Forbes - Disconnected 🔌

Every Saturday I send you a tight edit of Forbes’ future trends across tech, entrepreneurship, sustainability and more. Enjoy.

Disconnected

In a world increasingly dominated by algorithms and virtual experiences, taking time to disconnect has become more valuable than ever. Creating spaces that cater for analogue fun also appears to be a good business as proven by Evo Entertainment. The Texas movie theater chain has doubled its footprint while many of its traditional rivals were knocked out by the pandemic. Evo’s formula of classic movies, bowling, laser tag, and comfort food may pander to the nostalgia of elder millennials (like your author) but serving up opportunities for people to connect in-person again seems to be a winning formula for any business.

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5 things we learned

New Yorkers are being watched. A new Amnesty study revealed 25,000 previously unreported security cameras in the city with the highest density of devices, and those capable of being linked with facial recognition technology, being located in predominantly Black, Asian and Hispanic commmunities. 

The tech stock sell off has stalled some IPOs. American digital bank Chime, which is valued at over $35 billion, will push back its plans for a public listing until the end of the year after the shares of fintechs slumped 40% since October.  

Going for gold. Americans who stand atop the podium in Beijing will score a cash prize of $37,500—not bad, but a pittance relative to what some other nations are offering.

Beware [robot] guard dog. Meet Ghost Robotics, the startup hired by the Department of Homeland Security in a controverisal plan to deploy Boston Dynamics-style robot hounds, to patrol the Mexican border. 

Starstruck. A new Christie’s auction will feature a selection of 65 rare meteorites but the star of the show—a $300,000 dog kennel that took a direct hit from a space rock.

The good

Tech companies are offering to evacuate Ukrainian staff. American and Israeli companies are buying flights for local staff out of Ukraine, or paying them to relocate inside the country away from what could be the frontline of a conflict with Russia.

The bad

NIMBY Billionaires. The nationwide battle for affordable housing has been particularly acute in resort towns like Whitefish, Montana, where a small clutch of billionaire residents helped block the construction of hundreds of new townhouses and condos.

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Do this

Lost masterpieces recovered. The showing of 25 Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings at an Orlando gallery has set the art world buzzing about the blockbuster exhibition but also the provenance of works unseen for three decades. Orlando Museum of Art, until June 30 2023.

Watch

The Super Bowl decoded. Confused by the flurry of crypto-related adverts taking centre stage at the biggest date in the calendar for football fans, and ad execs? Here’s a breakdown of why crypto exchanges occupied TV’s most valuable real estate. Forbes, available worldwide.

Listen

How to fight inflation. Today, the Federal Reserve and other central banks are on the frontline of tamping down runway price rises but in World War II the United States took a radically different approach. Planet Money, NPR, free to listen worldwide.

Read

Family fortunes. Learn how the Sassoon family forged one of the greatest business dynasties of the 19th century through bridging East and West and profiting from the opium trade. The Global Merchants: The Enterprise and Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty, Penguin, from $34. 

Taste

The taste of success. The annual release of the Michelin Guide has revealed seven new London restaurants have been awarded one star status including intimate Soho fav Evelyn’s Table, and Marylebone Mexican hotspot Kol.

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