With capabilities like eye-tracking and face-tracking, the next VR headset, a follow-up to the well-liked Oculus 2, will be focused on “social presence,” according to Mark Zuckerberg.

The headset, according to the CEO of Meta, is made to record users’ facial emotions and have their avatars recreate those expressions in real time to improve non-verbal communication.

While Meta’s AR glasses are still a few years away, Mark Zuckerberg also mentioned that the headset debuting in October will have some mixed reality elements.

According to a Bloomberg report from last month, the forthcoming headset might be called Meta Quest Pro according to code found in the iPhone app that works with Meta’s VR headgear.

Mark Zuckerberg frequently emphasized on the Joe Rogan podcast how virtual reality (VR) may “unlock” a feeling of being in another person’s presence.

The Meta CEO said, “When you’re on a video call you don’t actually feel like you’re there with the person. To me, what virtual reality unlocks is that it really convinces your brain that you’re there.”

Since changing its name from Facebook to Meta, the company has repositioned itself as a “metaverse” corporation rather than a social network company, selling its approach as one of creating a universe of various virtual worlds for all users.

The message pivot’s premise and rationale may raise doubts in some people’s minds, but Meta has moved forward and made attempts to better integrate the various experiences it is creating.

For example, a social platform for VR headsets called Horizon Worlds is only available in a few nations. However, promises that the following VR headset will be able to capture facial expressions will be put to the test because of complaints about its shoddy graphics.

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This customer-obsessed approach means that every user enjoys a personalised interface, uniquely moulded around their likes, dislikes and ongoing behaviour. It is not just in the entertainment sector that this model can work however. There are lessons from Netflix’s and Spotify’s success that can be applied to many industries, and none more so than in the world of financial services.

As a part of its continued commitment to technological innovation, UBS has taken digital-led personalisation to the world of trading. In its early stages of development, the wealth management firm is applying recommendation algorithms to suggest trades to its asset management and hedge fund clients, an unprecedented move in the space.

This is a huge step in digitising the trading process and opens up a lot of questions for the future of the sector. It is also indicative of a wider shift in the way technology is being applied in the finance industry, and that this bold move from UBS can have a groundbreaking impact on investment banking as a whole.

For UBS, innovation and digitalisation are key strategic priorities, and the company appears to be investing heavily into those areas with innovation labs at L39 in London and across the globe. Dirk Klee, Chief Operating Officer at UBS Wealth Management has made only the threat from disruptors in its space but the importance of customer experience, claiming that “the client experience is being increasingly driven by what clients see in companies like Apple or Amazon.”

In the same way that we take recommendations for the latest movies and albums from friends or magazines, clients in the banking sector commonly take their trading recommendations from trained consultants and salespeople.

Through implementing Netflix-esque algorithms, UBS is taking huge leaps in automating the trading process. By analysing a client’s trading behaviour and preferences, they are able to provide bespoke recommendations tailored on an individual basis.

When it comes to the rest of the industry, despite the incredible technological advances in algorithmic trading and trading platforms, investment banks still service their largest clients through intensive “high touch” relationships. It is apparent to most investment banks that long-term this white glove treatment will lose to ease of use and higher returns.

Today’s way of doing business is simply too slow in a world of algorithmic trading, too expensive, and too dependent on the skills of individual employees. However, if clients take recommendations from an algorithm, UBS can ensure that they receive the highest quality advice faster and at lower cost. Building on the initial success hinges on finding the customers who will become long-term champions of this new way of doing business. Banks must then rigorously experiment with the way they are improving their experience and returns, and changing one of the most traditional cultures in finance. Why stop here? Traditional financial institutions are quickly learning that unless they embrace the new wave of experimental technology, their growth will suffer. Whilst risk will always be a factor inhibiting these moves, taking a test and learn approach in the same way UBS is will ultimately reap rewards. Should UBS succeed in this vision, the company has the opportunity to rewrite the rules of investment banking

About Hazjier Pourkhalkhali :

Hazjier Pourkhalkhali is the Global Head of Strategy, Optimizely—a US-based company that makes customer optimisation software. Pourkhalkhali, as global head of strategy, leads pricing and packaging for Optimizely’s key products, and works on new pricing metrics for optimal customer uptake.

He also leads global initiatives on customer retention strategies and methods. He has worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and was the COO/cofounder of Cloud Games, a frontunner in development, distribution and monetisation of HTML5 games. He has earned a degree from UC Berkeley, California.

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Hosted by Business Car Manager magazine, the annual awards celebrate the very best company vehicles and company car programmes available to SMEs.

ZOE added the highly coveted award to its ever-growing trophy cabinet after impressing the expert independent judging panel with its unrivaled combination of competitive P11D price, low BIK, excellent running costs, great specification and a best-in-class real-world range of up to 186 miles.

