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Thau: Computing is shifting to ambient interfaces beyond phones and PCs

Kevin Thau · 20VC: Why VC Is A Game of Maximising Serendipity, How VCs Can Characterise Their Approach To Working & Product Lessons from Jack Dorsey & Sonos' John MacFarlane with Kevin Thau, General Partner @ Spark Capital · Jan 3, 2018 · at 25:44

Kevin Thau, General Partner at Spark Capital, explains the thesis behind Spark Capital's investment in brain-machine interface company CTRL-labs.

0:00 / 0:22exact quote · 22.6s
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“I do believe that computing is moving from trapped in these little boxes, either a phone or a computer, and computing's moving to everywhere. It's everywhere around us, whether it's your Amazon Echo or different displays around your home, and who knows what's gonna happen with AR and VR, that I think the interface for that world doesn't exist, and I think someone should build it, and that's what they want to do.”

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