Susan MacDermid

This analysis is interesting, but it lacks judgment based on data analysis and profit margin calculation. Currently, manufacturers of 6DOF VR all-in-one headsets are selling each unit at a loss, yes, you heard it right, they are incurring significant losses. One company in the industry expanded from 400 employees to 2000, then downsized to 200 after experiencing two years of severe loss-making investments, and now they are focusing on the B2B market. Meta's quarterly losses even exceed hardware sales by tenfold. Continuing this kind of business model is simply burning investors' money. Products like Oculus Go, with a form factor of 3DOF all-in-one headsets, have completely different use cases from products like Quest, which are 6DOF all-in-one headsets. This market does not have consumer users; it focuses on dozens of application scenarios such as education, training, healthcare, and entertainment. These scenarios demand customized products with relatively lower performance requirements. They need simple deployment and user-friendly operation. What's especially important for B2B industries is that manufacturers can develop different functions based on different scenarios and software to meet various customer needs. Moreover, over the past few years, tens of thousands of software and hardware manufacturers, content providers, and integrators have benefited from these 3DOF scenarios. They are making money; they are not incurring losses, especially not from failed products as mentioned in the article. https://lnkd.in/g2vdM9nH

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🍏 Apple's Latest Quarterly Results: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities 📊 Apple Inc. recently disclosed a 10% decline in iPhone sales for the first quarter of this year, marking its steepest quarterly drop since the pandemic's onset. This downturn, coupled with ongoing legal battles and competition, underscores the challenges facing the tech giant. However, there are also bright spots and strategic initiatives on the horizon. Despite the sales dip, Apple's revenue and earnings per share slightly exceeded analysts' projections, demonstrating resilience amid market pressures. The company's commitment to a four percent increase in quarterly dividend and a significant stock buyback further underscores its financial strength and investor confidence. While challenges persist, Apple remains a powerhouse in the tech industry, with its service division seeing a 14% revenue increase and ongoing innovations in artificial intelligence (AI). The upcoming iPhone 16 release, expected later this year, is anticipated to bring new AI features, potentially driving a significant upgrade cycle. In the face of evolving market dynamics and regulatory scrutiny, Apple continues to invest in growth areas and reaffirms its position as a leader in technology and innovation. #Apple #TechIndustry #AIInnovation #MarketTrends #InvestmentGrowth #LinkedInPost #BusinessInsights 🚀

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AI ad products present both opportunities and risks. Leveraging them optimally for consumer brands requires a lot of nuance - with a few of my thoughts in Modern Retail https://lnkd.in/gcYrqmV4

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🚀 We're empowering a Tiger Task Force from one of the world's leading broadcasters with #generativeAI to usher in the next era of content creation 🔥 I am thrilled to announce we launched an exclusive Master to shape the next Tiger Task Force for another major global broadcaster. This initiative includes Art Directors, Copywriters, 3D Artists, Animators, and Journalists. 🚀 In collaboration with our AI creator and educator Nejc Susec, we designed this program to transform their mindsets and skills, preparing them to become Creative Directors with Gen AI Assistants and unlock the limitless possibilities of AI. Participants will engage in over 100 hours of intensive hands-on training, including lectures, Gen AI practice, projects, personalised coaching sessions. legal with Riccardo Traina Chiarini and ethical deep knowledge. 💡 They will work with cutting-edge AI technologies like ChatGPT, Poe, Claude, LM Studio, Krea, SAM, Topas, Katalist, Eleven Labs, Murf, HeyGen, Runway, Pika Labs, Colourlab, Desscript, D-Id, Opus Clip. They will enhance their creative workflows, learning to create texts, images, key visuals, storyboards, music, voice cloning, and video creation. This Master not only provides the best strategies for communicating with AI but also leverages collective expertise to supercharge existing creative workflows. What sets MIAT | Multiverse Institute For Arts & Technology apart is our focus on empowering you to become the creative director with your #GenAI assistants. Your creativity and intellect will guide the AI's output, enabling you to craft unique works at an unprecedented pace. 📌 Upskilling and reskilling employees in these areas is not just an option but a strategic imperative for businesses aiming to stay competitive. The future of work is closely tied to AI and emerging technologies. Businesses that understand and embrace these transformative forces will thrive, while those that don't risk falling behind. Join us in leading the charge toward a future where creativity and AI converge to redefine content, experiences, and languages. Let’s collaborate and shape the future together. 🌐 #jobsofthefutre #miat #ai #creatives #artists #marketing #innovation

