A peek into today’s edition:

• My Apple Vision Pro Review (finally!)
• Big Tech CEOs on Capitol Hill
• UMG vs TikTok rages on

Believe the Hype: The Apple Vision Pro is Here & It’s a Game Changer

“MVP! MVP! MVP!”

That’s what the staffers at Apple Fifth Avenue were chanting for Apple CEO Tim Cook as he walked up to open the doors of the store to customers eager to get their hands on the Apple Vision Pro on Friday morning. Cook shook hands with early adopters of his company’s newest device, spending about an hour in the store interacting with customers and the media. Every way I turned in the store, there were excited customers unboxing their Vision Pros, doing demos, and spectating the electric scenery.

Entertainment and the freedom to work on multiple screens were the top two things people told me they were most excited about experiencing with the Vision Pro. It was very obvious to me that the majority of the early Vision Pro adopters were tech enthusiasts, coders, legacy Apple supporters, and entertainment fanatics. I was excited to be in the room and on the ground, covering a historic moment. After testing out the Vision Pro myself this week, I have one piece of advice for the skeptical people out there: Believe the hype.

My Review of the Apple Vision Pro

I’ve been covering the Apple Vision Pro‘s rollout since the day the new device was announced last June at WWDC 2023. Ahead of the Vision Pro launch, Boardroom received an exclusive demo of the device on Thursday. I got a one-hour experience and even had to share my eye prescription ahead of it so the headset would be personally calibrated for me. Right off the bat, it was simple and easy to get used to the iris control and finger taps to click and move items around. The Vision Pro is truly a spatial computer, and I was able to control how immersed I wanted to be in the virtual space compared to being able to see the physical space around me.

I mostly interacted with apps native to Vision Pro, which truly leaned into making a spatial computing experience. I was able to select immersive backgrounds, and I was impressed by the device’s ability to handle multiple screens at once. I had screens positioned all around me, though typing is definitely a task I’ll have to get used to.

Watching movies in the Vision Pro exceeded my expectations. I felt like I was at the movie theater with the best seats in the house, and don’t get me started on the video quality. The imagery was top-tier. Aside from getting up close with a dinosaur that made me forget it wasn’t really in front of me and a butterfly landing on the tip of my finger, the NBA League Pass experience was, by far, my favorite thing I got to try.

Honestly, the only thing I was missing out on was interacting with my friends and other users, which I’m sure there will be updates and apps that allow for that down the line.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my experience, I left that demo thinking: Who is this device actually for, and how will Apple market it to the masses? I can’t imagine kids or someone my mom’s age investing in a device like this at this stage.

I got a couple of insights into these questions when I joined Cook and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at the NBA HQ on Friday afternoon for an exclusive experience with the development team that built the Vision Pro version of NBA League Pass. Chad Evans, NBA SVP Head of Product, along with Senior Software Engineers Lauren Marshall and Matthew Parrott, presented their work on building out NBA League Pass from the Vision Pro. Evans told me that a core team of six engineers, designers, and product managers worked on the NBA League Pass app for the Vision Pro.

“We really wanted to be there for the launch because we think it’s really important for fans to get their hands on the experience,” Evans told Boardroom. “I love statistics and the way stats can help you build a deeper understanding of the game. We actually rebuilt our core stats engine so that we can have real-time stats in sync with all of the videos you’re watching. That experience just makes the app feel alive.”

Following the demo, I asked Cook and Silver one question from all of the learnings I gathered about the Vision Pro: What do you think the future of sports and entertainment is in this new spatial computing universe, and how will you get fans to invest in it?

“I think it’s more immersive than ever before; I think the fan wants to be a part of the game and a part of the action, and there’s nothing like being in Vision Pro and feeling like you’re on the court,” Cook exclusively told me. “It’s not that you have a courtside seat; it’s so much better than that. I’m so excited. I think it really changes everything.”

Silver doubled down on that.

“You often hear, even from casual NBA fans, that the best seat in all of sports is a courtside seat, which virtually no one gets to experience. As Tim said, this is in many ways better than sitting courtside; it can take you anywhere on the floor, it can give you the perspective of a player, and it can give you places you can otherwise never go and absorb it,” Silver told me. “It can give you the perspective of a player; it can give you places you can otherwise never go and absorb it. “These are, of course, early days, but it is transformative. This will, to me, be how people over time experience sports through media.”

I have more insights to share from my experience with the Apple team this week, but one thing is clear to me after my experience this week: Apple is all in on entertainment for the Vision Pro.

Expect more from me on the new device very soon.

• Big Tech CEOs from Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X were in the hot seat on Wednesday during a Senate hearing focused on the harm young users face online and policies meant to protect them. Meta‘s Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew got most of the heat from Senators looking to pass a bill that would put more liability on social platforms when young users experience harm online.
• Amazon mutually agreed with iRobot to call off its planned acquisition of the Roomba maker. As a result, iRobot founder and CEO Colin Angle announced he is stepping down, and the company has cut 31% of its workforce, which is 350 people.
• In other Amazon news, the Bellevue, WA, house where Jeff Bezos founded the Big Tech company has hit the real estate market for $2.3 million.
• Elon Musk reported on X that the first human has received a Neuralink brain-computer interface, a device that’s implanted into the brain and allows users to control external computers, robotic products, and mobile devices. The patient is a part of Neuralink’s first human trial for its flagship device.
• Also, a Delaware judge sided with Tesla shareholders who filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk to block his 2018 pay package, which included a whopping $56 billion salary that was previously approved by the company’s board.
• TikTok has a master plan to boost shopping and in-app sales by opening live studios across major cities like LA that allow creators to come in and livestream products they are pushing to sell. The company is also working on a new feature that would allow users to feature links to products in their videos.
• OpenAI’s ChatGPT announced a partnership with children’s safety org Common Sense Media to develop AI guidelines, educational materials, and a kid-friendly section in the GPT Store.

• Amazon & Meta Making Big Market Moves, Apple Exceeds Earnings Expectations
• Universal Music Group Artists Set to Disappear from TikTok After Negotiations Break Down
• Microsoft, Alphabet Post Big Revenue Numbers but Mixed Market Results

Universal Music Group decided to pull its music library from TikTok this week after the parties failed to reach a new agreement on royalties for artists and songwriters. I’m going to bet that UMG will return to the short-form video platform by the end of Q1 since it’s been able to reach deals with every other social network on the market.

