Hello and welcome to Trending, Business Insider's weekly look at the world of tech. I'm Alexei Oreskovic, Business Insider's West Coast Bureau Chief and Global Tech Editor. Let's see how far we can get this week before mentioning TikTok.
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This week: Tim Cook has 2 trillion reasons to smile
Cook is a latecomer to the party, primarily because unlike fellow tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page, Cook isn't a company founder who started off with a giant stake. But Cook is leading the pack in another race. Apple is on track to become the first company to attain a $2 trillion market cap (at the end of Tuesday, Apple was worth $1.87 trillion).
Super cycles — the magical moments that come every few years when everyone suddenly gets the urge to buy a new smartphone like it's 2009 again — have a way of not living up to expectations. But this is Apple, the Think Different company. So, as they say, maybe this time it's different.
It was only a few months ago that the IPO market was in the doldrums, laid low by the same virus-based malaise that afflicted the overall economy. But a little Lemonade and a hefty side-order of SPACs seem to have brightened the mood on Wall Street.
And Palantir, the secretive, military-loving big data company founded by Peter Thiel, should be opening its books en route to a public listing any day now.
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While you wait for Palantir's S-1 filing to drop, I highly recommend Becky Peterson's latest exclusive reporting on the controversial company. Becky's story not only offers a great window into the culture of Silicon Valley's misfit startup, but it's also the best examination of Palantir's business that you'll get short of reading the company's forthcoming prospectus.
"I am still confused as to what pieces they can truly separate out to operate for different countries. I have heard a lot of the ByteDance technology is shared across products."
Elman, who has served stints as a product manager at Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, was an early investor in Musical.ly, the startup that ByteDance acquired in 2017 and transformed into TikTok.
If you're a regular reader of this newsletter, you'll know how much we love space-age covid-wear. The BioVyzr looks like a solid choice if you need maximum protection from the pathogens of others ... and from yourself. Just try and touch your face when you've got the BioVyzr strapped on.
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