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:

• Unicorns Are Rare Again 🦄

• Streamflation is Here 📺

• Asteroids ☄️

• Trending Tools ⚒️ 

Unicorns Are Rare Again 🦄

If you’re out unicorn spotting, you might just have to squint a bit harder these days. Unicorns, once elusive creatures of the startup universe, are once more becoming a rarity.

While December 2021 saw an astonishing 67 unicorns, July managed to produce ….checks notes…. just 3 unicorns.

The Legend of Unicorn

The term “Unicorn” was coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013, referring to startups having a $1B+ valuation.

Why? Because bagging a $1B+ valuation back then was indeed as rare as …. well, a unicorn.

But thanks to everyone wanting to be the next Zuckerberg and ridiculously low interest rates in the past decade, we had unicorns showing up at our doorsteps like pizza deliveries on a Friday night.

2021, Tech’s biggest bull market in the last decade, minted more than 600 unicorns - a rate of more than 2 per working day.

That’s more unicorns than socks lost in the laundry - which is saying something.

Unicorns are Rare Again

These numbers are not shocking. The combination of higher interest rates and tech’s “Year of Efficiency” has forced startups to do more with less.

Venture Capitalists have followed the lead of public investors and are putting more emphasis on profitability and cash flow.

However, as the Tech public markets see a rise, the hope is that private markets will follow the trend and Unicorn sightings might become more mainstream again.

Streamflation is Here 📺

Feeling a bit light in your pocket after binge-watching Modern Family for the 87th time?

Well, you ain’t alone, my friend. Inflation has gotten to everything, including to your favorite streaming services.

Even the Wall Street Journal has caught onto this phenomenon and termed it “Streamflation”.

Damn inflation. First my eggs, then this.

The Curse of Too Many

Remember 2015. If you wanted to stream something, you would just go to Netflix. Now, it feels like there are a gazillion different options to choose from.

And not only do we have to subscribe to more services, it seems like we’ll have to start paying more for EACH service as well.

New Phase for Streaming Wars

The streaming industry has now shifted its focus from growth to profitability. That means cutting costs and raising prices.

But these platforms can’t just keep on increasing prices right?

Well, Yes and No.

If you still want to binge on the entire season of Suits without any interruption, well, just shell out more dollars for the ad-free plan.

However, if not, then you can opt for the ad-supported plan, which is the streaming industry’s next major push for profitability.

These plans help the platforms to not push away every new customer due to increased prices and still earn enough dough.

Infact, Netflix and Warner Bros have said that the ad-supported tiers actually generate more money per user than the ad-free counterparts.

While these tactics do come with the possibility of increased churn, analysts are bullish on streaming as the future.

July was the first time traditional TV viewership dropped below 50% and streaming jumped to 39%.

P.S. The average American household exposed to streaming have on average 4.1 streaming subscriptions and pays $28/month. What’s your count? Let us know.

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

Meta may launch a Threads web version early this week. They're also enhancing search features! They also hinted at integration with the decentralised social network protocol Activity Pub🚀🖥️ 

Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed on the Moon, marking its first lunar attempt since 1976. The lander was meant to study the Moon's south pole ice, and was a precursor to a planned crewed mission in 2029. 😢🌑

Elon Musk plans to remove the blocking feature on X, but will keep DM blocking. Critics worry about harassment issue and changes could clash with app store policies. 🔇🤨

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