Morning Thrust | Weekly Highlights (71st Edition: 21.04.2024)

Welcome to the 71st edition of Morning Thrust,?your?weekly dose?of?highlights?in future tech,?space economy,?sustainability,?smart cities,?supply chain,?logistics and more! In this edition (21.04.2024), we bring you the?most exciting?developments shaping?our world.?Stay informed and?ahead of the curve?with our curated insights.?Let's dive in!

Boston Dynamics has unveiled the all-new electric Atlas humanoid robot, a significant evolution from its hydraulic predecessor, featuring a sleeker, more user-friendly design aimed at commercial use. This next-gen Atlas showcases enhanced mobility and maneuverability with a design that deviates from traditional humanoid forms, focusing instead on practical applications and high-powered, flexible actuators. The robot's development is part of a broader shift towards robots with generalized capabilities, supported by AI, and is set to begin pilot testing at Hyundai facilities next year.

Meta has integrated its new AI chatbot, powered by Llama 3, into the search bars of its key apps including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and expanded its availability across multiple English-speaking countries. Alongside enhancing features like faster image generation and web search capabilities, the company continues to address challenges related to AI-generated content inaccuracies. This development marks Meta's ongoing effort to lead in the generative AI tools sector, competing with major players like OpenAI .

微软 has invested $1.5 billion in G42 , an Abu Dhabi-based AI company, highlighting the strategic tech rivalry between the U.S. and China as geopolitical tensions rise. This investment, which gives Microsoft a board seat at G42, comes amid U.S. concerns over G42's ties to Chinese firms like Huawei. The partnership, which positions Microsoft as G42’s official cloud partner, is seen as an effort by G42 to reduce its reliance on Chinese technology, demonstrating the intricate balance the UAE is navigating between the two superpowers.

Andreessen Horowitz has raised $7.2 billion to invest in technology startups, particularly focusing on the artificial intelligence sector, marking the largest such venture capital effort in recent years. The firm has allocated specific funds to support late-stage growth, AI infrastructure, and AI applications, reflecting its commitment to deepening its involvement in AI, which is increasingly seen as essential for making astute investment decisions. This funding initiative coincides with a broader surge in investment within the AI industry, driven by the transformative impact of technologies like OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Ramp , the spend management startup, has successfully raised an additional $150 million, bringing its post-money valuation to $7.65 billion, in a funding round co-led by new investor Khosla Ventures and existing supporter Founders Fund . This round marks an extension of Ramp's Series D, contributing to a total of $1.2 billion in equity financing and $700 million in debt funding since its inception in 2019. The fresh funds will be directed towards innovation using AI capabilities, enhancing decision-making and automating processes, as well as exploring strategic acquisitions.

Midas , a fintech startup facilitating investments in U.S. and Turkish equities in Turkey, has secured $45 million in a Series A funding round led by Canada's Portage . The platform, popular among Turkey's retail investors with over 2 million users, offers low fees and comprehensive financial services. Midas, which provides its own infrastructure for trading, plans to introduce cryptocurrency trading, mutual funds, and savings accounts, aiming to expand across the MENA region.

英特尔 , alongside Cloudera and other industry giants, has joined forces under the Linux Foundation's new Open Platform for Enterprise AI (OPEA) initiative. The project aims to develop open, interoperable, and scalable generative AI tools for businesses, promising a new era of collaboration and innovation in AI technologies. OPEA will focus on creating a robust framework to facilitate AI operations across various platforms and hardware, ensuring that AI solutions are accessible, reliable, and effective for enterprise applications.

苹果 has revised its App Store policies, enabling the hosting of retro game emulators such as Delta, which now supports Game Boy, DS, N64, SNES, and NES games. The emulator, developed by Riley Testut, can be legally downloaded without jailbreaking your iPhone, although obtaining game ROMs legally remains a challenge. Delta has soared in popularity, topping both entertainment and general free app charts in the App Store.

A criminal hacking group named GhostR claims to have stolen 5.3 million records from the World-Check database, used globally for sanction and financial crime screenings. The breach, which occurred in March at a Singapore-based firm with access to the database, poses a threat of exposing sensitive information online, including personal details of government officials and diplomats. The London Stock Exchange Group, which owns World-Check, confirms the data was not directly stolen from their systems but from a third party, and is coordinating with authorities to manage the breach.

