Airbnb Everything

PRESENTED BY RUMOR

It’s Wednesday, Future Party. How big of a Mountain Dew fan are you? Big enough to get a tattoo of the logo on your body? If so, PepsiCo launched a lottery for five people to win a trip to Vegas — all to celebrate the rollout of the company’s new logo. Is this the beginning of catering to brand stans? Corporate marketing is getting wild.

Airbnb is rolling out its biggest redesign ever to transform from a property-rental platform to a hub for experiences and services that could be found at any given location — all organized or operated by local talents or experts.

The Big Picture: Airbnb, faced with a worldwide vibe shift on short-term rentals, wants to be the conduit to get people off their phones and out into the real world without relying on ever-shifting zoning laws. By offering a wide range of experiences, Airbnb could significantly expand its daily users… without the headaches.

Behind the Bookings: You can get almost anything on Craigslist, but you can do almost anything on Airbnb.

Checkout: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky hopes that user accounts on the platform are the “most trusted profile on the internet,” because it’s all about people naturally verifying their identity to do something in the real world. Chesky’s ambition is for Airbnb to become the kind of old-school social network that Facebook used to be, offering people an escape from algorithmically recommended content and AI slop.

Prediction: Watch for many people to use Airbnb to find things to do in their own city, ultimately making the platform less travel-focused.

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Apple has partnered with brain-interface startup Synchron on a new technology that allows immobilized or paralyzed people — an estimated 150,000 people in the US alone — to use iOS devices without their hands.

The Big Thought: Brain-computer interfaces have moved from the world of science fiction to reality. Apple is likely looking to get in early on the revolutionary tech — not just to expand iOS accessibility but also to advance its ambition to be at the forefront of biotech and health services.

Between the Gray Matter: For people with diseases like ALS or spinal-cord injuries due to car accidents, Apple’s sync-up with Synchron could be a game-changer.

The Future: While Apple has worked with Synchron on the new feature at this stage, the brain-tech startup is hardly the most cutting-edge startup in the market. Its device only has 16 electrodes that hook up to the brain, which doesn’t catch enough brain data to mimic proper key strokes or mouse movements. In comparison, Neuralink’s N1 device attaches 1,000 electrodes to a patient’s brain, which is why the company’s tests have been able to accomplish those movements.

Prediction: When Apple inevitably hooks up with Neuralink, things may really start cooking.  Expect Google to try to get Android in there first.

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45.8% of you voted I don’t trust either in yesterday’s poll: Which do you trust more when looking for information online (a chatbot’s answer, or the top result on a traditional search engine like Google)?

“I look at all the search engine results and check the sources to see if and how they are verifying the information before I trust anything.”

“I try to find peer-reviewed studies! Part of my job involves fact-checking AI, so I take those AI answers with a grain of salt.”

“NGL, Perplexity (one of the many AI out there) has great answers. I’d go there for better answers, but I’m human, so I mainly use Google.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

⚽ CAA Sports has acquired global sports-management consulting firm Portas Consulting for an undisclosed amount.

🎵 Apple collabed with UMG on chillwave versions of pop songs mixed with “special sound waves” to help listeners relax or sleep.

🎞️ Letterboxd is launching a streaming component that will offer “limited festival-style windows” for global indie films.

₿ Financial paradigm shift: Coinbase will replace Discover on the S&P 500 after its acquisition by Capital One.

🥴 Yuga Labs (remember them?) is selling CryptoPunks to Infinite Node Foundation — a nonprofit focused on digital-art preservation.

🚂 The Federal Railroad Administration is talking with The Boring Company about helping excavate a new Amtrak tunnel between Baltimore and Washington.

📦 The US is slashing tariffs on small packages from China from 120% to 54% — we’re sure SHEIN and Temu execs are breathing a sigh of relief.

🍾 LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault has tasked his son Alexandre to turn around performance at flagship brand Moët Hennessy.

💳 Square is debuting a handheld, point-of-sale device that we’re sure you’re about to see at every farmer’s market.