GM. This is Take Off. We're like that unexpected tax refund - pleasantly surprising, rewarding, and making your life just a little bit better.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• Google (AI)vengers Assemble 🦸🦸‍♂️

• Apple Says “Namaste India” 🙏🍎🇮🇳

• SpaceX’s like “Houston, we've got a problem” 💥

Google (AI)vengers Assemble 🦸🦸‍♂️

Alphabet's getting its AI act together, folks! On Thursday, they went “(AI)vengers Assemble!”

It's decided to merge its Google Brain and DeepMind teams to form one mega AI research unit - Google DeepMind, and they've got their sights set on rival systems. (looking at ya - OpenAI and Bing)

This superpowered union has already delivered some heavy hitters like the legendary transformer tech, which inspired OpenAI's GPT work as well as Alpha-Go which beat the Go world champion.

So what's next, you ask? They're diving headfirst into "multimodal" AI, à la OpenAI's GPT-4, which plays well with both text and images.

Google's been the search market king for eons, but they haven’t been having a gala time as of late. With Microsoft's Bing bullying Google, it’s got to keep up in the AI race or risk tripping on its own shoelaces.

Do you think that this latest merger will make Google come out on top?

Apple Says “Namaste India” 🙏🍎🇮🇳

Knock knock, who's there? It's Tim Cook, with high-fives and namastes, opening Apple's first-ever stores in Mumbai and Delhi!

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and if Apple sees potential for some juicy profits in the future, there ain’t no way Timmy’s gonna say no to that!

Apple's market share in India might be just 4.5%, but its revenues there have grown by nearly 50% in a year, reaching almost $6 billion and experts believe they could hit a whopping $20 billion by 2025.

With China getting riskier for American businesses, Apple's taking lessons from its Chinese success and applying them in India.

Apple's manufacturing plans are shifting gears, seeing India as a future export base. JPMorgan Chase predicts that by 2025, 25% of iPhones will be made outside China, with India being a major producer.

Don't worry, though, Apple isn't ghosting China completely. They'll still manufacture there for the local market and for some export. But for now, India's ready to grab a bite of that sweet, sweet Apple pie.

SpaceX’s like “Houston, we've got a problem” 💥

Houston, we've got a problem! SpaceX's Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, had a bumpy ride on its first test flight.

The massive Starship soared over the Gulf of Mexico, carried by its Super Heavy rocket booster, before things took a turn for the worse. At 39 kilometers above Earth, something went awry, causing the spacecraft to tumble and burst apart.

SpaceX activated a self-destruct system on both the booster and Starship, so it's back to the drawing board. The exact cause is still a mystery and the rocket CSI is figuring out what went wrong.

Despite the hiccup, just clearing the launch tower was considered a victory for SpaceX. If SpaceX can iron out the kinks, Starship has a bright future.

It could carry powerful telescopes into space, land astronauts on the Moon, launch next-gen Starlink satellites, and even help Musk's Mars dreams come true.

Here's to hoping Starship bounces back and keeps reaching for the stars!

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

YouTuber MKBHD took a trip down memory lane and splurged a whopping $42,991.20 on a sealed OG iPhone – only to unbox it for our viewing pleasure! 💸📱Talk about commitment to the cause!

As Twitter's blue checkmark purge continues, even the Pope loses his verified status – but LeBron James still got game! 🏀🔵 Musk's playing favorites, footing the bill for a few lucky stars, but other celebs like Beyonce and Bill Gates can kiss their checkmarks goodbye. 💸💔

BuzzFeed News is calling it quits, shutting down its once Pulitzer-winning news division as the company struggles with a pandemic, market woes, and changing audience habits. Seems like the social media hype train has left the station for greener pastures, like TikTok dances and YouTube videos. 🚂💨📰💔

🔮 Futuristic Fridays 🔮

Building telescopes on the Moon is becoming an achievable goal. The Moon is turning into the hottest astronomical hangout, with various missions set to visit by the end of the decade. It's not just a science party, though; lunar exploration offers a prime platform for astronomy, especially radio astronomy, from the Moon's "radio-quiet" far side. 🌚🔭🎉

After a decade of sweating it out, Virtuix's VR treadmill, Omni One, is finally ready to ship! Turns out, Spielberg's $175 million film and a $1.1 million Kickstarter campaign were just the warm-up. With a hefty $2,595 price tag, this treadmill will have you running (in place) to experience virtual reality like never before. 🏃‍♂️🕶️💸

Mach 9, anyone? Venus Aerospace is working on a hypersonic aircraft that'll have you zooming around the globe at over 11,000 km/h, making "anywhere in an hour" a reality. Forget the Concorde, this baby will take you halfway to space before serving you dinner! 🚀🌏💨

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