Technology
Outboard motor startup Pure Watercraft is selling for parts
One promising player within the growing electric jet ski market is now not available and is being sold for parts.
Pure Watercraft was founded in 2011 with the goal of replacing gas-powered outboards with all-electric engines. We profiled the corporate in 2016 when it began taking pre-orders for its first industrial outboards, and in 2020, Pure raised $23 million to ramp up production. GM even acquired a 25% stake in Pure as a part of its big investment in electric infrastructure.
The company offered an electrical outboard and battery that may very well be mounted to a ship like several other outboard, or as a package cope with a rigid dinghy or pontoon. With prices starting from $21,600 for just the drive to just about $100,000 for the complete boat, Pure’s products were probably not cheaper than gas options, but they were definitely much cleaner and quieter—something boaters were increasingly opting for. (Not to say the dearth of gas costs.)
But the tough market has seemingly put a damper on Pure’s ambitions. The company entered bankruptcy (a style of alternative type of bankruptcy) in July, filing paperwork in King County, Washington, where it is headquartered. In August, it also announced a planned multimillion-dollar factory in West Virginia we cannot move forward.
The documents list a big selection of creditors, from individual investors to lending banks to the most important, GM, which put in about $35 million. But it wasn’t just money: Pure’s assets included about $25 million in “production support,” “know-how,” name licensing, and other types of noncash assets. (Such tangible investments are fairly common.)
On the assets side, we discover $3.6 million in “finished products,” presumably assembled engines and batteries manufactured by Pure, even though it’s unclear why that wasn’t distributed to the 900-plus individuals who put down the cash (or whether it’s going to be refunded). It also lists $25.5 million in “raw materials,” however it’s unclear what that may be—other documents detailing the sale of assets like boats and batteries don’t come near that quantity.
TechCrunch reached out to each Pure and GM for comment on the matter. GM has not provided any substantive response, and Pure has yet to reply.
The electric jet ski industry is growing but still in its infancy, with startups like Candela, Navier, FleetZero and Zin Boats all working toward cleaner, more efficient waterways and infrastructure.
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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