On Our Virtual Route 66 Virtual Walkabout: On the Week That Was

 

It was quite a week of reckoning with all that went on with Meta (Facebook's parent) and the collapse of FTX and the overnight destruction of the founder's 30 Billion Dollars to 3 with profound implications for Crypto.    Elon Musk has also had his challenge trying to manage Twitter and warned that bankruptcy for Twitter may not be out of the question.

We present a snapshot of the week that was courtesy The Information & The National:

EXCLUSIVE FACEBOOK Meta’s Layoffs Hit Instagram, Facebook and Reality Labs—WhatsApp Less Affected By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan It was a chaotic day for Meta Platforms employees, who woke up to an early-morning email from CEO Mark Zuckerberg telling them that the company would be laying off 13% of its employees, or 11,000 people. What came next was an anxious wait for the next email, which came a short time later, telling them whether they were among the unlucky ones. Other than providing a brief statement about the scope of the cuts, Meta has not detailed which departments have been hardest hit. Here’s what we have learned:    READ THE FULL STORY

ECONOMY MARKETS Amid Layoffs, Tech Companies Throw Cash, Stock at the Workers They Still Want By Mark Matousek In August, amid a slump in stock and crypto prices, Robinhood took the dramatic step of slashing 23% of its workforce, just four months after laying off 9% of its employees. But those who survived the online brokerage’s cuts soon got an incentive to stick around and work hard. Shortly after the layoff, Robinhood told employees it would grant them extra shares, according to two people familiar with the matter. The previously unreported award was designed to offset the impact of a 50% decline in Robinhood’s stock price between January and August, which had eroded the value of past equity grants. Robinhood wasn’t alone in extending such an offer: Snap made a similar move after cutting its headcount 20% in late August. Despite a growing number of mass layoffs underway in tech—most obviously at Meta Platforms this week and Twitter last week—companies are as concerned as ever about holding onto top performers and keeping staff motivated and productive. For that reason firms including Instacart and Coinbase—both of which have cut staff—have also been offering cash bonuses, more stock or better benefits to workers. This issue will likely loom large for tech giants that have made big cuts this month, including Stripe, Chime and Lyft. (Insider previously reported Snap’s intention to award extra grants of restricted stock units.)    READ THE FULL STORY

Hello there, Who wants to live forever? It's a profound question asked with gusto by Queen's Freddie Mercury in the band's 1986 hit song. It's a question many of us don't bother considering, because it's simply not possible, right? But, what if it was? Think of those near-endless possibilities ― visiting every country, eating every type of food, having enough time to get through all of those Netflix series you were trying to catch up on. OK, the last one is not important, but it shows the opportunity. The human race has come a long way in terms of life expectancy. The average American born in 1900 had a life expectancy of only 47.3 years. Thanks to modern medicine, in 2022 that figure is now 79. And it's rising. The Dubai Future Forum recently discussed immortality and whether you would, as Freddie Mercury asked, want to live forever? It's a more complicated question than it appears, with modern medicine and mental wellbeing at the forefront of the answer. It's all wonderfully dissected in this long read, which should leave a lasting impression on you. Elsewhere, it's been a messy week for cryptocurrencies, Saudi Arabia's AlUla has entered the metaverse, and Etihad Airways has shown that condensation trails in the sky could be a thing of the past. Have a good week. Ian Oxborrow, Business Audience Growth Editor The Big Story Why there's more to life than making it to a ripe old age How long we live and the quality of life we have could soon change thanks to new science. Photo: Getty / Nick Donaldson / The National In brief | Medical advances mean reaching 100 will soon become commonplace, but do we really want to? Vast amounts of money are being spent to accelerate science and bring therapies to the market. Quoted | “At an ageing conference I recently attended someone on the podium said the first person to live to 150 had probably been born. We all looked at each other and you could see we were all thinking, ‘I hope it’s not me!’” — Prof Heather Whitson, director of the Centre for the Study of Ageing and Human Development at America’s Duke University Why it matters | Is there a bigger project or goal than prolonging our very existence? While there are all sorts of benefit to having people live to 200, there will be many challenges arising too such as the health care provisions needed for the potentially long-lasting super-elderly. Etihad Airways will deliver delegates to COP27 with zero net emissions. Pretty patterns | Aircraft vapour trails produced by the exhaust from jet engines may look nice in the sky, but they actually contribute to global warming. However, Etihad Airways will prevent condensation trails on its net-zero emissions flight from Washington Dulles Airport to Abu Dhabi via Sharm El Sheikh that will carry delegates to the Cop27 climate change conference in Egypt. Amphibious aircraft | An electric seaplane was unveiled in Abu Dhabi this week, which will offer more sustainable and affordable travel to coastal areas. The Jekta PHA-ZE 100 can take off and land on both solid ground and water. Advanced air mobility | Air taxis could be coming to the UAE's capital after Abu Dhabi Airports signed an agreement with French airport operator Groupe ADP to look into developing ground infrastructure for them. They are exploring the potential for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to move people and cargo. Predicting the future | Signal or noise? Tourists can now visit Hegra’s Tomb of Lihyan in AlUla, Saudi Arabia in the metaverse. The Unesco World Heritage site has been digitally recreated and rendered in Decentraland, an Ethereum-powered virtual platform. This is a signal | More and more locations are being created in the metaverse, and while the experience may not have quite the same impact as actually being there, not everyone has the means to travel all over the world, and so making it accessible to everyone everywhere is regarded as an important step. In case you missed it The crypto market was turbulent after Binance walked away from buying FTX. Reuters It's been a shaky week for cryptocurrencies as FTX, the crypto exchange, told investors that without a cash injection the company would need to file for bankruptcy. Analysts gave warnings to "expect the unexpected" in the days ahead. Private companies are developing landers and technology to send cargo to the Moon. This allows scientists and engineers to focus on the science objectives during the mission. Last week we showed the latest 3D printed villa in Saudi Arabia. Now we have an altogether different example of how 3D printing can be effectively utilised - for an eye-socket reconstruction.

EXCLUSIVE CRYPTO STARTUPS VENTURE CAPITAL Startups Should Prepare for ‘Second-Order Fallout’ From FTX Collapse By Kate Clark and Erin Woo The failure of crypto exchange FTX has prompted venture investors to issue a blunt warning to startup founders: The current economic situation poses steep challenges to companies. As a result, startups shouldn’t expect to raise new money through 2024 and should prepare for “deep cuts.” Arjun Sethi, a co-founder of FTX backer Tribe Capital, told companies on Saturday that none were safe “from current macroeconomic and microeconomic pressures,” according to a letter to portfolio companies viewed by The Information. “Don’t let a Nasdaq bounce fool you—we are in the eye of the hurricane.”    READ THE FULL STORY     Dodge reveals updates to electric Charger Daytona SRT Concept at SEMA Show The battery-electric muscle car concept gets three powertrain output levels and Direct Connection upgrades, a new Stryker Red exterior color, lightweight carbon-fiber wheels, and drag radials—and consumer clinics will give input on the Fratzonic Chambered “exhaust.”