The post Believe the Hype: The Apple Vision Pro is Here & It’s a Game Changer appeared first on Boardroom.

Tesla‘s stock is down nearly 1% in after-hours trading after it narrowly missed revenue projections for the fourth quarter of 2023 in its most recent earnings report.

The electric vehicle maker generated $25.17 billion in revenue versus the $25.6 billion analysts expected. Still, Tesla’s Q4 revenue increased 3% year-over-year. The company didn’t see much growth across auto revenue, the primary area of its business. Elsewhere, Tesla’s net income more than doubled to $7.9 billion for the quarter compared to the $3.7 billion the company brought in a year ago.

Tesla’s shares have been on the decline since the start of 2024, with the company’s stock falling an estimated 16% this month.

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Overall, Tesla’s automotive revenue for 2023 came in at $82.42 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year. Tesla told investors that it expects to ramp up production on Cybertrucks this year, so we may see a flood of the new vehicles on the roads soon. The EV company reported that it has the capacity to make more than 125,000 Cybertrucks in 2024.

On a good note, Tesla’s energy division saw a 54% bump in revenue to $6.04 billion. In Q4 specifically, Tesla generated $21.56 billion in automotive revenue. However, execs suggested that there will be a significant decrease in the increase of the number of Teslas on the road in 2024. This is due to reallocated efforts to design new models of the coveted EVs.

Tesla attributed its overall declining profits to the reduced average sales price of its vehicles and higher operating expenses. Despite that, Tesla says it has “sufficient liquidity” to fund its product roadmap, expansion plans, and other expenses. The company also recently implemented some pay increases for its hourly factory employees in the U.S. to combat rising labor costs and compete with big automakers like General Motors and Ford.

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The post Tesla Narrowly Misses Revenue Projections for Q4 2023, Predicts Lower Output in 2024 appeared first on Boardroom.

I’m back in your inbox after a short Christmas hiatus to highlight five tech trends and some of my favorite headlines from 2023. I’m not sure about you, but it seems so surreal to be wrapping up another year. I’ve been looking back at all of my reporting and Tech Talk editions from this year, and I’m in awe at all that has happened in the industry. Recently, I recapped 10 of the biggest tech moments in 2023, and I noticed that many of the big headlines touch on the same themes.

Many new tech trends arose this year, but these stood out to me the most. Here are five tech trends that took over headlines in 2023.

AI Overtook Blockchain as Biggest Emerging Tech

Artificial intelligence quickly became the top emerging tech this year, and experts expect it to have the most impact on the industry in the coming years. In 2021, we’d easily say the blockchain would be the tech to change the world, and that still may be true, but AI is running the game right now.

There was always skepticism about the blockchain, and the tech’s primary use cases in the last two years were NFTs and cryptocurrencies. The unpredictableness of the digital assets market stirred people away from it. I still truly believe the possibilities are limitless on the blockchain, a technology simply built on creating decentralized digital ledgers for any and every transaction that happens on enabled networks. I think the difference with AI is that it’s not a new type of technology; it’s just being leveraged and implemented in new and different ways.

AI’s impact has already spanned various industries this year alone, and I have no doubt it will continue to expand and impact everything we do in the years to come.

The Race for Best AI Chatbot Took Shape

We’ve all likely interacted with AI chatbots before when using online customer service systems, but those are nothing like the AI chatbots we can access today. To think, around this time last year, all people could talk about was a new AI chatbot called ChatGPT that could only be used on a desktop. So much has changed since then.

Here’s a snippet of some of the AI chatbots on the market racing to be the best and favorite among everyday people:

• ChatGPT: OpenAI‘s flagship AI-powered and text-generated chatbot has attracted 100 million monthly users since it launched in late November last year. ChatGPT has expanded with free, premium, and enterprise versions.
• Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft was the first to follow in OpenAI’s footsteps in February by overhauling its search engine Bing and implementing an AI chatbot function. The chatbot was originally named Bing Chat before rebranding as Microsoft Copilot.
• Bard: Google entered the race in March when it launched Bard, a conversational generative AI chatbot equipped with Googling capabilities.
• Claude: Anthropic, an AI startup founded by ex-OpenAI employees, also launched the first version of its AI chatbot in March. Claude is available through open beta and has pro and enterprise versions as well.
• Grok: Elon Musk‘s xAI unveiled a conversational AI chatbot that responds humorously, for lack of better terms. Grok launched in November exclusively for verified X Premium Plus subscribers. `

It’s easy to say ChatGPT is the most popular or best because it was the first, but I have no doubt Big Tech companies will continue to give OpenAI a run for its money next year.

New VR and AR Headsets Emerged

The competition for the best mixed-reality headset also kicked off this year. Apple, Meta, and Sony have risen as the biggest players in this race, with all three companies either releasing or announcing new headsets this year.

Sony released the PlayStation VR2 in February for $549, but users can only use this headset if they already have a PS5. The PlayStation VR2 is not a standalone headset and requires a PS5 to set up and function. Conversely, you can play PlayStation titles in VR, which isn’t doable with any other headset on the market.

Meta is bullish on VR headsets, and it made that clear when it launched another new one this year. The Big Tech giant now has three headsets on the market. Its most popular headset, the Quest 2, launched in October 2020 and retails for $249.99. Meta has shipped an estimated 20 million Quest 2s since launch. The company launched the Quest Pro in October 2022 and initially sold the high-end headset for $1,499.99 before knocking the price down to $999.99 in March. Consumers don’t seem to be that into the Quest Pro, and rumors are circulating that Meta will discontinue it soon. But it doesn’t stop there. Meta released the Quest 3 in October for $499.99, an updated and much slimmer version of the Quest 2.

Apple has officially entered the mixed-reality headset chat with the Vision Pro. The tech company’s augmented reality and virtual reality headset won’t come with controllers and is equipped with 4K displays, a 3D interface, spatial audio, and eye-tracking tech. Apple’s first headset is slated to hit the market in early 2024, and it will (allegedly) retail for $3,499.