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In the evolving landscape of #startups, #venturebuilding is emerging as a superior model, providing compelling benefits that drive our strategy at SC Ventures by Standard Chartered **1. Increased Success Rates** Venture building boasts a 53% success rate compared to just 20% for traditional VC-backed startups. This structured approach significantly reduces the high failure rates seen in conventional models. **2. Higher Returns** Venture Builders achieve an average Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of +50%, surpassing the 21% average IRR of traditional venture capital. This consistency in returns is attractive and ensures sustainable growth. **3. Accelerated Scaling** Startups nurtured within venture builders grow 30% faster. The hands-on support, from ideation to scaling, ensures that startups can navigate challenges more effectively and reach market readiness swiftly. **4. Experienced Teams** Venture building attracts and support seasoned experts, leading to a higher likelihood of success. This environment leverages the expertise of founders who have a proven track record, further enhancing the startup’s potential. **5. Efficient Resource Utilization** By centralizing resources and expertise, venture building reduces overhead and operational inefficiencies. This streamlined approach allows for more strategic deployment of capital and resources, maximizing impact and growth potential. At SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, we recognize these substantial benefits, making venture building a core pillar of our strategy. By integrating the venture building model, we are committed to fostering an ecosystem where our 36+ ventures can thrive, scale, deliver exceptional returns and helps us rewrite the DNA in Banking. Read more about the transformative impact of venture building and its role in the future of venture capital [here](https://lnkd.in/gFizh6Ps). Claudia Zeisberger Aaron Gwak Fernn Lim Lokesh Sharma Julian Sawyer Usman Ahmad Solv Zodia Markets Zodia Custody Libeara Poyan Rajamand Lynette Lee Amelia Ng Olea Kingshuk Ghoshal Sujay S K TASConnect

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"Hail Mary" or embracing the future? Time will tell. Early Internet, online magazines were thrilled to get traffic from Google (and Yahoo, and AskJeeves, and Lycos, and Altavista). Couldn't wait to get their sites crawled and get those clicks. Then at some point newspapers started saying (a) "hey shouldn't Google be paying to feature our snippets?" and (b) there's no route to financial stability without paying subscribers. Time Magazine, arguably among the most notable magazines of the 20th Century, has thrown in the towel on subscriber paywalls. And rather than embrace a strategy of hoping ChatGPT notices their content, they're proactively cutting a deal to let the AI beast crawl their archives and be prepared to answer user queries. And write new content? Well at least not in this announcement, but you can bet the chief execs are thinking that. It also helps that there's no one to sue at ChatGPT, unlike Google. When Google started making that sweet, sweet paid search money, there were a lot of hungry mouths to feed (remember "Buzz"?) If publishers get mad at ChatGPT, they'll be reminded that as a non-profit there's not a lot of juice in that lawsuit. Publishing is hard. Paid subscribers are scarce and cheap. So is Time throwing in the towel on financial stability, or embracing the inevitable? Time will tell. :-)

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Roundtable Recap: Discussion on the #SaaS -enabled #Marketplace #Trend https://lnkd.in/g2zq_Xyi

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Early stage investors often weight investment criteria heavily on technological innovation, market size, and management teams. Great tech requires a solid management team to thrive. In my opinion, the best management teams hustle and work hard; learn, evolve, and survive; and are honest, upfront, and transparent with their stakeholders. The foregoing describes Cayley Pater and 🌱 Andy Ives at Made Trade. Made Trade is an impact venture that continues to grow and succeed in an unpredictable funding market. If you bet heavily on management teams, Cayley Pater and 🌱 Andy Ives are a bet worth considering. They are also good for a laugh, which, while not an investable quality, makes business interactions fun!

