In the past few months there has been a lot of debate over guns that can be made with a 3D printer, which would make it easier for people to get a gun. But there’s also a push happening in the tech startup world that is focused on making guns safer. “Smart gun” technology has been around since the 1970s. While the tech has evolved over time, the idea behind it has stayed the same: that only the rightful, registered user of the gun can operate it. Marketplace Tech guest host Amy Choi talked with Alex Yablon, a reporter at nonprofit newsroom The Trace, to find out why this technology hasn’t come to market. (08/13/2018)  

To finish out our series on venture capital, we’ll take a look to the future. Cryptocurrency may have its disruptive eye cast toward venture capital. The initial coin offering is a type of crypto-crowdfunding that startups can use to raise cash quickly without kissing the Silicon Valley ring. But do ICOs really have the potential to replace venture capital for startups? We go back to the time Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Yuliya Chernova, who covers venture capital for the Wall Street Journal, about the pros and cons of ICOs. 

This week we’re diving into stories about venture capital. There’s a group of venture capital firms that want to change the world for the better and make money. This is called impact investing. One of the firms working in this space is Impact America Fund, which invests in companies with diverse missions — for instance, a startup that helps African-American stylists sell their own hair extensions. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood talked with Impact America Fund founder Kesha Cash about the sometimes complex collision of money and mission in venture capital.

The Japanese multinational SoftBank Group launched its $98 billion VisionFund last year. Since then, it’s dramatically changed the landscape in tech and venture capital. The fund has taken a majority stake in Uber, poured billions into WeWork, Nvidia, DoorDash, Slack and the dog walking startup Wag. SoftBank’s influence is so big, it’s pushing other venture capital companies to raise more money. Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s best-known firms, is reportedly trying to raise more than $12 billion in new capital just to keep up. In our series on venture capital’s promise and perils, we’ll relisten to Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood’s conversation with Anand Sanwal of CB Insights about how VisionFund is changing everything. (08/08/2018)

We continue our look at venture capital — how it works, how investments are made and how those investments shape our world. Social Capital is a venture capital fund founded by Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and professional poker player. He believes more venture capitalists need to use their own money when investing and not rely on institutional partners such as universities and pension funds. We revisit his talk with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about what should change in startup investing. (08/07/2018)

All week we’re looking at venture capital and the people who control that wealth. We start with the industry’s very culture. In November, venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson of Draper Fisher Jurvetson left that firm following allegations of inappropriate behavior and an internal investigation. The company said he left by mutual agreement. Ellen Pao is a venture capitalist who sued another well-known firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, for gender discrimination in 2012. She lost the case, but it inspired other women to come forward. We revisit Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood’s conversation with Pao about how her public battle shined a light on venture capital’s culture. (08/06/2018)

Four of the biggest companies in the world — Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Apple — all reported earnings over the last two weeks. These companies either sell gadgets, services or ads — or maybe a combination of the three. And for a long time, it looked like selling ads, fueled by personal information, was the holy grail of digital business models. But lately, it looks like less of a slam dunk. Is the advertising star dimming as a reliable business model? Marketplace’s Molly Wood decided to ask an investor — Emily Melton, a partner at venture capital firm DFJ. (08/03/2018)

This weekend in Las Vegas, the huge cybersecurity event Black Hat USA kicks off, followed immediately by the other big cybersecurity event of the year, Def Con.  There are always some big hacker stunts at these events — hackers already broke into a voting machine as a Def Con demonstration. But after a year of major data breaches, there’s also a sense of security fatigue. Chester Wisniewski is a principal research scientist at Sophos, a security firm. He talked with Marketplace’s Molly Wood about whether that fatigue is affecting business. (08/02/2018)

Free food is a legendary perk of working at a tech company. The cafeterias at Apple, Google, and Facebook are almost like a tourist attraction. But cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are saying that the free lunches are killing local business, and they’re moving to ban company cafeterias. The city of Mountain View made a law in 2014 that said Facebook’s new campus couldn’t offer free food, and last week, San Francisco city supervisors proposed a rule that any new offices in the city couldn’t include cafeterias. Marketplace’s Molly Wood talks with Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner, about the proposal. (08/01/2018)