Morning Thrust | Weekly Highlights (12th Edition: 05.03.2023)

Welcome to the 12th edition of?Morning Thrust?where I share weekly highlights on Future tech, Space Economy, Sustainability, Smart Cities, Supply Chain and logistics (Edition: 05.03.2023)

TikTok has emerged as a clear leader in In-app Purchases revenue, having generated $205 million more than Facebook Instagram Snap Inc. (Snapchat) and Twitter combined so far in 2023. The other platforms are also exploring in-app purchases as an alternative revenue stream. The introduction of App Tracking Transparency by 苹果 in 2021 has led to a massive revenue shift for big social networks. User privacy feature limits data collection, which hinders targeted advertising and reduces ad revenue. As a result, social networks like Facebook TikTok Snap Inc. & Instagram have turned to direct user payments as an alternative monetisation strategy. Overall, the trend towards in-app purchases as a source of revenue highlights the importance of diversifying monetisation strategies for social networks.

Revolut the financial technology firm, reported its first annual profit in 2021, with revenues of ￡636.2m ($767.1m), three times higher than the previous year, and a pre-tax profit of ￡59.1m according to financial accounts released Wednesday. The company's CFO attributed the success to the firm's diversified business and careful cost control. Revolut 's trading update forecast revenues for 2022 to have grown more than 30% to ￡850m. Revolut has been pushing into overseas markets, including #Brazil, #Mexico, #India and the #US, where it has over 500,000 clients. Despite concerns over its internal financial controls and delays in producing its accounts, the company is aiming to obtain its #UK banking license soon.

Meta has announced plans for the launch of its first pair of fully operational #AR glasses, which employees can start testing in 2024 with a public launch set for 2027. The company's Innovation line of #AR eyewear features more advanced technology and the ability to generate "high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world". Two new follow-up generations of the company's Ray-Ban #smartglasses, developed with Luxottica , are set to be released in 2023 and 2025. In addition, a Quest 3 #VR headset is expected to be launched later this year, featuring over 40 new mixed reality experiences, apps, and games.

British supermarkets are limiting the amount of certain fruits and vegetables customers can purchase due to supply shortages caused by poor weather conditions overseas. 特易购公司 Asda Morrisons Aldi UK and #Lidl have introduced restrictions, with 特易购公司 limiting purchases of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers to three items per customer. The situation has been brought to a head by weather conditions in Southern Europe and Northern Africa disrupting harvests, causing a supply squeeze resulting in higher costs. Farmers are also struggling with higher energy costs, reducing their ability to grow certain fruits and vegetables under heat. The UK government has blamed the weather conditions and not Brexit for the shortages. The disruption is expected to last a few weeks.

Instacart has launched a new B2B service called Instacart Business, which aims to help small and #local businesses save time and money on office supplies by providing a range of fulfillment options like same-day delivery and no-rush delivery. The service allows businesses to browse more than 1.5 million products, including bulk and value essentials. Instacart Business users don’t have monthly minimums.The service enables businesses to make stock lists, reorder items and use “business credits” with category restrictions, invoicing and monthly reporting tools.

talabat UAE, a food delivery & quick commerce platform, experienced significant growth in 2022, with a 37% increase in orders and a 28% rise in its customer base. The company also reported a 70% increase in non-food online deliveries, including supermarkets, pharmacies, and flower shops, and a 60% growth in orders from its q-commerce and dark store concept, talabat Mart. Talabat UAE also launched its first Quick-Commerce-as-a-service (Q-CAAS) concept, a delivery-only store management solution, and continued to prioritise sustainability with initiatives such as providing water refill stations across #Dubai . The company plans to introduce new concepts, such as talabots and drone deliveries, in the future.

Miami-based Kiwibot has secured $10m in financing from Swiss based Kineo Finance to help grow its robot fleet, with the aim of becoming the standard last-mile delivery service in smart cities. Kiwibot , which has completed over 250,000 autonomous food deliveries, uses GPS technology, advanced camera sensors and artificial intelligence to generate optimal routes, avoid obstacles and reduce food delivery costs by up to 65%. Its robots are built in Colombia, with final assembly taking place in Miami, and are shipped all over the world from there. The new funding will be used to increase its fleet from 600 to over 2,000, with a focus on scaling via college campuses.

MultiversX Labs , a blockchain company focused on the #metaverse, has launched a #Web3 'Super App' with finance, social features, called xPortal that combines elements of digital finance, AI avatars, and chat functionality. Available on Android and iOS, the app offers features such as end-to-end encrypted messaging, a portal for Web3 apps and metaverse experiences, and the ability to send and receive money, crypto, and non-fungible tokens. Users can also create personalised avatars. The company recently rebranded from #Elrond to MultiversX Labs to reflect its shift towards #metaverse and #Web3 integrations.

Chase and DoorDash have teamed up to launch the first credit card from #DoorDash. The card offers #cashback rewards which can be redeemed for DoorDash orders or as statement credit or gift cards. Cardholders can also enjoy benefits such as a free year of DashPass, which gives benefits like unlimited $0 delivery fees, and extended warranty and purchase protection. The card earns cash back at rates of 4% on DoorDash and Caviar orders, 3% on online or in-store restaurant purchases, 2% on online or in-store grocery purchases, and 1% on all other purchases. The card is aimed at loyal customers of the delivery service, while benefits from other Chase cards are part of a broader value proposition.

The European Space Agency - ESA has suggested that the moon should have its own time zone, as more #lunar missions are being planned. Currently, a moon mission operates on the time of the country that is operating the #spacecraft. Establishing an internationally accepted lunar time zone would make it easier for everyone, especially as more countries and private companies aim for the #moon. The international team investigating lunar time is debating whether a single organisation should set and maintain time on the moon, considering technical issues such as clocks running faster on the moon than on Earth and the fact that lunar time will have to be practical for #astronauts.

Virgin Galactic announced that it plans to take an #Italian Air Force research crew to space in the second quarter of 2023, marking the beginning of the company's commercial service. However, the company will need to conduct several steps, such as ground testing of its primary #spaceplane and carrier aircraft, as well as a full-powered test flight with employees on board. The company's fourth-quarter results were mixed, with higher-than-expected revenue but a larger-than-anticipated loss per share. Virgin Galactic aims to deliver #regular trips for customers on #VSSUnity and reopened ticket #sales to the general public at a higher price of $450,000. The company has faced setbacks, with all flights grounded last year for a planned vehicle enhancement and modification period.

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