The TechCrunch Exchange is back with a weekly newsletter about startups and markets. This newsletter is a broad reprint of the Extra Crunch daily column, but it's free and available for weekend reading. You'll receive it every Saturday in your email. Register hereAre you ready? Let's chat money, startups, and spicy IPO rumors.Hey! This newsletter will be published in between work and my weekend in the United States. We will be covering more topics than usual because I am a glutton to both writing and punishment. But, I repeat myself.Up first: Startups & CultureRobinhood's IPO filing was something I enjoyed very much this week. The first look at the numbers can be found here. You can also find a deeper dive into them here. Today we will focus on culture. These are excerpts from the company's S-1 filing that details its goals.We strive to make Robinhood the most trusted and cost-effective money app in the world.Are you surprised that something culturally relevant made the cut? Check out the prospectus overview section (emphasis on added):Cultural Impact. Our pioneering commission-free stock trading system with no minimum account requirements was emulated by the rest of industry. We have also continued to build relationships and introduce new products to expand financial access. We believe that investing has been culturally acceptable and understood. Our platform is helping our customers become long-term investors, as well as taking greater control over their finances. According to an internal brand survey that we conducted in March 2020, more than half of American 18-44 year-olds know what Robinhood is. Robinhood was ranked at number one on the Apple App Store several times during the first quarter 2021. It also topped the Finance category in 2020 and 2021. This is a sign of our current relevance.The app store boasts that it has everything. I was attracted to the culture-focused focus.I have always enjoyed seeing culture change more quickly over time. TikTok has furtheraccelerated this trend. I would venture to say that the line between culture and brand is blurring among the youth of the world as brands try to expand into cultural territory. Robinhood S-1 is forward-looking, in many ways. But to see a company go public discussing culture in such a way feels like the future.American manufacturing is alive and well.This is what The Exchange discovered this week during a conversation with Xometry's CEO. The company went public recently. You can find more information about the numbers here. However, Robinhood was a former startup that raised a lot of venture capital. This fits in with our larger remit.The chat revealed a lot about manufacturing that it doesn't really matter. Randy Altschuler, CEO of Altschuler's business connecting manufacturing companies with people who can build things, says that his business is almost entirely U.S.-based. This is to say, that there is still stuff made in America.Xometry offers financial services as part its role as a marketplace middleperson. But what really got our attention was the idea of a digital service that would connect people in need with those with the tools they need here in the United States. If Xometry's vision of the future is realized, it could support, and even grow, domestic manufacturing in this country. Who would have believed that this was possible?We should also mention that the IPO of Xometrys was also a great success. It was priced well above the range and then went higher. This is what you want for your company.Third, there are some amusing odds and endsMore tech money in F1 Zoom is a popular brand. This week, we received news that Crypto.com had closed a $100-million five-year deal with the racing league. This is a lot of duckets. Tezos sponsors several teams and you can see both Amazon branding and Microsoft branding throughout the series. Splunk-McLaren's tie-up was extended. New life goal: Sponsor F1 team, make lots of money and get paddock access. What could go wrong?Each weekend of Formula 1 racing helps me to notice another tech company investing in one of the most bizarre series. Zoom is a popular brand. This week, we received news that Crypto.com had closed a $100-million five-year deal with the racing league. This is a lot of duckets. Tezos sponsors several teams and you can see both Amazon branding and Microsoft branding throughout the series. Splunk-McLaren's tie-up was extended. New life goal: Sponsor F1 team, make lots of money and get paddock access. What could go wrong? Unqork has appointed a CRO. We are not a CFO so we cannot make too many IPO noises about the no-code service that allows large companies to build apps. For you no-code lovers, the news is still important.A CRO has been hired. We are not a CFO so we cannot make too many IPO noises about the no-code service that allows large companies to build apps. For those who don't care about code, the news is still important. Apptopia now offers download numbers for Neobanks. Guess which number was number one?Alex
