For years public concern about technological risk has focused on the misuse of personal data. But as firms embed more and more artificial intelligence in products and processes, attention is shifting to the potential for bad or biased decisions by algorithms--particularly the complex, evolving kind that diagnose cancers, drive cars, or approve loans. Inevitably, many governments will feel regulation is essential to protect consumers from that risk. .....more

In May 2020, Chris Lyons, a partner at leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz receives the news that his company has reached a verbal agreement with one of Silicon Valley''s hottest social-media startups to lead its ''Series A'' funding round, in a deal that values the startup in the nine figures. Lyons has been instrumental to Andreessen Horowitz''s efforts to secure the deal: he created and led The Cultural .....more

In May 2020, Andreessen Horowitz secures an agreement with Clubhouse, one of Silicon Valley''s hottest startups, to lead its ''Series A'' funding round. One of the factors that insiders saw as pivotal in the race to be Clubhouse''s VC firm of choice was Andreessen Horowitz''s ability to secure celebrity appearances on the app, most notably by stand-up comedian and actor Kevin Hart, a limited partner in the VC .....more

Spreadsheet supplement to case 220087

As the COVID pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden downturn was a challenge for CEO Brian Chesky and his leadership team because the firm had adopted a stakeholder model with five key constituents: guests (renters), hosts (landlords), .....more

In this technical note, we examine the concept of diversification and the tradeoff between risk and return in portfolio theory. The note includes a general introduction to normal distribution, then applies it to portfolio theory by examining normal distribution of future return and risk. The note also examines formulas for calculating expected returns of various two-asset portfolios and applies these formulas to investment decision-making. Finally, .....more

uBiome provided clinical tests that sequenced the DNA of human microbiome samples, providing data on health conditions directly to consumers or to prescribing physicians. Founded in 2012, the San Francisco-based startup raised $105 million from top-tier venture capital firms and recruited prominent biotech executives and scientists as board members and advisors. In April 2019, the FBI raided uBiome''s offices to investigate claims that the .....more

As the covid pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden downturn was a challenge for CEO Brian Chesky and his leadership team because the firm had a adopted a stakeholder model with five key constituents: guests (renters), hosts (landlords), .....more

In early 2021, an investor wanted to invest in Bitcoin. However, because of the high volatility of the currency, she wanted to know when to buy and sell Bitcoin to avoid the price fluctuations caused by various short-term phenomena. Her main objective was to generate the maximum profit possible based on the moving average strategy. How could she use this strategy to profit from Bitcoin''s price movement?