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Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub and Pegasus Program are helping startups worldwide succeed by granting access to expert mentorship and developmental tools to accelerate their growth and innovation. Companies like Basecamp Research, Plan Heal, Haut.AI, and Weights & Biases are at the forefront of revolutionizing industries from skincare to healthcare, bioscience, and tech, all powered by AI. Check out our blog to learn how Microsoft’s AI models are helping startups solve business challenges. https://lnkd.in/gMrt6844

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🌍 As we enter the second half of 2024 in an environment marked by geopolitical upheaval, election uncertainties and the disruptive force of Artificial Intelligence (#AI) running an organization is becoming more complex. I’d like to recommend the first of Spencer Stuart’s new "Measure of Leadership: CEOs and Directors on Navigating Change" series, based on the insights from 2,000 CEOs and Board directors plus more than 1,200 employees. 📌 These are some of the findings: ◼ 78% of CEOs and Board directors feel a high level of uncertainty and 25% worry their organization is slow to react to new challenges. To address this, CEOs are seeking wider insights from colleagues and internal/external sources. ◼ Across the myriad of topics about which leaders seek counsel, one that stood out in the findings of the report is the relationship between boards and CEOs, where there are some significant gaps in perception. For instance, CEOs seem less confident in their boards than vice versa. While most directors (87%) trust their CEO's ability to handle challenges, only a third of CEOs feel very confident in their board's guidance ◼ In terms of what leaders are prioritizing right now in the context of constant change and ongoing uncertainty, CEOs in the survey are most focused on issues they can directly control: company #culture, changing workforce dynamics and access to #talent ◼ Close to 70% of CEOs in the survey said the changing workforce and access to talent was a priority they’re addressing. However, employees are less committed to their companies than leaders think: 65% of employees said their commitment was ‘average’ or ‘below average’ compared with years past ◼ The study shows the gap between buzz and reality when it comes to gen AI. While the vast majority of leaders agree that gen AI will impact their businesses and transform ‘pretty much everything’ only 40% of CEOs call gen AI a priority they are already addressing and about 3 in 10 say it’s not a priority 🔴 I leave you with some of my #thoughts: 1️⃣ Peter Drucker and his famous adage that ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’ is well alive in the minds of CEOs and Board directors around the world 2️⃣ The ‘commitment gap’ between leaders and employees is a serious challenge in an environment where companies will need to live in a mode of constant transformation in order to survive and thrive. It requires empathy, transparency, dialogue, and internal co-creation, all supported by a strong common culture. 3️⃣ In today’s complex and fast changing environment, the role of Boards supporting and challenging CEOs is more important than ever. CEOs and Boards need to work closely together to identify the risks and opportunities from disruption and to encourage questions on strategy that will drive alignment and add value to the business. 🔴 What are your thoughts? 👉 Here to the report: https://lnkd.in/gp4tYVh8

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OK, now the The Economist (yes, that The Economist) is asking the same question about open source we at Tidelift have been working on for years... "Why is this vital software that runs our lives maintained by a community of enthusiastic... volunteers?" Want to hear their excellent distillation of the why and the what we should do next? As you read my highlights below from the podcast interview with Economist reporter Chris Stokel-Walker, 🍺 every time you see something that you agree with: "These tools that are built by one or two people, and potentially maintained by less than a dozen are keeping huge multi-billion dollar businesses online. The individuals who first created it didn't imagine that would be the case, so suddenly the pressure gets much greater on them. And life also can get in the way. Maybe you started a project in your teenage years and you now have several kids and many many other responsibilities. We know there have been some people who are responsible for maintaining these tools who have said this has negatively affected their mental health. And so a lack of upkeep on that can be a real danger to Internet users." 🍺 Host: If these issues have been going on for years, haven't there been any attempts to improve the maintenance and security of the Internet's infrastructure? "There have, but they haven't always been successful and that's a big problem... No commercial incentive exists for any one company to finance the complete overhaul of the Internet.... Tech giants are more keen on building big shiny skyscrapers." 🍺🍺 Host: So if the tech companies won't build better infrastructure, is there any hope for Internet security to be improved? "If we know that big tech companies aren't really going to focus their attention on the plumbing because they are too focused on the skyscrapers, then we can at least get them to pay the staffing to ensure the pipes are safe." 🍺🍺🍺 "But that does require some significant things to happen that don't currently. We need, for instance, for tech companies to come together and often they are in high competition with one another. It might mean we need governments involved to compel them to do so." 🍺🍺🍺🍺 "But the problem is it also needs to be *consistent* funding, where we pay attention to this all the time instead of just when something goes wrong." (oh, !@#$ it, all the 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺 for that one!) It's a multi-subject podcast, so fast forward to 10:51 in unless you're also deeply interested in the recent spike in dengue fever 😷 . https://pca.st/v6qqo7s8

