DATA

Home Is Where the Phone Is

As long as companies keep sharing data related to COVID-19, Emerging Tech Brew will continue wearing its data analyst hat. Big Tech has recently contributed new mobile location data to help researchers scrutinize distancing and population density. 

Google's Community Mobility Reports

On Friday, Google released a report that shows how effectively people are locking down across 131 countries. Here's U.S. data, as of March 29: 

• Retail and recreation foot traffic down 47%
• Grocery and pharmacy down 22%
• Parks down 19%
• Transit stations down 51%
• Workplaces down 38%
• Residential up 12%

These trends square with my findings in the COVID Traffic Report, but not all location data is equal. These mobility reports rely on "aggregated, anonymized" datasets from smartphone users who have opted in to logging Location History. Over 1 billion people use Google Maps, so while only a fraction of Google's users may have turned on Location History, that's still reams of data. 

FB's Data for Good

Facebook is expanding access to aggregated, anonymized data. Specifically, FB will grant researchers and nonprofits access to disease prevention maps and its Social Connectedness Index. 

• Anyone can access FB's population density maps ("the most accurate population datasets in the world") and its subsidiary CrowdTangle's COVID-19 Live Displays of public social media posts. 

Social connectedness snapshot: 

FB

The bigger picture

You've been seeing two trends crop up in this newsletter: 

1. Using location data for COVID-19 contact tracing 
2. Using alternative data to track the virus's spread and economic effects 

For a limited time, Google is making all of the mobility reports freely available. Facebook has been more surgical, opting to vet the researchers who want to work with its datasets. Notably, both are for now declining to directly supply location info to the government.

In the coronavirus crisis, companies and researchers are already using AI for screening, diagnostics, drug development, biometric identification, and surveillance. Facebook and Google bring hefty stores of clean, machine readable data to the table.

Zoom out: The EU wants member states to develop a "pan-European" strategy to contain the virus and transition back to normal life that draws on aggregated, anonymized mobile data. The deadline is one week from today.

CRYPTO

Bitcoin’s March

Like most other assets, bitcoin prices crashed in mid-March. 

From March 12–13, traders looking to sell the crypto transferred bitcoin into exchanges at unprecedented rates—9x the daily average—per Chainalysis. But new traders trying to buy the dip are unfazed. At least seven exchanges are seeing upticks in user registrations and trading volumes, The Block reports. 

And what about bitcoin the currency? 

• Bitcoin spending on merchant services didn’t drop as much in March as Chainalysis expected. After all, online vendors are more likely to accept bitcoin than brick-and-mortar establishments. 
• Gambling services have seen significantly fewer bitcoin inflows since the week of March 9. The NBA paused its season on March 11...

The biggest aberration: Darknet markets have tanked along with bitcoin prices. When bitcoin’s price dropped in the past, darknet spending typically held steady. That's not happening now. "Perhaps darknet market customers aren’t buying as many drugs given the public health crisis," Chainalysis speculates.

SPONSORED BY DIVVY

Divvy CARES

If you’re a small business owner, you’ve probably been following the CARES Act as closely as we've been watching bartending tutorials on YouTube. It’s the government program that’s providing $350 billion in small business loans.

And Divvy is helping businesses fast-track their applications so they can get that much needed money faster using the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

How fast? In as little as 72 hours. Divvy will assist you through the application process so that you get your funding lickity-split. They’ll let you know what documents you need, walk you through all the steps, and answer any question you might have.

Divvy’s always been committed to helping small businesses (like us fine folks at the Brew), and by offering a 100% digital loan application, they’re continuing that mission when it’s most important. 

Funds are first-come, first-serve, so check out Divvy’s page to get the assistance you need.

IP

Patently New

For the first time in more than 40 years, the U.S. was not the most active applicant for international patents. China took the pole position with 58,990 applications in 2019, per the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization. The U.S. had 57,840. 

In February, Nikkei tabulated patent awards from 2000–2017 across 10 emerging technology categories: AI, regenerative medicine, autonomous driving, blockchain, cybersecurity, VR, lithium-ion batteries, drones, conductive polymers, and quantum computing. 

• Team quantity: "China will reign supreme in nine categories" of patents over the next decade, Nikkei declared. In 2017, the country filed the most applications in nine categories while the U.S. topped the list in quantum computing. 
• Team quality: U.S. companies dominated in terms of quality. Among the 100 companies that made it into the top 10 of all categories, 64 were American.

Bottom line: Patent applications ≠ technological prowess. You also have to consider R&D, talent, funding, and actual commercial applications. IBM secured the most patents in the U.S. last year, but many of them will never see the light of day.

BITS & BYTES

Stat: When Snapchatters in 33 countries scan various currency bills, they'll be shown an AR graphic highlighting how donations to the WHO’s COVID-19 fund will get spent. Users can donate and share the experience with friends. 

Quote: "But if, at the end of that process, I could have a compound that I know works not only against the current strains but also on a lot of the future ones, that would be very useful to prevent this sort of event down the road"—Columbia pathologist Alejandro Chavez to The New Yorker on his quest to create a pandemic pill. 

Read: Fortune's cover story on SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Honda will use GM's Ultium Battery and Super Cruise advanced driver assist feature in its new line of EVs. 
• Snap's hardware team has pivoted to making medical face shields for ICU staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, LA Biz reports. 
• Google Maps shipped an update making it easier for users to find restaurants with takeout and delivery. Said it before, saying it again: Google wants Maps to be a superapp. 
• Niantic topped the FT's list of the 500 fastest growing companies in the Americas.
• Self-driving startup Zoox laid off its safety drivers, The Verge reports. 
• One in three Chinese consumers delayed or canceled a 5G smartphone purchase, per Strategy Analytics. 
• Per a new executive order, all foreign-held FCC licenses must be reviewed by a new agency, the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector. CFTAOFPITUSTSS for short. 

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BLACK MIRROR IRL

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

• Shoppers at a Massachusetts supermarket subdued a man who was coughing and spitting on produce. One of the bystanders was a supermarket robot.
• Smart glasses (allegedly) with AI, AR, and thermal cameras are the latest tech to be deployed in the coronavirus fight. But are they accurate?

THE TECHLARATION

Pizza vs. Pandemic is an initiative from Slice, a mobile ordering/delivery platform for pizzerias, and two nonprofits, Slice Out Hunger and Pizza to the Polls. The program delivers free pizza to frontline healthcare workers while supporting small businesses. So far, Pizza vs. Pandemic has raised $266,000 and delivered 7,000 pies. You can donate here. 

TECH THINGAMABOBS

For those keeping track at home: Tech startup layoff tracker. As of press time, the database reported 181 companies with 15,000+ layoffs. If that's you, hang in there. 

For retro gamers: The YouTube videos of DeepMind's AI agent beating all the Atari57 games. 

For electric truck fans: EV startup Rivian posted a progress report on its facilities, filmed before it shut down production. 

For preppers: "Real estate for the apocalypse: my journey into a survival bunker." Fascinating stuff from The Guardian. 

For some good news: The second episode of John Krasinski's Some Good News YouTube series.