Beta Bytes: Week of October 24th
Snippets of financial news calibrated to science, technology, and engineering companies as well as our client’s interests.
NASA is Launching a 4G Mobile Network on the Moon
NASA has granted Nokia $14.1 million to build the first-ever 4G mobile network on the moon.
Under its Artemis program, NASA plans to send astronauts and a “sustainable” human presence to the moon by 2028.
Nokia’s 4G network will allow astronauts to carry out a number of activities including making voice and video calls.
See our other story about the future of 4/5G…
Justice Department Hits Google With Antitrust Lawsuit
The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google yesterday, more than a year after its investigation started. The DoJ claims Google uses anti-competitive tactics to keep its search biz monopoly.
Google controls 90% of global search and 92% of smartphone search in the US.
Google has agreements to make sure its preloaded search app can’t be deleted from phones running its Android OS and Google pays Apple ~$10B a year to feed it search traffic and make itself the default on Safari.
Qualcomm-backed AiFi To Deploy $14.5M In Autonomous Stores
AiFi is a San Francisco-based startup that develops autonomous retail technologies and raised $14.5 million to significantly expand the number of stores that use its technology.
Investors involved include Qualcomm Ventures, existing investors Cervin Ventures and TransLink Capital, as well as new investor Plum Alley and has raised $30 million since 2016.
AiFi’s Orchestrated Autonomous Store Infrastructure and Services system, aka OASIS, offers a checkout-free experience for consumers, while also enabling retailers to build and operate autonomous stores by providing customization and operational tools.
San Diego Home Prices Keep Breaking Records. Its New High: $650K
The median price has increased 10.2 percent since COVID-19 stay-at-home orders began in March, marking some of the quickest acceleration of prices since the region came out of the Great Recession in 2013 and 2014.
Home prices have gone up nationwide for similar reasons analysts continue to point to: A lack of homes for sale leading to price wars; Extra importance put on ownership for workers stuck doing jobs from home; and record low interest rates.
Taking into account the COVID price acceleration, prices have now increased 14 percent in a year.