To get a roundup of \u2019s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT,<\/em> subscribe here<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n Hello, and \u201chappy Friday junior,\u201d as someone put in their email to me today. I hope it has been a productive Thursday for you. Haje<\/a> is hanging with a bunch of robotics technology, so it\u2019s just me and my trusty Lakeland Terrier companion delivering the juicy morsels of news goodness today. Please enjoy his Pitch Deck Teardown on Five Flute while he\u2019s away. Sadly for this flute player, it\u2019s not a flute maker. See you tomorrow! \u2014 Christine<\/a><\/p>\n I enjoyed Dominic-Madori<\/a>\u2019s story today on supply chain technology company Stimulus, which raised a $2.5 million seed round. She writes that Stimulus offers a product \u201cthat helps businesses cut costs by avoiding mismatched suppliers while introducing diverse vendors to companies that might have overlooked them.\u201d<\/p>\n Creating internal apps can be a huge time-suck for companies. Kyle<\/a> introduces us to Superblocks, a company that developed a way for businesses to more easily custom-build their own.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Boris Zhitkov (opens in a new window)<\/span> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pre-pandemic, edtech was not an especially frothy sector: In 2019, these startups received approximately $7 billion in VC funding, according to Crunchbase. Last year, that figure rose to $20 billion after efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 impacted students of every age.<\/p>\n To learn more about how edtech is faring during the current downturn, Natasha Mascarenhas spoke to seven VCs about the advice they\u2019re offering portfolio companies, where edtech is crossing over into other sectors, and how they prefer to be pitched:<\/p>\n \u201cI would say the past few years have been more of an anomaly, and we are getting back to a more sustainable pace,\u201d said Reach Capital partner Jomayra Herrera.<\/p>\n (+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead.<\/em> You can sign up here<\/em>.)<\/em><\/p>\n Recent financial pressures have forced Rivian to take certain measures, including laying off 900 employees in July. Its second-quarter earnings are coming up later today, and Jaclyn<\/a> shifts into gear with 3 things to watch for on Rivian\u2019s Q2 earnings.<\/p>\n Xiaomi has a pair of new products brought to you by Brian<\/a> and Ivan<\/a>. The first is about its new humanoid robot that very much has me thinking of the \u201cI, Robot\u201d movie. The second is a foldable phone only available in China.<\/p>\n Speaking of phones, anyone nostalgic for their old Motorola Razr will want to check out the newest version. Brian<\/a> has more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Top 3<\/h2>\n
\n
Startups and VC<\/h2>\n
\n
7 investors discuss why edtech startups must go back to basics to survive<\/h2>\n
![\"Graduation](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/gp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1660255840_892_GettyImages-1207673137-e1660230059648.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
Big Tech Inc.<\/h2>\n