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☆ Google teases the return of Google Glass in Project Astra demo
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

While promoting Project Astra, Google CEO Sundar Pichai teased the possible return of Google Glass. The first Google Glass was originally launched in 2013 and was a remarkable commercial failure. "Google Glass has RE-entered the chat," one user quipped below the YouTube video promoting Project Astra and featuring the prototype glasses. AdvertisementThe original Google Glass debuted in 2013 but was a remarkable commercial failure. Production on the original Google Glass was ultimately discontinued in 2015, though two enterprise editions were attempted in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, —, Sundar Pichar, Pichar, toted, Quinn Meyers Organizations: Astra, Google, CNBC, Service, Project Astra, Business, YouTube, Apple, Gemini

☆ What's the killer AI app for consumers? Google finally has a contender.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewSince ChatGPT burst onto the scene in 2022, there's been no real "killer app" to get consumers embracing AI in massive numbers. The internet, possibly the biggest killer app of all, made us all buy smartphones, tablets, and a host of other connected devices. AI killer app contendersAt its IO developer conference on Tuesday, Google showed off some pretty amazing AI killer app contenders. A Google AI model lurking on the phone (and in the cloud) answered correctly. The Google AI agent captured all the dates, times, and other details and automatically loaded them into the user's Google Calendar.

Persons: —, there's, she'd, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Sundar Pichai, Sissie Hsiao, DeepMind's Hassabis, Pichai Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Astra, Microsoft Locations: London

☆ It looks like Elon Musk will help launch a new Ad Astra school on a former horse ranch in Texas this summer
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A job listing indicates that a new Montessori Ad Astra school will open this summer. Musk cofounded Ad Astra in 2014. AdvertisementA job listing indicates that Elon Musk is planning to launch a new Ad Astra school in Texas. Musk cofounded Ad Astra in 2014 with Josh Dahn. Ad Astra appears to be partnering with Xplor Education, a firm that provides software for childcare operators, to form the new Montessori school.

Persons: Musk, —, Elon Musk, Josh Dahn, Dahn, it's, execs, didn't Organizations: Ad Astra, Astra, Service, Business, Xplor Education, Montessori, The New York Times, Maria Montessori Institute, The Boring, SpaceX, Times, Bel Air Locations: Texas, Boca Chica , Texas, Bastrop , Texas, Austin

☆ Space company Astra going private to avoid bankruptcy after dismal public run
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Space company Astra will go private in a cut-rate deal with its founders after a dismal run as a publicly-traded stock. A special committee of the board, with Kemp and London abstaining, voted in favor of the take-private plan. Astra's stock, halted at 85 cents a share near the time of the announcement, closed at 58 cents a share Thursday. The San Francisco-area company, incorporated in 2016, once aimed to mass produce small rockets and conduct launches as often as daily. Since its stock debut, Astra's rockets reached orbit twice – but the company also suffered three launch failures.

Persons: Chris Kemp, Adam London, –, Kemp Organizations: Astra, London, Astra's Locations: San Francisco

☆ A dead Russian spacecraft almost collided with a NASA satellite. The crash could have sent 7,500 bits of debris rocketing around Earth.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In the worst-case scenario, the collision would have ejected 7,500 bits of debris into low-Earth orbit. Satellite collisions are becoming more likely as the amount of space junk in low-Earth orbit grows. Even the tiniest debris can damage the space station and endanger astronauts, though no astronaut has lost their life due to space debris (yet). The race to clean up spaceThe consequences of space debris are very real, so much so, that the worst-case scenario has a name: Kessler syndrome. TransAstra's capture bags could help solve Earth's space debris problem.

Persons: —, LeoLabs, Darren McKnight, NASA ODPO, Kessler, Astroscale Organizations: Service, Space, NASA, European Space Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Dish Locations: Russia, India

☆ A handful of space companies are running out of cash and time. Here are three at risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A flurry of about a dozen space companies went public over the last few years. SidusSidus Space is a little-known space company that went the traditional IPO route in late 2021 and began trading on the Nasdaq at a near $200 million valuation. But it had less than $2 million in cash at the end of September, trading at a near $9 million valuation according to FactSet. Elsewhere in spaceA fourth space company in a potentially precarious spot is satellite imagery company Satellogic . Overall, investment in the space sector bounced back in 2023, with companies bringing in $12.5 billion in investment last year.

Persons: Here's, Momentus, there's, Sidus, Satellogic, hasn't Organizations: Astra, Astra Astra, Nasdaq, CNBC, Terran

☆ Astra founders offer to take company private at value of about $30 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The founders of struggling space company Astra have offered to take the company private at a value of about $30 million, according to a securities filing Thursday. That price is a 103% premium to Wednesday's closing price of 74 cents a share, which represents a market value of about $16 million. "We believe that Astra's strategic objectives and business prospects will be best served as a private company. Kemp and London are also "open to certain accredited investor stockholders of the Company rolling their equity into the transaction." The company is running out of cash, with its acquired spacecraft propulsion business yet to drive meaningful quarterly revenue.

