Glu Mobile CEO Niccolo De Masi outlines his timeline for when smartphone-based VR and AR platforms will achieve mainstream mass market adoption.
Assertion Not checkable as stated
De Masi: US VCs Overinflate Portfolio Holdings Compared to European Peers
“In the US, VCs hold everything at these tremendously optimistic valuations as if everything's liquid and it's all getting sold at the highest comp they've found out there with the one sale in the sector, and every entrepreneur is convinced that they're sitting…”
Prediction Held up
De Masi: Tech unicorns face slow valuation deflation into 'zombie corns'
“I think those days are coming to the end, at least on this cycle. And I think you will see a slow deflation of unicorns becoming zombie corns in a lot of places. A lot of private paper mergers are going to happen.”
Prediction Partly held up
De Masi: Tech Unicorns Face Forced Consolidation and Declining Valuations
“When I look at the unicorns today, you know, you're gonna see forced consolidation, you're gonna see continued gas error being let out of valuations here, and people resist it Using clever capital structures, endless consolidation, and hope that they can hold …”
Assertion Partly supported
De Masi: Uber and Airbnb are burning massive cash defending network effects
“Other than Uber and Airbnb, I can't think of you with the same sort of network effects. And you can see how much money it's taking them to defend that. I mean, even the private company info that's leaked there is they're all hosing through cash.”
Prediction Partly held up
De Masi: Mobile gaming will consolidate into fewer companies within three years
“There's going to be huge consolidation in gaming, and I think that there will be, you know, fewer, bigger, better companies in the next two, three years with better profit margins. Ultimately, less global competition in mobile gaming than there is now.”
Insight
De Masi: Phasing out legacy business lines is more profitable than selling
“And it's usually, if not always, more profitable to run off your own legacy business than it is to try and sell it. Because if you sell it, you're gonna get a discount to what the cash, the free cash flow is you can generate.”