1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: Lo's at it. One early Thursday morning in June, the 2 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: Mayor of Paris got up at dawn and made her 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: way to the River Sin. That's not usually part of 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,279 Speaker 1: her morning routine, but two inventors, a sailor and a 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: windsurfing champion, convinced her to take a ride on a 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: new kind of taxi. They're calling it a sea bubble 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: zero emissions boat that appears to fly above the water. 8 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: As Mayor and Hidalgo is pushing eco friendly initiatives in 9 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: Paris and fighting climate change more broadly, the inventors came 10 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: to see me back when no one believed they would 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: be able to make it. That first meeting with the 12 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: inventors took place so almost a year ago. I saw 13 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: an opportunity to develop a fleet of flying, clean energy taxis, 14 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: and so I supported them. And now that US President 15 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement, the 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: Mayor is even more determined. Hi, I'm aki Ito, and 17 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: I'm Murray my wad, and this week undercrypted, we'll see 18 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: how too unlikely entrepreneurs designed a new kind of transportation device. 19 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: It's a white convertible boat powered by a rechargeable battery 20 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: and it seats five people. Last week we told you 21 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: about an eighty year old inventor who's been trying to 22 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: build flying cars his entire life. This week will go 23 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: deep on another technology aiming to bypass traffic on your 24 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: morning commune. With a working prototype now able to whisk 25 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: V I P s around, the startup has gotten past 26 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: its first big hurdle, but there are still major challenges 27 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: ahead before Sea Bubbles shakes up. How ordinary consumers like 28 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: you and me get around stay with us When when 29 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: I was a child, when I was ten, I had 30 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: to dream. I wanted to make a bootfly. That's an 31 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: anti boo, a matt Whiz and a sailor and one 32 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: half of the Sea Bubbles duo. The other half is 33 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: Andrews Brindle. He's a windsurfing champion. Basically, I lived in 34 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,399 Speaker 1: Hawaii and then I did the classic change the girlfriend 35 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: and up French Frenchman and coming back to Europe, back 36 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: to France. These two guys are like star skating hutch 37 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: and It's super high energy, passionate about engineering and has 38 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: about a thousand ideas a minute. Andrews, on the other hand, 39 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: is a mellow surfer type who usually takes the lead 40 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: on business pitches. Alan Andrews met over a decade ago 41 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: on a sailboat called the High dropped her. Alan designed it, 42 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: and together they set out to break the world speed 43 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: record for sailing. The way they tell the story is 44 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: basically they crashed a bunch of boats and finally they 45 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: did beat the world speed record in two thousand and nine. 46 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: It's something like fifty knots, which is almost sixty miles 47 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: per hour. It's the godmother all boats, flying boats. And 48 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 1: and I sailed with a land the crew for half 49 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: a day and then I go back. I go back, 50 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: and I get a call next morning said, how if 51 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: you'll be at the rock at nine o'clock in the 52 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: morning from Alan, and she's then it didn't let me 53 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: go pretty much the deal, like sailing on that boat. 54 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: I'm a person I love to do live with radical things, 55 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: but I do them quite calculated. So you know, writing 56 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: big waves and Hawaiian stuff. Always choose my ways, always 57 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: choose my material in a good way. Just tagging you 58 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: along the hood droptor the first time I think we're 59 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: picking forty seven forty eight knots or something outside the Marseille. 60 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: It took me about yeah, I would say five six 61 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: rounds to know that today was not today I was 62 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: going to die. The high drapter got a lot of attention, 63 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: and in past years celebrities and techuliminaries have dropped by 64 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: to sail on the boat. I was lucky because I 65 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,799 Speaker 1: received a text message from a Larry Page, founder of Google, 66 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: a text message from salar carandar Ceo of YouTube. A 67 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: lot of requests in San Francico, a lot of the 68 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: spirit in the bay. I first met Ala and Andrews 69 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: a year ago. They showed me a sketch on the 70 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: back of a notebook which was the first draft of 71 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: the c bowl. Okay, I took a pain in the 72 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: paper and I designed the sibable a cool Launders Anders high. 73 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: I had an idea in how I man. Honestly, I 74 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: thought that first sketch looked like the spaceship from the 75 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: Jetson's cartoon with a line. And Andre's so passionate about 76 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: sir thing and sailing, it's probably not that surprising that 77 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: they wanted to make better use of the water running 78 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: through our cities. You have a lot of cars and 79 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: pollution on the side of the river. Or the bay 80 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: to sco on the on Geneva Lake in India, or 81 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: today they have a boulevard sitting in the river which 82 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 1: is hardly used. Or you have different boats who are 83 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: massive boast that takes a lot of people that go 84 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: from stop to stop and takes forever to go from 85 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: a to be there. But they were also interested in design. 