Google hasn’t said anything officially about Microsoft’s Windows Platform or specifically about the Microsoft store, but it’s obvious the search engine giant is not a big fan of Microsoft’s services, and that’s the precise reason Google is moving to web-based applications through its PWA initiative. The PWA initiative allows users to install YouTube, Google Maps, and many more Google apps smoothly on their desktops straight from the web browser.
Web-based apps deliver a faster web experience when compared to standard apps. The recent entry in this squad is Google’s standalone web app for its video calling platform Google Meet. Previously, to start a meeting on Google Meet, users have to type out the URL or have to visit Gmail, but with the arrival of Progressive Web Application (PWA), now they only have to download the app once on their laptop, and that’s the end of regular hustle.
The Google Meet PWA app will take users to the same landing page they used to visit earlier, but with a blue app bar up top rather than a regular tab strip. It would function just the same as Google Meet and will have the equivalent features. The web-based apps are available on Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, and Linux and will automatically update when the browser updates itself.
How to install Google Meet Progressive Web App on your laptops?
Visit meet.google.com
Go at the top right of your browser, in the URL bar, click on the option install Google Meet
The Google Meet app will appear on the app dock, and the shortcut for the same will appear on your desktop screen
Users who wish to install the Google Meet web app can use a similar set of steps on other browsers like Apple Safari and Microsoft Edge. Google Meet offers up to 24 hours of calling for one-on-one calls and up to 60 minutes of calling for group calls with three or more participants, where users will get a notification after 55 minutes that the call is about to end. The PWA app is free to use for all Workspace customers and personal Google account holders.
Google won’t let you sign in on Android phones running on version 2.3.7 (Gingerbread) or lower from 27th September onwards. So, if you’re holding onto one of these phones, then it’s time to say goodbye as the company’s closing the Google account support on that device.
After 27th September, when users try to sign in to Google apps like Gmail or YouTube or Google Maps, they’ll receive a username or password errors. Along with this, if users attempt to add their other Google accounts or create a new Google Account or perform a factory reset and try to sign in once again, they’ll receive an error message.
Android 2.3.7, the final version of Gingerbread, was released about ten years ago, and this is one of the rare instances where Google is completely cutting off the support. Though, users still are able to use some of the Google services if they sign in through the phone’s web browser.
Unfortunately or on purpose, if you’re still holding on to an android device with the 2.3.7 version, then to use it in the future, you must have to check whether your device has the ability to update to a newer Android version 3.0 Honeycomb or Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to avoid extreme nuisances while controlling Google apps like Gmail, Google maps and others.
The Google account cut-off service news is not going to affect many users, but it’ll still affect some of the old Android users. Google has said the reason behind cutting off the services is that these devices are very old and lags in the world of modern security and can not be updated with the latest security patches.
Wireless chargers are the future, and every other company is trying their best to come up with one. The word wireless charger sounds cool, but it is slower than wired charging and puts an enormous strain on the battery. Whatever it is, no one really cares about its slow charging because the millennials prefer cool-tech over anything. Recently, Apple rolled out iOS 14.7 with the MagSafe Battery Pack support for iPhone 12 lineup, and now, Realme teases the world with MagDart Magnetic Wireless Charger.
The next-generation wireless charger system from the house of Realme, dubbed MagDart, is slated to release on 3rd August, and it looks much similar to Apple’s 15W MagSafe. The Chinese smartphone maker will also be launching a Realme Flash smartphone with magnetic charging support simultaneously, making them the first brand to bring magnetic charging technology to Android smartphones.
Over the past few days, MagDart-powered wireless chargers have appeared in several leaks, and recently, Realme CEO Madhav Seth revealed the MagDart technology would be 440% faster and thinner, taking an indirect dig at its only alternative, MagSafe. Apart from Realme, there aren’t any companies that offer such speeds globally besides Xiaomi, which offers 80W fast charging.
