Sunday, January 21, 2024

[27+] Sculpture En Métal Contemporaine Abstraite Expressive - Floral Background, Girly Things, Sculptu..

Airline merger deals face regulatory hurdles / Apple Vision Pro's app mini-crisis / xAI's debunked funding round news

Plus: Canva set to raise $1.5B

Inside Business

For January 21, 2024

Thank you to our sponsor

Here are the top stories to look forward to this upcoming week:

✈️ Will Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian merger face the same hurdles as JetBlue and Spirit?
👓 Netflix and YouTube refuse to create apps for the Apple Vision Pro, but will consumers make them join the platform?
💰 Elon Musk debunks xAI's funding news, but will the company raise funding later this year?

Arbër
p/Arber

Look for: Following a ruling by a U.S. court that blocked an attempted merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, other similar deals are now at risk. A $2B planned merger deal between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian, which was announced in December, could be affected by the current strict regulatory environment. Look for more news on this topic this week.

Look for: Netflix and YouTube became the latest companies to refuse to create apps for the Apple Vision Pro. The two companies didn't specify whether they plan on launching apps down the line, so for now, consumers who want to use them will have to do so via web browsers. Other companies that have decided to forgo creating apps for Apple Vision Pro include Spotify, Snapchat, DoorDash, etc. As the launch date for the Vision Pro gets closer, expect more news on this front.

A message from our sponsor, Percent.

Invest in the $1.9 trillion asset class of private credit

Private credit is a booming industry, and for good reason. Offering diversification from market volatility, defense against inflation, and high yielding opportunities, private credit is a fast growing investment alternative in today’s economy.

With private credit, accredited investors can diversify their portfolios and potentially earn higher returns than with traditional assets. Hedge funds, private and public pensions, and institutional investors are already doing it—now you can too, with Percent.

Bringing exclusive private credit deals to thousands of investors, Percent:

Helps to diversify portfolios, with deals in small business loans, consumer lending, real estate, and more
Allows investors to regularly re-evaluate and re-calibrate shorter-term investments to meet portfolio needs
Provides a recurring income with cash flow until maturity

Learn More

Look for: Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, had raised $500M from investors and was looking to raise another $500M. The report was debunked by Musk on X, who stated the article was "not accurate." Look for reports this upcoming week on more details about xAI's funding plans for the future.

Look for: Canva is set to go through a share sale worth north of $1.5B, according to reports. If the sale goes through, it would value the company at $26B. The Australian software company has around 170 million monthly users and reported $2B in revenue in 2023.

A message from our sponsor, Parker.

We spent years building e-commerce businesses. And we solved the worst part: uneven cash flow.

If you’re in e-commerce, you know the drill: it’s the end of the month and your cash balance looks great… Until you have to pay $10,000s in bills, all at once.

These payments aren’t just frustrating—they make it harder to scale.

Unlike other financial companies, which don’t understand e-commerce and handle your finances with gloves and safety goggles, we want you to scale. Profitably.

So we built the only card in the world that gives you a 30, 60, and 90-day rolling period. Buy $20k in inventory on January 15? Pay it back on February 15. Or March 15. Or April 15, depending on your terms.

All 300+ of our customers (like Bloom Nutrition and Spikeball), have grown their cash balance because of Parker.

We’d love to help you, too.

See how we can help you scale

Look for: Eli Lilly, the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing company by market capitalization, has come under criticism after the FDA found several issues, including problems in tracking manufacturing processes and quality controls, equipment calibration, and failure to properly maintain facilities.

Look for: Earlier this week, it was reported that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is looking to raise funds for a new chip manufacturing plant and was in talks with investors such as G42 Group and Softbank Group. Look for more details to possibly emerge this upcoming week, including the plant's location, whether the company would be under the umbrella of OpenAI or a separate entity, investor names, etc.

Upcoming Events

MAR
7

Alternative investment assets to know in 2024.

Virtual

* This is a sponsored event

Quick Hits:

Want to maximize passive income from your stocks? Check out Shareholder Vote Exchange to unlock a new source of yield from your portfolio.*
Private equity company Bowmark Capital has raised a $1.1B fund. This is the seventh overall fund for the London-based company, which secured most of the funding from European and North American companies.
Shares of Super Micro, the California-based computer manufacturer, soared 36% on Friday as the company beat revenue estimations.
Biotech VC firm Mirae Asset Capital Life Science has launched its inaugural fund, raising $50M.
Unlock optimal savings with DoiT's guide to AWS and Google Cloud compute discount plans.*

*This is sponsored content.

Arbër Musliu

Writer

Arbër is an Inside analyst who has previously incubated his startup at the largest incubator in Southeastern Europe. He has collaborated with multiple major publications and holds a business degree from XAMK University in Finland.

This newsletter was edited by Megan LaBruna

Discover more on inside.com/business

Thanks for reading today's issue of Inside Business.

Explore

Complete your investment strategies with Percent today.

With Parker’s rolling terms, you get up to 90 days on every transaction.