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The Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class was unveiled at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, Germany. The platform will underpin the German automaker’s push into electric cars.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz and BMW took the wraps off electric concept cars as they look to catch up with Tesla in the premium end of the market.

At the IAA auto show in Munich, Mercedes showed off the Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class while BMW revealed the BMW Vision Neue Klasse.

These cars are built on an entirely new platforms from the German automakers that will underpin both their EV offerings for the coming years, in what has been their most aggressive push into battery-powered vehicles yet.

They are concept cars, so it’s unclear what their final form will look like when they’re eventually produced. But here’s a closer look at Mercedes and BMW’s offerings.

Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class

The Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class is built on the so-called Mercedes‑Benz Modular Architecture (MMA), a new platform designed by the German auto giant for electric cars.

The range will comprise a total of four new models — a four-door coupé, an estate and two sports utility vehicles.

Mercedes claims the car will have a range of 750 kilometres (466 miles) on a single charge. The company also claims that in just 15 minutes, the battery can be charged so the car can be driven 400 kilometers.

Mercedes touted the fast-charging capabilities and long-range batter of the Concept CLA Class.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes has placed a big focus on the interior and user experience. The company said it is developing its own operating system for the car called MB.OS. This will help power various features from the giant screen across the dashboard to the voice assistant within the car.

It will also allow third-party apps, such as your favorite music or video streaming apps, to be integrated with the vehicle.

“This proprietary chip-to-cloud architecture represents a completely new approach for the company and will be a largely hidden yet defining aspect of all its future vehicles,” Mercedes-Benz said in a press release.

Mercedes said it focused on digitizing the interior of the Concept CLA Class. This includes a virtual assistant and support for third-party apps.

Mercedes-Benz

Traditional automakers have been perceived as being behind Tesla on the software front. This is an attempt by Mercedes to show it is catching up.

BMW Vision Neue Klasse

The BMW Vision Neue Klasse is BMW’s answer to Tesla. It is also built on a new architecture that will underpin BMW’s future electric cars.

The first electric vehicles based on the Neue Klasse — or new class — architecture are set to enter production in 2025.

BMW revealed the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, a concept electric vehicle that will underpin its foray into battery-powered cars.

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

The concept vehicle has a glass roof. BMW said the design of the car embody classic elements that fans know of the brand.

The BMW Vision Neue Klasse was unveiled at the IAA Mobility 2023 International Motor Show in Munich.

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

BMW said the car will contain what it calls Panoramic Vision, a heads-up display which projects information on the windscreen at the eyeline of the driver.

The company said this will first be available in the Neue Klasse. Both passenger and driver will be able to interact with the Panoramic Vision feature, BMW said.

There were few details on range and charging. But BMW said the new generation of its technology will improve the charging speed of the Neue Klasse models by up to 30 percent, in addition to boosting their range by up to 30 percent.

BMW says the Vision Neue Klasse electric car has all the classic features the brand is known. BMW said the 21-inch aerodynamic wheels “pay tribute to the classic cross-spoke design inspired by motorsports.”

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

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Lyft shares sink 6% on underwhelming fourth-quarter results

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Lyft shares sink 6% on underwhelming fourth-quarter results

Cheng Xin | Getty Images

Lyft shares shed about 6% after the ride-sharing app reported lackluster fourth-quarter results and offered weak bookings guidance as it lowers prices to keep up with competition.

The company reported revenues of $1.55 billion, versus the $1.56 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenues grew 27% from $1.22 billion a year ago. Bookings, which measures the charges posed to customers for rides and services, came in at $4.28 billion, behind a $4.32 billion FactSet estimate.

“I think what the future holds is great, because it’s a huge market, and we’re doing a great job,” CEO David Risher told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday. “We got to figure out how to get the traders on the bus.”

The company did beat expectations on fourth-quarter earnings, reporting an adjusted 29 cents per share compared to the LSEG expectation of 22 cents per share. The figure excluded certain amortization and compensation charges, and a gain from terminating a lease.

Lyft also said it anticipates a slowdown in gross bookings as it grapples with a lower pricing environment. The company expects bookings to range between $4.05 billion and $4.20 billion, versus a $4.24 billion FactSet forecast.

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During the earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Erin Brewer said the company lowered prices and used discounts in the end of the year to keep up with the market. Ongoing pricing headwinds could lead to a low single-digit percentage point impact on gross bookings, she added.

