• Perseverance Rover has landed on Mars
• “…When the Perseverance rover sets down on Mars on Thursday, another NASA spacecraft already there will be listening for the thump-thump that will result when the newcomer arrives…”
• Why Google’s Internet Balloon Project Loon Failed
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX raised $850 million, jumping valuation to about $74 billion
• Russia, China to sign agreement on international lunar research station
• Google closes Stadia’s dedicated game studios after less than 2 years
• Glassdoor now lets you filter company ratings by demographics
• YouTube TV to Launch Option for 4K and Unlimited Streams, TikTok-Like YouTube Shorts Coming to U.S. in March
• Ford says it will go all-electric in Europe by 2030
• Jaguar to become all-electric brand from 2025
• Apple will proxy Safe Browsing traffic on iOS 14.5 to hide user IPs from Google
• Coca-Cola company trials first paper bottle
• Bitcoin Jumps to $50,000
• Bitcoin market cap hits $1 trillion
• No 2. cryptocurrency ethereum soars to record high as bitcoin rally continues
• “…China dominates battery production today, with 93 “gigafactories” that manufacture lithium-ion battery cells, vs. only four in the United States, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence…”
• Sequoia-Backed Grocery App Dingdong Maicai Mulls U.S. IPO
• Coupang, South Korean E-Commerce Giant, Unveils U.S. IPO Plan (paywall: WSJ)…Coupang S-1 Document
• Shopify Q4 Presentation
• 3 ways that the U.S. population will change over the next decade
• Apple reportedly negotiating to build iPads in India
• Nvidia is purposefully making its new RTX 3060 graphics cards less efficient to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency.
• How to audit Core Web Vitals
• Microsoft announces Office 2021, available for Windows and macOS later this year
• “…Apple has posted multiple job listings indicating that it is hiring engineers to work on 6G technology internally so it does not have to rely on partners like Qualcomm…”
• Google announces the Android 12 Developer Preview
• Math learning app Photomath raises $23 million as it reaches 220 million downloads
• Google has appointed Dr. Marian Croak to lead its responsible artificial intelligence division within Google Research
• AI creates psychedelic visual interpretations of famous poems
• IBM Explores Sale of IBM Watson Health (paywall: WSJ)
• China May Ban Rare Earth Technology Exports on Security Concerns

• Preparing for the Next Macroeconomic Cycle — and Its Risks
• When Will Life Return to Normal? In 7 Years at Today’s Vaccine Rates
• Disney says it now has 94.9 million Disney+ subscribers
• United Airlines orders 200 vertical-takeoff electric airplanes
• What, Exactly, Is Amazon Web Services?
• Qualcomm objects to Nvidia’s $40 billion Arm acquisition
• Spotify will let employees work from anywhere after the pandemic
• Breached water plant employees used the same TeamViewer password and no firewall
• Bitcoin Hits Record as Mastercard, BNY Mellon Embrace Crypto
• Google is testing a dark mode for desktop search
• Microsoft approached Pinterest about a takeover (Paywall: FT)
• Top 100 subscription apps grew 34% to $13B in 2020, share of total spend remained the same
• Monzo, nearing 5 million customers, has recruited a new US CEO
• Android 12 leak appears to show major redesign with color-changing UI
• The Apple car, briefly explained
• Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse
• The price of solar electricity has dropped 89% in 10 years
• All the Coronavirus in the World Could Fit Inside a Coke Can, With Plenty of Room to Spare
• The future of “smart” cities is in street lights
• Germany to let citizens store ID cards on smartphone
• The cinemas now hiring out their screens to gamers
• Earth to Voyager 2: After a Year in the Darkness, We Can Talk to You Again
• In a major new pandemic trend, people are turning to carbon dioxide monitoring devices to help assess ventilation quality
• How Car Makers Collided With a Global Chip Shortage (Paywall: WSJ)

