There are some unusual things happening right now in the field of tech ventures. We need to look beyond the headlines to see the trends. The world is very noisy after all. It’s like those elevators outside my apartment. Welcome to The Sandhill.

Desktop Metal is one of the few high-profile firms in the field of 3D printing. And it was listed on NYSE via SPAC. It has bought Envision Tec, which is a specialist in polymer 3D printing. The battle for turf in Industry 4.0 is being fought on many fronts. We are only seeing the early thrusts, not yet the skirmishes. On one hand, we have the market for materials. The more materials you use to print products, the more of a market share you have. What is not yet clear is at what stage do printed metal and polymer products get used en masse in the value chain. More to the point, will the printers remain a competitive advantage or become commodified? You might crank out products by the million. But if your machine is just a tool, you are not adding value to your enterprise. I think we will see a few changes as the industry tries to go really commercial.

Let us take note, too, of the investments by Sequioa India into Indonesian start-ups. This indicates cross-border interest in ventures. It is putting an end to a long-standing orthodoxy in the VC world. That venture capital will become borderless is inevitable. What is remarkable is that it taken so long. Do investors usually not want to invest across borders? I believe they do. They invest in US stocks all the time and a few others. Some folks invest in all kinds of investment funds and mututla funds. Perhaps the reasoning is that the venture needs investors, mentors and managers in one place. COVID has put paid to that notion. Investments and deal-flows have to necessarily factor in disruption, isolation and lack of movement. Money and deal flows will move just as folks are moving. You know, to Savannah and Austin.

We work to get start-ups on their way. So for us, this is a very positive development. It may be that a lot of the norms around VC funding will change. I expect global approach, local value creation, regional market operation to be the path going forward. But I hope to see more possibilities opening up in the months ahead.

So two broad themes-one the growing momentum towards decentralised manufacturing around Industry 4.0; two, the globalisation of very early stage venture investment.

More to come. Have a great week ahead.