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This is so great to see! As we head into the Upfronts and Newfronts, brands need to know they can reach a massive audience, using video, that doesn't get skipped or ignored and is 4x more efficient on a cost per second viewed metric. Efficiency AND Impact from In-Scene Media #uninterrupted #advertising with #AI

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How can you serve your customers if you don't know who they are or what they want? Yiqi Wu, an Amid Labs fellow, was an engineer at the top companies in ads (Meta), ecomm (Amazon), and user data (Reddit, Inc.). Now she is building Aimerce 🚀 Aimerce helps brands build deeper relationships with their customers, leveraging first party data in a cookie-less world. The stats are incredible already, lifting key marketing metrics by 30-50%. Those are huge numbers in an ecosystem where every penny matters. Every day at Amid Labs I have the privilege of watching founders like Yiqi Wu navigate the different complexities of building a startup, from finding co-founders to hiring teams to fundraising. But at the end of the day, the most important part is to find your customer, understand their pains, and then delivering them a great solution. Yiqi and Aimerce are making it easier for startups and businesses to be successful and overcome that most important hurdle. ***** Shoutout to Aarmida, Veronica Jacques, Matt Stoner, Alli Gooch for supporting Amid Labs on our series of interviews with incredible AI founders. Much more to come. #ecommerce #data #startups #startup #femalefounder #entrepreneurship #ai #artificial intelligence

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While relationship-building may seem like a long-game approach, the truth is it doesn’t have to be. Dennis Yu shares how to dive in for maximum results: https://lnkd.in/gpRsufc #conversions #business #marketing

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In the next episode of the Duran Inci Podcast, we delve into the true nature of innovation with guest Alex Berg, exploring how it extends far beyond the pursuit of profit. Our conversation will uncover how a deep-seated desire to challenge the status quo can yield extraordinary and widespread impacts. We will examine the crucial decisions that ambitious individuals face, revealing how embracing daunting challenges can profoundly influence one's trajectory. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned executive, or simply intrigued by the dynamics of transformative change, this episode will equip you with valuable insights into the art of pushing boundaries and redefining possibilities. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of what drives innovation and how it shapes the future. #DrivingInnovation #MoreThanProfit #EntrepreneurialDrive #EmbraceChallenges #ShapeTheFuture #TechInnovation #LeadershipInsights #StartupJourney #AgentsOfChange #ExpandBoundaries

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Tons of important nuggets in the interview. They cover AI in Search, the potential impact to publishers, high-quality content from humans vs AI content flooding the web, the HCU (w/out naming the HCU), providing AI overview data in Search Console, where Search could be in 5 years, and much more -> Q&A with Sundar Pichai about Google I/O announcements, AI Overviews' high click-through rates, competing with OpenAI, future of search, AI advancements, and more #google #seo

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Topics: Growing investments in impact, growing the number of #femalefounders and #femaleinvestors in #impact and #deeptech. Critical in light of the disparity between rich and poor and government and the people's interests. Grateful to RevHubOC - The Orange County Center for Innovation & Social Enterprise and Julie Cranston for the opportunity to address women and men #impactfounders and speaking alongside rockstar #womeninvestors @shannoneusey @katelafleur @katiengyenkalvoda @laurengrattan.

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