Intro

Good morning and happy Thursday!

Yo! Today, we feature an exciting startup focussed on rap for the younger generations. 😎

We know you are busy. That’s why we keep today’s update short and sweet as always: 405 words, 2.0 minutes. Let’s go.

Snippets

🚘 Tesla hacked by a drone: Imagine you’re driving your car and suddenly the air turns on, the music turns up or, worse, the car door opens or the brakes don’t work. German researchers recently showed how a drone can hack into a Tesla and take full control. Deep Dive here →

🩸 Just like a video game: The U.S. Army has released a video of a battlefield that looks like a scene from a futuristic video game — except it’s real, thanks to new night vision goggles that assist soldiers in navigating in the dark. Deep Dive here →

🚀 Out-of-control: A Chinese rocket is plunging towards the Earth — and, in a potentially dangerous re-entry, it is not clear where or when it will come crashing down. Deep Dive here →

Startup of the Day

Rapchat, Ohio (USA)

Source: Rapchat

What’s the deal: Rap has become the most popular genre of music globally, and the younger generation are increasingly listening to and participating in more rap than any generation before, while adopting social media as part of their daily lives.

Rapchat, which has recently raised $1.7M in funding, is an app that allows users to create, collaborate, discover, and share freestyle right on their phones. It has partnered with award-winning artists and producers to offer the hottest beats on a user-friendly platform to make music and to network.

Why it matters: Whether you’re a producer, an artist, or someone who just wants to have fun with friends, Rapchat offers tools to fine-tune your craft and help you discover new talent. Up to now, they’ve:

• Generated +600M plays,
• Achieved 500,000 active music creators each month, and
• Users spend an average of 35 min daily in-app

Moreover, Rapchat allows users to control their audience, share tracks privately with friends or leave them open for the public, and allows collaboration on a song, adding verses from multiple accounts.

Our take: Rapchat takes another step toward democratizing the music industry by making it simple to create music on mobile devices. On top of that, the platform fosters a culture that resonates strongly with Millennials and Generation Z.

But: The free version has only a limited range of features. The paid version has more functionality, but it is probably out of reach for Gen Zers who want to use the app to practice their skills. This could limit Rapchat’s future growth.