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| Hello Insiders! Today's business newsletter covers: - 🚀 SpaceX reportedly turned a profit in Q1.
- 📉 Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell to the lowest levels in almost two months.
- 🚙 Waymo and Cruise see a surge in robotaxi app downloads.
Also, tell us how you think businesses can adapt to changing consumer behaviors and preferences here! If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Arbër
p/Arber | |
| 1 | | SpaceX reportedly turned a profit in Q1 after two consecutive quarterly losses. The company had $55M in profit and $1.5B in revenue. More: - Founded by Elon Musk in 2002, the company was valued at $150B at a recent employee stock sale.
- SpaceX, which was famously dismissed by several former astronauts and space engineers, is now the most important partner of NASA, as the agency depends on the company for most of its space missions.
- In 2022, its revenue reached $4.6B, helping the company reduce its loss last year to $559M from $968M.
- Its total expenses in the same year reached $5.2B, up from $3.3B in 2021.
- SpaceX also operates its satellite internet business Starlink, which has more than 1.5 million subscribers as of May 2023.
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What happened: Applications for unemployment benefits have dropped to the lowest level in almost two months, signaling a strengthening U.S. economy. These numbers are in line with the positive unemployment trend in the U.S., which dropped to 3.6% in 2022, down from 8.1% only two years earlier. More details: Initial claims have decreased by 11,000, totaling 239,000. Continuing claims, which include people who have received benefits for longer than one week, rose to 1.72 million. California, Texas, and Michigan had the largest drop in applications, while application numbers increased in Virginia. Why it matters: These recent statistics from the U.S. Labor Department show that higher borrowing costs have affected various sectors of the economy but have not significantly stagnated growth. Economists believe that businesses are not laying off workers because hiring them and retaining employees proved to be a major challenge during the pandemic. | | | |
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| 3 | | Waymo and Cruise have seen a rise in the number of robotaxi app downloads as they continue to expand driverless rides in the U.S. The two apps saw a combined 144% increase in downloads. More: - Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow Waymo and Cruise to expand their autonomous driving programs.
- The vote enabled the companies to offer robotaxi services across San Francisco 24/7.
- Following the decision, Waymo saw 15,400 downloads, up 67% from the 9,200 downloads it had in the previous week.
- The Cruise app was downloaded 8,300 times, a 77% increase.
- Overall, the Cruise app has 146,000 downloads, while Waymo One has 513,000 downloads.
- Cruise has started to expand to other cities, including Phoenix, but its primary focus is San Francisco. Waymo is available in San Fransisco and Phoenix and plans to expand to Los Angeles and Austin.
Zoom Out: - The robotaxi market is estimated to be worth $45.7B by 2030.
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| 4 | | Ford has announced it is building a new battery factory in Canada in partnership with SK On and Eco Pro B.M. The automaker is set to invest $890M. More: - The factory, which is set to be 3 million square feet, is set to open in 2026.
- Its production capacity will be 45,000 tons of cathode active material per year, while it will also work on R&D regarding battery safety and performance.
- Ford claims that the construction of the factory will produce 345 new jobs in Quebec.
- Once the deal is closed, EcoPro CAM Canada will oversee the day-to-day operations of the facility.
- EcoPro will specifically build the cathode active materials, while Ford will stay as an investor.
Zoom Out: - Since the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, many U.S. companies have chosen to build new EV-related factories due to the fact that the bill offers tax credits for the production of clean energy.
- Ford has previously announced plans to spend over $14B to build three battery cell factories in the U.S.
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| 5 | | BAE Systems, the U.K.'s largest weapons manufacturer, has acquired Ball Aerospace, a space warfare company, for $5.6B. Ball Aerospace is based in Colorado. More: - The aerospace company specializes in instruments, sensors, and spacecraft.
- Its satellites are used for military purposes and civilian applications, such as monitoring weather patterns.
- Company officials from BAE Systems stated that they view space warfare as a critical part of future warfare and that this acquisition helps it strengthen its position in the market.
- BAE Systems has a valuation of $36B.
Zoom Out: - Ball Aerospace's parent company, Ball Corporation, was founded in the 1880s in Buffalo. The company is known for becoming the world's largest manufacturer of recyclable metal beverage and food containers.
- In 2019, the U.S. government established a space military branch, the United States Space Force.
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| 6 | | Digital wallet provider BitGo has raised a $100M Series C funding round. The company is now valued at $1.7B. More: - BitGo offers custodian services for digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DeFi, etc.
- The company's client list includes names such as Nike, Swan, and Mysten.
- Since being founded in 2013, the company has been backed by investors such as Goldman Sachs, Craft Ventures, Galaxy Digital Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures.
- BitGo stated that the funding will be deployed for possible acquisitions and market consolidation.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The AWS Cookbook — packed with practical insights and hands-on examples — is a must-have for your cloud toolkit.*
- According to a survey from Deutsche Bank, Bud Light's sales have begun recovering.
- California-based Rondo Energy, a company that aims to produce zero-carbon industrial heat and power, raised a $60M funding round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, SCG, Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, Rio Tinto, SABIC, Aramco Ventures, and SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust.
- Norway's Central Bank raised borrowing costs to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
- Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey has announced that he has deleted his Instagram account.
- IPOs are a rare chance to invest in VC-backed startups, but this AI company opened its round to retail investors. Invest and learn more about Jurny.*
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INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Writer | | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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