In addition, industry experts led by Paul Hollick, chairman of the Institute of Car Fleet Management and commercial director of The Miles Consultancy—also praised the manufacturer for how it complements the ZOE with a class-leading package of support that makes it easier for SMEs to switch to an ‘electrified’ vehicle.

Ralph Morton, Editorial Director, Business Car Manager, said: “The Best Green SME Company Car category proved highly competitive this year. So it’s a real reflection of Renault’s commitment to the EV sector that the independent judges should pick the ZOE, not only for its undoubted capabilities but also for Renault’s commitment and practical assistance in enabling SMEs to move over to electrified technologies. It’s an example more manufacturers should consider as best in class.”

Vincent Tourette, Managing Director, Groupe Renault UK, said: “From single ‘user choosers’ to businesses with large fleets, all company car operators can benefit from the significant financial and environmental benefits of the Renault ZOE, but with this award we are especially pleased to see it recognised for its appeal to SMEs. For these companies, making the change from traditional petrol or diesel-powered vehicles can be a daunting prospect, particularly if they rely heavily on a small number of vehicles. However, the Renault ZOE, with its ease-of-ownership and best-in-class real-world range of 186 miles, offers a more efficient and affordable-to-run car together, with the reassurance that their switch to all-electric power will have no effect on the versatility of their fleet.”

The latest Model Year 18 ZOE has recently been announced. The major change is the increase in power from 90hp to 110hp with the new R110 motor. The increase in power has reduced the acceleration time from 80 to 120kph by 2 seconds; however, charging times and driving range are unaffected. Also new for model year 18 is increased specification. With Android Auto standard on all versions, drivers will be able to display driving-compatible apps such as Waze, Google Maps, and Spotify. A new purple interior color touch pack is complimented by the Aconite Purple exterior metallic paint. The model year 18 ZOE will be WLTP homologated with official figures yet to be confirmed.

Since its launch in the UK in 2013, Renault has almost doubled the ZOE’s range thanks to technological advancements such as an increased battery capacity and more efficient motor.

ZOE is the best-selling electric car in Europe and more than 6,000 ZOE have been sold since launching in the UK in 2013. ZOE is one of three models in Renault’s diverse electric vehicle range which also includes the Twizy quadricycle, the Kangoo Van Z.E., Europe’s best selling electric van, and the forthcoming Master Z.E. large panel van.

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The research also shows that although the Nordic region will become a global fintech hub by 2020, the UK will maintain its status as Europe’s  fintech central post Brexit. The survey reflects a diminishing concern about the impact of Brexit on UK’s fintech sector. Only 38% of the respondents feel that Brexit is likely to accelerate growth in other European fintech hubs—a significant decline from last year’s survey figure of 56%.

While the Nordic and Baltic region accounts for over half of Europe’s fintech unicorns by value, the research highlights that the biggest challenges for fintechs are the direct or indirect result of limited regulatory coordination on the sector. The survey shows that 37% of the respondents cited regulation directly, 67% find it difficult to achieve scale and 33% find that access to funding is a challenge. Increased competition from incumbents jumped 19% in the recent research from 2017. 

The Mastercard 2018 Fintech Disruptors Nordic Report conducted by Fintech Mundi and Magna Carta finds that a holistic approach to cooperation across the region—including incentives for investment and working together to create a regulatory environment that stimulates innovation and promotes collaboration between new and established providers would strengthen the region’s status as a global digital fintech hub. 

Navigating Capital, Culture, Commerce and Collaboration in the Nordic-Baltic region offers a generational opportunity for the region to continue its pioneering legacy—with potentially unlimited benefits to growth and productivity by creating the world’s first digitally-integrated economy. Achieving this will require mutual recognition of value that innovators, institutions and incumbents each bring. The future of regional fintech success, and much more, depends on it.

Mats Taraldsson, Head of Digital Business Development and Fintech Partnerships, Mastercard Nordics and Baltics said: “Innovation by collaboration is at the heart of Mastercard and working together with start-ups and fintechs is essential to meet the future needs of consumers, merchants and governments. We have been committed to fintechs for many years, fostering partnerships with pioneers who have grown into global brands. One Nordic example is iZettle where we helped them in the early phase setting up their business, acting as an advisor. 

“We now continue this commitment locally in the just recently launched Nordic and Baltic fintech program called Lighthouse Development Program in partnership with NFT Ventures” 

Susanne Hannestad, Chief Executive of Fintech Mundi, co-author of the research, added: “The Nordic and Baltic markets already have an incredible track record of building fintech companies having created regional successes that have gone on to become global winners, like Spotify and Zwipe. 

