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The stock prices of quantum computing companies are surging in premarket trading this morning after Microsoft unveiled a new type of quantum computing chip yesterday, the Majorana 1. Here’s what you need to know about Microsoft’s breakthrough and its impact on the stock prices of quantum computing companies. What is Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip? Things can get very complicated when discussing anything about quantum computing because the technology involves quantum physics—never a straightforward subject to discuss. However, in brief, quantum computing is a burgeoning field of computing that uses the properties of quantum physics to carry out computations. In cla…

When you describe it in words, the Indianapolis 500 might seem like a boring watch: Cars go round and round an oval track 200 times, totaling 500 miles over the course of a few hours. But if you were a driver, you’d be having a hell of a different experience. Think screaming speeds of 230 miles per hour, pulling 4 Gs on corners, with one’s reflexes and split-second decisions drawing a thin line between victory and tragedy . . . over the course of a few hours. It’s a level of intensity that TV networks have been trying to bring viewers into for years with in-car cameras and things like driver radio communiques. It has been working. Last year, NBC—which covered the spec…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Digital wallets have fast become part of daily life. By 2027, they’re expected to account for half of all retail sales—around $25 trillion worldwide. It’s easy to see why. Paying with a digital wallet is easy, secure, and requires nothing more than a phone. But there’s potential for wallets to do so much more, beyond payments. Digital wallets started as payment tools. Now, they’re becoming…

It’s tough enough bringing the first major redesign of a commercial jetliner to fruition—especially when it looks more like something out of The X-Files than a travel brochure. So, to streamline that journey, JetZero—the first commercial blended-wing body (BWB) aircraft—is teaming with Delta as an eventual buyer to troubleshoot operation and design issues from the ground up. “Our biggest challenge is, `How do you bring an aircraft to market as quickly as possible so that you can have the most impact for your customer?’” says CEO Tom O’Leary, who cofounded JetZero with CTO Mark Page. “We don’t want to zig-zag our way to entry into service. We want to take the cleanest,…

Detroit-based fintech platform Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) has reached an agreement to acquire the Seattle mortgage services company Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN) in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.75 billion, the companies announced on Monday. Each Redfin share will be exchanged for 0.7926 shares of Rocket’s Class A common stock, with the deal expected to close in mid-2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Following the announcement, Redfin’s stock soared nearly 70%, reaching $9.91 in premarket trading. This surge came after Rocket Companies agreed to acquire Redfin for $12.50 per share, representing a premium of 63% over Redfin’s recent average price…

In 2034, Salt Lake City will join a short list of cities that have hosted a Winter Olympic Games twice, joining the likes of Turin and Innsbruck. But unlike in any Olympics of the past, skiers and bobsledders may glimpse a surreal sight overhead as they compete—flying air taxis. Though still nine years away from the Opening Ceremony, aviation company Beta Technologies sees the state of Utah as a proving ground for its electric planes. As competitors focus on major cities like New York and Los Angeles, Beta has inked a deal with Utah to start exploring transportation solutions across the very rural state. The Beehive State had a confluence of benefits for Beta, inc…

Spring is just around the corner, ushering in new growth, brighter days, and the heady anticipation of summer. For those of us with sizable screen time, spring’s arrival also means that the dreary weather is no longer an excuse for spending hours doomscrolling TikTok and Instagram Reels until our eyes glaze over. And now there’s an app that can help you feel like it’s spring year-round. Rhys Kentish is a senior software engineer at the London-based app design firm Brightec. He’s spent the past four months building an app that makes users literally touch grass before they can open social media. “I was sick and tired of my reflex in the morning being to reach for my…

In an era dominated by artificial intelligence and smartphones, one of the most overlooked engines of economic growth sits quietly at the heart of every neighborhood: the public library. Gone are the days when libraries were sanctuaries reserved for only reading and research. Today, they are being reimagined as dynamic hubs for workforce development, creative sector support, and cultural exchange. Across the country, these reservoirs of knowledge are evolving into digital and physical beacons of community resilience. Local access, global reach: A case study in artist empowerment In Huntsville, where I serve as the city’s first music officer, we’ve partnered …

Throughout February, a measles outbreak has been growing in West Texas. The potentially deadly disease, once eliminated from the United States in terms of its continuous transmission, has been making a comeback in recent years as vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccine movements rise. Unfortunately, this outbreak has now had deadly consequences. Earlier this week, it was reported that one unvaccinated Texas child has died as a result of the outbreak. The unfortunate event, along with the continued spread of the disease, has left many asking whether they need a measles vaccine booster shot. Here’s what you need to know. About the measles vaccine The good news is that…

Branded is a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture. Costco chair Hamilton “Tony” James caused a bit of a stir this week when, in an interview, he mentioned a retail category that’s done surprisingly well for the big-box chain: luxury goods. “Rolex watches, Dom Pérignon, 10-carat diamonds,” James offered as examples of high-end products and brands that have fit into a discount-club model more typically associated with buying staples in bulk. “Affluent people,” he explained, “love a good deal.” Courting that group may be particularly timely right now—and not just for Costco. According to a recent report from research f…

Soon, all businesses will be able to use Meta’s AI to power live, 24/7 customer service that can interact with customers on behalf of businesses on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Meta announced advancements in business AI—including the customer service AI agent that will make purchases and can respond to voice prompts from a user—at a conference Tuesday morning. “We are at an amazing and historic moment,” said Clara Shih, the VP of Business AI at Meta. “We are on the cusp of AI being in the hands of every consumer and every business.” Over 600 million conversations between a person and a business occur in a day on all of Meta’s social platforms. With its n…

OpenAI launched a research preview on Friday of what it’s calling its most capable AI coding agent yet. Codex, a cloud-based software engineering agent, can write features, answer questions about a codebase, fix bugs, and propose pull requests for review. Several tasks can run simultaneously, and users retain full access to their computers while the agent takes anywhere from one to 30 minutes to complete a task. Since it’s still in research preview, the tool remains in early development. The company said in a blog post that it “currently lacks features like image inputs for frontend work, and the ability to course-correct the agent while it’s working. Additionally…