Google and Microsoft are teaming up its AI forces and coming to our offices

Morning! Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated “The Eras Tour” kicked off last Friday and it seems like she's got more stamina than a marathon runner on Red Bull. Swift sang a whopping 44 songs for over three hours straight and had over 10 outfit changes. No wonder all these swifties broke Ticketmaster to get their hands on those tickets.

In this week’s edition:

👟 Nike-Adidas footwear war

💳 SBP swiping left on cash

🦾 AI going on hulk mode

🤝🏽 Pak-Saudi venture to launch a tech-house

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

Nike owes to Kanye

Nike is expected to see a rise in revenue for the third quarter and grow their market share through 2023. One of the factors that could contribute to this growth is the recent split between Adidas and Kanye West, which reportedly resulted in Adidas losing approximately $600 million in sales every quarter.

Rewind: Yeezy, also known as Adidas Yeezy, was a fashion partnership between German sportswear company Adidas and American rapper and designer Kanye West. Yezzy was a huge profit maker for Adidas. However, Adidas ended its partnership with West last year following his remarks that were deemed antisemitic. As a result, the company reduced its 2022 dividend and cautioned that it may incur its first annual loss in 30 years this year.

One man's loss is another man's gain: No Yeezys this year means a chance for Nike to capture more market share with Jordan, Dunk, and Air Max. Hoka, the growing running shoe brand, is also after Adidas with a 90.8% jump in net sales to $352.1 million for Q3.

TLDR: Nike is set to benefit from Adidas' split with Kanye West, which caused Adidas to lose $600 million in quarterly sales. Nike plans to take advantage of this situation with its popular styles like Jordan, Dunk, and Air Max. Hoka, a fast-growing running shoe brand, is also competing against Adidas with a 90.8% increase in net sales for Q3.

What else is new in news

✶ India is undergoing a major transportation facelift. The country's roads and railways are being extensively revamped, which will lead to increased connectivity and economic growth.

Local 🇵🇰

State Bank of Pakistan: Less cash, more card payments

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) just gave cash a serious 'swipe left' with their new circular aimed at improving payment card acceptance. On Friday, SBP took a major step towards enhancing the payment card acceptance infrastructure in the country by issuing a circular containing three significant directives.

What are they? 1. Interchange Reimbursement Fee or IRF is the fee that banks pay to each other (the acquirer to the issuer) when you use your payment card to buy something. It has been reduced to a very small amount by SBP.

2. SBP has also removed the lower limit on the fee that merchants are charged for processing card transactions, known as the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), resulting in lower fees for merchants.

3. SBP has asked all e-commerce/payment gateways to accept Domestic Payment Scheme (DPS) cards for online transactions where the card is not physically present by June 30, 2023.

It’s not that simple: Lowering transaction fees may not encourage retailers to promote card usage as they still prefer cash transactions over card transactions, and may not want to pay any fees to accept cards. In addition, acquirers may be disincentivized from promoting card usage as they will earn less revenue from card transactions, which may result in a slower rate of card usage penetration.

TLDR: SBP issued a circular to improve payment card acceptance in Pakistan with three directives: reducing the Interchange Reimbursement Fee, removing the lower limit on Merchant Discount Rate, and requiring e-commerce/payment gateways to accept DPS cards for online transactions. However, retailers may still prefer cash transactions and acquirers may be disincentivized from promoting card usage due to lower revenue.

News Flash

✶Pakistan and UAE close to agreement on $800m payment dispute over Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) privatization.

Tech

Global 🌎️

AI is going on hulk-mode

Seems like it's AI’s world and we are just living in it. All eyes are set on it as major breakthroughs and innovations in AI are unveiled, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the realm of technology - even coming to your workplace.

To list down a few:

• OpenAI’s GPT-4 AI language model - can transform a manually drawn design into a functional website and replicate classic games like Pong or Snake.

• Microsoft's new copilot AI - on Microsoft's 365 platforms, the copilot will be able to transcribe meeting notes, summarize email threads, generate Excel charts, and convert Word documents to PowerPoint presentations.

• Google adds AI features - such as brainstorming and proofreading tools in Docs. Slack's ChatGPT too will be able to help users communicate by summarizing conversations and writing and responding to new messages.

• Midjourney’V5 - can generate high-quality hyper-realistic images. The updated version has an expanded range of styles and improved accuracy in understanding user requests.

There’s still apprehension: Think twice before talking sh*t about Hassan from finance if you plan on using these AI tools in your office. According to experts, using AI in the workplace could potentially lead to issues if people begin gossiping, as the model may generate content related to the gossip, which could escalate into bullying in the workplace.

TLDR: AI is revolutionizing the workplace with OpenAI's GPT-4, Microsoft's copilot, Google, and Slack adding AI features. Midjourney's V5 can create hyper-realistic images. However, caution is needed as large language models may fuel workplace bullying by accepting user statements as true.

What else is new in news

✶Several school districts across the United States are filing lawsuits against social media companies, claiming that these tech giants are playing a role in the rise of mental health issues among young people.

Local 🇵🇰

Pak to enjoy Saudi royal money with $100 million launch of tech house

Saudi Arabia's Prince Fahad bin Mansour is betting big on Pakistan's IT industry - as he has just launched the Saudi-Pakistan Tech House (SPTH) in Pakistan.

What does it aim to do? The project is expected to create over 1,000 new jobs in the IT sector with a total investment of $100 million over the next five years. According to Dr. Muhammad Manshad Satti, CEO of IT Butler E-Services, the Saudi-Pakistan Tech House presents a major opportunity for Pakistani talent to showcase their skills. While Saudi Arabia will oversee the management of the project, Pakistani coders and developers will be heavily involved.

Big picture: This project is part of Saudi’s government vision 2030 plan that aims on reducing its dependence on oil by establishing a modern digital infrastructure. To achieve this, the Kingdom has set aside roughly $500 billion, including funds for creating new cities.

TLDR: Saudi Arabia's Prince Fahad bin Mansour launched the Saudi-Pakistan Tech House to create over 1,000 jobs in the IT sector with a $100 million investment over five years, as part of the Vision 2030 plan to reduce oil dependency and establish advanced digital infrastructure.

Tech tour of news

✶ Naheed's online grocery store was hit by a cyber attack as hackers uploaded over 23,000 users’ personal information on the dark web.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

💪 When we were procrastinating writing this newsletter, this Oscar’s acceptance speech by Ke Huy Quan gave us the motivation we needed to get our asses up and write so if you enjoyed this week’s edition, you owe it a watch.

🏏The PSL 8 final was a real thriller, with Lahore Qalandars clinching the title in a last-over showdown. If you missed the drama, you can catch the heart-stopping last over right here.