86 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: They wanted to make something that would really stand out 87 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: in English into iconic, iconic, an iconic sibl as your 88 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: first iPhone, as the first ta and I think you 89 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: will discover an iconic Alan and Andre's got the first 90 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: prototype ready in June and unbuild it at the Viva 91 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: Tech conference in Paris. So they're was the c Bubble 92 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: was parked up in the air on a platform between 93 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: a Google stand and a fleet of soft Bank robots. 94 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: It's a little larger than a car and the bubble 95 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: is glossy white with cream leather seats and a black dashboard. 96 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: It still smelled of fresh paint then and it got 97 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: a lot of attention from the crowd. The most people 98 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: probably had no idea what it was. That is, in general, 99 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: what we're talking about were having boats and leaves, no noise. 100 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: It gives no pollution at least no ways, so it 101 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: don't roll well. When people first saw were these two 102 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: big U shaped hydrofoils at the bottom of the vehicle. Yeah, 103 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,159 Speaker 1: it almost looks like the boat is sitting on a 104 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: pair of skis, and it's really those skis and not 105 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: the whole bottom of the boat that's gliding on the 106 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: water when the boat moves right. The idea is basically 107 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: to minimize how much of the boat actually touches the water, 108 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: so it leaves a slimmer trail. It's pretty rare to 109 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: see this technology used outside of sailing competitions. I think 110 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: the best way to put it, we're trying to cross 111 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: the ideas in between boats, cars, planes and use this 112 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: in our advantage. It's not necessarily boat as you've seen 113 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: boats today. That's what they say that two nice ice 114 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,679 Speaker 1: in front Anders is referring to the headlights at the front. 115 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: Add those to the U shaped hydrofoils we talked about, 116 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: and you get a smiley face and there's an Allan 117 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: spent years perfecting this peculiar design with hydrofoils. First, they 118 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: used it in their record breaking boat, the Hydropter, and 119 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: they've adapted the concept for the c bubble. You cut 120 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: the water as supposed to push it, so you don't 121 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: get erosion on the river walls. You leave no pollution, 122 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: you leave no noise. So when racing, these hydrofoils will 123 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: give a boat that extra boost, but even when it's 124 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: going slower, the boat will lift out of the water. 125 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: Think of it like the wings on a plane. The 126 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: goal is not to go fast. The goal is to 127 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: be stable and use this little energy as bustle so 128 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: that you can you can actually use it in the 129 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: rivers for a day as a taxi will go back 130 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: and forth without leaving in the waves. The sea bubble 131 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: can go as fast as twenty five knots, which is 132 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: about twenty nine miles per hour. Some cities like Paris 133 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: or London have a speed limit that's less than that, though, 134 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: around ten knots or eleven miles per hour. Because the 135 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: boat can run on varied little energy, it's possible to 136 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: use batteries to operate the whole thing. Once you get 137 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: the hell out of the water, you lose for the 138 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: percent drag, so it opens up your possibility to electric 139 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: power that is in essence than a green power. For 140 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: anders an alone. That's almost as revolutionary as the fact 141 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: that the boat flies. For instance, New York have lots 142 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: and river. You have a lot of pressure from the revue. 143 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: Put the water chairbine in the water. You can charge 144 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: all the energy we need to move the full fleets 145 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: of sea bubbles from the power will get either for 146 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,079 Speaker 1: the sun or from the from the river. But before 147 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: the sea bubble or rides in the Hudson River, it 148 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: will have to overcome some big challenges. Okay. So Alan 149 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: and Andre's hope that one day their sea bubbles will 150 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: be transporting people in cities around the world. But for 151 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: that to happen, they need to land that first order 152 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: to get a fleet of boats up and running. Who's 153 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: who's interested in in in the bubble? So far? Is 154 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: it city mayors, companies? Who are your customers potentially for this? 155 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: The Parris mayor invited us in Chicago, look on desp Okay. 156 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: So there's this group called Sea forty Cities now and 157 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 1: it's a lot of Europe. Forty connects more than ninety 158 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: of the world greatest cities. It's a global alliance of 159 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: mayors from San Francisco to Tokyo who are taking action 160 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,599 Speaker 1: on climate issues, and Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, is 161 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: chairman of the group Climate Change. She's the most doubting 162 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: challenge of this century and its affects, and she's really 163 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: open doors for Anna and Anders with this community of mayors. 