Realme MagDart will have at least two variants, one with a cuboidal structure for faster battery-charging speeds and the other one being a ring-like structure which was showcased on a teaser poster, similar to Apple MagSafe’s disc-like charger.
The render images suggest that the cuboidal one will be thicker than a MagSafe charger and have fans to maintain temperature. It would be powered by a Type C cable and deliver charging speeds of over 15W.
The new wireless technology is expected to come with magnetic snap-on capabilities, similar to Apple’s MagSafe system. Also, the wireless charger is tipped to be the fastest wireless charger in the world.
As for the Realme Flash smartphone, the company hasn’t mentioned anything besides its name, but it is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 888 SoC and Android 11. Also, the upcoming smartphone is tipped to feature a hole-punch display, a triple rear camera setup, and 12GB RAM with up to 256 GB storage.
Sony celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, and the brand has created several mind-blowing products over the years. Last year, on 12th November, Sony launched its most-awaited product, the PlayStation 5 or PS5 console, and within a year, the company has now sold more than 10 million PS5 consoles, which makes PS 5 the fastest-selling gaming console ever built by Sony, outpacing the PS4 by nearly a month.
We can not deny the fact that most of us got to know about Sony via the PlayStation consoles. PS 5 had the biggest launch of any console to date, and it recently achieved the benchmark of fastest-selling PlayStation. However, the PlayStation 2 is still the world’s best-selling gaming console that has sold over 163 million units.
Sony’s latest gaming console PlayStation 5, surpassed the significant milestone on 18th July, but it’s incredibly hard to buy one because of its less market availability. The Japanese tech giant sold 4.5 million PS5 in 2020 but sold only 3.3 million in the first quarter of 2021, and due to the ongoing pandemic, the product took another four months to reach the 10 million mark.
Sony is still dealing with the hardships of making enough supply and ongoing chip shortages that reportedly held sales back. The company has to work hard as the demand for PS5 continues to remain high despite an adequate stock. Sony continues to face the supply constraint, and it might stay with the company till 2023.
The last time the PS5 went for a sale on Amazon India, it went out of stock within five minutes of listing. The frequency of sales has increased now, and it seems like the company has found a way to increase the supply despite the challenges. Along with PS 5, Spider-Man: Miles Morales has sold more than 6.5 million units since its launch in November, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has sold more than 1.1 million copies since its launch in June.
Cryptocurrencies are one of the most long-lasted trending topics in the world; from Mike Tyson, who saw the future of cryptocurrency even before it was in trend, to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, many celebrities backed the digital currency, which influences millions of people to invest in the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the most popular cryptocurrencies globally, and their trading is legalized in many developed countries, including Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia and a number of European countries.
The Background:
Everyone who invests or wishes to invest in stocks or cryptocurrencies is aware of its unpredictable nature. Recently, Bitcoin and a few other popular cryptocurrencies encountered a dramatic pullback in the market. The flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin confronted the highest low ($30000 at one point) in the last three months, and Ethereum drained to below $2,000 at one point.
The dramatic collapse created a buzz in the online trading world with negative headlines and raised concern over the future of cryptocurrencies. The future of digital currencies is uncertain, but only if you invest blindly and only if you’re looking for immediate returns. It is currently dealing with the struggling phase because the whole world hasn’t accepted it, but it’ll surely go up when it does.
India and China cover about 35% of the world population; amongst them, more than 50% population predominantly includes young tech-savvy investors who are more flexible to crypto savings. Several countries have already begun real-world trials of their digital coins. So, the day is not far when these two countries legalize crypto, which will ultimately surge the value of digital currencies.