• Why Big Companies Keep Failing: The Stack Fallacy
• Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO…Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services, will take the reins as CEO beginning in the third quarter
• Amazon reports first $100 billion quarter following holiday and pandemic shopping surge
• Fire TV now reaches more than 50 million monthly active users around the world.
• eBay’s sneaker category exploded with triple-digit growth last quarter
• Amazon timeline
• Alphabet revenue up 23% as core advertising business shows strong growth
• Airstream’s New Trailer Comes With Beds That Transform Into an Office
• “…in uncertain economic times there is often nostalgia for decor from former decades associated with comfort and stability…”
• Facebook makes the case for activity tracking to iOS 14 users in new pop-ups
• Sony says semiconductor shortage makes increased PS5 production difficult…Sony shipped more than 4.5 million PlayStation 5s
• Spotify: 155 million premium subscribers, 345 million monthly active users
• Apple will invest $3.6 billion in Kia Motors to build an Apple Car, report says
• South Korea Leads World in Innovation as U.S. Exits Top Ten
• Google Cloud lost $5.61 billion on $13.06 billion revenue last year
• When the Electric Car Is King, Less Energy Is More
• iOS 14.5 will support PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers
• Neuralink has wired up a monkey to play video games using its mind
• Pixel phones will be able to read your heart rate with their cameras
• SpaceX Starlink public beta begins: It’s $99 a month plus $500 up front
• VW Group will handle self-driving car development in-house, report says
• Apple’s mixed reality headset could cost $3,000 and include 8K displays
• We’re Teaching Robots to Evolve Autonomously—So They Can Adapt to Life Alone on Distant Planets
• Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 aren’t launching this year
• How the search for a ‘death ray’ led to radar
• YouTube Expands Its CTV and Sports Offerings Ahead of Upfront Season

• Benedict Evans: The great unbundling
• Bill Gates: It’s not too soon to start thinking about the next pandemic
• Clubhouse announces plans for creator payments …raised around $100 million led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz at a $1 billion post-money valuation
• Most of the World’s Pilots Are No Longer Flying for a Living
• How the chaos of 2020 will shape the next decade, according to 8 design experts
• More than 260 airports around the globe are currently at risk of coastal flooding, and dozens could be below mean sea level by the turn of the century, the research published in the journal Climate Risk Management found.
• Apple says there are now over 1 billion active iPhones…with 1.65 billion Apple devices in use overall
• Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature will be enabled by default and arrive in ‘early spring’ on iOS
• Facebook predicts ‘significant’ obstacles to ad targeting and revenue in 2021
  •   Facebook also highlighted two broad economic trends that it says it has benefited from during the pandemic:
    • The “ongoing shift toward online commerce”
    • “The shift in consumer demand toward products and away from services
• Google spells out consequences of Apple’s privacy push and IDFA changes
• Google has been testing a new API (a software interface) called Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) that acts as an effective replacement signal for third-party cookies. The API exists as a browser extension within Google Chrome.
• Tesla reports its first annual profit…Tesla made a $721 million profit thanks to $1.58 billion in regulatory credits.
• WhatsApp adds biometric authentication to its web and desktop versions
• Tesla is willing to license Autopilot and has already had ‘preliminary discussions’ about it with other automakers
• Tesla Model S refreshed with a radically redesigned interior and 520-mile range
• Starlink Now Own a Quarter of All Active Satellites…SpaceX adds laser links to Starlink satellites to serve Earth’s polar areas
• Peacock hit 33 million signups before The Office even arrived
• YouTube has paid more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and others over the last three years
• HBO Max hits 40 million US subscribers…two years ahead of schedule
• Apple Watch Series 7 Rumored to Feature Blood Glucose Monitoring
• Plex is launching a game subscription service filled with Atari games
• How WallStreetBets Pushed GameStop Shares to the Moon
• Mobility has reached a tipping point. More than 250 new models of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will be introduced in the next two years alone, and as many as 130 million EVs could be sharing roads the world over by 2030

• Second Order Thinking
• The Global Risks Report 2021 [WEF]
• Davos Agenda 2021
• The next big thing in retail comes with Chinese characteristics…“…Fitch, a ratings agency, thinks the market for live-stream retail neared 1trn yuan ($153bn) in 2020, double the prior year’s amount…” (Paywall: Economist)
• 5 ways brands are adapting to shifts in video viewership to drive results
• Amazon offers Biden help to speed up vaccine distribution
• Elon Musk is donating $100M to find the best carbon capture technology
• Netflix Tops 200 Million Subscribers for the First Time…Streaming giant said it added a record 37 million subscribers in 2020 (Paywall: WSJ)
  “..With over 500 titles currently in post production or preparing to launch on our service and plans to release at least one new original film every week in 2021 with extraordinary talent, we’re confident we’ll continue to have a great content offering for our members…”