Persons: Chris Kemp, Adam London, " Kemp, Kemp Organizations: Astra, San, Company, London, CNBC PRO Locations: San Francisco Bay, Alameda , California, London

☆ There's a new entry into the weight loss drug boom. Here's the outlook for the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

AstraZeneca is the latest player to enter the weight loss drug arena, a market which some analysts have forecasted could reach $100 billion by 2030 . The GLP-1 drug market is currently dominated by two players: Novo Nordisk , which sells Type 2 diabetes treatment Ozempic and weight loss medication Wegovy, and Eli Lilly , which sells Mounjaro as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Lilly just had the weight loss version of its drug, Zepbound , approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It's still early days for AstraZeneca's ECC5004 drug, which is being assessed in a U.S.-based phase 1 trial involving patients with Type 2 diabetes. He currently rates AstraZeneca stock as overweight.

Persons: Eccogene, Wegovy, Eli Lilly, Lilly, It's, Colin White, James Gordon, Morgan Stanley, Mark Purcell, AstraZeneca's Farxiga, Purcell, Michael Bloom, Christina Cheddar, Berk Organizations: AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control, UBS, Wall Street, JPMorgan Locations: U.S

SummaryCompanies This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Russian technology company Astra plans to open the books for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange on Thursday, two financial market sources told Reuters, with trading due to start on Oct. 13. Sberbank, Gazprombank, Alfa Bank and Start Capital were chosen as organisers of the offering, said the sources, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Astra dominates Russia's operating system (OS) market with its Astra Linux software. ($1 = 98.3250 roubles)Reporting by Olga Popova and Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Olga Popova, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Astra, Moscow, Alfa Bank, Start, Astra Group, Astra Linux, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Russian, Moscow

MOSCOW, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Russian technology company Astra plans to open the books for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange on Thursday, two financial market sources told Reuters, with trading due to start on Oct. 13. Astra's listing, which is expected to result in a free float of about 5%, could breathe some life into Russia's moribund equity capital markets, which have been starved of deals since Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in February 2022, prompting sanctions and the departure of Western bankers and lawyers. Reporting by Olga Popova and Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Olga Popova, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Astra, Moscow, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ NASA awarded $850,000 to a company that wants to pick up space trash the old-fashioned way — with bags
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NASA awarded TransAstra an $850,000 contract for its concept of Flytrap capture bags. Flytrap bags could be built large enough to scoop up space trash the size of a house. He looked up and saw a piece of space junk embedded in the window of the shuttle. The European Space Agency estimates over 330 million pieces of space debris are circling the Earth. AdvertisementAdvertisementBarnhart, whose company aims to build space outposts, said recycling in space could be a reality within five to 10 years.

Persons: Joel C, Sercel, TransAstra, NASA TransAstra's, Dave Barnhart, Barnhart, NASA SBIR, it'll, that's, it's Organizations: NASA, Service, European Space Agency, Department of Astronautical Engineering, University of South, Arkisys Inc Locations: Wall, Silicon, University of South Carolina

☆ Astra plans a reverse stock split, seeks to raise up to $65 million in offering
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Spacecraft engine manufacturer and small rocket builder Astra plans to conduct a reverse stock split at a 1 to 15 ratio, the company disclosed in a securities filing Monday. Astra also seeks to raise up to $65 million through an "at the market" offering of common stock, the filing said. Astra's filing said the reverse stock split is expected to take place on or before October 2, after its board approved the plan July 6. The company previously outlined a reverse split as part of its plan to avoid delisting by the Nasdaq exchange. Functionally, a reverse split, often done as a 1 for 10, would mean a $3 stock, for example, would become $30 a share.

Organizations: Astra, Nasdaq

☆ Investing in Space: Here are the rockets chasing to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

SpaceXCNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Overview: Chasing the FalconNo rocket has been better-described as a "workhorse" than SpaceX's Falcon 9. Aside from Blue Origin's New Glenn, the early theme is rockets that are close to the capability of Falcon 9 and less expensive. – CNBC, which the lawsuit says were used for NASA projects including the International Space Station and the Space Launch Systems rocket. – Firefly Aerospace: The rocket builder says the deal will bolster its launch, spacecraft, and lunar lander businesses.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Phil Smith, SpaceX's, Glenn, Smith, –, Smith doesn't, CNBC ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, ULA, – Read, Shepard, Bob Smith, Jim Free, Artemis, HawkEye, – Hydrosat, Leonardo DiCaprio, – Momentus, Westinghouse EchoStar's Hughes, – EchoStar, Iris Lan, Sumara Thompson, King, Lan, – NASA Celeste Ford, Ford, – SpiderOak Melissa Quinn, Quinn Organizations: SpaceX CNBC's, SpaceX, Falcon, Boeing, NASA, CNBC, CNBC Department of Defense, Ukraine, Starlink, Pentagon, –, Space Station, Systems, CNBC SpaceX, Cargo, International Space, FAA, Intelsat, Japan Airlines, Embraer, – Intelsat, Rocket, ONE, Washington, Spaceflight, Aerospace, Aerospace Spacecraft, York, MaC Venture Capital, Broom Ventures, Veto, TechCrunch Viasat, Air Force, Viasat, Westinghouse, U.S . Department of Justice, – NASA, Ford, Stellar Solutions Locations: Florida, China, Russia, Colorado, Ukrainian, Bellevue , Washington, Cortado, Cornwall

☆ Astra outlines its plan to avoid Nasdaq delisting, including possible reverse stock split
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spacecraft engine manufacturer and small rocket builder Astra on Thursday outlined a plan to avoid having its stock delisted from the Nasdaq. In its plan, Astra also noted the possibility of conducting a reverse stock split to get back into compliance with Nasdaq's listing standards. A reverse split does not affect the fundamentals of a company, as it is not dilutive to the stock and does not change the company's valuation, but it would lift the stock price by combining shares. Functionally, a reverse split, often done as a 1-for-10, would mean a $3 stock, for example, would become $30 a share. "Astra continues to actively monitor our listing status and intends to preserve our Nasdaq listing," Martinez wrote.

☆ How GSK plans to replenish its depleted medicine cabinet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

GSK has since suffered a series of clinical trial setbacks in its cancer drugs portfolio, most recently last year involving ovarian cancer drug Zejula and blood cancer drug Blenrep. BLOCKBUSTER POTENTIALAnalysts say that despite a string of strong quarterly earnings, lingering concerns over the company's drug pipeline reflect in GSK's share price. The investor said he does not see enough GSK drugs, either on the market or in development, with potential to be a so-called "blockbusters" with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. But Wood said the overhauled R&D department has put GSK in a strong position to meet growth targets. U.S. regulatory approval on GSK's vaccine, and a rival vaccine developed by Pfizer, is expected in May.

☆ Astra chief engineer resigns in another blow for beleaguered rocket builder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Beleaguered rocket-builder Astra is losing its highly touted chief engineer, Benjamin Lyon, the company said in a securities filing Friday. Lyon resigned from his role as Astra's chief engineer and executive vice president of operations and engineering on Monday, the company said. Shares of Astra were little changed in pre-market trading, from its previous close of 52 cents a share. Lyon joined Astra in February 2021 from Apple , where he had worked in development for products including the iPhone and Mac. Astra stock is down 92% this year as of Thursday's close.

☆ Investing in Space: A launch guide
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Earlier this year, Astra set out to launch a mission with its now-discontinued Rocket 3.3 vehicle. While that rocket would launch three days later (and suffer a mid-flight failure for a separate reason), that February abort sent Astra's stock down 13%. Stage: The sections of the rocket, typically identified as first or lower, second or upper, and so on. Scrub: Postponing a countdown and no longer attempting to launch at the previously set time.

☆ Investing in Space: Cash crunch
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. We're now in the final quarter of the year, and for several space companies, it's survival time. They weren't proven businesses and the tide went out," a banker familiar with the sector told me about the environment for space stocks. While not a definitive metric, the cash burn rates of de-SPAC space companies – from AST SpaceMobile to Redwire and more – give a window into the urgency of the situation. Private space companies are feeling the pinch as well.

☆ Wesley Chan's FPV Ventures coleads $10 million round in Astra, a fintech startup that makes it easier for companies to embed payments technology into their businesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The startup raised $10 million in Series A funding led by FPV and Slow Ventures. Astra, a fintech startup that's developed technology to allow developers to embed financial automation into existing products, raised a $10 million Series A along with a $30 million line of credit. "Everything was going really, really fast and really big, so we said, why not ride this growth." For example, B2B payments company Hopscotch recently raised $6.1 million in additional funding in March. Akos said one of Astra's goals is to move upmarket and begin providing payments services to startups in the later stages.

☆ Rocket builder Astra Space gets delisting warning from Nasdaq
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Sara Salinas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Embattled small rocket-builder Astra revealed Friday that it received a delisting warning from the Nasdaq after its stock spent 30 consecutive days below $1 per share, a violation of the exchange's requirements. The company has 180 days to lift its share price or face delisting, according to a regulatory filing. The company debuted on the Nasdaq in July 2021 via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Astra did not immediately return request for comment Friday on the delisting warning. The rocket builder has been saddled with quarterly losses and in August said it was pausing flights for the remainder of the year.

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