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WHAT’S INSIDE:

  • 4Runner Hybrid | Powerbeats Pro 2 | iOS 18.3 | Grok-3 | BMW | O-S AI Tools

  • TravelPerk democratizes business travel and expense management

  • Ooni | Martell Wine | Borgo's | Pizza For The People | Fire Impacts Restaurants

  • "The Lost Boys"Dolly Parton | Louvre | Anarchism | Severance | Super Bloom

  • Super-Earth | AI Molecule | Ultralight Material | Bio-Robotics | Supersonic XB-1

  • Parkinson’s | AI Biosecurity | Heart Stem Cell Patch | Lab-Gametes | Cancer

TOP CONSUMER TECH

2025 Toyota 4Runner Hybrid — An all new hybrid SUV with a powerful off-road i-Force Max powertrain, a turbocharged 4C petrol + EV motor for a total of 326 HP.

Powerbeats Pro 2 — Leaked images haved reveal Beats' upcoming sports earbuds with new fitness tracking capabilities and a vibrant orange colour.

Apple iOS UpdateiOS 18.3 rolls out with access to Starlink's satellite network and Apple Intelligence on by default, including new Visual Intelligence features.

Grok-3 Preview — xAI's latest model briefly has arrived for some users, showing improved reasoning abilities. It took 10x the compute power to train than Grok 2.

BMW 2025 Updates — BMW announces spring updates including an i5 range boost of 29 miles, and new X3 and 2-Series engines with up to 299 hp.

O-S AI ToolsAi2’s Tülu 3 & Alibaba’s Qwen2.5-Max, both fully open-source models claimed to beat DeepSeek v3, GPT-4o, and Llama on key benchmarks.

FEATURE ARTICLE

TravelPerk Democratizes Business Travel

2025 is seeing the completion of the rebound of travel and tourism to pre-pandemic levels. As part of this bounce-back, business travel is projected to surpass a record $1.5 trillion in 2025, which is 6.2% higher than the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. A recent Value of Business Travel Report indicates that businesses continue to invest in travel to boost sales, new business, and for off-site gatherings or conferences.

A number of startups are taking advantage of this rise of business travel. TravelPerk is one, the Barcelona-based business travel management platform just raised $200 million in a Series E round, bringing its valuation to $2.7 billion. The company provides an all-in-one platform for companies and their employees to book, manage, and report all their domestic and international travel. This includes integrations with HR and expense management systems.

The platform emphasizes a unified travel experience, which was enhanced by the recent acquisition of the Swiss startup Yokoy. This acquisition allows TravelPerk to offer native expense management within its core platform, rather than relying on third-party integrations, creating a more seamless experience.

Key features of TravelPerk:

  • Comprehensive platform: The platform handles all aspects of business travel, from booking to reporting, for both domestic and international travel.

  • Integration capabilities: The platform integrates with HR and expense systems to streamline administrative processes.

  • Decentralized travel systems: Employees are empowered to manage their own bookings, providing autonomy while maintaining control and visibility.

  • Unified travel & expense: The Yokoy acquisition has allowed TravelPerk to offer native expense management capabilities, reducing 3rd party integrations.

  • AI-enabled spend management: Yokoy's AI technology will enhance TravelPerk's platform, and reshape how businesses manage expenses.

While remote and hybrid work models have impacted working culture, the demand for corporate travel remains strong. TravelPerk president and chief operating officer, Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo, noted that travel for sales meetings and on-site installations will continue. The trend towards decentralized workforces has also created increased demand for off-sites, which require travel, further bolstering the need for TravelPerk's tech. The platform allows employees to manage their travel while providing businesses with oversight, without overburdening managers.

TravelPerk is committed to expansion and growth and plans to use the new funding to expand further into the U.S. market, where it acquired Chicago-based rival AmTrav last year. The acquisition of Yokoy is a strategic move to consolidate travel and expense management on one platform, positioning TravelPerk to become the number one travel and expense management platform. This move also mirrors moves by other tech companies like TripActions and Ramp, that have expanded into expense management or added travel to existing expense products. The integration of Yokoy's AI technology is a key component of TravelPerk's growth plans. Yokoy's AI is expected to provide cutting-edge solutions that reshapes travel management.

TravelPerk's unified approach reduces administrative burdens and ensures a seamless experience for employees and businesses. A focus on a seamless user experience, along with its AI-powered tools, could give it a competitive advantage in the corporate travel market.

Martell Lunar New Year Edition

FOOD AND DRINK

Ooni's $799 Spiral Mixer — The Pizza oven maker launches its Halo Pro professional-grade spiral dough mixer for home kitchens, featuring temp control and optimized hydration for perfect pizza dough.

Martell Lunar New Year EditionMartell debuts a special Cordon Bleu edition celebrating the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Snake.

Wine Market Shifts — The U.S. wine market faces a 2-3% volume decline as younger consumers shift to RTD alternatives and rising costs impact industry.

Borgo's Manhattan DebutAndrew Tarlow of Diner fame in Brooklyn opens his first Manhattan spot, a traditional Italian restaurant with woodfired oven, candlelit ambience, and warm service

Pizza For The People — Dozens of Los Angeles pizzerias have united to provide free pies for community support during the crisis in the LA Pizza Alliance relief effort

Eaton Fire's Restaurant Impact — Fire survivor restaurants Bulgarini and Nancy's Greek face an uncertain future as the neighborhood recovery impacts their customers.

Severance

ARTS & CULTURE

"The Lost Boys" A musical, based on the 1987 cult horror-comedy film, is set for a 2026 opening on Broadway. Also, Dolly Parton's autobiographical stage musical will debut in Nashville before a planned 2026 Broadway release.

Louvre Renovations — Major changes are underway to the Louvre, including a dedicated gallery for the Mona Lisa and new entrances to improve museum flow.

“Anarchism Means That You Should Be Free”Ed Simon considers “the Literature of Liberation” and the life of Alexander Berkman, Anarchist, would-be assassin, and 19th-Century Luigi Mangione.

A Realist Manifesto for the 21st Century — Now in its’ second season, AppleTV’s Severance is a compelling case-study for how the best stories are obsessed with reality in a way that confronts or distils our understanding.

Super Bloom  Jim James, King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard, Mac DeMarco and many more great artists feature on the L.A. Fire Relief Benefit Album.

FUTURISM

Super-Earth — The IAC confirms it found a possibly habitable earth-like planet.

AI-Created Molecule — AI glowing molecule would take 500M years to evolve.

Ultralight Material — ML creates 3D-printed nanostructures 5x titanium strength.

Bio-Robotics — Lifelike bio robots powered by hydraulic battery fluids.

Boom Supersonic XB-1 — US jet breaks sound barrier in historic test flight.

WELLBEING TECH

Parkinson’s Implant — A 65-year-old Parkinson's patient fitted with a computer-controlled brain implant reports feeling "cured" after 12 months, as device reads brain activity and sends electrical signals.

AI Biosecurity — Experts warn of potential biosecurity risks as AI advances in protein engineering and biological simulation capabilities.

Heart Patch — Patches made from lab-grown human stem cells repair damaged hearts in human trial in huge win for treating advanced heart failure.

Lab-Grown Gametes — Lab-grown eggs and sperm near: report.

Cancer Treatment1. A single-dose drug eliminates breast tumors in mice. | 2. Breakthrough Virus therapy shows promise in fighting skin cancer.

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