day Is Won

No, seriously. Sleep boosts immunity and is super important to your overall health, which is why WHOOP has created a fitness tracker that provides 24/7 sleep, performance, and recovery insights personalized to you.

WHOOP members get critical data and analytics delivered via mobile app to help them improve sleep quality, recover faster, and achieve their best performance. And whether you’re a numbers dude like our older brother or more of a “whoa look at the pretty colors” dude like us, WHOOP applies to anyone looking to optimize any part of their life. 

And if you’re wondering what makes WHOOP recovery so accurate, they use HRV (heart rate variability)—one of the best indicators of overall well-being—to calculate your readiness for the day.

Who knew you could do so much in your sleep? Trick question, WHOOP did, and now they’re giving you highly precise sleep tracking tools to sleep smarter. 

Become a WHOOP member today.

VC

Fundraising Amid COVID-19

Breaking the fourth wall: I'm trying out a specially curated section for startup fundraising rounds. Reply and let me know what you think. 

Lilium, a German air taxi startup, raised $240 million from existing investors last Saturday. That gives Lilium at least a year of runway and brings it closer to starting a regional air taxi service in five years. 

• COVID-19 update: The company told me it's working with a much-reduced manufacturing team and doesn't see "any impact on our goal of entering service in 2025."

Oura, a Finnish startup that makes a popular smart ring that tracks activity and sleep, raised $28 million in Series B funding last week. Oura is also working on a research project to outfit over 2,000 emergency medical workers with rings and study if the biometric device could help detect COVID-19. 

Gojek, a Southeast Asian ride-hailing startup, raised $1.2 billion last week. It needs a war chest to ride out the pandemic (which has taken a big toll on the sharing economy) and to fend off competition from rival mobility super app Grab.  

BITS & BYTES

Stat: An MIT and a BU economics professor argue the U.S. tax code encourages automation. According to their research, the average tax rate of labor is above 28.5% while equipment/software investments are taxed around 5%. 

Quote: "People in quarantine have a choice: either receive unexpected visits from the police, or download this app"—Polish government spokesperson to the AFP, referencing the country's "selfie" app that ensures people aren't breaking mandated quarantine. 

Watch: The first robot haircut in history (allegedly).  

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Facebook wants to buy a multibillion dollar stake in Reliance Jio, a popular Indian telecom, the FT reports. 
• Best Buy has closed retail locations for shoppers and shifted to curbside pick-up and doorstep delivery. 
• Voice recognition systems from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and IBM are less effective at transcribing black people's voices, per new research. Use diverse training data. 
• Stanford researchers created a new brain-machine interface that uses microwires and an external silicon chip to record electrical brain activity. 
• U.S. trade reps granted the Apple Watch an exemption from tariffs on Chinese imports. 
• OneWeb launched 34 satellites into space Saturday but is rumored to be on the brink of bankruptcy. 

SPONSORED BY LESSONLY

This llama helps you work remotely. Lessonly aligns remote teams with powerfully simple training software so everyone can learn, practice, and do better work—even while working from home. Just like their llama mascot, they help your team stay agile on less-than-certain ground. See what Lessonly can do for your team today.

BLACK MIRROR IRL

Sometimes Black Mirror storylines seem like they're unfolding in real life. This week's round-up:

• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are more distracting than driving after smoking weed or drinking (within the legal limit), according to a study from the U.K.'s IAM Roadsmart. 
• And when they release a comedy Black Mirror...don't go outside and definitely don't get in the way of these cursing, hard-charging Italian mayors. 

FROM YOU

Readers reached out to mention essential employees still going into work that I'd omitted Monday: First responders, truck drivers, corrections workers, farmers, clinical lab technicians and managers, grid/gas/phone line operators, plumbers, electricians, HVAC service providers, garbage collectors, and private security personnel. We have many professionals to be grateful for. 

And one last note: We rehabilitated Emerging Tech Brew's Instagram, which had been taking a long nap. Follow @emergingtechbrew as it roars back to life.