The Latest Move by the Indian Government:
The Indian investment in cryptocurrencies was around $923 million until April 2020, which spiked up dramatically to $6.6 billion (close to INR 50,000 crores) until May 2021. India is currently ranked at number 11 out of 154 nations, who have adopted and invested in cryptocurrencies. However, digital currency is not sanctioned officially by the Indian government yet. According to recent reports, the Reserve Bank of India is planning to introduce its own digital currency dubbed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The latest initiative by the RBI might open the gate for the trading of cryptocurrencies in India, but it will take years for final approval, and till then, a large sum of the population would not dare to invest. Still, if you’re looking to invest in crypto and looking for better currencies that will last longer and benefit you after 20-25 years, here’s a list of top cryptocurrencies with the best future.
1. Bitcoin:
Currency Symbol:₿
Market Capitalization: Over $750 billion
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, which works without a central bank or single administrator, and runs on a blockchain system distributed across a network of thousands of computers. Bitcoin or BTC is referred to as the original cryptocurrency, and it was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, a fictitious or pseudonym name of the founder whose identity is still unknown to the world.
Bitcoin is a computer file stored in a digital wallet app on a smartphone or computer. It is executed as a chain of blocks, which keeps it secure and safe from fraudsters. Each block contains a hash of the previous block up to the genesis block of the chain. Bitcoin has struggled over the last couple of months, falling about 50% from its peak, but still, today, one Bitcoin is valued at $40k (₹29,80,000).
Glancing at the current status and dramatic downfall of Bitcoin, it might look like investing in digital currency is no longer a good choice. However, if you’re a keen observer of the cryptocurrencies, you’ll notice the price is still up from where it began its parade in late 2020. If you’re looking for a handsome profit through your investment in Bitcoin, you should learn how to keep yourself patient and forget your investment for the next 10-15 years.
According to recent predictions by cryptocurrency experts, bitcoin will overtake the US dollar as the predominant form of global finance by the year 2050, and the value of one Bitcoin will strike $65,000 by the end of 2021 and will overtake the US dollar with the value of $1,50,000 by the end of 2025.
2. Ethereum:
Currency Symbol:Ξ
Market Capitalization: Over $268 billion
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain and distributed computing platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications. The smart contract functionality of the platform helps in automatic execution when conditions are met along with non-fungible tokens. Ethereum was co-founded by Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood in 2015, and ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform.
Ethereum has experienced a tremendous level of growth; it had started its journey at just $11 and reached over $2,500 in just five years. One Ethereum is currently valued at around $2,300k (₹1,70,000), which seems far away from the current value of one Bitcoin. Ethereum blocks do verification approximately every 12 seconds, whereas Bitcoin does the same every 10 minutes.
When Bitcoin faced a global crackdown, several other cryptocurrencies proved themselves to be a new contender for a top position in the crypto world, and Ethereum was one of them, who grabbed a lot of praise and attention. According to the latest predictions by investment banking company Goldman Sachs, Ethereum could soon make the cryptocurrency the dominant digital store in the world, and it could overtake Bitcoin in the coming years.
The investment banking company also mentioned that gold would remain the first choice for investors despite the conflict between top cryptocurrencies. Ethereum grew over 900% over the past year, while Bitcoin only managed to jump 275%; still, Bitcoin is way ahead of its close rival, Ethereum. Surpassing Bitcoin won’t be an easy game, but looking at the innovation and developer interest, some experts also believe Ethereum might surpass Bitcoin in the near future.
3. Tether:
Currency Symbol:₮
Market Capitalization: Over $61 billion
Tether is the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market value, and it is rumoured to be backed by fiat currencies like U.S. dollars and the Euro. Ordinary people haven’t heard of it, but it is considerably popular amongst crypto traders who often use tether to buy cryptocurrencies due to its stable nature.
Tether is referred to as stablecoin because it was initially designed always to be worth $1.00, and that’s why the currency is more favoured by the investors who are cautious of the extreme volatility of other coins. The stablecoin is controlled by the owners of Bitfinex, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange.
