Happy Earth Day!...Whatever that means. Keeping up with yesterday's cybersecurity focus, big news hit the airwaves this morning: Hewlett-Packard teams with FireEye, Mandiant on cybersecurity. Quick take: this is a massive win for HP and also is truly indicative of the growing, broader market potential of cybersecurity. If you're an investor in HP, today must be your lucky day.
...Let's Get Started
The Big One
Chris: Tesla Motors will reveal the details of real estate-specific batteries and utilities at its investor event on April 30, Bloomberg reports. The event had been announced by TeslaCEO Elon Musk last month followed by a cryptic tweet: “Major new Tesla product line -- not a car -- will be unveiled at our Hawthorne Design Studio…” Further details were discovered by Bloomberg based on an email written by Tesla's head of investor relationsJeffrey Evanson.
Tesla, in partnership with Panasonic as its manufacturer, is already building an enormous "gigafactory" in Nevada to produce its lithium-ion batteries at a larger scale. The potential of working with another Musk venture, SolarCity, to encorporate solar energy makes the endeavor especially interesting. Tesla has previously stated that utility companies are partners, rather than enemies, but that perspective may be arguably defined by Musk’s energy aspirations.
Eric: Tesla has been hinting that it will move in this direction for a while. The real trick will be to see if it can get over the regulatory and technical hurdles that will slow down the acceptance rate of its batteries.
Making Moves
Chris: Philly-based Wash Cycle Laundry (WCL), a “bicycle-powered” sustainable commercial laundry and linen service, is expanding in the District due to a new deal withGW University via janitorial services provider Aramark. WCL expects to wash an estimated 10,000 lbs of University laundry per “cycle” and as a result, will hire three additional full-time laundry staff and two full-time cyclists — effectively doubling their current D.C. staff.
Eric: Always nice to see a socially and environmentally conscious company score a big win and washing 5 tons of GW's laundry at a go is definitely a big win.
Chris: To celebrate Earth Day here at DC Inno, we highlighted three innovative DC green tech companies, which are at the forefront of sustainable product development/practice, green technology initiatives and energy responsible business directives. Be sure to check out the list here.
Eric: Earth Day is a good reminder of how important it is to be mindful of the environment and to do what we can to preserve it, for everyone's sake. Smart companies can find ways to ingeniously apply that mindset with exciting business ideas.
Chris: It looks like Arlington-based publicly held Bitcoin retailer, Bitcoin Shop, may have raised a new $2.3M financial round, according to an SEC filing. We have reached out to Bitcoin Shop and will be sure to report back with further information as it is made available. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that is created and held electronically. Rumors of this potential raise follows positive news for customers of Mt. Gox, the once industry-leading bitcoin exchange, that they can now file claims for lost currency.
Community
- Big Thursday for events : Her are the best startup and tech networking events in the D.C. area to check out.
- DC Inno's State of Innovation is only two weeks out! --> Get your tickets here.
What We're Reading
- Capital Bikeshare Is Mostly Serving Riders With High Incomes [Chart]
- Grab a Hybrid Uber on Earth Day and 10% Will Go to a DC Green Charity
- iPhone 7: The Top Rumors
Reach out
Tips? Rumblings? Complaints? Something you want to see in the email? Reid@dcinno.com, Chris@dcinno.com
