DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Biotech startup Seed Health is betting its profits on AI-powered medical science
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

On Thursday, Seed Health launched CODA, a computational biology platform funded by its consumer business profitability. Seed Health has been in the business of microbiome scientific breakthroughs since its founding in 2015, but its biggest success to-date may have been becoming profitable as a bioscience startup. Katz's co-founder and co-CEO at Seed Health, Raja Dhir, said CODA and the accompanying data set will help to standardize microbiome science methods, which has long been an issue in the field. CODA's first applications are in metabolic health, brain health, longevity, and menopause, research areas chosen because they have already been identified as areas of human health where early CODA data displayed the strongest evidence. Seed Health has been working on several efforts around pioneering microbiome science for human and planetary health, and many in the field believe the approach is destined to have wider applications.

Persons: Katz, Ara Katz, Eran Segal, Eric Topol, transcriptome, Katz's, Raja Dhir, Dhir, Arpana Gupta, Goodman, There's, Segal, Joseph Petrosino, Petrosino Organizations: Seed, Seed Health, CNBC, Weizmann Institute of Science, Scripps Research Institute, UCLA, Luskin Microbiome, Baylor College of Medicine, Center, Metagenomics, Microbiome Research

☆ Labor unions, with power and popularity rising, are still trailing on one big battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

High-profile strikes by writers and actors against Hollywood brought the union power to the mainstream as pictures of celebrities holding picket signs flooded social media. But one big win continues to elude labor: the need to translate its rising popularity into an increase in rank-and-file union membership, which has stagnated in recent decades. It's not a lack of support from the public that's holding unions back from making more progress in growing their ranks. Even before the big wins of 2023, polling conducted in recent years showed rising union popularity, with support at its highest level since 1965, according to 2022 data from Gallup. 'The Great Reset'In 2023, it was a banner year for American workers who support the labor movement.

Persons: Biden, —, Heidi Shierholz, I've, Thomas Kochan Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, Local, Chrysler Corporate, Division, Hollywood, UPS, Teamsters, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union, Economic Policy Institute, Gallup, AFL, CIO, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cornell, ILR, SAG, Writers Guild of America Locations: Ontario , California, American, Michigan, America

☆ 'AI exposure' is the new buzz term to soften talk about job losses. Here's what it means
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has raised many concerns, prominent among these AI job displacement and mass layoffs throughout the economy. No round of layoffs of knowledge workers goes by without a mention of the threat of AI. In May of this year alone, the U.S. economy lost 4,000 jobs as a result of AI, according to data from employment outsourcing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. According to Factset, mentions of generative AI on corporate earnings calls increased from five in December 2022 to 390 in June 2023. The more recent milestone, according to Rand: by 2020, "nearly all occupations are exposed to AI technology patent."

Persons: Alan Guarino, Korn, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Guarino, Factset, Rand Organizations: LinkedIn, CNBC, Korn Ferry, Rand Corporation Locations: India, U.S, United States

☆ With flurry of FAA approvals, many more drones are about to fly over U.S. skies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This week, drone delivery company Zipline was granted Federal Aviation Administration approval to fly drones beyond the visual line of sight. That's a major milestone in efforts to extend the range of the domestic drone industry over U.S. airspace, and Zipline isn't the only drone operator to recently receive FAA approval. It's a regulatory aim that the drone companies have been working towards for a decade and will pave the way for other companies to receive streamlined approval for their own drone flights beyond the visual line of sight. Prior to "beyond the visual line of sight" approval, human observers were required to be stationed along the entire route a drone was flying to ensure that there was no interference with air traffic. Now he says Zipline will be able to serve "hundreds of millions of people" in the U.S."It unlocks the scale of the technology so that everybody can benefit.

Persons: Zipline, we've, Keller Cliffton Organizations: U.S, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Phoenix Air Unmanned, Walmart, Amazon Locations: U.S

☆ After Birkenstock's 'Barbie' bump, iconic footwear brand seeks a big part in IPO market
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Footwear companies have found recent success going public market, but not all by any means over the longer-term. In more recent history, the brand has collaborated with Rick Owens, Dior, and Manolo Blahnik, among many other big names in fashion. The current IPO market landscape The IPO market has been all but frozen since the pandemic stock offering boom crashed, and successful IPOs have included iconic brands, such as the Johnson & Johnson spinoff of its consumer health business which includes Tylenol and band-Aids in the Kenvue IPO. Still, while Kenvue was the biggest deal of the year, it's barely holding onto its IPO price today, according to CNBC and Renaissance Capital data, and the IPO market overall hasn't performed great after listing. The two potential paths of a footwear IPO can be tracked by the histories of Crocs and Allbirds.

