Want2retire: “Haven’t we been through how brewed protein processes compare and contrast with what KBLB is attempting to do?”
Yes. We should all agree by now that we know very little about the characteristics of fibers produced by Spiber and AmSilk other than the fact that big names are using their fibers in products, so evidently the big names have found their fibers satisfactory for their purposes.
Want2retire: “Having a bunch of money thrown at something doesn’t mean it will work or be better. Just means there will be pressure on them to produce something, like we saw with Bolt.”
In my experience, venture capitalists perform some measure of due diligence on companies they invest tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on. They don’t always get things right (see Theranos) but frauds of that kind are the exception rather than the norm.
Want2retire: “KBLB needs to prove, document performance characteristics, etc but for the goo teams it’s enough that people dump money into them.”
It is more than that. Spiber and AmSilk have worked with recognizable names (Adidas, North Face) and have produced products that these companies agreed to put their names on. If their product was of unacceptable quality, these sales would not have gone forward.
In contrast, KBLB has yet to produce even a limited-edition tie.
Want2retire: “We know there is a cost structure issue with the goo crew and limitations on what they can produce compared to KBLB’s model but, again, we should just be good with ignoring that because, hey, a bunch of money is being thrown at it.”
We know that producing things costs money. We don’t know how much it costs for Spiber or AmSilk to produce their fibers. We don’t know how much it costs for KBLB to produce their fibers. It is hard to compare two unknowns.
We also know that KBLB wanted to do another public offering but could not find support to do that. The venture capitalists have given AmSilk and Spiber several rounds of funding. Clearly these investors were sufficiently impressed with what they learned that they once again opened their wallets and provided generous funding.
Want2retire: “These goo companies seem like a better example of Theranos. No one knows much but big players are involved so it must be great!”
I disagree. Theranos was a fraud. They claimed to have a new technique for blood testing but were using existing blood testing technology. Theranos failed to deliver on multiple contracts to build in-store blood test machines.
AmSilk and Spiber have delivered what they said they could produce (RSSP fibers) and companies have used these fibers to produce and sell products. The fibers may have been sold at a loss: the costs of production might have been greater than the sales price, but at least we have a proof-of-concept. KBLB has yet to provide proof that fibers can be produced at commercial scales.
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