Along with these three cryptocurrencies, there are more than 10,000 different cryptocurrencies globally, including some of the popular currencies like Binance Coin, Cardano, Dogecoin, XRP and USD Coin. All of these cryptocurrencies hold a total value of more than $1.3 trillion till 28th July 2021, after falling from a career-high of $2.2 trillion in April.
Amazon Alexa, or simply Alexa, is a device that has been a part of our smart life since its invention in 2013. It helps us through virtual assistance, whether waking up in the morning or reminding us to pay pending bills. Alexa allows users to activate the device using a wake-word, Alexa or Amazon or Echo, but now the device finally gets a new name, Ziggy.
The backstory behind the name might be that Amazon wants to keep the name related to its design element, which indicates the message that Amazon sells everything from A to Z. Alexa and most of the other companies’ virtual assistance devices started out their journey with a feminine voice because female voices sound more pleasant and amusing to listeners of any gender.
However, there are many people out in the world who’ll prefer a masculine voice over a feminine voice, and that’s where the change arose, and companies started offering male voice assistance. Among prominent companies, Amazon is the last to provide virtual assistance devices in a masculine voice. The newly added masculine voice is available for users to either use with the Ziggy or Alexa.
The Ziggy wake word joins the existing Alexa, Computer, Echo, and Amazon wake words, but Ziggy will be the first name to appear as an option besides Alexa. Also, users can mix and remix the feminine and masculine options however they want since they are not linked to each other, and different setting options are available for voice.
The feminine and masculine voice may matter for users, but it doesn’t matter to Alexa at all, as the device answers, I’m not a woman or a man; I’m an AI when asked about its gender. The new masculine-sounding Alexa voice feature is only available in the United States for now, but soon it will make its way to the rest of the world.
Nowadays, technology is at its best and plays a crucial role in our day-to-day lives. When we first experienced 3D movies in the cinema, it was another world experience, and now with the installation of the world’s first 3D-printed pedestrian bridge in Amsterdam, we’ve gone beyond the imagination.
The concept of a 3D printed steel bridge was first announced in 2015, and recently, it was revealed to the public by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The Imperial College London and the Alan Turing Institute developed the 3D printed bridge which was designed by Joris Laarma.
The development took more than four years of research and about 4.9 tons of stainless steel to build the 12-metre long steel structure. The 3D printed bridge is installed over the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in Amsterdam’s city centre and is now permitted to pedestrians and cyclists.
The 3D printed pedestrian bridge will be a living laboratory that will monitor and analyse the performance and changes of the structure over its lifespan. A smart sensor network backs the bridge, which will collect the data on air quality, temperature, strain, displacement and vibration.
The design of the long-awaited 3D bridge, which is dubbed the MX3D Smart Bridge, was first revealed in October 2018 during Dutch Design Week. A 3D-printed metal structure was built using four industrial robots and it is strong enough to handle pedestrian traffic and its components. The data collected from the physical bridge will be imposed on a digital version of the bridge to help understand how a full-scale 3D-printed steel structure works in reality.
Earlier, the first 3D-printed concrete blocks footbridge was inaugurated in Venice city, which also gathered a lot of media attention. 3D printing has become a significant technology in engineering, reaching a new peak with every other experiment, and we can experience a lot of 3D based structures in the coming future.
Nowadays, smartphones are an essential part of our lives, and in a fast-moving world where social media matters the most, we all crave a smartphone with a better camera to capture memories and to express ourselves to the world. While purchasing a smartphone, we all look for a better display with better glass protection, but what about the camera lens durability?
Along with the size of the smartphone display, over the years, the size and number of cameras have also increased in the smartphones to meet the public demands, but unfortunately, it leads to the probability of having more scratches and damage through everyday use, and nobody’s thinking about how to make camera lenses scratch resistant?
Well, Corning notices the public concern and has come up with a solution. The company has introduced a new Gorilla Glass lineup dubbed Gorilla Glass DX and DX+ to render professional-grade image capture technology in mobile devices. The Corning Gorilla Glass lineup offers a unique combination of advanced optical performance, durability and superior scratch resistance protection for a better consumer experience compared to traditional smartphone lens coating.