Bitcoin’s Resurgence Put Crypto Back on the Map

Bitcoin is back on the rise as the volatile digital assets market shakes off some of that snow from the longest crypto winter ever. One thing to know about crypto is that when one asset is doing well, the entire market reaps some of the benefits in one way or another. Bitcoin averaged around $20,000 in January and even went as low as $16,600 to kick off the year. Bitcoin’s average has more than doubled since the token is trading above $43,000 as of December and crossed the $40,000 threshold in recent weeks for the first time in over a year and a half.

Bitcoin has been up and down all year, but since Q4 hit, the cryptocurrency has been climbing at a steady pace. There can be many reasons for this, but two that have a high impact include fodder around an impending Spot Bitcoin ETF approval and the next Bitcoin halving event that is estimated to happen between April and May 2024.

Bitcoin didn’t start 2023 strong, so I’ll be paying close attention to how the token performs at the top of the year.

Tech Layoffs Plagued the Industry

Thousands of tech workers were laid off this year as companies attempted to adjust and reset after overhiring staff during the pandemic. It seemed like every other week, there was news of another tech company cutting employees. The media industry was hit pretty hard, too.

Here is a short recap of Big Tech layoffs that came this year:

• Alphabet/Google: Laid off 12,000 employees in late January in a mass restructuring of business focus.
• Amazon: Laid off 9,000 more employees in March after announcing in November 2022 that it was cutting 18,000 workers. The Big Tech company cut another 180 gaming employees in April.
• Meta: Cut 11,00 jobs in fall of 2022 before laying off another 10,000 employees in March to further cut costs and operate more efficiently. Meta’s recruiting, technology, and business divisions were most affected by the cuts.
• Microsoft: Laid off 10,000 workers between January and March to trim costs. The Big Tech company’s subsidiary, LinkedIn, laid off 716 workers in May before letting go of 668 employees in October.
• Spotify: Cut 600 employees in January, 200 more in June, and another 1,500 workers in December to round out three rounds of layoffs this year.
• ByteDance: Cut hundreds of jobs across its gaming division in November as it pulled back its aggressive push into the market.

Other Big Tech players like Apple and Tesla carried out smaller rounds of layoffs throughout the year, but not big enough to make headlines. On the other hand, Nvidia didn’t make any cuts this year and hasn’t made a formal round of layoffs in 15 years, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a recent internal meeting.

15 of My Favorite Headlines from 2023

In no particular order, here are 15 stories I wrote this year that I’m really proud of.

1. ‘Queen Charlotte’ Gives Black Women the Limelight
2. Boardroom Q&A: Latasha Gillespie, Amazon Studios Head of Global DEI
3. This Song Is No Longer Available: Forecasting the Future of Music and AI
4. The Business Behind VeeCon
5. Omar Bailey’s FCTRY LAb is More Than a Sneaker Innovation Hub
6. Black Women in Tech Don’t Owe You Anything
7. NBA Threads: A Guide to the Thriving Hardwood Community
8. Tennis & Tech: Inside IBM’s Artificial Intelligence Evolution at the 2023 US Open
9. Cole Anthony & Crystal McCrary McGuire Want to Make Your Kid into an NBA Player
10. Key Facts You Need to Know About the Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
11. Tech Talk Reviews: WHOOP Coach, Powered by OpenAI
12. Boardroom Q&A: Pauliina Törnqvist, Senior Producer of VR Games at Meta
13. Forecasting the Future: Predictions for Crypto in 2024
14. 10 Must-have Tech Gadgets For Your 2023 Holiday Wish List
15. ChatGPT Turns 1: A Timeline of Events From a Monumental First Year

I (risk-free) gambled on movements in the tech industry over 40 times this year in this little section. I won’t be placing a new bet today. Instead, let’s take a look back at all of the bets I made this year and how some of the big ones landed.

Now, let’s raise a glass and cheers to making it through another year. I hope you enjoyed this last edition of 2023. Tech Talk will be back in 2024!

The post 5 Tech Trends That Took Over Headlines in 2023 appeared first on Boardroom.

Another year is coming to a close, and now, more than ever, the tech industry is moving and shaking things up. New tech companies are rising to the top, and the Big Tech giants are expanding with new tech and products to stay in the race.

To cap off another eventful year, Boardroom details 10 of the biggest tech moments, announcements, and headlines from 2023. In no particular order, here we go.

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10 of the Biggest Tech Moments of 2023

OpenAI fired Sam Altman, then hired him back in a week.

OpenAI‘s board fired its CEO and co-founder Sam Altman in mid-November in an unexpected coup before rehiring the AI tycoon less than a week later. Altman’s return came with a new board and little to no confirmed explanation from OpenAI as to why he was ousted in the first place. The entire debacle from bizarre, and every day for a week, it seemed like more and more tea was getting spilled.

Microsoft finally got clearance to acquire Activision Blizzard.

In October, Microsoft officially got the green light to acquire video game giant Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The Big Tech leader first bid to acquire Activision in January 2022, with its biggest hurdle being UK regulators. After negotiating some changes to the costly contract, Microsoft moved closer to pulling off its biggest deal yet. The acquisition deal closed the same day both parties signed the contract.

Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty.

Nearly a year after getting arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the US, disgraced ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy at the top of November. SBF spent five weeks in court trying to convince a jury that he didn’t steal billions of dollars and defraud FTX customers. The former crypto leader will be sentenced on March 28, 2024; he’s facing a maximum of 115 years in prison.

Guilty on All Counts

SBF was convicted of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers in one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

Read More!

Google launched an AI chatbot called Bard.

In March, Google opened public access to Bard AI, its flagship competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google’s conversational and generative artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot hasn’t risen to popularity like ChatGPT has, but it’s still in the early days of the AI chatbot race.

Twitter officially became X while legacy users flocked to other apps.

Elon Musk officially rebranded Twitter as X in July, sunsetting the icon blue bird logo we’ve known and loved for over a decade. X has been pushing hard to become the “everything app” this year but has steep competition now. As X continues to make changes, there has been a surge in other text-based apps like Bluesky, Spill, and Meta’s newest app.

Meta launched a new text-based app called Threads.

Meta once again shocked the social media world when it launched a new text-based conversation app called Threads in July.  The primary purpose of Threads is to be an app more focused on text and dialogue, modeled after what Instagram has done for photos and videos. Since its launch, the new app has attracted approximately 100 million monthly active users. Threads came in a “year of efficiency” for Meta, which also saw its stock surge as much as 176% in 2023.

