Endowments are investing in the companies, while campus officials worry about safety.
Colleges are nervous about the boom in shared electric scooters, which riders can rent with an app and then leave at their destination for the next rider. Administrators see students zipping down campus streets and sidewalks as a safety hazard. They worry about unused scooters littering the quad and people tripping over them.
Shortly after scooters owned by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Bird Rides Inc. began showing up at Michigan State University, senior officials shared the news at a staff meeting that dozens had been impounded by campus police after being strewn around the school’s 5,200 acres. Phil Zecher, chief investment officer of Michigan State’s almost $3 billion endowment, piped up with some surprising news: The endowment invests in Bird as part of a venture capital fund, Upfront Ventures Fund VI. “As big entities and also as big investors, we sometimes invest in the same companies that are disrupting us,” Zecher says.
Esta historia es de la edición January 28, 2019 de Bloomberg Businessweek.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 28, 2019 de Bloomberg Businessweek.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers