Headlines this week - Jun 12, 2022
Emerging consumer behaviors
Digital-Payments Growth Has a Ways to Run Yet - The pandemic caused some changes in how consumers pay, but cash and in-person shopping haven’t been pushed aside completely (WSJ)
Emerging consumer risks
How Everyone Can Get the Online Privacy They Want - Most people rarely read the privacy-consent requests they approve. There’s a better way: Researchers, standards organizations and privacy experts are working on technology that would make it easier for people to signal how they want to be tracked online (WSJ)
How Safe Are Systems Like Tesla’s Autopilot? No One Knows - Automakers and technology companies say they are making driving safer, but verifying these claims is difficult (NYTimes)
Startup Cerebral Soared on Easy Adderall Prescriptions. That Was Its Undoing. - The online mental health company surged to a $4.8 billion valuation after it started dispensing ADHD medication, but staffers grew concerned that it was pushing the drugs too aggressively (WSJ)
Platform trends
Tech’s Decade of Stock-Market Dominance Ends, For Now - Sector’s tumble is worst since 2002; value investors take victory lap (WSJ)
The troubles at Meta / Facebook
Meta-morphosis or More Pain? Possible Futures for Facebook’s Parent Company - Meta Platforms is facing all kinds of headwinds—from flat user growth to $10 billion in lost revenue this year alone from Apple’s privacy changes. Realizing its transformative goal may depend on successfully building a whole new business for itself (Christopher Mims @WSJ)
Meta Shakes Up AI Unit Amid Drive for Growth - AI hubs will become part of product groups as a way of turning research into business assets more quickly, and in line with the company’s metaverse aspirations (WSJ)
Meta Halts Development of Apple Watch Rival With Two Cameras - Device had WiFi, built-in Spotify and GPS, prototype shows. Meta also won’t make AR glasses available to buy any time soon (Bloomberg)
Facebook Rethinks News Deals, and Publishers Stand to Lose Millions in Payments - Social-media company pays more than $10 million a year to a handful of news organizations to feature their content on its news tab (WSJ)
Apple expands into financial services
Apple/BNPL: giant’s scale protects it from perils of a shaky industry - The launch timing is curious but the iPhone group’s ubiquity helps when building a retail financial dynamo (FT)
Apple Will Handle Lending Itself With New Pay Later Service - Company subsidiary to conduct credit checks and make decisions. Tech giant has partnered with Goldman Sachs on other efforts (Bloomberg)
Content distribution under pressure
Netflix: de-Faanged but still spending - The streaming service cannot afford to cut back on content without risking further subscriber losses (FT)
Spotify Targets One Billion Listeners by 2030 Amid Profitability Concerns - CEO Daniel Ek addresses investors’ fears that the audio market holds limited opportunity (WSJ)
Are apps getting less addictive?
Wordle, BeReal and Even Facebook: Apps Get Less Addictive - The growth of services that prize connection over obsession marks a healthy shift in social media (Bloomberg)
Digital building blocks
Artificial Intelligence
Foundation models - a new type of “platform” (and many associated challenges) emerging
Huge “foundation models” are turbo-charging AI progress - They can have abilities their creators did not foresee (TheEconomist)
The debate on AI systems’ consciousness, this week at The Economist
Artificial neural networks are making strides towards consciousness, according to Blaise Agüera y Arcas (TheEconomist)
Artificial neural networks today are not conscious, according to Douglas Hofstadter (TheEconomist)
Semiconductors
Chips still a scarce resource
Chip Shortage Threatens Cutting-Edge Tech Needed for Next-Generation Smartphones - TSMC and Samsung are grappling with technological hurdles and a shortfall in manufacturing equipment (WSJ)
TSMC Sticks to Sales Growth Outlook Despite Economic Woes, Inflation - At Annual Shareholder Meeting, Executives cite strong demand for chips for electric cars, high-performance computers even as smartphone sector weakens (WSJ)
Meanwhile, chip giants compete to capture (scarce) talent
From somebody to nobody: TSMC faces uphill battle in US talent war (FT)
Tech finance trends
VC / Private Equity
Tech funds suffering with current market, and looking for solutions
Highflying Tiger Global Humbled by Unraveling of Giant Tech Bet - The New York firm was a heavy investor in technology stocks and startups when the market peaked. The downturn has vaporized years of its gains (WSJ)
Cathie Wood Wants to Build Her Own Ark - Perhaps running out of promising innovation in the public markets, the fund manager eyes private companies (WSJ)
China
Pressure on China’s Tech sector may be softening
China to Conclude Didi Cybersecurity Probe, Lift Ban on New Users - Steps are the latest sign that Beijing wants to spur economic activity, including from the country’s beleaguered tech giants (WSJ)
Green / ESG
How ESG investing came to a reckoning - With allegations of greenwashing at the highest levels, does it still make sense for funds to package together environmental, social and governance factors? (FT)
Themes for the future
Metaverse
Big Tech tiptoes to the metaverse - Apart from Meta, the sector is taking a cautious approach to the next mass market computing platform (FT)
Apple looks to its first headset for next breakthrough product (FT)
Microsoft’s Augmented-Reality Chief Plans to Leave Company - Alex Kipman led efforts to develop the HoloLens headset (WSJ)
Crypto / Web3
How ‘Trustless’ Is Bitcoin, Really? - In myth, the cryptocurrency is egalitarian, decentralized and all but anonymous. The reality is very different, scientists have found (NYTimes)
Ethereum Moves Closer to Blockchain Revamp After Milestone Test - Latest software for the upgrade was run on Ropsten testnet. Some investors said the revamp will be bullish for Ether (Bloomberg)
Electric Vehicles
Sony Aims for High-End Electric Car That Bills Extra for Entertainment - CEO visits Honda factory in Ohio and says he is glad Sony isn’t building a car on its own (WSJ)
Biden Administration to Set Rules of the Road for Charging Electric Vehicles - Proposed regulations would require charging stations built with federal dollars to be located no more than 50 miles apart (NYTimes)
Space
To explore brave new worlds, astronauts need smart new suits - Nasa’s gamble to issue contract to private sector could herald a radical change in costs of living and working in space (FT)
Biotechnology
Investors bet on AI start-ups to turbocharge drug development - Companies have raised hundreds of millions of dollars despite a troubled biotech market (FT)
The politics of the digital economy
Innovation
New technologies need political help to become the Model Ts of tomorrow - Governments must actively nurture products down the experience curve if they are to benefit in the long term (Azeem Azhar @ FT)
Antitrust
Antitrust bill in the US moves ahead
Congress’s Big Tech Crackdown Quickens With Rare Show of Unity - Klobuchar, Grassley, Cicilline and Buck refute critics. Major tech companies lobby to influence key senators (Bloomberg)
Big Tech companies increasing efforts to halt it
Big Tech pulls out all the stops to halt ‘self-preferencing’ antitrust bill - Lobbying by the likes of Amazon and Alphabet ramps up as Congress prepares to vote on landmark legislation (FT)
And this opinion article at the WSJ looks like part of those efforts
Breaking Big Tech Bad - A Senate antitrust bill would harm consumers and U.S. innovation (WSJ)
In Europe, Apple is expecting a ban on its current charging ports
Apple iPhone Charging Port Faces Threat of EU Ban - European lawmakers agree on common charger standard in move that could bar new sales of iPhones with Lightning charging ports (WSJ)