NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has pronounced the agency’s $11 billion, 15-year mission to collect and return samples from Mars: insufficient.
But the strategy shift could be a huge boon to space startups, to which much of that planned funding will almost certainly be redirected.
(There’s plenty of time to save and repurpose the most important concepts and research already done by NASA and its partners.)
But the official announcement, and the implication that it is the new generation of space companies that will accomplish ambitious goals like a there-and-back trip to Mars, must be very validating.
Whatever that new plan may be, it will almost certainly rely far more than before on commercial services and hardware.
Tesla is reportedly abandoning its plan to build a lower-cost EV thought to cost around $25,000, according to Reuters, despite that vehicle’s status as a pivotal product for the company’s overall growth.
The company will instead focus its efforts on a planned robotaxi that is being built on the same small EV platform that was also supposed to power the lower-cost vehicle.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed, without proof, that Reuters is “lying” in a post on his social media platform, X, and did not dispute any specific details.
He also responded with an eyes emoji to another post that effectively summed up the Reuters report in different words.
Tesla was reportedly targeting a price of around $25,000 for the next-generation EV.
Spotify announced on Tuesday that it’s bringing its free audiobooks perk to Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Users in these markets will be able to access 15 hours of free monthly audiobook listening time.
Spotify says users have listened to more than 150,000 titles since the free service’s launch last November.
If you run out of listening hours, you can purchase additional 10-hour allocations for CAD $14.99, IRE €12.99, and NZD $19.99.
Spotify recently launched a $9.99 per month plan that allows its free users to access its audiobooks collection in the U.S.
A few years ago, Darren Shimkus, ex-president of Udemy, had a conversation with Dennis Yang about skills building.
Modal provides personalized technical skills training for a company’s staff, offering on-demand coaching and a pedagogical approach that groups users into semi-structured online learning communities.
First, Shimkus says, by honing in on hot trends: data and AI.
“The rise of AI is bringing more visibility to data teams than ever before,” Shimkus said.
“It’s hard in today’s ever-changing workplace landscape to predict what your teams need, meaning most leaders don’t have a reliable way to plan for and improve their team’s skills.
India is walking back on a recent AI advisory after receiving criticism from many local and global entrepreneurs and investors.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT shared an updated AI advisory with industry stakeholders on Friday that no longer asked them to take the government approval before launching or deploying an AI model to users in the South Asian market.
Under the revised guidelines, firms are instead advised to label under-tested and unreliable AI models to inform users of their potential fallibility or unreliability.
The revision follows India’s IT ministry receiving severe criticism earlier this month from many high-profile individuals.
Less than a year ago, the ministry had declined to regulate AI growth, identifying the sector as vital to India’s strategic interests.
The company has crafted an interesting distribution strategy for travel eSIM cards and simplified the experience as eSIM remains a confusing technology for most people.
Thanks to eSIM, the experience is much better — or at least on paper because the eSIM industry is a bit confusing.
For instance, if you’re traveling to Argentina, you might search for the best option for a travel eSIM before heading to the airport.
Kolet’s first travel partners are professional travel agency Resaneo and air ticket booking platform Ulysse.
It has also asked some travel industry experts to become advisors for the startup.
This new program allows Play Store developers to lead their users in the EEA outside their app, including to promote offers.
Google says this fee represents the value that Play provided in facilitating the initial user acquisition through the Play Store.
Google says this fee represents the value that Play provided in facilitating the initial user acquisition through the Play Store.
Developers, however, will still be responsible for reporting transactions involving those users who are continuing to receive Play Store services.
Separately from the External Offers program, Google also this week launched two other programs to allow alternative billing systems for in-app purchases.
The category has seen success and has accordingly gone from one or two competitors to around a dozen.
Shure, on the other hand, makes some of the most beloved microphones across multiple industries.
The category has been hit or miss lately, so I’m excited to see what Shure has on offer here.
The mics pair to a phone without needing the receiver.
Also, one key thing the DJI unit has that these don’t is the ability to plug a wired lav mic directly into the clip-on, making it more camera-ready.
Crypto fund Asymmetric Financial is creating its Bitcoin DeFi Venture Fund I to focus on investing in the blockchain’s nascent space with a target raise of $21 million.
The fund will be spearheaded by general partner Dan Held, former director of growth at Kraken and long-time Bitcoiner.
Many Bitcoin-focused VCs ignore DeFi because it’s speculative, and broader crypto VCs see it as a “dead boomer rock,” he added.
Much of this activity has centered on the Ethereum blockchain, but Held believes Bitcoin’s blockchain has tons of future potential as an ecosystem.
“It will be a Bitcoin DeFi renaissance.”“Bitcoin is worth more than every other crypto asset combined,” Held added.
But this example is eerily similar to the pitch many startup founders make to potential investors.
For a startup, the “finished house” isn’t bricks, mortar, and those cool USB power sockets, but it’s built with milestones and achievements.
These are the “rooms” and “fixtures” investors are looking to find in the startup house.
The journey of building a startup is an adventure filled with unexpected twists and turns, much like the construction of a dream home.
That’s startup life: You roll with the punches.