Introducing NBA Threads

Boardroom breaks down the thriving & growing community on the text-based app, where users have been organically fostering conversation around the global sport.

Check it out!

Apple hit a historic milestone with a $3 trillion market cap.

Apple made history in July when it again hit a $3 trillion market capitalization. The Big Tech giant is the first public company to reach that milestone and has done it twice. The accolade came a month after Apple announced that it would release its first virtual reality and augmented reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro. The headset is set to launch in early 2024.

Google loses to Epic Games in court.

A jury unanimously sided with Epic Games over Google in an antitrust case that started three years ago when the Fortnite creator filed a lawsuit against the Big Tech company for charging higher than normal app store fees and restricting payment systems. Epic Games hopes this court decision will force Google to allow app developers to use alternative payment systems within their apps or run their own app stores on Android. Right now, Google gets a 30% cut of in-app purchases. We’ll know more about Google’s app store changes in January.

AI-generated “Heart on My Sleeve” song goes viral.

An AI-generated song featuring vocals from Drake and The Weeknd went viral in April, sparking a larger discussion about the use of AI across the music industry. Drake and The Weeknd didn’t agree to let their voices be featured on the song “Heart on My Sleeve,” anonymously produced by TikToker Ghostwriter977. After a short viral stint, major social media and streaming platforms removed Ghostwriter’s original posts for infringing content creation with generative AI.

Tesla’s Cybertruck finally hit the road.

Tesla began delivering the first round of its much-anticipated Cybertrucks at the end of November, two years after it originally planned to roll them out. The new electric-powered vehicle with a futuristic trapezoid-like design is Tesla’s first new model in three years. The electric automotive maker plans to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year once it reaches full production mode.

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The post Apple, Google, & Meta Lead the 10 Biggest Tech Moments of 2023 appeared first on Boardroom.

Tesla is expected to deliver to customers the first batch of its much-anticipated and much-delayed Cybertruck this week.

It’s been four years since Tesla chief Elon Musk announced that his automotive company would foray into the pickup truck market with a concept version of what the Cybertruck could be. Preorders began in 2019, and production was originally set to start in 2021 before the pandemic hit. After delays, Tesla debuted its first model this past July and is set to launch a batch of deliveries following a showcase event on Thursday, Nov. 30 at its manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.

As the Tesla Cybertruck officially enters the automotive market, Boardroom breaks down everything you need to know about the new electric-powered vehicle.

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All About The Tesla Cybertruck

This is not your conventional pickup truck, and it doesn’t have an exposed cargo bed like most pickups. Instead, it has a fully enclosed futuristic trapezoid-like design with various pointed edges. The Tesla Cybertruck, which is the carmaker’s first new model in three years, is a steel-clad, electric vehicle with up to a reported 500 miles of battery range before needing a new charge. The Cybertruck is expected to be bullet-proof with windows made of shatter-proof glass.

It’s unclear how fast the vehicle will be able to go, but Tesla reports that it can reach up to 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds. It might not look like a pickup truck, but the Tesla Cybertruck will have a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds and a 3,500-pound payload capacity. The truck seats six passengers and includes a 17-inch navigation touchscreen on the dashboard for the vehicle’s pilot.

The truck is made of stainless steel, which has created challenges across production volume for Tesla. The vehicle’s rigid design was created to hold up against dents, external damages, and usual wear-and-tear.

Despite setbacks and a myriad of other challenges, Tesla’s Cybertruck is in high demand among loyal Tesla customers. Musk tweeted that Cybertrucks were headed to Tesla Stores in North America on Nov. 22.

Usually, customers know what they’re paying before their vehicle hits the road, but that’s not the case here. Tesla hasn’t shared the Cybertruck’s price publicly, though many reports say it will cost in the $39,900 to $50,000 range. Whatever the price ends up being, the Tesla Cybertruck is expected to cost $10,000 more than initially planned. Inflation and production volume challenges will impact the Cybertruck’s price the most.

What’s Next?

During a Tesla earnings call in mid-October, Musk said that the company won’t reach full production capacity on the Cybertruck until 2025. Originally, Tesla said it would develop three versions — a single motor, dual motor, and tri-motor — but those plans appear to have changed since only the single motor model is shipping with this first launch.

Tesla will likely only ship between 2,000 and 3,000 Cybertrucks this year, with plans to reach 10,000 units in the first half of 2024. This is far off from the 1 million preorders Musk said Tesla already received for its Cybertruck. Still, Tesla plans to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year once it reaches full production mode.

Boardroom will continue to follow Tesla’s Cybertruck production and track down some early reviews of the vehicle.

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Michelai’s Bet of the Week: A 2023 Rundown of Every Odd

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The post Everything You Need to Know About the Tesla Cybertruck appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition:

• Google is looking to get into the life advice business
• Vinfast is the newest name in the expanding EV market
• Bored Ape Yacht Club owners are stepping up with a lawsuit

Hackers Assembled in Vegas for a White House-sanctioned Event to Break AI

More than 2,000 hackers gathered in Las Vegas for the 31st annual Defcon conference. This year, amidst the multiple stations, the ones that were dedicated to artificial intelligence drew huge crowds. Many attendees collectively tried to predict all of the darkest, least ethical capacities of and uses for artificial intelligence. As the group gathered, they had the blessing of both the White House and each of the biggest companies leading the AI revolution. By exposing the risks of AI technology, the hackers prepared companies with new questions to solve as they roll out the technology in new and innovative ways, staving off some of the more nefarious capabilities. Judges scored the efforts, and two of the peak performances came from Stanford student Cody Ho, who didn’t realize that he was a winner until contacted by a reporter from the New York Times.

Google is Prepping an AI Tool to Hand Out Life Advice

“Hey Google, what should I do with my life?”

The tech giant is reportedly working on building AI technology that will help users make sense of this crazy, mixed-up world. Google’s DeepMind project is testing technology that would enable artificial intelligence to give users life advice. Up until now, this use of AI has been expressly avoided. The technology fields prompts and hands out potential solutions in return, acting as a modern-day “Dear Abby.” But this is only one aspect of DeepMind’s potential, which spans 21 opportunities, including critical breakdowns of complex topics, fact-checking, and more.