Persons: Nordstrom, Jeff Greenberg, what's, Johann Adam Birkenstock, Birkenstock, Angelo Bochanis, Oliver Reichert, outsized, Reichert, Konrad Birkenstock, Johann, Karl, Konrad, Margo Fraser, Kim Knott, Kate Moss, Corinne Day, Rick Owens, Dior, Manolo Blahnik, Jeremy Moeller, Barbie, Margot Robbie, Johnson, Kenvue, it's, hasn't, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, Bochanis, " Cohen Organizations: Universal, Getty, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Holding, Renaissance, Consumers, British Elle, Brand, CNBC, Columbia Business School, Facebook, Wall, JPMorgan, Company Locations: Merrick, , Miami, Germany, America, California, British, Arizona, It's, U.S

Amazon, the United States' second-largest employer, will now offer fertility and family planning services to employees through a partnership with Maven Clinic. The free offering will be available to more than 1 million eligible Amazon employees spread across 50 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. The addition of Amazon to the company's partnership portfolio means an increase of about 7% in patients under Maven's care. The continued challenges around reproductive health care in the U.S. highlights why there has been strong corporate interest in partnering with Maven. What's more, a survey by Maven revealed that 71% of companies are considering adding or have added reproductive health benefits in the wake of the decision.

Persons: Maven, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, Roe, Wade Organizations: Maven Clinic, Amazon, Maven, OB, CNBC Disruptor, CVS Health Ventures, Intermountain Health's VC, Microsoft, L'Oreal Locations: United States, Canada, America, U.S

And yet, the industry is currently battling the highest level of unfilled job openings ever recorded. The construction industry averaged more than 390,000 job openings per month in 2022, the highest level on record, while unemployment in the sector of 4.6% was the second lowest on record. "Commercial construction materials prices are now 40% higher than they were back in February 2020. For construction workers, pay is boomingFor workers who seek construction jobs, the timing has never been better. "The construction industry is now paying 80% more than the average non-farm job in the United States."

Persons: Anirban Basu, Maria Davidson, Lori Ann Larocco, Davidson, it's, Michael Elder, Rucha Vankudre, It's, Brian Turmail, Turmail, doesn't, we've, Vankudre Organizations: Associated Builders and Contractors, ABC, MBTA, Boston Globe, General Contractors of America, . Census Locations: U.S, Boston, United States

In a recent interview with CNBC's David Faber, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the linear TV business has degraded over the past year more than he expected. "If anything, the disruption of that business has happened to a greater extent than even I was aware," he said. Shortly after that, CNBC media reporter Alex Sherman reported that the MLB, NFL and NBA were in discussions with ESPN and Disney to take minority stakes. The NBA said it is always interested in discussions about "the future of its partnership" with ESPN. One of the key executives in those discussions, ESPN chairman James Pitaro, is up first at Game Plan and all eyes and ears will be on his comments about the future of the sports network.

Persons: Plan's, CNBC's David Faber, Bob Iger, Iger, Faber, I'm, Alex Sherman, James Pitaro, — Eric Rosenbaum Organizations: Disney, ESPN, CNBC, MLB, NFL, NBA, Warner Bros, Discovery

☆ How the Middle East is preparing for the post-oil, EV era of transportation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid Group will set up its first overseas factory in Saudi Arabia, the company announced. The Middle East, a region long known for its oil and gas riches, is investing in a new, more sustainable future potentially dominated by electric vehicles. The electric vehicle sector is booming in Israel, with electric vehicle deliveries in the first half of this year over 210% higher than the same period last year. "There's a growing recognition that countries need to do something on climate," said Tammy Klein, chairperson of the Electric Vehicle Council. "I think Middle Eastern countries are no different."

Persons: Larry Fink, Amin Nasser's, Tammy Klein, Klein, Robert Falck, we'll, " Falck Organizations: BlackRock, Saudi, Lucid, Gauss Auto, Marson Group, Electric Vehicle Council, EV, Einride, UAE Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure Locations: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, Israel, Bahrain, American, U.S, Europe, UAE, Sweden, It's, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah

☆ Why declaring victory over inflation too soon may be a mistake for economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The market is fully expecting another interest rate hike from the Fed in July, after it skipped a rate hike in June. For the Fed, ideal inflation is in the target range of 2%. But he is more encouraged about the economy avoiding recession, which recent economic history said would not be possible. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly expressed her commitment to lowering inflation even further on "Squawk on the Street" last week. "It's really too early to say that we can declare victory on inflation.

Persons: Tom Werner, Jerome Powell, Ed Yardeni, Yardeni, Paul McCulley, Tom Lee, Fundstrat, Lee, Liz Young, Roger Ferguson, Ferguson, Hugh Johnston, they've, CFOs, Milton Friedman's, Pimco, Tiffany Wilding, Wilding, Mary Daly Organizations: Federal Reserve, Market Committee, Fed, CME Fed, Yardeni, Dow Jones, Dow, PepsiCo, CNBC, Francisco Fed Locations: U.S, Georgetown

☆ Discord does about-face on parental controls for teen social media use
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Discord has introduced parental control tools, a move that represents a continued shift by the growing social media company to involve parents on its platform amid greater scrutiny of teen social media usage and its potentially negative health consequences. But parents and public officials continue to pressure social media platforms over issues related to teen usage. A Surgeon General's report from May of this year indicated that 46% of teens ages 13-17 say that social media makes them feel worse about their body image, and that there is a relationship between social media use and depression. Discord's blog post about the new parental controls attempted to strike a balance between its user-first philosophy and the fact that many social media users are teens — the Surgeon General report said up to 95% of people between ages 13 and 17 report using social media. Snap, Instagram, TikTok all have parental controlsParental controls like these are growing more common across social media.