164 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: So here I am a windsurfingself, and I find myself 165 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: at the table with the Sea forty mayors. Explained to 166 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: them how they're going to sort out the cities for 167 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: congestion and using the waterways. Sal The Sea forty group 168 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 1: has made a big push for things like cleaner cars 169 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: through local action and city to city collaboration instead of 170 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:48,839 Speaker 1: national or international regulation. They gave us the opportunity to 171 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:51,680 Speaker 1: talk about using the waterway. It's in a better way. 172 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: And I'm Manuent for one, was saying that Ram Emmanuel 173 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: is the mayor of Chicago. They have done exactly what 174 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: Lannidalgo is trying to do here in Paris. We can 175 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: take our waterfronts, which defined our past but also become 176 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: our future, to bring the people down to the waters, 177 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: actually clean up the water front, to put restaurants there 178 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: and so forth. Today we've opened a river walk that 179 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: has brought billions of dollars of private development, and it's 180 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 1: also brought uh the incredible amount of recreational opportunities to 181 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: the city when it goes. What I need is a 182 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: small taxi vote, Anders says. There's also interest from other countries. 183 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: Is for the We have ten fifteen cities in the 184 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: US that is asking for us to come. There is 185 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: fifteen cities in India. We have a Holland, we have 186 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: New Zealand, we have Australia World One with the demand. 187 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: Of course, none of these are firm orders yet, and 188 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,079 Speaker 1: city officials are gonna need to grapple with the difficult 189 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 1: balance of promoting innovative solutions with a tight budget. Sea 190 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: Bubbles say they've lined up the price of the boat 191 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 1: with that of a Tesla so fully equipped Model X, 192 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 1: for instance, around a hundred and thirty thousand dollars. I 193 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: wanted to know how affordable that price tag sounds, so 194 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,680 Speaker 1: I asked Ross Douglas. So the price point is not 195 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: that high if you have a high occupancy rate. Three 196 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: years ago, Ross created a conference called Autonomy to gather 197 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: regulators and companies like carmaker, Renault and energy provider Energy 198 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: to talk about urban mobility. If you can move two 199 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,959 Speaker 1: hundred people a day at ten years ahead, um, that's 200 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: suddenly two thousand euros a day. It's becoming quite a 201 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: good business. So Ross's point here is that the sea 202 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: bubble makes business sense if it's used as part of 203 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: a platform with hundreds or thousands of users. So it's 204 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: a great solution for a small amount of people four 205 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: or five of a relatively short distance. It runs up 206 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: and down the San River. But because the sea bubbles 207 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: are so small, it will need to go back and 208 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: forth a lot for this to make financial sense. But 209 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: if you look at the number of people moving in 210 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: Paris in a day, I think it's in the it's 211 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: over twenty million a day. So with all these trips 212 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: people are taking, the bubbles won't be enough on their 213 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: own to reduce congestion and air pollution in a city 214 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 1: like Paris. So you need a combination of metro, of buses, 215 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 1: of um a sency if trains of motor cars. What's more, 216 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: all those trips back and forth will require a battery 217 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: that can handle hours of use. Right now, the bubble 218 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: can run for about four hours on a single charge. 219 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: Sea Bubbles are hoping to double that to about eight 220 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 1: hours as soon as this fall. Alan Enders even went 221 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: to Tesla to learn about batteries and production lines. At 222 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: the same time, Sea Bubbles is also still figuring out 223 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: the details of its business model. It's unlikely the company 224 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: will sell the boats directly to cities or even companies. Well, 225 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,959 Speaker 1: we outsource the production of the product. We outsourced the 226 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: operations of the of the product. They're hoping private operators 227 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: will build and run them. That includes boats the dogs, 228 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: which is obviously very different in every country we go to. 229 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 1: But see Bubbles will run the app that lets people 230 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: order a water taxi just like an uber, So obviously 231 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: there are challenges. Despite that, Mayor and Hidalgo has been 232 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: supportive and