ExO Hits of the Week - 5 August 2022

In this week’s ExO ‘Hits of the Week,’ here is what our community is reading:

• ClassDojo Won Over Classrooms. Now It’s On A $125 Million Mission To Bring Kids To The Metaverse
• The 4G Decade: Quantifying the Benefits
• Apple Argues It’s Now a Major Force in the Health-Care World
• Amazon Delivery Drones opening in second U.S. location
• What the rise of female founders tells us about the state of the gender gap
  

Here are our top five Exponential ‘Hits of the Week:’

1. ClassDojo Won Over Classrooms. Now It’s On A $125 Million Mission To Bring Kids To The Metaverse

Publication: Alex Conrad, Forbes

Date: July 21, 2022

ClassDojo president Liam Don is piloting a small, cuddly monster around a virtual island on his Web browser, searching for his employees in a quick game of hide-and-seek. The little island and its friendly monsters are reminiscent of virtual worlds we’ve seen before—Animal Crossing, Minecraft and Roblox all come to mind. But what has Don so excited isn’t unique graphics or the simple game play. It’s what this live demo promises: a virtual environment for kids that parents and teachers will actually trust.

This the future of ClassDojo, the remote-based tech startup Don cofounded with CEO Sam Chaudhary in 2011. The British friends spent the past decade building an app that won over teachers with feedback and lesson planning tools, and then parents with features to communicate and receive updates on their children’s progress at school. Now, they’re pouring their efforts—and $125 million in previously undisclosed funding—into a software environment beyond the classroom.

Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2022/07/21/classdojo-tencent-backed-unicorn-launches-education-virtual-world/?sh=378968e713ad

2. The 4G Decade: Quantifying the Benefits

Publication: CTIA – The Wireless Association

Date: 29 July 2022

Today—perhaps more than ever—the impact and importance of America’s world-leading 4G wireless networks is clear. U.S. 4G leadership created jobs for millions of Americans, drove remarkable economic growth, and enabled entirely new industries. Wireless speeds are up, prices are down, and consumers receive tremendous value from these 4G networks. Now as we enter the 5G era, the next generation of wireless networks will unleash even greater consumer benefits and create a 5G economy that will help the U.S. grow and maintain its position as the world’s innovation leader.

Read more here: https://www.ctia.org/news/report-the-4g-decade-quantifying-the-benefits

3. Apple Argues It’s Now a Major Force in the Health-Care World

Publication: Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Date: 20 July 2022

Apple Inc. published a nearly 60-page report Wednesday outlining all its health features and partnerships with medical institutions, arguing that such offerings are key to the tech giant’s future.

The company pointed to its breadth of existing services -- from sleep monitoring and fitness classes to atrial-fibrillation detection and cycle tracking -- and promised to build on that foundation. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, who oversees Apple’s health endeavors, said in a statement attached to the report that the company will continue to innovate in “science-based technology.”

Read more here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-20/apple-argues-it-s-now-a-major-force-in-the-health-care-world

4. Amazon Delivery Drones opening in second U.S. location

Publication: KBTX

Date: 15 July 2022

Amazon is launching its second delivery drone location. Having announced delivery drones for Lockeford, California, a town of 3500, Amazon announced a second location in the town of College Station, Texas. College Station is a city of 100,000 which makes the announcement even more significant.

Read more here: https://www.kbtx.com/2022/07/15/college-station-city-council-approves-amazon-location-planning-use-drones/

5. What the rise of female founders tells us about the state of the gender gap.

As we head into a period of economic uncertainty, new data reveals the systemic challenges facing women in the global labour market. Today’s Global Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that the gender gap hasn’t bounced back from the enormous damage done during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report benchmarks the evolution of gender-based gaps in four areas: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment. Scarily, pandemic disruptions and a weak recovery means it’s now going to take another 132 years to close the global gender gap.

Read more here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/rise-of-female-founders-gender-gap-22/

Additional research support from Shabbir Esmael