Persons: —, Snapchat, Meta Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Family

☆ SoLo Funds, peer-to-peer loan platform for underserved banking consumers, is expanding to Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Expansion to Nigeria, Williams said, is a first step on the path to further international growth. In Nigeria, SoLo Funds has already connected with Paga, a mobile payment company, Platform Capital, an African investing firm based in Nigeria, and Endeavor, an entrepreneurial community network. SoLo Funds users have the opportunity to lend small amounts of money, ranging from $50-$1,000, to peers on the platform. That mission has not come without controversy, and allegations that SoLo Funds is creating a new form of predatory short-term lending. The complexity of lending regulation in the U.S. on a state-by-state basis has prepared SoLo Funds for the equally complex international launch.

Persons: Williams, Elon, " Williams, Rodney Williams, Travis Holoway, We've Organizations: Procter & Gamble, Visa, Intel, Synchrony, CNBC, Aspen Ideas, Platform, Endeavor, Google, NBCUniversal News Locations: Nigeria, Africa, America, Connecticut, California, Washington, United States, U.S, Latin America, Southeast Asia

The sexism that has prevented girls from competing in sports has also prevented women from becoming youth coaches. In March, Nike launched Coaching HER in a partnership with the University of Minnesota's Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Fry co-founded the Strong Girls program at the University of Kansas, where young girls are assigned a female college student as their mentor. She says this approach isn't only benefit to girls, but extends to youth athletes of all genders, and female coaches as well. Nike's 20,000 female coach goal Nike is one of the few major companies directly addressing this issue.

Persons: John Donahoe, Mary Fry, Jen Welter, it's, Welter, Vanessa Garcia, Brito, Billie Jean King, Fry, Alison Oliver, … it'd, Kate Mcshane, Christina Collins, Collins, Bob Iger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Donahoe, It's Organizations: Portland Press Herald, Nike, University of Kansas, Aspen Institute's, Olympic, University of Minnesota's, Center for Research, Girls, Sport, Aspen Institute, Tucker Center, Sports Foundation, Youth Sport, Women's Sports Foundation, Getty, Manhattanville College, Target, Disney, Bank of America, CNBC, Summit, Florida Governor Locations: Aspen, London, Hackney, Westchester County, Santa Barbara , California

☆ Why the new bull market is headed for more Fed stress after a rate hike pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

And even if the Fed does pause, Ferguson says it doesn't mean that more rate hikes aren't coming over the rest of the year. He isn't alone in the view that a Fed pause won't last long. This view is underpinned by, among other things, a labor market that continues to be tight. Others see recent cooling the labor market as a signal the Fed may soon have more need to moderate its rate hike strategy. "The broad picture here is the labor market is cooling in a sustainable way.

Persons: Savita Subramanian, Roger Ferguson, That's, Ferguson, CNBC's, isn't, Michelle Girard, Steve Liesman, Dennis Lockhart, Lockhart, Fed's, Jerome Powell, Brendan McDermid, — Ferguson, Wharton, Jeremy Siegel, Siegel, Jerome Powell's, Rucha Vankudre, Nick Bunker, Bunker, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon —, Solomon, Goldman, Frederic Mishkin, it's, Mishkin, we've Organizations: Federal Reserve, Dow Jones, NASDAQ, Bank of America, Fed, NatWest Markets, Atlanta Fed, Traders, New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, Conference Board, Labor, Lightcast, Former Fed, Bank of Canada, Reserve Bank of Australia Locations: U.S

☆ Nvidia invests in Google-linked generative A.I. startup Cohere
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Cohere, an enterprise-focused generative artificial intelligence startup, has raised $270 million in a Series C round of venture capital which includes AI giant Nvidia as an investor. In the new Cohere round, Oracle and Salesforce were also investors. Cohere is one of the companies that the new Salesforce Ventures generative AI fund is investing in. "We want to build that toolkit that's accessible to any dev," co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez told CNBC in June 2022. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang expressed confidence in Cohere, saying in a press release announcing the funding, "The team at Cohere has made foundational contributions to generative AI.

Persons: OpenAI, Cohere, Aidan Gomez, Gomez, Nick Frosst, Jensen Huang, DTCP Organizations: Nvidia, Oracle, Microsoft, CNBC, Google, Google Research, Inovia Capital, Schroders, Thomvest Ventures, Ventures Locations: CoreWeave, Cohere

Search resuls for: "Natalie Rose Goldberg"

15 mentions found