Cities prepare for home delivery by drone

The Federal Aviation Administration has released new and looser rules for flying drones over highly populated areas and at night, effectively laying a welcome mat for future aerial deliveries of takeout food, Amazon packages, prescription drugs — you name it.

Opendoor’s Window Appears to Be Closing

Back in September, the online real-estate platform made a splash announcing its merger with one of venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya’s prized special-purpose acquisition companies as a means to a public offering. The move essentially combined a few of 2020’s hottest trends: a SPAC, a disruptive touchless technology and housing fever. Together, they have brought much hype to an unproven business that might have lost a key competitive edge.

World’s Biggest Battery Race Gets New Contender in Australia

Origin Energy Ltd. issued an expression of interest to firms to supply and install a 700-megawatt facility near the Eraring coal plant in New South Wales, with the first phase planned to start by the end of next year, the Sydney-based company said on Tuesday. That comes as utilities around the world race to install warehouse-sized batteries to back up wind and solar generation, with the current 300-megawatt record holder starting in California last month. …

Real-Estate Startups Seek to Profit From Remote-Work Boom

With many corporate offices closed because of the pandemic, many young professionals have left cities like New York and San Francisco for warmer, cheaper places. A number still plan to return after their offices reopen, leaving them reluctant to buy homes or sign long-term apartment leases. …

Here Are Compass Investors Who Could Gain Big in IPO

Techstars Announces Maëlle Gavet as new CEO

Today, Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, announced that the company’s Board of Directors has appointed Maëlle Gavet as Chief Executive Officer effective January 11, 2021. Outgoing CEO and co-founder David Brown will continue to serve on the board. Techstars also announced David Cohen, co-founder, will assume the new role of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Death of the Office Desk Is Upon Us

LEX Lands $6M For Real Estate Securities From Investors Including Ric Clark And DeAndre Hopkins

The LEX marketplace lets both accredited and unaccredited investors obtain minority positions in commercial real estate properties through single-asset IPOs, according to the company. Investors can buy and sell shares of commercial real estate assets without lockups through LEX’s platform, which is powered by Nasdaq.

Hospitality Startup Sonder Beefs Up C-suite

Sonder, a VC-backed hospitality startup, is beefing up its C-suite as it looks to move past a volatile few months for the travel industry. The San Francisco-based company, which leases apartments and turns them into furnished, short-term rentals, said CFO Sanjay Banker, who joined in 2019, would add “president” to his title to help oversee the company’s growth, including a major expansion in Montreal, where the company has roots.

Here unveils 3D city models to build reality-based applications and simulations