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| Hey Insiders, Happy Friday! In today's Inside Business newsletter, we take a look at some of the major players in the sports betting market, how vertical farming is not producing the kind of returns investors have hoped, and how Mercedes-Benz is incorporating AI into its cars. Remember to send us your suggestions for future newsletter topics. Christopher
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| 1 | | In an effort to take a step forward in the ever-changing automobile landscape, Mercedes-Benz has partnered with Microsoft to add ChatGPT to their cars. The use of ChatGPT will make voice commands in the vehicles more fluid and natural. More: - This technology could enable additional functions besides setting directions, asking about the weather, and preparing to make a phone call, according to Microsoft.
- Mercedes already has voice-command capabilities that are triggered by the driver saying, "Hey, Mercedes."
- With ChatGPT, the system would engage in a more normal conversation and also remember the context of what was discussed in order to have a back-and-forth dialogue.
- It would also offer users a wider range of discussion points with the system, including ones not related to the car or driving.
- It could make dinner reservations on the way to a restaurant or purchase movie tickets.
- Mercedes owners in the U.S. will be able to beta test this system starting today.
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What the numbers say: DraftKings has seen a steady rise in revenue over the past three years. The sports betting company, which went public in 2020, crossed over the $1B in revenue shortly before that and has continued to climb, reaching $2.24B in 2022. Relevance: DraftKings made a $195M all-cash offer to purchase PointsBet's U.S. assets, another sports betting operator. This offer outbid rival Fanatics as companies jockey for power in the sports betting landscape. Last month, Fanatics agreed to pay $150M to purchase PointsBet. PointsBet is the seventh-largest sports betting operator in the U.S. Fanatics, the sports clothing company, has been looking to increase its stake in the sports betting world, and losing this bid would be a major blow. The deal will still need to be approved by the PointsBet board. Competition: DraftKings and FanDuel, which is owned by Flutter Entertainment, already dominate the landscape, making this potential acquisition something regulators will keep an eye on. Flutter, which also owns Sky Betting & Gaming, Sportsbet, PokerStars, Paddy Power, Sisal, tombola, Betfair, FOX Bet, TVG, Junglee Games, and Adjarabet, brought in annual revenue of $9.5B in 2022. | | | |
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| 3 | | Prosecutors have agreed to withdraw five new charges made against cryptocurrency company FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried is still set to stand trial in October on eight other charges, and he will be set to stand a second trial in early 2024 on the five counts withdrawn, which included bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. More: - Bankman-Fried was arrested in December after the fall of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. He was charged with multiple counts of fraud and was extradited from the Bahamas.
- The five charges were added after he was extradited, something that Bankman-Fried and his lawyers argued against.
- Bankman-Fried is charged with using billions of dollars of customer deposits to finance real estate purchases, donations, and additional crypto trading.
- He is currently under house arrest in his childhood home in Palo Alto, California.
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| 4 | | Over the past few years, vertical farming had become a popular investment for venture capitalists as it was seen as the future of farming. But the AI-run farms are starting to go bankrupt as the vertical farm industry is trying to figure out a way to survive. More: - Vertical farming was a new way to grow crops that uses robots and AI to conserve water and save the environment as it would grow crops indoors in large facilities by stacking crop containers vertically.
- But after venture capital firms invested billions in the idea, the money is now drying up without much profit.
- Last week, AeroFarms Inc., a high-profile produce vertical farming company, declared bankruptcy after building a massive Virginia facility that dried up all its money.
- Lettuce grower Kalera sought court protection in April, and AppHarvest, a publicly traded company that operates high-tech greenhouses, received a notice of default in May.
- Indoor farming is still expected to be a big business as climate change will affect crops for years to come. But experts are not sure how the industry will create meaningful market share.
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| 5 | | As the company emerges from Chapter 11 proceedings next month, U.K.-based movie theater company Cineworld's executives are receiving a $35M payout. CEO Mooky Greidinger, deputy chief executive Israel Greidinger, finance head Nisan Cohen, and chief commercial officer Renana Teperberg will receive between $30M and $35M from lenders in the year following their exit from the company. More: - Creditors are taking control of the world's second-largest movie theater chain and will look to install a fresh management team to turn the company around.
- The Greidingers acquired Cineworld in 2014 and U.S.-based Regal Cinemas in 2018, transforming their family-owned Israeli cinema group into a global giant.
- But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it had to abandon its plan to take over Canadian rival Cineplex for $2.1B. After that, Cineworld had $8.8B in debt and lease liability, which ultimately became untenable.
- The Greidinger brothers stand to receive the majority of the cash payout. During bankruptcy negotiations, Mooky and Israel pushed to become shareholders in the new entity, but lenders refused.
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| 6 | | More details are emerging following the announcement of the departure of Walt Disney Company chief financial officer Christine McCarthy from the company. The abrupt exit caught some colleagues and associates off guard, as she will take family medical leave to help care for her husband, who is in a healthcare facility. More: - However, a person familiar with the situation said that nothing has dramatically changed in her life recently to cause the departure.
- McCarthy clashed with Disney CEO Bob Iger and other executives over strategy, including how much Disney spends on content.
- She also didn't believe a recent restructuring of the company went far enough to streamline the company.
- McCarthy believed that the Disney Entertainment unit, which houses movie and TV operations as well as Hulu and Disney+, needed to be further consolidated.
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INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Freelance Editor | | Christopher Hachey is a freelance writer and editor based in the New York City area. He has spent most of the past 15 years in newsrooms covering all kinds of topics like sports, tech, business, finance, and commerce. He's now returning to his broadcast journalism roots by diving into podcasting news. Reach out to him at chris@inside.com | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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