A more joined-up approach to fintech and the factors that influence successful innovation between the markets governments and regulators, however, would create new opportunities for growth and productivity and ensure the region is the best place in Europe to build the next generation of fintech giants.” 

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Businesses from the UK, to Spain and Romania are no longer looking inward – rather, outward, toward peer-to-peer (P2P) participation and community.

In fact, peer-to-peer transactions generated by the UK’s five most prominent sharing economy sectors stand to grow by 60% – or £8 billion – in 2017 alone, per recent predictions from PwC.

By 2025, it is projected total transactions in the UK sharing economy could reach £140 billion, up from just £13 billion in 2016: proving the progressive nature of today’s P2P business.

Rob Vaughan, economist at PwC, comments: “Innovation will remain crucial to success in the sharing economy. Several established players branched out into new service offerings in 2016 and we expect them to invest significantly in these this year. The success of these new services will be an acid test of whether sharing economy platforms can eventually become the established leaders of their markets, or will forever be known as the ‘disruptors.’”

OnBuy.com analysed how the sharing economy in Europe is progressing and discovered at least 275 sharing platforms have been founded in Europe; facilitating 28 billion euros worth of transactions in the past few years.

The findings showcase the UK and France as sharing economy trailblazers – with over 50 collaborative organisations founded and others continuing to grow.

Following the standard set by the UK and France is Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, each contributing over 25 collaborative economy organisations; while less than 25 collaborative economy organisations were previously established in Sweden, Italy, Poland and Belgium.

Evidently, the idea of a sharing economy has transitioned into something more. Today, it is a residual, socio-economic trend that is fundamentally changing the way societies – and consumers – operate around the world.

OnBuy MD, Cas Paton, comments: “Today’s economy is prime for sharing – from freelance platforms changing the way we work, to food-sharing platforms changing the way communities connect – it’s time for businesses to embrace the concept. In doing so, businesses across the globe can achieve a sustainable way to appeal to a modern-day audience, with far higher reach that is readily accessible.”

Certainly, whilst the rapid development of sharing platforms is considered as an opportunity which is beneficial to the economy, it could prove a challenge for policy makers and regulators to keep up with the pace.

However, though areas such as the UK and France appear to be more progressive than elsewhere in Europe, the fact remains that the trend is continuing to infiltrate borders; albeit more slowly, as trepidation subsides and the urge to connect increases.

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The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) was weak in the first half of 2016, but the outlook for 2017 seems positive. Many companies plan on going public as early as the first quarter of this year.

One of them is Snap Inc., the newly renamed parent company of messaging app Snapchat. The company has created a buzz in the market since it confidently filled for an IPO. It is the most anticipated IPO this year. The popular messaging platform is valued at $25 billion and is the most high profile stock debut since Facebook. Snapchat’s debut could provide the breakthrough that the IPO market is in dire need of.

AppDynamics, a technology firm which manages apps and websites for other businesses, has filed for an IPO, which could hit the market in early 2017. In recent times, the importance of apps has increased exponentially, which has proved to be beneficial for this tech firm. It filed paperwork for a $100 million offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and could offer shares in January or February this year.

Tintri, a Silicon Valley-based provider of flash storage for virtualisation and cloud environments, has filed IPO documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company’s core product is the VMstore, a storage array designed to simplify the management of virtual machines and containers. The company also offers a software suite that includes the ability to replicate, protect and recover virtual machines, optimise the placement of those virtual machines, and provide analytics that predict an organisation’s need to scale storage capacity and performance.

Other possibilities

Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site which boasts of over 150 million active users. Pinterest has gained global momentum since being founded in 2010. More than one million shops and businesses are found on Pinterest and thousands rely on it for advertising. The site generated revenue of $300 million and is projected that this figure will rise to $1 billion in 2017.

Uber is a taxi service which connects riders with independent drivers. Since its launch in 2009, the service provider has been tremendously successful and has ventured into different parts of the world. Uber generates its revenue by charging a 20% commission. Although Uber has generated high profits, it is not a profitable company as it spends much of its revenue on advertising and promotion in an attempt to capture or increase market share. There are indications that the company might finally file for an IPO.

Airbnb is an app and website that connects people seeking lodging with renters who have listed their personal houses, apartments, guest rooms, etc., on either platform. Travellers can book accommodations around the world online or from a tablet or mobile phone. It operates in over 34,000 cities and 191 countries around the world. There is speculation that Airbnb might go public this year.

Spotify, the music streaming giant, aims to go for a public offering in the second half of 2017, according to Bloomberg. Equidate values Spotify at $8.1 billion after its last round of funding in 2015. In 2016, Spotify raised $1 billion in convertible debt, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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