Vinfast Leaps into the Market with $18.5 Billion Valuation

The race for top market share in the electric vehicle world is heating up. Just this week, Tesla announced that it will reduce the price of its X and S models by nearly $10,000. However, it has a new competitor in the global market. Vietnamese company VinFast made its Nasdaq debut on Wednesday. Although the stock plummeted nearly 20% on its first day of trading, its market cap remained above $18.5 billion. This huge number placed it above legacy brands such as Ford and GM. Will the company keep up with the rising demand for EVs across the world? More on that in our Bet of the Week.

Bored Ape Owners Sue Sothebys, Paris Hilton, and More

Remember last year when every day there was a new celebrity scooping up a coveted Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT? From Justin Bieber to Snoop Dogg, anyone who was anyone was getting into the exclusive club. As NFTs have fallen out of favor, the value of the digital collectibles has plummeted. Now, a collective of Bored Ape owners is headed to court, suing Sotheby’s, Paris Hilton, and more for “misleadingly promot[ing]” the NFTs and artificially inflating the prices. Today, the average Bored Ape is valued at just over $50,000, whereas in May 2022 that number was 8x greater. Yuga Labs, the company behind the BAYC, responded to the claim, saying, “We believe that these new allegations, like those in the previous iteration of this opportunistic complaint, are completely without merit or factual basis.”

In Other News: Welcome to “Slivingland,” Reliable Service is Coming to FedEx Field, & More

• Microsoft and OpenAI execs sat down and reflected on the current moment in AI, equating its potential impact to be as big as when Bill Gates called the internet at “tidal wave” in 1995. Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia saw its stock soar this week, as analysts got bullish on its potential role in the industry boom.

• She may be named in the Bored Ape lawsuit, but she won’t let that bother her. Paris Hilton launched the entertainment hub “Slivingland” on Roblox this week. That’s hot, we guess.

• There is a new ownership group in town in nation’s capital and sponsors are lining up to collab. Verizon announced a wide-ranging, two-year deal with the Washington Commanders this week. The partnership will focus on increasing connectivity at FedEx Field and improving the overall fan experience.

• The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has come to an end after an incredible month. Despite breaking attendance and viewership records, Amazon’s Alexa couldn’t answer the simplest of questions about the competition. The technology encountered a system error when users asked who won the semifinal match between England and Australia, highlighting potential evidence of sexism embedded in the device’s programming and operation.

• Netflix is bidding farewell to its DVD business by sending some keepsakes to diehard fans. Users will receive up to 10 DVDs when the streaming giant sends them out the final time during the week of Sept. 29. However, you have to wonder if DVDs will have a resurgence similar to records, as Gen Z’ers double down on tangible goods.

• Bitcoin sank below $26,000 this week, marking its worst week since November 2022. The dip was motivated by a Wall Street Journal report that revealed that Elon Musk sold off a significant amount of SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings in 2022.

• TikTok launched its music streaming app in select markets last month; however, things may not be going according to plan. The app was expected to expand into the U.S. next month, but the company implemented layoffs in the music department this week that included both its heads of partnerships and strategy. The move throws the future of the streaming service into question.

VinFast will go the way of Rivian, facing an extreme challenge (and plummeting stock prices) as it is unable to keep up with the sky-high demand for its EV offerings.

The post Hackers Tackle AI at the 30th Annual Defcon Event in Las Vegas appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition:

• Threads on the web
• Google and UMG sync on AI music tool
• Microsoft is betting on Web3

Threads is Headed to the Web

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Threads that the new microblogging platform is getting a web version and conventional search function in the next few weeks. Meta launched Threads from stealth with a lot of missing features social media users typically expect. Still, millions of users flocked to the platform in the last month, and Meta hopes to retain early adopters with the rollout of some much-anticipated features. Threads is bringing in about 8 million daily active users, which is down from its peak of 44 million daily active users around its launch. Still, Meta is rolling out Threads updates, including the ability to share a post to Instagram DMs directly, a more intuitive mention button, and custom text for photos and videos.

For now, Threads is still only mobile-friendly, and it’s unclear if Meta will release iPad and Mac apps soon, but the Big Tech company has been internally testing more versions of the platform.

Google and UMG in Negotiations For AI Music Tools

Remember that viral AI-generated song featuring Drake and The Weeknd’s vocals that Universal Music Group got pulled from streaming platforms for copyright infringement claims? Well, it seems like UMG had a change of heart following a potential new partnership with Google. UMG and the Big Tech firm are in negotiations on a deal to license artists’ voices and melodies for AI-generated songs. The pair are discussing developing an AI tool for users to generate songs, with the appropriate copyright owners getting compensated. Artists will have a choice to participate in the licensing platform. Warner Music Group is discussing a similar deal with Google.

A deal of this magnitude gestures at how the major labels will look to monetize AI and potentially combat unauthorized deepfakes and other pitfalls. The biggest question now is how many artists will get on board with this new idea.

OpenAI Funds NYU’s New Journalism Ethics Project

ChatGPT‘s parent company OpenAI is dishing out a $395,000 grant to fund a journalism ethics initiative at New York University. The new opportunity will be part of NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and offer workshops and discussions centered on journalism ethics issues, and produce articles and papers for its own website and other news outlets, Axios reported. Stephen Adler, former editor-in-chief of Reuters and veteran journalist, will lead the new initiative and conduct research about quality journalism in the age of AI.

OpenAI’s investment in NYU comes after the company announced last month that it would invest up to $10 million in the American Journalism Project to bolster local news. OpenAI is also partnering with the Associated Press to explore use cases for AI in newsrooms.

The White House Announces a $20M AI Cyber Challenge

The Biden-Harris Administration announced a two-year hacking challenge with nearly $20 million in prizes up for grabs. Led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the AI Cyber Challenge is calling on US competitors to create AI-focused tech solutions that fix software vulnerabilities. The initial qualifying event will take place in the spring of 2024, where up to 20 teams will advance to the semifinal competition. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency made a commitment to invest $1 million each into seven small businesses that participate in the challenge. Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are some of the top companies that will lend their AI tech to competitors who must build open-source systems that could potentially be widely used.