LinkedIn is currently trialling a new "Premium Company Page" subscription for small and medium businesses, with prices starting from $99.99 per month. This enhanced service includes AI-assisted content creation and new tools to increase follower counts and company visibility. The initiative forms part of LinkedIn's broader strategy to diversify revenue streams and enhance user engagement on its platform.

EU labour and social ministers have reached an agreement on new regulations under the Platform Work Directive, defining when gig economy workers on apps such as Uber and Deliveroo should be considered employees. This classification will apply if the platform electronically monitors performance and controls pay and working hours. This move comes after the draft law failed to gain support from EU member states last month.

Getir , a Turkish grocery delivery company valued at $11.8 billion, is reportedly withdrawing from the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, potentially affecting around 1,500 jobs in the UK. This move, part of a broader restructuring effort, leaves Getir operating primarily in the US and Turkey, with plans to eventually focus solely on its home market. The restructuring is being advised by AlixPartners and could involve asset sales or insolvency procedures.

Binance has introduced a new early access program, 'Megadrop', aimed at Web3 users, blending loyalty and reward mechanisms through airdrops and quests. This platform enables participants to engage with Web3 projects before their tokens are listed on Binance by staking BNB tokens and completing designated tasks. The initiative distinguishes itself by encouraging long-term user engagement, differentiating it from similar platforms like Coinbase Earn.

Web3 investments have surged by 55% in Q1 2024, with venture capital interest significantly rebounding as the number of Web3 VC deals rose by 36%. The investment spike was most prominent in AI and gaming-related Web3 protocols. Moreover, major funding rounds and increased seed funding activity highlight a robust recovery and optimistic outlook in the crypto sector.

Fitch Ratings has reported that the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) debt capital market is expected to surpass $1 trillion, having already reached $940 billion by Q1 2024. With 80% of GCC sukuk (Islamic bond or “Sharia-compliant” bond) now investment-grade, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Malaysia are projected to remain top issuers. The agency also noted a positive outlook and minimal defaults in the sukuk market, despite anticipating a slowdown in growth for the remainder of the year.

苹果 's CEO, Tim Cook, has announced that the company is exploring the possibility of establishing a manufacturing facility in Indonesia. This follows a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who expressed a keen interest in boosting local manufacturing partnerships. The move could enhance Apple's participation in Indonesia's tech economy, where it has already invested in developer academies since 2018.

World , led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has launched World Chain, a new 'human-centric' blockchain designed to prioritise human users and increase efficiency in Web3 applications. This initiative aims to reduce congestion caused by bots on the network by prioritising transactions for verified human users, thus ensuring their accessibility over automated systems. Worldcoin's approach includes a free gas allowance for verified users, aiming to simplify entry into the blockchain space, with a full launch anticipated this summer.

The U.S. Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have successfully conducted the first-ever dogfights between an AI-operated X-62A VISTA jet and a human-piloted F-16, demonstrating advancements in autonomous flight technology. These tests, part of the Air Combat Evolution program, aim to enhance trust in AI capabilities within combat scenarios and further develop collaborative combat aircraft. The trials, which included a series of high-speed aerial manoeuvres, underscore efforts to integrate AI in future air warfare, focusing on safety and operational effectiveness.

Tom Ochinero, a former senior executive at SpaceX , has launched a new venture capital firm named Interlagos Capital alongside former SpaceX engineer Achal Upadhyaya and ex- Sequoia Capital finance leader Spencer Hemphill. The firm, which was recently incorporated in Delaware and registered in California, aims to provide financing to emerging and startup companies. Little is known about Interlagos, which has also filed a trademark application in the U.S.

Japan's OHISAMA project is poised to demonstrate space-based solar power by 2025, aiming to transmit energy via microwaves from a satellite in low Earth orbit. This initiative, discussed at the International Conference on Energy from Space, is seen as a potential solution for continuous, weather-independent renewable energy, though it currently faces challenges in scaling and cost-effectiveness compared to terrestrial sources. This comes after the U.S.'s similar achievement last year, marking significant advancements in the field.

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration has scrapped its ambitious $11 billion Mars mission due to concerns over cost and time, opting instead to collaborate with the space industry to advance its sample-return plans. This pivot could potentially inject significant investment into space technology startups, ranging from debris clearance to drug manufacturing in orbit. The agency's new approach aims to accelerate accessibility to space, fostering a fertile environment for innovation in the sector.

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