• SpaceX anticipates reaching the milestone of 10 uses for at least one Falcon 9 first stage later this year.
• Walmart’s e-commerce chief is leaving to build “a city of the future”…Marc Lore, the founder of Jet.com, helped Walmart become the No. 2 online shopping site after Amazon.
• Virgin’s rocket reaches orbit for the first time, deploys satellites
• Microsoft invests in Cruise in new $2 billion round
• WeChat advances e-commerce goals with $250B in transactions
• Spotify’s big bet on podcasts is failing, Citi says
• Video game spending increased 27% in 2020
• Apple testing vapor chamber thermal tech for next-gen iPhone
• Smartwatches can help detect COVID-19 days before symptoms appear
• Facebook was going to compete with Google for some advertising sales but backed away from the plan after the companies cut a preferential deal, according to court documents.
• How Volkswagen’s $50 Billion Plan to Beat Tesla Short-Circuited…”…What they didn’t consider: Electric vehicles are more about software than hardware…With the shift to electric, computing has become the heart of the vehicle, with a central processor managing the battery, running the electric motors, brakes, lights and other critical systems as well as additional features such as entertainment or heating in the seat..“
• Google Closes Loon, Its Plan to Use Balloons for Web Access (paywall: WSJ)
• USPS banking could help the at least 7 million American households that are unbanked
• The DeLorean might be coming back as an electric car
• Sequoia Holdings says employees can draw part of salary in cryptocurrencies
• Augmented Reality Used in Knee-Replacement Surgery in a U.S. First…Data streamed through smart glasses allow for precise removal of bone and cartilage and accurate positioning of knee implants (Paywall: WSJ)

• 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2021 and Beyond
• Countries experiment with special remote-work visas for Digital Nomads (Paywall: WSJ)
• The priority for workplaces in the new normal? Wellbeing
• CES 2021 Summaries
  • IGN
  • BBC
  • Digital Trends
• Cyberpunk Rollout“…Making Cyberpunk would require CD Projekt to invest in new technology, new staff and new techniques they hadn’t explored before…
  …tried to develop the engine technology behind Cyberpunk 2077, most of which was brand new, simultaneously with the game, which slowed down production…
  …While The Witcher 3 was created by roughly 240 in-house staff, according to the company, Cyberpunk’s credits show that the game had well over 500 internal developers…”
• PC sales finally saw big growth in 2020 after years of steady decline…In total, 91.6 million traditional PCs were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• AT&T is killing off the online-video service formerly known as DirecTV Now and introducing a no-contract option for the newer online service that replaced it.
• Qualcomm will acquire chip company founded by Apple execs for $1.4 billion
• BMW becomes the latest automaker to shut down its subscription service…Access by BMW was a $2,000-a-month service that launched in 2018
• Ford unveils new self-driving test vehicle for 2022 launch
• Windows 10X is now Microsoft’s true answer to Chrome OS
• Apple Plans Upgraded MacBook Pros With Return of Magnetic Charging
• Blue Origin successfully launches and lands key crew capsule test in first mission of 2021
• Apple Considers Foldable iPhone; Minor Changes Planned for 2021 Models
• Telegram adds 25 million new users in just 72 hours
• 2020 was second-hottest year on record, NOAA says
• Nuclear fusion tech developer General Fusion now has Shopify and Amazon founders backing it
• YouTube and WhatsApp inch closer to half a billion users in India
• Upgrade launches checking accounts and debit cards
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX starts testing Starlink broadband service in the English countryside
• Chips Are in Hot Demand—and That’s a Problem (Paywall: WSJ)
• FAA Approves First Fully Automated Commercial Drone Flights (Paywall: WSJ)
• Deliveroo may be heading for an April initial public offering at a valuation of $13.6 billion.
• Amazon, Walmart Tell Consumers to Skip Returns of Unwanted Items…using artificial intelligence to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return.
• Cowen analysts wrote that they estimate Amazon’s ad revenue to rise to $26.1 billion in 2021, and rise to $85.2 billion by 2026.
• Rediscovering RISC-V: Apple M1 sparks renewed interest in non-x86 architectures

