The Sunday Brew #24
In this brew - SpaceX's Starship test launch, Microsoft's new AI Chip, Launch of first Apple Store in India and BuzzFeed News shutting down
TOP STORY
A Blast for Successful Failure
On April 20, 2023 at 9:33 a.m. EDT (1333 GMT; 8:33 a.m. local Texas time), the first-ever fully integrated Starship rocket ascended powerfully towards space from SpaceX's Starbase facility located on Boca Chica Beach in South Texas' Gulf Coast. A few minutes later, it exploded or as SpaceX says it, experiencing a "rapid unscheduled disassembly,".
It was a celebration!
To the uninitiated, witnessing a rocket explode within minutes of lift-off may appear to be a colossal failure. But that was not the case with the 394-foot-tall (120 meters) Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built.
In fact, the test exceeded the one expectation that Musk had set: "Just don't blow up the launchpad."
The short flight provided engineers with valuable data that will help them identify the cause of the issues. Tthe next test flight for Starship could occur in just a matter of months. SpaceX has plenty of time for more such tests as it is not untill 2025 that they plan to launch manned mission to moon.
Read more about it on Space.com
WEEK’S PICK
Microsoft is going for AI chip
The race for AI dominance has progressed beyond LLM and generative solutions. At present, most technology companies rely on Nvidia chips to train their large language models, which can be quite costly. However, reports suggest that Microsoft has been secretly developing its own AI chip since 2019. OpenAI has reportedly been testing this chip for some time now, having been granted access to it. Read On »»»
Launch of first Apple Store in India
Apple opened its first Apple Store in India this week at BKC Mumbai. This is noteworthy because it follows a persistent dispute between Apple and the Indian government regarding local sourcing terms. However, things changed as the government relaxed its stance, and Apple is now aiming to produce 25% of all iPhones in India by 2025. Despite this ambitious goal, Apple currently holds less than 5% of the Indian market share. Read On »»»
BuzzFeed News is Shuttering Down
BuzzFeed has experienced a tumultuous history over the last five years, with the company's value dropping by 85% from its peak in 2016 by the end of 2021. We earlier wrote a bit about it on January 08, 2023 here.
The company has now announced that it will be shutting down BuzzFeed News. CEO Jonah Peretti made the announcement on Thursday, stating that while layoffs are happening across almost every division, it has been determined that the company can no longer sustain BuzzFeed News as an independent organization. Read On »»»
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