Brewer also said that the end of its partnership with Delta Air Lines will weigh on rides and gross bookings in the 1% to 2% range during the second quarter.

Last week, Uber shares also declined on mixed fourth-quarter results and soft guidance. The ridesharing competitor also signaled that it may take years to build out and commercialize autonomous vehicles.

Lyft reported net income of $62.8 million for the period, or 15 cents per share. That’s compared to a loss of $26.3 million a year ago, a loss of 7 cents per share.

During the fourth quarter, Lyft also recorded 24.7 million active riders, ahead of the 24.6 million StreetAccount estimate.

Alongside the results, the company announced a $500-million share repurchase plan and said it aims to roll out its Mobileye-powered taxis as soon as 2026 in Dallas.

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Neuralink competitor Paradromics secures investment from Saudi Arabia’s Neom

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Neuralink competitor Paradromics secures investment from Saudi Arabia's Neom

Paradromics scientists at work

Source: Paradromics

Texas-based neurotech startup Paradromics on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Neom and said it will establish a Brain-Computer Interface Center of Excellence in the region.

Neom is a developing area within northwest Saudi Arabia that’s touted as “a hub for innovation,” according to its website. The area’s strategic investment arm, the Neom Investment Fund, led the partnership. Paradromics declined to disclose the investment amount.

Paradromics is building a brain-computer interface, or a BCI, which is a system that deciphers brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies. The company will work with Neom to “advance the development of BCI-based therapies” and set up the “premier center for BCI-based healthcare” in the Middle East and North Africa, it said in a release.

“Working together, we can accelerate the rate of innovation in BCI and expand access to impactful BCI-based therapies.” Paradromics CEO Matt Angle said in a statement.

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Paradromics is one of several companies racing to commercialize BCIs, including Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink. Earlier this month, Neuralink announced it has implanted three human patients with its technology, according to a blog post. Precision Neuroscience and Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates-backed Synchron have also implanted their systems in humans.

None of these companies have secured the FDA’s final stamp of approval.

Paradromics’ BCI, the Connexus Direct Data Interface, is an array of tiny electrodes designed to be implanted directly into the brain tissue. The system could eventually help patients with severe paralysis regain their ability to communicate by deciphering their neural signals. 

The company is gearing up to launch its first human trial this year, and announced its official patient registry in July. Paradromics’ technology has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and it still has a long way to go before commercialization. In 2023, the company received the FDA’s Breakthrough Device designation, which aims to help accelerate the go-to-market process.

Watch: Inside Paradromics, the Neuralink competitor hoping to commercialize brain implants before the end of the decade

Inside Paradromics, the Neuralink competitor hoping to commercialize brain implants before the end of the decade

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Apple launches first major health study in 5 years. Here’s how you can opt in

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Apple launches first major health study in 5 years. Here's how you can opt in

Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers remarks before the start of an Apple event at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, on Sept. 9, 2024.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Apple is deepening its investment in health-care research by launching a new, years-long project called the Apple Health Study, the company announced on Wednesday. 

The study will analyze how data from devices like iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches can monitor, manage and predict changes in users’ health. It will also explore connections between different components of health, like how mental health affects heart rate, for instance. 

The Apple Health Study is the first major health research project the company has announced since it unveiled the Apple Women’s Health Study, the Apple Hearing Study and the Apple Heart and Movement Study in 2019. Those projects are ongoing, and they’ve inspired many of the health features that Apple has introduced in recent years.

Apple rolled out a hearing test in the fall, for instance, which was developed using insights from the Apple Hearing Study, the company said. 

The new study will likely influence future product development. Apple CEO Tim Cook previously said he believes health features will be the company’s “most important contribution to mankind.”

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“We’re thrilled to bring forward the Apple Health Study, which will only accelerate our understanding of health and technology across the human body, both physically and mentally,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health, said in a statement. 

The Apple Health Study will be available through the company’s Research app, and participation is voluntary. Users will select each data type they’re willing to share with researchers, and they can stop sharing or completely discontinue their participation at any time. 

Apple has no access to participants’ identifiable information, the company said.  

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a research hospital, is collaborating with Apple on the study. The project will last at least five years and may expand past that.

“We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of how technology can improve our understanding of human health,” Dr. Calum MacRae, the principal investigator of the study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a statement. 

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