Lupa Systems and former Walt Disney Asia Pacific president
Uday Shankar have launched
Seven Islands Inc, a new blank-cheque company aiming to raise $300 million to invest in the South and Southeast Asian region. The SPAC will invest in the media, entertainment, consumer technology, healthcare, and education industries in Southeast and South Asia, with a particular focus on India.
After a frenetic quarter for SPACs, the fad around this listing alternative is coming to “a more normalised cadence” with stakeholders growing warier of its potential risks, according to international law firm
Morrison & Foerster. IPOs of US SPACs plummeted to 13 in April, compared to record highs in the first three months of 2021 when it continued to trend upwards month-over-month to hit 110 in March. But, SPACs, currently still a US phenomenon, are poised to spread across other regions including Greater China.
AeroVironment helicopter takes flight in Moorpark facility.
Engineers at AeroVironment Inc. showed off on Thursday the company’s terrestrial version of the helicopter it developed for NASA’s mission to Mars.
Nicknamed Terry, the terrestrial aircraft was flown for members of the media by Matt Keennon, the technical lead for rotor system development on the Mars Ingenuity helicopter program at the Moorpark facility of the Simi Valley unmanned aircraft manufacturer.
Ben Pipenberg, engineering lead on the helicopter program, explained before the flight that Terry has an airframe identical to Ingenuity and that structure composites and mechanism were built from the same molds as the Mars version.
OneWeb, SoftBank Corp plot Japan satellite move - Mobile World Live 13 MAY 2021
Satellite communications company OneWeb’s commercial ambitions were boosted by Japanese operator SoftBank Corp, which teamed to develop the service provider’s presence in its domestic market and beyond.
The companies partnered on technical and product development of OneWeb’s service, planning to jointly secure regulatory approvals and establish ground stations in Japan.
In a statement, the companies explained they will offer a combination of OneWeb and SoftBank services to provide “advanced seamless connectivity” along with a digital transformation platform.
The operator’s parent SoftBank Group increased its investment in OneWeb in January, as the satellite company continues to accrue fresh backing after a consortium comprising the UK government and a division of Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises pulled it out of bankruptcy protection in mid-2020.
SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434, "SoftBank") and OneWeb, today announced an agreement for mutual cooperation to promote OneWeb's satellite communication services in the global and Japan markets. SoftBank