In Other News

• Microsoft announced a partnership with layer-1 blockchain developer Aptos Labs to build AI tools for blockchain integrations and accelerate mass Web3 adoption.
• Amazon will meet with the FTC next week to avoid an antitrust lawsuit that’s been brewing for a long time. If filed, the lawsuit could force the e-commerce giant to break up some of its business practices.
• In its latest push to make crypto payments and transfers the norm, PayPal launched its own stablecoin, PayPal USD, that will be pegged to the US dollar and become its official digital coin.
• Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is back in custody less than two months ahead of his fraud trail after a judge revoked his bail due to his involvement with media leaks.
• There’s trouble in the C Suite. Tesla’s longtime CFO Zach Kirkhorn stepped down after 13 years of working in various roles at the company, and Disney’s metaverse lead, Mike White, left his post after only a year and a half in the role.
• Renowned online streamer Kai Cenat is in the hot seat again and is facing criminal charges after running an electronics giveaway in NYC that incited chaos and resulted in dozens of arrests.
• Dogecoin founder Billy Markus tweeted that he’s made five times more revenue from posting on X than he did in creating his notable cryptocurrency.

The post Threads is Headed to the Web appeared first on Boardroom.

Tesla earned $3.7 billion in net income on $24.3 billion in revenue, representing a 59% Q4 increase from this time last year when the company reported $2.8 billion in revenue. Despite a decline in demand for the electric cars and never-ending drama around Elon Musk, the company hit record revenue and beat earnings projections.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what Tesla announced:

• Total revenue grew 37% YoY in Q4.
• The operating income increased to $3.9 billion in Q4 for a 16% operating margin.
• The adjusted earnings were $1.19 per share in the quarter, up from 85 cents a share a year earlier.
• For 2022, the company had adjusted earnings per share of $4.07.

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Company Outlook

On its official website, Tesla writes that in 2023 it expects to remain “ahead of the 50% CAGR” with around 1.8 million cars for the year. Despite the positive outlook here, it was one of the most unique quarters for a company like Tesla. Musk’s purchase of Twitter led to an immediate decline in Tesla’s stock price, which fell by as much as 65% over the course of 2022. As a result, Bloomberg reported that Musk became the first person in history to lose $200 billion.

Wrapping all things up, the electric car maker beat on both earnings and revenue. Tesla reported production of 439,701 vehicles in the period ending Dec. 31, 2022. Full-year deliveries generated around 1.31 million — a record for the company — after starting production at new factories in Texas and Germany.

Read More:

• Upcoming Article
• ChatGPT, Voice Engine, Sam Altman & More Updates from OpenAI
• From March Madness to Man United: Brands Make Fan Dreams Come True
• Everything is On the Table for Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera & The Shop
• Boardroom Talks: Amar’e Stoudemire Always Understood the Game

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The post Despite Decline in Demand, Tesla Reports Record Revenue & Earnings appeared first on Boardroom.

PGA Tour Claims Federal Court Victory over LIV Golfers

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to be in battle. Ahead of this weekend’s FedEx Playoffs, a federal judge denied an appeal by LIV tour members Talor Gooch, Matt Jones, and Hudson Swafford to enable them to play in the event. Today, Judge Beth Lashbon Freeman ruled in favor of the PGA Tour and denied a motion for the temporary restraining order.

Boardroom dove into what’s on the line at this weekend’s event at TPC Southwind in Memphis.

Endeavor Group Releases Minor League Holdings to Silver Lake

Over the last several months, Endeavor has been scooping up real estate in the minor leagues. By acquiring 10 teams, the talent agency promised a new future. Unfortunately, there was extensive debate as to whether the purchases constituted a conflict of interest. Before being brought to court, Endeavor decided to sell its entire collection of minor league baseball teams to technology portfolio company Silver Lake for $280 million.

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NFL Signs off on $4.65B Sale of the Denver Broncos

A deal to sell the Denver Broncos is finally complete. The Walton-Penner ownership group’s $4.65 billion bid for the NFL franchise was accepted in April; however, they overcame the final hurdle as the league’s owners approved the sale. As the Waltons expand their ownership of professional sports franchises across Colorado, the family has assembled an all-star ownership group that includes seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton and former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Off-White Reported to Outfit AC Milan as Official Style Partner

Just imagine if Zlatan Ibrahimovic and AC Milan get the Off-White treatment. Reports from Milan suggest that the late Virgil Abloh‘s Off-White brand will step in to dress the champs for the 2022/23 season. The Italian Serie A club parted ways with Harmont & Blaine as the club’s official style partner at the end of last season. The brand has produced football jerseys for Nike in the past and, if seen through, will be Off-White’s first partnership with a sports team.

Los Angeles Rams Ring in New Dapper Labs Partnership

The Los Angeles Rams crafted a Super Bowl ring for the ages. The details of the big-time bling nod to the various moments that drove the championship campaign. Now, the franchise is developing a digital replica in partnership with Dapper Labs‘ NFL All Day. The limited-edition collection will go live on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. The NFT rings will be available in three tiers with descending availability, Starter Rings ($9), All-Star Rings ($59), and Hall of Fame Rings ($699).

Kim Kardashian Sets the Vibe with Signature Beats

Kim Kardashian is rethinking ordinary earbuds as stylish accessories. The mogul recently teamed up with Beats by Dre to create a trio of neutral skin-toned Apple Beats Fit Pros catered to fashion-forward consumers. The Beats x Kim earbuds will be available in Moon (light), Dune (medium), and Earth (deep) colorways on Aug. 16. 

Elon Musk Sells 7.92M Tesla Shares Worth $6.88B

Earlier in the year, Tesla boss Elon Musk indicated he would hold onto his remaining shares of the company. Now, he’s changing his tune. CNBC reports that Musk sold 7.92 million shares of Tesla last week for an estimated $6.88 billion. Additional reports indicate that to date, Musk has offloaded $8.4 billion worth of shares in 2022.

J Balvin Will Kick Off NFL Season

J Balvin is turning up to kick off the NFL season. The Colombian megastar will perform a public concert powered by Verizon ahead of the Bills/ Rams game on Sept. 8. The NFL will live stream the event on its website with additional coverage on the season premiere of Football Across America on NBC.

