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.
E-scooter company Bird made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. CFO Yibo Ling joined Cheddar to discuss what made the company launch a SPAC IPO now. Ling noted one of the deciding factors was the need to scale the business to help take "gas-guzzling cars off the road" by growing into more locations. "A large portion of our proceeds will go to fund expansion into these new geographies," he said.
Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss the online travel company's Q3 earnings beat and the state of the travel industry. The earnings win was a sign that a sense of normalcy is slowly returning, according to Fogel, though he expressed disappointment in the Biden administration's delay allowing international vaccinated travelers into the country. He also predicted that elevated prices in areas like room bookings will remain high as travelers continue to pay more even as occupancy rates remain low.
Fintech firm NerdWallet made its IPO debut on the Nasdaq on Thursday. CEO Tim Chen joined Cheddar to talk about the decision to tap the capital markets now and explained the company's revenue model by taking a cut from financial products like credit cards and loans sold through the site. Chen also talked about the firm's stance on cryptocurrencies, noting it advises people to only invest what they can afford to lose. (Updated November 5, 2021 to reflect that NerdWallet went public on Nasdaq, not NYSE.)
New York City taxi drivers won a major victory to slash the cost of money owed for taxi medallions. The announcement follows a two-week long hunger strike at City Hall by some drivers to demand debt relief.
Moderna reported a massive miss on revenue in its Q3 earnings, taking in $5 billion versus the expected $6.21 billion despite sales of the COVID-19 vaccine. The pharmaceutical giant's stock dropped sharply on the news.
Joan E. Solsman, a senior reporter at CNET, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about Netflix moving to offer mobile video games for Android users as part of their subscription. She said this is likely one "baby step" for the streaming giant as it moves into the space. "You can see what Netflix wants to do eventually down the line is have these great ambitions to make their service be more than just passive TV, movies," she said. "They're moving more into merchandising, that they're moving more into in-person experiences. They're trying to broaden a way, which is a great thing to do when everyone keeps talking about metaverses."
CVS is working to become a major health care provider as the pharmacy chain adds doctors to its payroll, following a trend among pharmacies like Walgreens integrating more primary health care services.
Insurance tech company Lemonade is now offering automobile coverage, and CEO Daniel Schreiber joined Cheddar to talk about the company's commitment to not investing in "coal or other pollutant industries." He noted that the new product was incentivizing car insurance in "an environmentally responsible way." Schreiber also discussed expanding coverage beyond pet, life, and home insurance, and how it has impacted business since going public.