The primary reflection, which helps the smartphone cameras stay intact, somehow affects the quality of photos as it transmits 92% light and reflects 8% light. To beat that, Corning has introduced Gorilla Glass DX and DX+, which will help the lenses convey 98% of light and create high-quality images and video. Samsung will be the first smartphone manufacturer to adopt the Gorilla Glass DX and DX+ products for its camera lens covers.
Since 2018, the same technology has been used on more than 30 million smartwatch displays, but it requires more tweaking in terms of durability and light transmittance when it comes to smartphone camera lenses. Gorilla Glass has been one of the leading protective glassmakers in the world. So, we can trust the brand as it has been on 8 billion devices.
People might forget the Prime Minister’s name in a few years, but they’ll never forget Netflix; it makes such a vast impact on society today. Netflix is absolutely dominating the streaming video market with 150 million subscribers (and counting) across 190 countries. With that, the day is not far when Netflix will bundle up the TV industry and cable services, but there was a time when even Netflix struggled to get recognition.
How Netflix Got Started?
Netflix began as the world’s first online DVD-rental store in 1997 when almost half of their current subscribers were about to land on the planet. The founder duo, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings, started the business with only 30 employees and 925 available titles. At first, Netflix used to deliver film DVD’s to its customers by mail and customers used to return them the same way.
The company set similar prices and due dates for rental to compete with the established Blockbuster video rental business. After struggling in the initial years, Netflix reached around 5.6 million subscriptions during the end of 2006 and decided to seize the benefits from the then developing higher-bandwidth internet by launching online video streaming in 2007 alongside its dominant DVD-by-mail option.
2011 marked a significant year for Netflix as the streaming service reached over 23 million subscribers in the United States by April 2011 and branched out to the international market of Latin America. Looking forward to the success in July 2011, Netflix changed its prices, charging customers for its mail rental service and streaming service separately. Later on, in the next couple of years, Netflix moved further and launched itself worldwide except for a select few countries.
Introduction of Video-on-demand Service:
Netflix delivered its billionth DVD in February 2007 and commenced to move away from its core business model of DVDs by introducing Video-on-demand via the internet. These were the times when internet broadband service providers came up with affordable plans for the customers, and personal computers got powerful enough to stream online and download movies from the net.
Netflix’s Video-on-demand service, formerly branded as Watch Now, allowed its subscribers to stream television series and films whenever they want, wherever they want, via the Netflix website on personal computers or the Netflix software on multiple supported platforms like smartphones, tablets, digital media players, and smart TVs, without even being attached to the schedule.
Netflix Originals:
A Netflix Originals is a type of content produced, co-produced, or distributed by Netflix exclusively on its services. Netflix offered creators a new approach of making by providing the money upfront and immediately ordering two seasons of most series by introducing Netflix Original in 2013 when several other known studios and producers were used to fund and sign projects based on pilot episodes, a brave and expensive proposition. The decision creates its impact as most big-budget and talked-about new series evolved out on Netflix instead of other established networks, including House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and Orange Is the New Black.
Netflix continued to dramatically expand its original content by introducing scripted and unscripted categories. They added TV series, shows, and films in the scripted category, while documentaries, reality shows, and award shows were unscripted. After the tremendous success of regional content in the English language, Netflix ventured out and started producing series and films in Non-English languages.
Most Watched Netflix Original Series:
The Witcher, Season 1 – 76 Million
Lupin – 70 Million
Money Heist, Season 4 – 65 Million
Stranger Things, Season 3 – 64 Million
Tiger King – 64 Million
Netflix India:
Netflix arrived in India in January 2016, almost at the same time when Eros Now and HotStar introduced a Video-on-demand service in India. Crime thriller Sacred Games, directed by filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane, was Netflix’s first big global success coming out of India and with the Delhi Crime winning precious Emmy award added a much-awaited dove feather on its cap.