more broadly, she's open to new initiatives. Like 233 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: other mayors, she's under pressure to improve air quality in 234 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: her city. On pollution, we weren't going to sit around 235 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: and wait until someone found national or international solutions. It's 236 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: an urgent matter and it's about people's health. We had 237 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: to act. Even if changing behavior on car usage, for example, 238 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: is hard and can cause controversy, we invented solutions. In 239 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: an average urban air road traffic makes up as much 240 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: as twenty of emissions ross says cars are low hanging 241 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: fruit for mayors looking at cut emissions, as in, it's 242 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: easier to get people to switch to an electric car 243 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: than to an electric airplane or an electric boat. But 244 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: there's no single fix for pollution and congestion. That's why 245 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: the Paris mayor, for instance, has backed other projects like 246 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: autonomous electric shuttles in the city's business district. She's also 247 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: interested in water transport solutions. The green investment fund we're 248 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: creating could eventually support this kind of project. Investing in 249 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: this kind of project could potentially be very profitable. Ala 250 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: and Anders have also been courting companies in the San 251 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: Francisco Bay area, both as potential investors and potential customers. 252 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: We met the last year Eric Meat, but what looking 253 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: we Facebook? Two? We met Alonso in Falls and yes, 254 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: we were looking with a lot of companies at the moment. 255 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: By the way, Laurent Solely is Facebook's chief in France 256 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: and Southern Europe. For companies like Google or Facebook, the 257 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: pitch is basically to say, we can help cut back 258 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: all those hours that your staff waste being stuck in traffic. 259 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: Google already operates a shuttle bus service, so employees who 260 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: live in San Francisco can commute all the way down 261 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: to its Mountain View headquarters and for a short time, 262 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 1: Google also experimented with the ferry service, but they ended 263 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: that program about three years ago. In San Francisco, Sea 264 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: Bubbles is promising to cut road time in half by 265 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: avoiding traffic jams and going through the water, and at 266 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: least here in the valley, people will basically do anything 267 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: to solve or minimize the time they spend in traffic. 268 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: It's really this and housing costs that I hear people 269 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: complain about the most. But even if one of these 270 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: companies says yes, they wouldn't necessar fairly by a fleet, 271 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: just like mayors, they could come in as investors or 272 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 1: rent out a fleet of boats as a service. So 273 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,120 Speaker 1: then obviously on number one tolees operators, secondary the tobes, 274 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: B two B. We have a lot of hotel chains 275 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 1: that are asking for Sea Bubbles to transport the people. 276 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: And thirdly it's customers that want to have the private 277 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: sea Bubble to to maneuver. For now, Sea Bubbles is 278 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 1: building a few more vehicles to take them on world tour, 279 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: currently planned for September while they work out the business 280 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: model and look for customers. Sea Bubbles is running on 281 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: about sixteen million dollars that they've raised so far. A VC, 282 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,919 Speaker 1: an insurance company, and an angel investor who started a 283 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: drone manufacturer in France have invested so far. As we speak, 284 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: Allah and Anders are working to raise more than a 285 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: hundred million dollars in new funding. They were hoping to 286 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: finalize that funding around earlier this summer, but negotiations are 287 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,439 Speaker 1: still underway with Ester's in the US, Switzerland and France. 288 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:08,160 Speaker 1: For now, they've pushed the deadline back until September. It's 289 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: been it's been a very quick, crazy adventure for you 290 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,879 Speaker 1: guys for the past a year and a half. Now 291 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: we love to be the quick quickie. You're getting your 292 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:42,679 Speaker 1: adrenaline rush. And that's it for this week's episode of Decrypted. 293 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,720 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. Do you have a story that you'd 294 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 1: like to share with us? You can get in touch 295 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,919 Speaker 1: at Decrypted at Bloomberg dot net and you can follow 296 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:56,120 Speaker 1: me on Twitter at Marie Underscore, Underscore Paris and I'm 297 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:00,080 Speaker 1: at Akio seven. If you haven't already, please subscribe to 298 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,840 Speaker 1: our show wherever you get your podcasts, and while you're there, 299 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: I hope you'll leave us a rating and a review. 300 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: I read each and every single one of these, and 301 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,439 Speaker 1: they really do go a long way in getting this 302 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,880 Speaker 1: podcast in front of more people. This episode was produced 303 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: by p I Get, Carrie, Liz Smith, and Magnus Hendrickson. 304 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,440 Speaker 1: Alec McCabe is a head of Bloomberg Podcasts. We'll see 305 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: you next week.