Modernization in Saudi Arabia: Is it working? Will the USA relationship change? Saudi Arabia developed very fast, with a heavy handed political dictatorship, since 1950, but this growth is not sustainable due to the diminishing value of oil in the future. The crown prince is currently trying to modernize the economy, but is it working? What is going to happen to the relationship with the USA and Saudi Arabia in the future? Jon Alterman is the Senior Vice President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and I talk with him about how this modernization of Saudi Arabia is developing

Making $300M/year in the NYC Subways & fighting big telcos

Previous weeks I talked with tech multipreneur Alex Mashinsky on his journey to the U.S.A. and how he started his Voice Over IP business. This week Alex tells me how he made $300M/year in the NYC Subways! While Alex lived in Paris, he saw that there was mobile service in the subway system and it gave him inspiration to change that in New York. How did he convince the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to put wireless in the subway? And how did he win a major fight from the U.S.A.’s four biggest telecom companies?

Building a blockchain-based solution for responsible mineral sourcing

Cobalt is a mineral that is crucial for producing electric car batteries. However, cobalt is often mined in unstable parts of the world and sometimes there is made use of child labor. IBM took on the noble task to ‘clean up’ the shady Cobalt mine business by tracking Cobalt minerals on the blockchain so customers like Volkswagen will know if their batteries are sourced ethically. Watch the talk of IBM Blockchain Lead Frans Kempen on this responsible mineral sourcing case at the Blockchain Innovation Conference

Tesla kwartaalcijfers zijn EEN RAMP, hoofdpersonen verlaten Tesla, service is slecht, lange wachttijden, investeerders rennen weg, kortom: TESLA EEN ZINKEND SCHIP?

Ondanks dat Tesla in het tweede kwartaal een record van meer dan 95.000 auto’s leverde leed het bedrijf in Q2 een verlies van $408 miljoen! Bovendien verlaat CTO JB Straubel, die 15 jaar een fundamentele rol speelde, het bedrijf, zijn de bruto marges maar 14,5% i.p.v. de beoogde 25% en zijn de aandelen deze week met 15% gedaald! Is Tesla een zinkend schip? Ik licht toe hoe je hier tegen aan moet kijken en waarom er nog hoop is voor Tesla

See you next week!

– Vincent Everts