Top Indian Shows on Netflix:
Sacred Games
Delhi Crime
Selection Day
Bard Of Blood
Jamtara – Sabka Number Ayega
The Playback Feature:
On November 30, 2016, Netflix introduced an offline playback feature, enabling users of the Netflix mobile apps on Android or iOS to watch content on their devices in standard or high quality for viewing without an Internet connection. Also, Netflix lets people choose the speed they want to watch something on their phone or tablet with new playback controls where they can stream at either 0.5x or 0.75x speeds for slowed-down viewing and 1.25x or 1.5x speeds for faster watching. The feature was originally available on limited series and films, but Netflix said that the feature would support more content over time.
The Binge-watching Concept:
Netflix has developed clever tricks to engage viewers and keep them on the platform, and binge-watching was one of them. The company started uploading entire seasons of popular TV series at once, creating the binge-watching trend, in contrast to broadcast and cable TV’s once-a-week telecast schedule. The concept helps Netflix keep people hooked until the end, resulting in encouraging creators to make good content.
Least cost-effective library of Netflix: Switzerland, with Standard subscription charges of $0.00218 per title and a library size that barely cracks 4,000 titles.
Most cost-effective library of Netflix: Argentina, with Standard subscription charges $0.00039 per title.
Valuation:
Netflix began as a DVD-by-mail rental service, but after a decade, its DVD revenue and membership have dipped as more customers switch to their Video-on-demand services. As of 2020, the company secured over $800 million from DVD sales and rentals, with over 2 million patrons still signed up solely for the DVD service.
Netflix is fortunate that many of its original shows have been a hit with consumers across the globe. Netflix’s ever-growing global subscriber base has heavily impacted its revenue, and it is growing into huge numbers. Netflix has also significantly increased its licensed and produced content assets since 2016. The company’s annual revenue in 2016 was $8.83 billion, and it rose about 180% in 2020 as Netflix totaled almost $25 billion in revenue in 2020. As of January 2021, Netflix is worth over $247 billion.
Debt:
Netflix borrowed over $16 billion in less than a decade to fulfil its giant appetite for content. The company still has $10 billion to $15 billion in debt, but it now earned enough income to pay back those loans while maintaining its huge content budget. Netflix took a massive hit in the furrow of the coronavirus pandemic as it fueled a surge in streaming services and reached a financial milestone, and it may no longer need to borrow money.
Key People:
Reed Hastings: Co-founder, Chairman and Co-CEO
Marc Randolph: Co-founder and former CEO
Ted Sarandos: Co-CEO and CCO
Greg Peters: COO and CPO
Did You Know?
Netflix was one of the first streaming services available as an app on different devices like Xbox 360, TV set-top boxes, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, iPad, iPhones, etc.
Netflix offers content in more than 60 languages, for 19% of all worldwide online video subscriptions.
Netflix has received over 480 awards for its original content, including 15 Academy Awards and 89 Emmy awards.
Netflix has created over 1,500 original titles since it started offering original content in 2013.
In 2017, a Netflix Subscriber watched the movie Madagascar 3 for 352 times, almost like watching the same movie every day the entire year.
In the first half of 2019, Netflix generated the most internet traffic, which accounted for 12.9%.
Netflix designed a unique sock that detects when you fall asleep, and it will pause your show so that you don’t miss out on any part of it.
Netflix 2021 & Further:
Netflix already has a substantial global subscriber base. The company clinched March 2021 with an astounding 203 million worldwide paid subscribers. However, still, there have been thousands of people doubting the streaming giant’s ability to survive and thrive amid new streaming services providers, such as Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar and Apple TV. Definitely, the competition is tough, but in current times, there is no other streaming Video-on-demand service that has anywhere near Netflix’s $15 billion content budget to pose a severe threat.
