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ALTIOTAKE FROM 7-11 JUNE

Each week, we review the press, highlighting and responding to interesting and relevant articles in the news.

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Fleeting Ads

Last week, Twitter began pilot testing full-screen vertical advertisements on Fleets in the US. Fleets, Twitter’s version of the ephemeral Stories on Instagram and Snapchat, were introduced in November 2020. Fleet Ads will allow up to 30 seconds of content, which is shorter than Instagram and TikTok, but may be more effective for advertising purposes. In the last year, Twitter has increasingly experimented with ways to monetize its platform and compete with other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. Can Fleet Ads reverse Twitter’s losing streak in the Digital Advertising arena?

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Image Source: Boom Supersonic 2021

United Flights will be Boom-ing

Supersonic startup Boom just got its first official U.S. customer as United Airlines announced that it will buy 15 of Boom’s Overture aircraft. Production of the Overture passenger jet is planned to start in 2025, with commercial flights commencing in 2029. Boom plans to be the first commercial aircraft to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel from day one, helping U.S. airlines reach the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Supersonic flight can reduce travel time in half, making a trip from London to New York in just under 3 hours. Though supersonic commercial flights have been attempted before, the aircrafts were highly fuel inefficient and bore massive maintenance coats – problems that Boom intends to remedy with its sustainable design.

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Bosch is Chipping Away at the Semiconductor Shortage

This week, German engineering and technology company Bosch announced plans to open a $1.2billion semiconductor chip plant in Dresden. Bosch’s connected Dresden factory will focus on fabricating automotive microchips, fuelling innovation in electric and autonomous vehicles. As the largest investment in the company’s history, Bosch’s new factory could help to address the shortage of semiconductors in the auto industry. But can Bosch help bring semiconductor fabrication back to Europe?

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