#37 The Weekend Download – Catching Up on What Matters
Essential insights you need to stay ahead
📩 Issue #37 – 01/11/2025
⚡ Quick Hits — What You Need to Know
🤝 NVIDIA x South Korea
Nvidia struck a sweeping AI partnership with the South Korean government, Samsung, and Hyundai – pushing beyond chips into full-scale national AI ecosystems.
Read More (Fast Company)
🪪 Apple Wallet to support U.S. digital passports
Apple says digital passports are “coming soon” to Wallet, signaling a major step for mainstream digital identity adoption.
Read More (TechCrunch)
💾 Qualcomm unveils new AI chips to rival Nvidia and AMD
The chipmaker launched its AI200 and AI250 models, promising faster, more energy-efficient edge computing as the AI hardware race intensifies.
Read More (CNBC)
🔥 Top Insights
🌍 Bill Gates’ climate reality check
Gates outlines "three hard truths" about the energy transition urging realism over optimism in climate innovation.
Read More (Gates Notes)
😴 The sleep-tech paradox
More devices promise better rest — but constant monitoring may be doing the opposite. Designers are rethinking how to make rest restorative.
Read More (The Atlantic)
👵📱 The real screen addicts: older adults
A new study finds seniors, not Gen Z, are spending the most time online — challenging assumptions about tech overuse and digital loneliness.
Read More (The Economist)
📊 Movements to Watch
🐶🐱 The pet vaccine boom
Vaccines for dogs and cats are becoming a major market, and a new front in public health debates.
Read More (NYTimes)
🔋 Nvidia invests in battery recycling
A sign that AI’s energy appetite ties directly to raw materials, and to the future of circular manufacturing.
Read More (Fast Company)
🏃♀️🌾 Run-cations go rural
Strava and Airbnb team up for countryside fitness getaways – part wellness trend, part tourism strategy.
Read More (TrendWatching)
📺 Netflix experiments with vertical video
The streamer is testing TikTok-style formats, betting it can modernize without losing its cinematic feel.
Read More (TechCrunch)
💡 Something to Think About
🍟🇯🇵 Japan’s Happy Meal controversy
A Pokémon-themed McDonald’s promo exposes growing tension around foreigners and cultural shifts in Japan.
Read More (Bloomberg)
🧑🤖 The robot roommate is (almost) here
A WSJ reporter tests a semi-human home robot, finding both charm and awkward limits. Automation’s next frontier might be empathy.
Read More (WSJ)
🌊 China opens the first underwater data center
Launched in Hainan, the facility aims to cut cooling costs and boost data efficiency – and could reshape the infrastructure map.
Read More (SCMP)
🌀 Offbeat & Unexpected
📎 Microsoft launches Mico, the official Clippy successor
The new AI companion is a cute, colour-shifting blob that fronts Copilot’s latest update – part of a push for “human-centered AI” that feels a little nostalgic.
Read More (CNET)
🧳 World’s top digital-nomad destination revealed
A Mediterranean hotspot takes the #1 spot, as remote-work migration turns into national economic strategy.
Read More (Time Out)
📵🛏️ IKEA designs for digital detox
The new “phone-sleep” collection encourages people to put their devices to bed, literally.
Read More (Fast Company)
🥇 The story behind the NYC Marathon medal
Fast Company digs into the design, symbolism, and psychology behind the race’s most coveted piece of metal.
Read More (Fast Company)
🚜🏡 Rural “run-cations” take off
Fitness meets countryside travel as runners trade city marathons for fresh air and local stays.
Read More (TrendWatching)