• Chip Shortage Hits Global Automakers
• Introducing Amazon Marketing Cloud (beta)
• The world’s cryptocurrency is now worth more than $1 trillion
• Apple allegedly working with Hyundai on electric car for 2027…Apple’s Self-Driving Electric Car Is at Least Half a Decade Away
• Amazon Pantry is being discontinued as Amazon consolidates its grocery delivery services
• Google’s plan to replace tracking cookies goes under UK antitrust probe
• Mercedes unveils Hyperscreen, a curved 56-inch screen for its flagship EQS electric vehicle
• Roku acquires Quibi’s content
• Roku is becoming the most powerful company in streaming…51.2 million active accounts, adding around 14 million accounts over the past 12 months.
• Chinese search giant Baidu to make electric cars
• Xbox: The Oral History of an American Video Game Empire…The original product was ungainly, over-budget and nearly canceled. Here’s how it became a hit and reshaped an industry
• Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data to be Shared With Facebook
• Apple’s App Store had gross sales around $64 billion last year and it’s growing strongly again
• The First Pig-to-Human Organ Transplants Could Happen This Year
• Microsoft is building a new Outlook app for Windows and Mac powered by the web
• Google’s iOS apps haven’t been updated in weeks. Could Apple’s privacy labels be the reason?
• Amazon Makes First Aircraft Purchase to Expand Cargo Network…Retailer will buy 11 767-300 planes from Delta, WestJet…Amazon expects fleet to have more than 85 jets by end of 2022
• Their observations, plus a bit of cosmic geometry, suggest that the universe is 13.77 billion years old—give or take 40 million years. A Cornell University researcher co-authored one of two papers about the findings
• Epic Games buys a huge mall for its new global HQ
• Haven, the Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan venture to disrupt health care, is disbanding after 3 years
• Study finds brain-activity of people coding isn’t quite like when they use language, or do math
• How The New York Times Is Adapting to Life Without Third-Party Cookies

• Top digital marketing trends and predictions for 2021
• Spotting the signals
• The year shopping changed forever“…At the end of last year, only around 13 percent of retail purchases — excluding auto and gas sales — were made online, according to Mastercard. By the end of 2020, that figure stands at around 20 percent, or $1 out of every $5…“
• How coronavirus has shaped the home of tomorrow (Paywall : FT)
• What Did 2020 Do to Retail?
• Your Most-Played Song of 2020 Is … White Noise?“…Ambient music, background noise and calming sound effects have soothed the anxious, isolated and sleep deprived this year…”
• The Hidden Tradeoffs of Working From Home
• Tech’s top seven companies added $3.4 trillion in value in 2020
• The Apple car, briefly explained
• EarlyBird’s new app lets families and friends ‘gift’ investments to children
• Elon Musk says SpaceX will attempt to recover Super Heavy rocket by catching it with launch tower
• Fluence, the energy storage systems developer, is now worth over $1 billion after QIA investment
• Amazon acquires podcast network Wondery
• Student-founded Develop for Good surpasses 25,000 volunteer hours connecting students with nonprofits
• Best new board game apps of 2020
• The best video essays of 2020
• The Turing Test is obsolete. It’s time to build a new barometer for AI
• Study Finds More Than $100 Billion Spent on App Stores in 2020
• What we have learnt about the limits of science
• Human Development Report 2020 [PDF]
• Automation nation: 9 robotics predictions for 2021
• Why retailers everywhere should look to China
• Responsible Marketing with First-Party Data
• Decoding Decisions [PDF]| Think with Google

• Covid-19 Propelled Businesses Into the Future. Ready or Not. (Paywall: WSJ)
• FT People of the Year: BioNTech’s Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci (Paywall:FT)
• Will you have to carry a vaccine passport on your phone?
• The power of value 4.0 for industrial internet of things
• Nearly half a billion users played Among Us in November
• Zoom may launch an email service and calendar app to compete with Google and Microsoft
• Microsoft may be developing its own in-house ARM CPU designs
• Tesla is going to release Full Self-Driving monthly subscription in early 2021
• Telegram, nearing 500 million users, to begin monetizing the app
• TaskRabbit is resetting customer passwords after finding ‘suspicious activity’ on its network
• Horizon Robotics, a Chinese rival to Nvidia, seeks to raise over $700M
• Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes ‘next level’ battery technology
• The Battle for Mars
• German firm says indoor vertical farm in Singapore will produce 1.5 tons of ‘leafy greens’ every day
• There are now almost 300 so-called “neobanks” live worldwide, with nearly half concentrated in Europe.
• How Amazon Wins: By Steamrolling Rivals and Partners (Paywall:WSJ)
• Investors pour $1bn into buying up small merchants on Amazon (Paywall:FT)
• These breakthroughs will make 2021 better than 2020
• Amazon Echo Frames
• GP Bullhound Technology 2021 Predictions
• Fjord Trends 2021
• BBC Tech trends in 2021
• Trends In 2021: The Future Of Life, Learning And Play
• Trendwatching: 21 meaningful, trend-driven innovation opportunities for 2021
• Top 100 Business Trends for 2021