We have heard a lot of folklores about the heroic archer and legendary outlaw Robinhood, who’s believed to rob the rich to give to the poor. However, we’re unsure whether he used to donate the stolen money to the poor or put it into his pocket, but over the centuries, his name has been used by people to showcase the good side of the world.
The Foundation:
In April 2013, Stanford University roommates, Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt co-founded Robinhood Markets, an American financial services company, and they chose the name Robinhood for their company because it was started with a mission to “provide everyone with access to the financial markets, not just the wealthy.” Over the next few years, the firm rose successfully in the financial market, making its founders billionaires.
The firm officially launched its trading app in March 2015, and its original product was commission-free trades of stocks and exchange-traded funds. Later on, in 2018, the company announced a waitlist for commission-free cryptocurrency trading and began offering to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum to users in California, Missouri, and Montana.
A Move That Changed The World Of Stock Market:
In 2019, along with Robinhood, other trading firms like Charles Schwab, ETrade, and TD Ameritrade began offering no-fee stock trading to retail investors, which was an influential moment for the little guy on the trading floor. Earlier, it has always been a wealthy person’s game, but this radical move from Robinhood and its peers changed the world of the stock market industry.
Over the years, the online brokerage firm got caught up in several controversies, but still, it successfully maintained its steady growth. The one event that helped the company grow the most was the arrival of Covid-19; during the pandemic, when every other business moved towards their low lifetime profits, Robinhood shined bright and moved upwards.
The signature move from Robinhood reaped the attention of all ages, especially of millennials, as it incentivized users to invite friends and family, offering a free or cheap stock. The company app created a great user and customer experience, which helped them surpass 10 million users. It went further to offer its users more than one way to buy a stock which turned the online brokerage industry on its head and helped Robinhood achieve unparalleled success.
The Most Awaited IPO:
The trading firm earns a significant amount through the interest earned on customers’ cash balances, selling order information to high-frequency traders and via margin lending. Recently, Robinhood disclosed it will open its books to the world as it plans to sell shares at $38 to $42 each and is supposed to raise $2.3 billion in an initial public offering.
The trading app’s popularity has surged over the past one and half years, especially during the coronavirus lockdown. The closed doors paved the way for new investors, and the easy-to-use interface of the app encouraged users to make an investment in commission-free trades in stocks, exchange-traded funds, and cryptocurrencies.
The trading firm is expected to start trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol HOOD, on 29th July and is expected to seek a $35 billion valuation in its initial public offering. About 55 million shares are being offered in the IPO, and out of them, 2.63 million shares are being offered by the company’s founders and chief financial officers themselves.
The IPO will leave Robinhood founders with heavy influence over the company as they will hold a majority of the voting power after the offering, with Bhatt having around 7.9% economic interest and 39% of the voting power, whereas Tenev will hold about 7.9% of Robinhood’s outstanding stock as well as 26.2% of the voting power. Along with these, all the Class B shares will be in their purse.
Robinhood’s revenue spiked 245% to $959 million last year, and that’s the vital speculation investors and other firms are eagerly waiting for the big day. According to a few reports, Salesforce Ventures is looking to purchase up to $150 million worth of Class A common stock at the IPO price. Also, some reports suggest, the trading firm is planning to reserve about 20-35% or one-third of IPO shares for its customers.
Robinhood is a pioneer in the no-commission brokerage model, and the trading in the meme stocks helped the company grow bigger than anything in its revenue from January to March. Robinhood’s list of recent challenges is endless, but how the trading firm manages to conquer them is an impeccable ride. Currently, Robinhood is Silicon Valley’s most valuable private company and is one of the fastest-growing fintech start-ups in the world, which has achieved remarkable targets. The final part of Robinhood’s long road to going public and also the company’s future depends on whether it empowers their inner Warren Buffett or gets ambushed in an excess obsession with uncertainty.
