Weekly Market Links [01-07 Nov 2021] - Uber In The Green, Microsoft's Metaverse
Its a great milestone for Uber, with its platform starting to pay off. Microsoft would also like to reiterate they've always been in the workplace metaverse.
Tech
Uber is now profitable on an adjusted basis, having gone through numerous growth and trials since its launch a decade ago. With its two most important segments of ride-hailing and restaurant delivery in the green, Uber looks to scale its services and achieve even more profits with volume.
It did take a 3Bn loss in Didi due to the Chinese government clampdown (delisted Didi from app stores), but all-in-all, its a great milestone to achieve.
Google invests 1Bn in CME Group, using Google Cloud to migrate CME’s tech infrastructure across 10 years.
This is interesting, as there is no detail on CME paying for these services. Make money? How?
Microsoft wants to go into the Metaverse too. Or rather, it always has been, and it’s a renewed focus now! Using Teams, users will be able to appear as avatars rather than their real selves.
This will be powered by an underlying technology called Mesh, handling more complex virtual interactions such as eye contact, facial expressions and gestures.
Microsoft already has development in HoloLens, and are gunning to bring this into the workplace, first and foremost.
Bytedance restructures into 6 business lines, and also has to adhere to an enforced working hour regime by China (10 am-7 pm strictly). Seems like curfews apply not just to teenagers, but to adults!
Netflix launches games on Android, comprising of Stranger Things, a basketball game, ball balancing, and a pseudo-poker game that isn’t allowed for kids.
It would be interesting to see Netflix produce or distribute games as a sizable revenue and content strategy in the following year.
Fintech
Kakao Pay doubles its share price in its listing, raising 1.3B in its IPO. Its parent, Kakao, are the creators of KakaoTalk - a very similar messaging platform to LINE. Interesting stuff: Kakao Pay’s listing was delayed twice due to regulatory issues.
AliPay Singapore Holding, an affiliate of China’s Ant Group, is the 2nd largest shareholder in Kakao Pay, holding 39.1% ownership.
Blockchain Forensics are becoming essential for law enforcement. Chainalysis is one of the newest providers, opening an office in Australia. This allows governments to link cryptocurrency transactions to real-world activities. This is the first step to bridging transaction analysis into the real world and thus allowing more use cases to flourish should the two worlds join at some point.
China’s National Blockchain Standards are close to being released, sometime in 2022. As of now, their tests are held in select cities, and blockchain competitions are guiding these standards for scaled usage - this is critical, as flaws in a smart contract could allow hackers to siphon funds or ‘print’ their money as examples in the crypto wild-west.
For those looking to try crypto out: Transaction costs for payments and transfers will decrease significantly when a contract’s protocol is efficient. For the opposite effect, try Ethereum, where fees can take up 15-20% of your transfer value.
