The Gi-Bike Is Electric, Foldable, And Looks Like The Future

When I head into the future in my magical time machine, I’m going to want to bring a few things with me. One of those things is a Rambo knife. Also a CD of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. And also the Gi-Bike.

Created by adopted New Yorkers Agustin Agustinoy, Eric Sevillia, and Lucas Toledo, the Gi-Bike is a foldable electric bike aimed at creating simple, portable, and inexpensive public transportation for big cities. Toledo came up with the idea in Córdoba, Argentina during a public transit strike when he looked around and saw a true mess.

“It was during this difficult time that we realized the importance of independence and the need for a better method for daily commuters to regain their independence. After researching different means of transportation, we realized that the bicycle was the most efficient means of transportation throughout the world,” he said.

The feature list is huge and includes a one second folding time, a carbon drive belt, electrical assistance for hills, and 40 miles of riding without recharging. It also includes a GPS tracking system that locks the bike when it’s out of a certain range and the battery can recharge your cellphone. Note that this isn’t exactly an electric bike (which are, sadly, illegal in New York) but more of a pedal assist system.

The first bikes will sell for $2,995 on Kickstarter and will ultimately cost $3,390 when they begin shipping. The bikes are under 37 lbs and the tires and rims look like something out of Minority Report.

“I describe the product as the bicycle of the future or how we like to call it internally ‘the next Tesla bike,’” said Toronto.

Toronto, the CEO, is a former economist with experience in lean startups and capital trading. CTO Agustinoy is an industrial designer with an electronic engineering background and Sevillia is a financial advisor for families and startups. Together, the team basically built their dream bike, culminating in the sinuous beast you see before you.

The team is looking for $400,000 to fund the production of these bikes and they’ve hit $20,000 so far. They expect to ship bikes in March.

Electric bikes at this point are a dime a dozen. However, cleverly manufactured and handsomely-styled ones are rare. Like the Riide, this bike is sort of a stealth e-bike, the special sauce hidden in the frame and the power coming from a powerful battery. It’s a cool idea and I’d love to take it for a spin.

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Nest Uses Its Data To Turn Electric Utilities Into Cash Cows

When Google acquired smart thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion, the startup quickly stated that it would never share its user data with other Google services and outside companies. But according to a recent report by Forbes, the company is taking advantage of its data to create a lucrative revenue stream from electric utilities.

“Our privacy policy clearly limits the use of customer information to providing and improving Nest’s products and services. We’ve always taken privacy seriously and this will not change,” Nest wrote in the Q&A post following the acquisition.

Similarly, Nest co-founder Matt Rogers declared to Forbes that it doesn’t share actual data with the utility. But it doesn’t mean that the company shouldn’t take advantage of its customer information without sharing hard numbers.

The company has negotiated deals with multiple energy partners in the U.S. Some utility partners are willing to spend $30 to $50 per year and per thermostat to be able to turn the air conditioner up when it’s a hot day. This way, the utility can levels load on the grid. Partners don’t have direct access to the thermostats, they just sign a deal with Nest, and then Nest has access to the thermostats.

More importantly, in other cases, Nest splits cost savings with the utility. As a reminder, Nest’s main product is a smarter thermostat that should allow you to cut your energy bill. It seems counterintuitive as utilities have foster energy wasting.

But these providers probably have to spend a lot of money to fight congestion. Nest reduces these infrastructure costs. It’s unclear whether the startup is the one who shares an estimate of how much the utility saved or if the utility figures this number out by itself.

According to Forbes, revenue from utilities will outweigh direct revenue from thermostat sales — we’re talking about tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars per year. The company’s execution is very smart as electric utilities seem to have very limited, or even no access to actual data. Nest refuses to work with utilities who don’t agree with that.

Moreover, it’s a recurring revenue stream. Even though you don’t buy a thermostat every year, Nest will generate revenue from utilities — or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to happen if Google lets Nest follow this strategy.

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