Hi Everyone. This is Take Off. We're like a hidden Easter egg in your favorite video game - surprising, delightful, and adding an extra layer of fun to your tech news consumption.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• Patents in Motion! 🏎️

• Klarna Plus Unveiled ➕ 

• Asteroids ☄️

• Trending Tools ⚒️ 

Patents in Motion! 🏎️ 

Well, 2023 was a good year for new innovations as patent numbers did a modest jig upwards. The US Patent and Trademark Office played the generous host, handing out around 350K invitations to the patent party, marking a slight shimmy up from the previous year.

A consistent display

Semiconductors retained their spotlight, cementing their position at the top of the patent charts with nearly 60K patents. And they’re not the only ones who retained their place as they’re followed by virtual reality, 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and software technology related to unauthorized user detection – The same top 5 as 2022.

The brainy bunch

It seems like AI’s not getting any dumber with patents focusing on machine learning models, neural networks for images and video, and all sorts of other enhancements.

And whose brainchild was this? (Drumroll please….) Well, it was led by IBM, Samsung Electronics, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Samsung: The Belle of the Ball

Moving to a company perspective, Samsung was the belle of the ball, securing over 10K patents across a spectrum of technologies, from digital ads to the nuts and bolts of semiconductor manufacturing.

Other tech giants like IBM and Qualcomm were also in contention, but they couldn't quite match Samsung's patent prowess.

Around the world we go

The global patent party saw the US leading the cha-cha of innovation, with a notable presence from APAC countries and Germany showing its moves as the top European contender.

Things are looking up?

Overall, patent grants in 2023 saw a modest increase, signaling a healthy heartbeat in the body of global innovation. It’s clear that despite economic roller coasters, the spirit of innovation remains unshaken!!

So, here's to the inventors, the dreamers, and the patent holders of 2023. May you “Takeoff!”

Klarna Plus Unveiled ➕ 

Klarna will now let you pay them so you can pay them less money.

Soon, Klarna Plus subscribers will have the opportunity to pay $8/mo to get service fees waived, earn double reward points and have access to exclusive discounts.

IPO Interest

If you try to use Klarna services at non-partner stores such as Target or Walmart, you’ll have to pay a transaction fee of up to $2.

And obviously with Klarna Plus, you don’t have to. #MassiveSavings

To quote Klarna’s CMO: “So if you love Klarna and if you love shopping at Target and Walmart, it makes a ton of sense financially.”

Ummm. We aren’t quite sure about how much sense that actually makes. But what does make a ton of sense is Klarna attempting to goose its anticipated IPO.

They are essentially trying to woo Wall St. and show them that the company can add another stream of revenue to salvage back some of its 2021 valuation when it was Europe’s highest valued startup.

From an investor’s perspective, the subscription plan means recurring revenue, which is good, and a new revenue stream, which is also good.

BNPL -> PNPL

Buy Now-Pay Later is trying to transition to Pay Now-Pay Later. Klarna is not the only company trying to launch a subscription service.

Afterpay has a $10/mo subscription service named - Afterpay Plus.

Affirm is also looking to plan a similar offering - creatively named, Affirm Plus.

If you use BNPL, are you going to become an esteemed Plus subscriber?

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

Notion acquires privacy-pioneer Skiff, blending encrypted file storage and productivity tools into its suite. Skiff, launched in 2020 with $14.2M funding, joins Notion after impressing with its secure docs and email. 💼🔐

Meta aims for a less political vibe on Threads and Instagram, sidelining political content recommendations ahead of the 2024 elections. 🚫🗳️

Spotify phases out Music + Talk, bets big on Riverside for podcast innovation. Music podcasters voice concerns as Spotify shifts gears, aiming for broader creator support and growth. 🎶➡️

⚒️ Trending Tools ⚒️

💡 EasyBranding - Easy-made personal branding

💹 RelaGit - Your graphical git client, reimagined

🌐 Aptible - No Infrastructure Platform to deploy in seconds

🧑‍🏭 QuickJobs - Find remote jobs with AI

📰 Recommended Reading 📰

AI Jane: Artificial intelligence investment journalist building an easy to read ai investing email newsletter. Get smarter about investing in ai in 5 minutes.

The Aurorean: This newsletter scours 100+ sources so you don’t have to. The Aurorean is your guide to discover the essential news, research, beauty and humor in science every week.

The EV Universe: Keep up with the electric vehicle industry.

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