World Lacrosse Prepares for Olympic Expansion

The game of lacrosse is on the rise. The PLL recently closed a major funding round, signaling the ongoing growth of the sport. Now, World Lacrosse is leading an effort to get the game to the 2028 Olympics. To do so, they are honoring the roots of the sport with a new campaign, “LAX: Indigenous Made, Globally Played.” The new ad will showcase during the 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U21 Championship which will be featured on ESPN.

Boardroom recently caught up with one of the biggest stars in the women’s game, Charlotte North.

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The post Serena Williams Sets Sights on Second Set appeared first on Boardroom.

Mo Donegal Takes Home Belmont Stakes Crown

This year’s Triple Crown has come to a conclusion. In the final race, favorite Mo Donegal took home the third and final title, followed by Nest. Both horses are owned by Mike Repole, who founded BODYARMOR. The two horses took home the top prizes of $800,000 and $280,000, respectively.

Charl Schwartzel Bags $4.75M Title in First-ever LIV Tournament

The future of golf has arrived. South African Charl Schwartzel was awarded LIV Golf’s first-ever tournament title, as the new Saudi-backed alternative to the PGA takes over. Unlike a PGA event, the tournament also hosts a team event, which Schwartzel also led to victory. He took home $4 million for his individual title and an additional $750,000 for the team win. 

Boardroom broke down every golfer who is playing on the new tour.

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Tampa Bay Lightning Surges to Third Consecutive Stanley Cup 

The Stanley Cup Finals match-up is solidified. The Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Colorado Avalanche for the NHL’s top title after taking down the Rangers in Game 6. The Lightning proved it pays to have the highest cash payroll in the league as they skate to the team’s third consecutive Finals appearance in hopes to secure a three-peat.

Taylor Swift Makes Surprise Appearance at Tribeca Festival, Discusses Future in Film

Taylor Swift knows many things all too well. Now, the songstress is taking her talents to the silver screen as she debuted a short film All Too Well: The Short Film at the Tribeca Festival, following the premiere with a sitdown discussion, in which she revealed she would like to direct a feature film. Following the debut, Swift dropped the movie version of the song on Apple Music and Spotify.

Tesla Eyes Three-for-one Stock Split with SEC Filings

In its annual filings, Tesla teased an upcoming shift in its future on Wall Street. The electric vehicle company indicated that it is eyeing a 3-for-1 split for its stock, which is currently trading at $696.69 at the time of this writing, down 3% in post-market trading. The news comes just weeks after Amazon split its stock. The decision will come after the company meetings in August.

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The post Jennifer Lopez Goes All in on Microloans for Latina Women appeared first on Boardroom.

Harry Styles and Live Nation Commit $1M to Everytown for Gun Safety

Harry Styles was deeply affected by last week’s devastating school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. In response to the event that left 21 dead, Styles is teaming up with Live Nation to donate a portion of the proceeds from his upcoming “Love On Tour.” He confirmed the news in an Instagram post, indicating that the money will go towards education, research, and litigation.  

Callaway Tees Off into Web3 with LinksDAO

Callaway is no stranger to placing bets on emerging trends in golf. The company, which is also a primary partner in the wildly popular Top Golf chain, announced that it will become a strategic partner to LinksDAO. As part of the partnership, Callaway will also offer custom gear at a discount to LinksDAO holders. In January, LinksDAO opened its membership round with two tiers and attracted the likes of Steph and Seth Curry.  The news comes on the same day that the PGA Tour submitted trademarks to expand its Web3 presence, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben.

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Louis Vuitton and the NBA Celebrate Finals Season with Capsule Collection

Any LeagueFits enthusiast knows that NBA players love their Louis. From the omnipresent Dopp kits to the stylized overnight bags, LV has become a tunnel staple. Now, the NBA is teaming up with the French luxury house for its third collaborative collection, which includes a backpack, a wallet, and, of course, an accessorized Dopp kit. The items drop on June 2, the same day as the Finals begin.

Tesla Files Paperwork for Vintage-inspired Diner

Tesla is known for its cutting edge, modern products, but it appears that the company’s newest venture may travel back in time. The electric vehicle company submitted paperwork and plans to the City of Los Angeles for a vintage-style 24-hour diner. In addition, it will host 30-minute feature films. Elon Musk first teased this idea back in 2018. The diner will feature a large number of Tesla superchargers and the experience will provide entertainment for the drivers for the 30 minutes required to charge the vehicle. 

Prada Bowls into NFTs with Cassius Hirst Drop

The crypto market may be crashing, but luxury brands remain bullish on the future of Web3. Prada announced that it is teaming up with Cassius Hirst – son of legendary artist Damien Hirst – to produce a very limited 100 NFT collection. The drop is part of the Italian label’s newest Timecapsule collection, which features a shirt with Hirst’s artwork that will also be featured on the NFT.

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The post Chelsea Sale Finalized at $5.4B as Todd Boehly-led Group Takes Over  appeared first on Boardroom.

Hail to the Commanders, Website Domain Signals WFT’s New Name

The wait for the new name for the Washington Football Team is almost over. The team revealed that it will officially announce it on February 2, but eagle-eyed observers noticed that the commanders.com domain was transferred to MarkMonitor, which the NFL uses for all of its domain maintenance. The news comes in the wake of a recent poll from Morning Consult that indicates that the fans have a slight preference for the Washington Defenders.

Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS Doubles Valuation with $240M Fundraise

The Olympic Village will be rife with SKIMS next month. The Kim Kardashian-backed brand revealed its Olympic line earlier this week, following the success of its Summer Olympics collection. But that was only the beginning, as reports indicate that SKIMS raised $240 million, doubling its valuation to $3.2 billion in just over six months.

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Gatorade Signs Jackson State’s Shedeur Sanders as First HBCU NIL Athlete

Gatorade is making its first-ever NIL splash with an HBCU athlete in partnering with Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the sports drink company announced Thursday. As part of the multi-year agreement, Sanders, who is the son of NFL HOFer Deion Sanders, will work with Gatorade to drive national exposure of historically Black college programs and their athletes. Sanders was named the 2021 Jerry Rice Award winner as the best freshman in FCS football and also has deals with BRADY Brand and Beats by Dre. 

SeatGeek Named Preferred Ticketing Partner of Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 has long been known as not only the opening race of the season for the NASCAR Cup Series (NASCAR’s top division) but also its biggest event and weekend of the year. Now the marquee event has a new partner to help it sell out its 102,000 capacity stands. SeatGeek and Daytona International Speedway have announced a deal that makes the live experience technology platform the preferred ticketing partner of the Daytona 500.

