The Week In Facts n°32
Summary:
Automotive: Tesla Engineers Explain How They Reinvented the Heat Pump for the Model Y
Metaverse: Apple’s Mixed-Reality Headset to Launch This Spring: Report
NFT: L'Oréal’s NYX Makeup Brand to Launch DAO, Ethereum NFTs to ‘Redefine Beauty”
Luxury: Luxury brands are snapping up suppliers: What are the pros and cons?
Web3: Ethereum Hits 500,000 Validators Ahead of Scheduled Shanghai Upgrade
Fashion: Corteiz and Nike to launch collaboration
Mobility: Tesla Engineers Explain How They Reinvented the Heat Pump for the Model Y
Traditionally, EVs used resistive heaters to generate heat when needed. This is inefficient because resistive heaters draw a lot of current, which can take a heavy toll on the battery, especially in very cold climates.?
A better way is to use a heat pump, which can harness residual heat to regulate the temperature efficiently. A heat pump is said to reduce energy consumption in winter by up to 25% compared to using resistive heaters, which is huge in an electric vehicle.
Tesla first introduced a heat pump with the launch of the Model Y, but is now offering it standard on all its vehicles. Tesla’s heat pump is an engineering wonder, as has been said many times before. The EV maker reinvented a century-old technology to install it inside the Model Y.
Tesla’s heat pump is a marvelous piece of engineering that has been praised for its ingenuity.?
The key takeaway is that the heat pump makes Tesla extremely efficient during winter drives, allowing you to reach your destination using 15-20% less energy than non-heat-pump EVs.
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Metaverse: Metahood Raises $3M to Build the Zillow of the Metaverse
The startup announced today that it raised $3 million in a seed round led by crypto VC firm 1confirmation, with participation from Volt Capital, Flamingo DAO, and Neon DAO.
The startup also secured funding from notable angel investors in the space, including The Sandbox co-founder Sébastien Borget, SuperRare co-founder John Crain, Sorare Growth Lead Brian O'Hagan, and VC and blogger/podcast host Packy McCormick.
Metahood supports early and in-development metaverse game worlds like Decentraland, The Sandbox, the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Otherside, and Somnium Space. The platform will support native NFT land plot listings from individual users and aggregate listings from marketplaces like OpenSea and LooksRare while layering in added context.
Tomaino, CEO of 1Confirmation pointed to the notion of the metaverse being overhyped as a sign that “the trend is real,” even if some of the people jumping in weren’t there for the long haul.
“Metaverse hype is down a lot, no doubt, but the trend isn't going anywhere,” he said. “Games and worlds are continuing to offer virtual real estate, and there's a need for a marketplace that makes these assets more accessible.”
NFT: L'Oréal’s NYX Makeup Brand to Launch DAO, Ethereum NFTs to ‘Redefine Beauty’
NYX Professional Makeup is launching an online beauty “incubator” in the form of a DAO called GORJS, as well as 1,000 Ethereum NFTs called the “FKWME Pass,” the L'Oréal-owned brand announced Thursday.
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GORJS, pronounced “gorgeous,” aims to set a precedent for “what beauty will be in the metaverse, and lead the cultural conversation as it relates to the values of diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility,” according to the DAO’s litepaper, or technical explanation.
When asked how NYX’s DAO and NFTs align with the brand’s demographic, Joffredo said that NYX has always been a “pioneer in the digital and aspiring artistry space.” Joffredo also said NYX has a history of supporting “rising makeup creators” and “young creators” in the beauty industry.?
Despite the decline of the NFT market over the past several months, Joffredo believes GORJS will still be able to deliver on its ambitious vision.
As NYX moves forward with its Web3 plans, it remains unclear whether the average NYX customer is interested in crypto—or whether NYX’s Web3 world will garner a new demographic of users entirely.
Luxury: Luxury brands are snapping up suppliers: What are the pros and cons?
Luxury fashion brands will step up their supply chain acquisitions in 2023, as they look for greater control, better margins and increased speed to market, experts predict.
Global supply chain disruptions prompted nearshoring and vertical integration in 2022, as brands looked to guarantee supply. This was partly driven by inflation and the need to improve margins, but also to gain access to skilled craftspeople and drive down lead times.
Some brands may even be pushed towards forced M&A activities to avoid disruptions in their supply chain due to the macro-economic context, predicts Claudia D’Arpizio, senior partner and global head of fashion and luxury at consultancy Bain & Company, with 2023 expected to be “very uncertain” due to global recession fears.
Gruppo Florence’s Kiss says, in turn, when a small entrepreneur makes the conscious choice to be acquired by a prestigious brand, the supplier must adapt to the rules and priorities of that brand.
With wider global economic uncertainty continuing in 2023, Kiss adds: “Selected vertical integration can offer both flexibility and reactivity which will be essential to future-proof supply chains in the year ahead.”
Web3: Ethereum Hits 500,000 Validators Ahead of Scheduled Shanghai Upgrade
The number of Ethereum (ETH) validators has hit 500,000, per data from BeaconScan, ahead of March’s scheduled Shanghai upgrade.
The validator milestone comes as Ethereum’s core developers look to implement the so-called Shanghai update, scheduled for some time in March.?
After this update, validators will finally be able to withdraw their staked ETH and the rewards earned from having staked thus far.?
Withdrawal amounts will, however, be capped at 43,200 ETH per day out of the total amount of staked ETH in existence. That total currently hovers at around 16 million ETH, per Etherscan.
This limit is expected to prevent a sudden, mass exodus of validators.?
In light of these developments, ETH has posted healthy performance over the past week, rising 18.3% per CoinGecko,
Fashion: Corteiz and Nike to launch collaboration
On Monday night, a large Corteiz logo was projected onto the front of Nike’s flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. Passers-by posted it on TikTok, speculating that it was yet another stunt from Corteiz founder Clint419, akin to his past guerrilla pop-up moments on the streets of London or Paris. In fact, it was not a prank. It was a hint at what is to come: Nike has confirmed a collaboration will launch in the coming months.
The pieces feature its distinctive Alcatraz logo, which represents rebellion against convention. Retail prices range from ￡30 for T-shirts to ￡125 for cargos. Although in its infancy, the brand has garnered celebrity backing, including from British rappers Dave and Central Cee. Its previous collaborators include Nigerian streetwear label Motherlan and Manchester-based rapper Meekz.
Nike declined to share further details on the tie-up, which follows its high-profile collaborations with labels including Stüssy and Jacquemus.?