Itâs Tuesday, and thereâs a lot of cool stuff happening. However, our thoughts are also with all those impacted by the horrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
In todayâs email:
Concrete: Some rock solid news.
Chart: Amazonâs media bet.
Netflix: Will a crackdown hurt its brand?
Around the web: An online photo exhibit, so many menus, the âred carpet technique,â and more cool internet finds.
đ§ On the go? Listen to todayâs 10-minute podcast to hear about Google and Microsoftâs exciting next couple of AI-focused days, some big changes to movie theater prices, a Mediterranean food IPO, and more.
The big idea
Rock-solid news in the concrete industry
In a climate tech first, companies captured CO2 from the atmosphere and built concrete with it.
2023-02-07T00:00:00Z
Jacob Cohen
You may not realize it since the material is heavy, and sits still, but the production of concrete accounts for ~3x the amount of carbon emissions as aviation.
That figure is especially concerning with the worldâs building stock on track to double by 2060.
Fortunately, in a climate tech first, companies say theyâve not only removed CO2 from the atmosphere, but trapped it in concrete, and used that concrete to construct new things.
What happened?
As part of a small-scale demonstration, Heirloom â a startup claiming to run Americaâs only operational Direct Air Capture facility â began the process by capturing CO2 at their headquarters in Brisbane, California.
The company, which has raised $54.3m, is backed by Bill Gatesâ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and counts Microsoft, Stripe, and Shopify as customers.
Next, CarbonCure Technologies, which has produced CO2-captured concrete for Amazonâs second headquarters in Virginia, injected the captured CO2 into wastewater. CarbonCure has raised $12.4m and is also backed by Gates.
Finally, Central Concrete Supply Co. used the processed wastewater to make new concrete, which was used for various construction projects around the Bay Area.
What happens now?
Scaling up is key. The experiment used just ~38 kilograms of captured CO2. According to the EPAâs calculator, thatâs what a gas-powered car emits every ~94 miles.
Itâll also be important for these companies to analyze whether other parts of the process have a negative impact on its benefits.
In the meantime, momentum across climate policies, tax credits, and federal funding â including $3.5B toward carbon removal â is moving the space forward.
TRENDING
One of the more accurate calls weâve seen recently is this tweet pointing out that Coldplayâs Chris Martin looked like âa toddler named Rydyr at a pre-school that costs $50,000 a yearâ at the Grammys the other night.
SNIPPETS
Feisty: Minutes after Google announced its conversational AI search engine yesterday, Microsoft confirmed a press event for today, likely to highlight its ChatGPT version of Bing. Google has a press event planned for tomorrow.
Dang flabbit. Movie theater chain AMC is rolling out airplane-like seat pricing as part of a program called Sightline. Unlike planes, middle seats will cost more.
Thatâs a lot of tzatziki. Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava, founded in 2006, filed for an IPO. In 2021, the company was valued at $1.71B.
Getty this: Getty Images filed a lawsuit accusing Stability AI of using 12m+ copyrighted photos to train its open-source AI art generator Stable Diffusion.
Pedal to the metal: A small team at EV maker Rivian is reportedly working on an electric bike. The company also has e-bike patents and trademarks.
Speaking of⌠The Japanese manufacturer of $555k flying motorbikes, which went public via a SPAC merger that valued it at $600m, saw its stock drop 59% on its first trading day.
The infinite,AI-generated âSeinfeldâ spoof called âNothing, Foreverâ â yes, that exists â was banned on Twitch for two weeks after an older AI model it was using struggled to moderate content up to standard.
Holy Shift. ShiftMed, a Virginia-based workforce marketplace for nurses and aides, secured $200m in funding. The company says 350k people use its app and revenue grew 8x in the last two years.
Five-year plan: Do you have one? Weâre sensing the answerâs no⌠or itâs a bit outdated. Use this template to keep it real with yourself today.
FROM THE BLOG
Business isnât a game â but maybe it should be. Gamification is a powerful tool that can be applied to everything from training employees and motivating sales teams to attracting new customers. Get playing.
Chart
Singdhi Sokpo
Amazon says its media moves are working
Content is driving Prime sign-ups, Amazon says. What comes next?
2023-02-07T00:00:00Z
Jacob Cohen
Amazon wants you to know itâs just as serious about movies as it is about two-day shipping.
In 2020, the company spent $11B on original and licensed video and music content. In 2021, that was up to $13B. Last year, spend increased again to $16.6B.
On Amazonâs Q4 earnings call, CFO Brian Olsavsky said these investments are driving new Prime memberships, and CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that the price for some standalone streamers âis more than what  Prime [costs a consumer] today.â
Food for thought
As Amazon invests more in media, bringing a consumer media app under its wing could pour lighter fluid onto an already hot TV-to-toilet-paper flywheel. Take Snapchat, for instance:
It reaches 75% of 13- to 34-year-olds â AKA trendy impulse buyers â in countries representing 50%+ of digital ad spend.
Snapchatâs current CFO was VP of finance for Amazonâs global Digital Video business.
Snapchatâs AR features have powered millions of interactive content and shopping experiences for brands like Disney and Walmart.
The company is partnering with the likes of Bumble, while also making it harder for people to watch.
2023-02-07T00:00:00Z
Samir Javer
2022 wasnât exactly a chill year for Netflix.
With its stock price down and subscriber losses piling up, the streamer ventured into new territories â doubling down on games, selling merch, and even recently launching a partnership with dating app Bumble.
It begs the question: Can it be an appealing lifestyle brand and enforce an unpopular password crackdown simultaneously?
Media as culture
Content consumption is so ingrained in our culture now, itâs no wonder Netflix is trying to capitalize on this momentum.
The company described its newest strategy as a âguidance evolution,â and its goal is to prove to investors it can evolve with new revenue streams over time rather than just add new subscribers.
But the timing could be off
Netflix is about to become far less cuddly as it begins its long-discussed password crackdown in the US.
Reviews from Latin America, where new regulations have rolled out, have been negative:
Users complained about needing to log in to a home IP address every month and receive codes for access when theyâre away from their primary location.
Netflix hasnât released specifics on US rules yet. But it sure seems like it will be more complicated for, say, someone to start sharing their account with people they meet on Bumble.
AROUND THE WEB
đĽ On this day: In 1497, followers of priest Girolamo Savonarola held the âbonfire of the vanities,â in Florence, Italy, torching thousands of artworks, cosmetics, and books.
đ¸ Art: View âCapturing the Moment,â an online exhibit of photos submitted by Smithsonian community members.
đ§ How to: Use the âred carpet techniqueâ to manage your schedule and get things done.
đ Thatâs interesting: The New York Public Library boasts a collection of 40k+ menus, most dating back to 1890-1910, thanks to one archivist who worked free of charge.
