*By Carlo Versano*
Once every decade, there's a seismic shift in technology ー usually in the form of a new innovation ー that reshapes how we live, said venture capitalist Gene Munster.
"There's always little waves going on in tech, but every 10 years or so there's a big wave that hits," Munster, a managing partner at Loup Ventures, said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
There was the smartphone in the mid-aughts, following the widespread adoption of the world wide web. Before that, the PC. Munster said we're now in the early stages of the latest changes in tech: the emergence of A.I., robotics, autonomous vehicles, and augmented and virtual reality. Our lives, he said, will be manifestly different. And Munster's firm recently launched a new ETF to expose investors to that theory.
The Loup Frontier Tech ETF will contain a basket of relatively small, highly innovative tech companies with market caps in the $500 million to $2 billion range, Munster said. [The fund](http://www.innovatoretfs.com/pdf/LOUP_Factsheet.pdf), which launched in late July, was built to reward companies with revenue growth and positive cash flow.
For now, Munster wants to prioritize smaller stocks, but there's one major exception: the ETF does hold shares of Tesla.
Why does the $50 billion-plus company fit the strategy? Munster said Tesla, despite its public dramas, has "the greatest product road map of any tech company." He added that CEO Elon Musk has built a business that is uniquely positioned to leverage renewable energy, the storage of that energy, and the combined trends of zero-emissions and autonomy in automobiles.
Munster's belief that virtual and augmented reality are technologies that will "fundamentally change how humans interact with each other" is not widespread ー VR, after all, has struggled to gain broad adoption, and Snap, which built its first app on the basis of AR, has seen its share price cut in half since its IPO last year. But the Loup Frontier Tech ETF includes stocks like Micron Technology, which makes chips for VR headsets. That kind of diversification ー plays on gaming and autonomy side by side ー is what distinguishes his ETF holdings from typical sector-based funds, Munster said.
One tech giant which may be marking its own seismic shift is Apple. Munster, who was previously a top analyst of the stock at research firm Piper Jaffray, believes the company is on the verge of transitioning from a hardware operation into a service-based company with its App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud. That change will propel the stock higher as investors shift from a "boom-bust" mentality based on the product cycle to a more solid conception of "Apple as a Service."
And what about Apple, flush with all that cash, making a play for Tesla?
Munster said it isn't out of the question. Both companies have a shared ideology based on a love of design; and Apple has long been trying to enter the EV market with its Project Titan electric car.
"It's always been a fairy tale that Apple and Tesla are going to find a way to get together," he said.
For full interview [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/gene-munster-captures-tech-growth-with-new-etf-launch).
Jean Foster, SVP of marketing and communications for the Consumer Technology Association, joins Cheddar News to preview what attendees can expect from this year's trade show.
'THEMAGIC5' produces swimming goggles that contour the face using advanced robot technologies and 3D printing. Both of the company's founders Bo Haaber and Rasmus Barfred went on ABC's 'Shark Tank' and caught a $1 million deal. The duo join Cheddar News to talk about what the new funding means for the company.
Things are looking up for everyone's favorite crypto. Bitcoin rallied nearly 40% in October, hitting a record high of $66,975. That was the biggest single-month percentage rally since December 2020. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading 2.4% higher while Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading at 1.71% and 3.95%. Ben Armstrong, founder of BitBoy Crypto, joins Cheddar News to talk about the latest in the crypto space.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
Markets opened higher after the Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Tuesday. It comes amid a slew of strong corporate earnings reports. Frances Newton Stacy, Director of Strategy, Optimal Capital, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
Amazon plans to launch its first prototype satellites for Project Kuiper, an internet-from-space venture, in 2022. It's the first major step in the e-commerce giant's plan to rival SpaceX by building a network of satellites in space, providing internet to rural, underserved communities around the world. Loren Grush, senior science reporter for the Verge, discusses the project and how it could transform internet access moving forward.
While Facebook didn't unveil a name change in its Q3 results, it did reveal a new reporting structure, separating its revenue into two separate businesses: its slate of social networking apps, and Facebook reality labs.
This distinction comes as Facebook continues to ramp up its augmented and virtual reality efforts as it plots its foray into the metaverse. Angelo Zino, Senior Industry Analyst, CFRA Research, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Logitech reported a record quarter, with sales up 82 percent since the same period two years ago. It comes as the company continues to benefit from current market trends including working and learning from anywhere, video everywhere, and the popularity of gaming. Bracken Darrel, CEO, Logitech, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
Christie's has announced the sale of Beeple's first ever physical artwork and video NFT called 'Human One.' The hybrid piece is expected to fetch over $15 million at its upcoming auction. Noah Davis, Christie's Head of Digital Art joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
Later today House Republicans will grill Snap, Tiktok and Youtube on how their products affect the mental health of teenagers. It comes after a report revealed that Facebook's photo sharing platform, Instagram, can be harmful to teen's mental health. Rishi Bharwani, Director of Partnerships and Policy, Accountable Tech joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
