If you're searching for the future of transportation, look up. Transportation startup Skyryse just completed an end-to-end autonomous helicopter flight, where the pilot never had to touch the controls.
"This is a really large step toward realizing a transportation system in the sky that can one day move us away from the cars and the crumbling infrastructure that is throughout our cities," explained Mark Groden, the company's founder and CEO.
While the helicopter, called Luna, isn't to be overlooked, it isn't the main attraction as far as Skyryse is concerned. That distinction belongs to the Skyryse Flight Stack technology, which the company hopes will revolutionize short-distance air travel. The sector is flooded right now, with as many as 130 companies looking for a piece of the pie, including big names like Uber involved. Skyryse isn't looking to beat them, but assist them.
"What we're focused on is building the technology that will lead to this transportation system," said Groden.
Reliable, widely-used short-distance air travel has seemed like something of a pipe dream until now, but Groden is quick to point out the first automated flight actually took place decades ago, when the Lockheed-1011 safely crossed the Atlantic. The idea of automated air travel isn't a new one, and the CEO believes it will expedite the process of making it a reality.
"The pragmatic approach we're taking, following existing paths that the FAA is already very keen to work with us on, will allow us to realize this in single-digit years, and far sooner than I think a lot of people expect," he said.
Earnings season continues in the week of December 6 - 10, and that's only the start of a slate of events on the calendar that may move markets. We will also see executives from the crypto world and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri testify before members of Congress, and Square's name change to Block officially goes into effect.
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November's jobs report is tricky: nonfarm payrolls only increased by 210,000, following an October gain of 546,000. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% - and the labor force participation rate rose 61.8% to its highest level since March 2020. Also of note: the retail sector saw a decline of 20,000 jobs despite what was once a traditional late fall push to hire before the holiday sales rush. What's going on in the labor market, and can we expect more volatile numbers as the omicron variant spreads during the winter months? Adam Ozimek, Chief economist at Upwork, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the mixed jobs report, sector winners and losers, retail's flip-flop, and more.
