• Take Off
  • Posts
  • ๐Ÿš€ Peek Into the Secretive SpaceX

๐Ÿš€ Peek Into the Secretive SpaceX

PLUS: Wednesday Wires ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Hi Everyone. This is Take Off. We're like the cheat codes to your favorite video game - empowering, game-changing, and providing an edge in the tech ecosystem.

Here's what we're serving up today:

  • Peek Into the Secretive SpaceXย ๐Ÿš€

  • Asteroids โ˜„๏ธ

  • Trending Tools โš’๏ธย 

  • Wednesday Wires ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Peek Into the Secretive SpaceX ๐Ÿš€

Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is kind of like the rockstar of the space world, gave us a sneak peek into its books, and let's just say, there's both good and "could-be-better" news!

The financials reveal that SpaceX is valued at ~150 billion, making it the 2nd most valuable private company after ByteDance which is valued at ~220 billion.

In the 1st quarter of 2023, they showcased a $1.5 billion revenue, with a $55 million profit.

Not too shabby, especially considering the company faced losses in the past two years.

For our number-crunching audience, hereโ€™s a brief:

  • 2022 saw SpaceX with expenses at about $5.2 billion

  • Their revenue doubled up to $4.6 billion

  • Loss was down to $559 million from $968 million

So, ya, there's light at the end of this cosmic tunnel!

However, not everything was stellar. Their flagship rocket, the Starship, had a "fireworks" moment in April. Literally exploded!

But hey, in the name of innovation, sometimes things have to go "boom" before they go "zoom", right?

And because it's Musk we're talking about, there's gotta be some crypto drama! SpaceX had a $373 million write-down on its bitcoin value over the last two years.

They also dabbled in a little M&A action, acquiring satellite-communications company, Swarm Technologies, for a whopping $524 million in 2021.

In essence, while SpaceX's ledger may not sparkle like the night sky, it's clear that the company is steering its course with intent and ambition.

The companyโ€™s goal of going to Mars hasnโ€™t changed, but clearly, weโ€™re still a long way from someone upstaging Neil Armstrong.

We just hope whoever it is has a line as good as his.

โ˜„๏ธ Asteroids โ˜„๏ธ

Microsoft introduces Python in Excel, allowing users to mix Python scripts with Excel formulas.ย This cloud-based feature, developed in partnership with Anaconda. ๐Ÿ“Š๐Ÿ

OpenAI now allows custom data on GPT-3.5 Turbo for enhanced reliability and specific behaviors. Fine-tuning ensures better instructions follow-up and cost-effective API calls. ๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ“Š

Microsoft is saying goodbye to the Kinect once more. While they're halting Azure Kinect production, they're partnering with others for similar tech. ๐Ÿ“ทโœŒ๏ธ

โš’๏ธย Trending Tools โš’๏ธย 

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐ŸŽ“ย SkillPool - Accelerate your hiring process with AI

๐Ÿ–Œ๏ธย Kombai - A new AI model that you can prompt with UI designs

๐Ÿ‘‚๏ธย WhisperTranscribeย - Create content from your audio

๐Ÿ“š๏ธย Consensusย - Use AI to find insights in research papers.

๐Ÿ’ฐ Wednesday Wires ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Kombai, a startup using AI to turn UI designs into code, has secured $4.5 million in seed funding. Founded by dog-loving ex-Mindtickle execs, it aims to make front-end development a breeze! ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿ’ป

Grip Security, aiming to boost SaaS security, has raised $41 million in a Series B round.ย They're on a mission to manage and reduce SaaS identity risks for businesses. Growth and innovation on the horizon! ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ๐Ÿ’ผ

Cerby, co-founded by ex-Google engineer Bel Lepe, raised $17 million for its tool that secures nonstandard business apps. They're blending modern identity solutions with legacy apps, making security a breeze! ๐Ÿš€๐Ÿ”

๐Ÿ“ฐ Recommended Reading ๐Ÿ“ฐ

InvestorSnippets is a free daily newsletter with bite-sized news on markets, stocks, and ETFs. Curated from dozens of sources to help you keep up with some of the top trending stories in just 3 minutes a day.

Thatโ€™s it from us today folks! If you liked what you read today, please do read the message from our loving and hard-working team below:

โ€œ We all crave the essentials in life - food ๐Ÿฅ‘๐Ÿ•, shelter ๐Ÿ , and clothing ๐Ÿ‘•๐Ÿฉณ- and we're no exception! Our must-haves? An ever-growing squad of adoring subscribers like you and for more of those lovely subs, we're counting on you to spread the word! So, blast that newsletter across the universe! โ€