Savage X Fenty Completes Successful $125M Series C

Rihanna stays busy while keeping her fans waiting with bated breath for new music. The multi-hyphenate magnate has assembled a deep portfolio through the years, including the wildly popular lingerie line Savage X Fenty. And on Wednesday, reports emerged that the company followed last February’s $115M Series B with a successful $125 Series C. The recent round will support the brand as it expands into brick-and-mortar spaces in the coming year; they are projected to open four in Q1 and 10 by the end of the calendar year.

UConn Men’s Basketball Set to Bring Blockchain to the Bone Yard

The Huskies are positioned to lead college basketball onto the blockchain. Openlocker announced on Wednesday that the Bone Yard Huskyz Club is poised to be the first-ever NIL project with player NFTs and exclusive PFPs — digital avatars for use as social media profile pictures. Owners of a BYHC NFT will earn access to the club, which includes an exclusive Discord channel and opportunities to interact with athletes, celebrity alumni, and sports analysts. They will also be invited to VIP events and have early access to future NFT drops surrounding UConn teams.

Facebook Waves White Flag on Crypto Project

Crypto regulation is the talk of the town in DC. Citing a high level of uncertainty, Facebook is reportedly pulling the plug on its plan to bring its own currency to the market. Mark Zuckerberg commissioned Diem to bring the cryptocurrency to life, but reports emerged on Wednesday that Diem is in conversations with investment bankers as they strategize next steps and is on the hunt for a buyer. The news signals that the controversial effort is dead.

NFL Names Former Obama Aide Cynthia Hogan as Senior Advisor to Goodell

The NFL has named Cynthia Hogan as Senior Advisor to Commissioner Roger Goodell. Hogan joins the shield with an impressive resume, having previously served as Deputy Assistant to President Obama and Counsel to then-Vice President Joe Biden. In the role, she will provide counsel to Goodell and other executives on strategic league initiatives.

Ohio State Formalizes Support for Student Athletes’ Pursuits of NIL Deals

Ohio State is following in the footsteps of a number of major college athletics programs across the country. The Buckeyes announced that they are developing an official position within the athletic department to help student-athletes identify and secure deals to profit from their name, image, and likeness. The NIL Edge Team will work with athletes across the school’s 36 athletic programs. 

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The post Tesla Posts Strong Q4 Even in Wake of Supply Chain Woes appeared first on Boardroom.

FTX Establishes $2B Venture Fund

After a game-changing year, cryptocurrency exchange FTX seeks to keep pace with its meteoric growth in 2022. The company announced on Friday that it is setting up a $2 billion venture fund that will fuel crypto startups across sectors. It has tapped Amy Wu, previously of Lightspeed Venture Partners to lead the effort. Additionally, FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman Fried announced that it is looking into establishing stock trading functionality on its platform. 

Naomi Osaka Tops Forbes List of Highest-Earning Women

Hot off the heels of announcing her partnership with TAG Heuer, Naomi Osaka took home top honors of female athletes who secured the bag in 2021. Osaka made $57.3 million, both on and off the court, thanks in part to her extensive list of endorsements, which includes Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Yonex. Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Simone Biles, and Garbine Muguruza rounded out the top 5.

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Sotheby’s Prepares for IPO

With the turn of a new calendar year, many companies have announced their intentions to go public. On Thursday, Sotheby’s revealed that it has selected Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to work on a U.S. listing — with an IPO potentially taking place this year at a $5B valuation, excluding debt. The auction house reported a record $7.3 billion in sales for 2021, a year-over-year increase of 32%. The increase was driven, in part, by Sotheby’s expanded digital art business, which went up nearly 150% in 2020.

Michigan State Inks Historic Partnership with Caesars Sportsbook

The Spartans are doubling down on sports betting. Michigan State named Caesars Sportsbook as  the “official and exclusive sports betting partner and iGaming partner of MSU athletics.” While the details of the deal are not known at this time, Caesars will have naming rights for a premium section of the football stadium and outsized visibility in tailgating spaces. 

Tesla Opens Online Store to Dogecoin

It is widely known that Tesla boss Elon Musk is an outspoken proponent of Dogecoin. And to demonstrate his belief in the meme coin, he has opened the Tesla store to accept the tender to purchase select goods. Since the announcement, the value of dogecoin has increased 9%.

Read Boardroom’s wide-ranging interview with Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus.

Atlanta Dream Co-owner Renee Montgomery Talks Business on New Podcast

Renee Montgomery is staying busy in her second chapter. The former WNBA All-Star retired from the league in 2020, and since then has pieced together an impressive resume from taking a stake in the Atlanta Dream to being appointed a general partner at Valor Ventures. On Thursday, the former UConn Husky announced her new podcast, Montgomery & Co, which will focus on her business ventures, as she speaks in conversation with her mother, sister, and fiancé about the experiences of being black and brown women in pursuit of entrepreneurial interests

NBA Unveils HBCU Fellowship Program 

HBCU students looking for a resume boost need to look no further than the NBA. The league announced the NBA HBCU Fellowship Program, on Thursday. The program seeks to provide a select group of HBCU students with a foundational business experience. Selected students will intern with the league across a wide range of departments, from ticket sales to corporate social responsibility.  

Tiger Woods-backed SPAC Seeks to Raise $150M Through IPO

Tiger Woods recently returned to the links, but after being sidelined with an injury, the five-time Masters champion had more time to develop his business portfolio. One of his ventures, the Sports & Health Tech Acquisition Corp is looking to raise $150 million with an enterprise value estimated between $650 million and $1 billion. RBC Capital Markets has been tapped to manage the offering.

Shaun White Boosts Whitespace Brand with Snowboard and Clothing Lines

It’s difficult to believe that the Winter Olympics are set to start in just a matter of weeks. As he prepares for his final Olympic appearance in China, three-time gold medalist Shaun White announced that his brand Whitespace will expand its offerings to include snowboards and an extended apparel line. White will debut the snowboard model in Beijing. White has paired with online outdoor retailer Backcountry to launch the line. 

The post Mbappe Revealed as Oakley’s Newest Global Ambassador appeared first on Boardroom.