(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Airbnb) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week. Airbnb and the Limits of Founder Mode. Wednesday’s Daily Update was Stratechery at its very best. The focus was this week’s news that Airbnb is relaunching its app and expanding its purview to include a new Services offering and a revamped, curated approach to selling Experiences, all in the hopes of making the Airbnb app more than just a once or twice-a-year destination for users around the world. Responding to those ambitions, Ben synthesizes analysis of Airbnb’s past experiments, comments from Founder and CEO Brian Chesky, honesty about what the Airbnb experience entails today, and reflections on the gap between how Chesky wants his company to be seen and where market forces have taken it instead. The piece is filled with themes that apply more broadly across tech, and if you missed it this week, it’s worth your time over the weekend. — Andrew Sharp Inside the NBA Lottery in Chicago. The NBA Playoffs continue apace, but this week also brought high drama for the dregs of the league, as the NBA held its annual Draft Lottery in Chicago. My co-host Ben Golliver was inside the drawing room for the Washington Post as the Dallas Mavericks(!), with 1.8% odds(!!), took home the number one pick. Greatest of All Talk recapped the whole evening earlier this week, including a look at how the NBA conducts this business every year, abject heartbreak for my Washington Wizards, and conspiracy theories that were ubiquitous and unavoidable after another team lost its once-in-a-generation superstar to Los Angeles and was rewarded with a chance at a franchise player (in this case, Duke’s Cooper Flagg). All of it is the height of absurdity, which is to say, it’s exactly the sort of event that makes for a great podcast. — AS Do You Know What a Femtosecond Is? If you don’t, fear not, because 72 hours ago I was right there with you. Then I watched Jon Yu’s video explaining a) what a femtosecond is (spoiler: one quadrillionth of a second); b) what femtosecond lasers are; and c) the ways in which those lasers are used today. A field of study that began with measuring horses galloping and a machine called a phosphoroscope later spawned micro-chemistry, and today is dominated by lasers that are integral to everything from Lasik surgery to semiconductor manufacturing. This is a video that will make anyone smarter, but what I appreciated was the reminder to be amazed and delighted by the long (and continuing!) history of human curiosity and ingenuity. Check it out below, or, if you prefer it in podcast form, Stratechery subscribers can access the entire Asianometry catalog here. — AS Stratechery Articles and Updates OpenAI Restructuring, Microsoft’s Rights, Simo and Windsurf — OpenAI is tying up all its loose ends in preparation for being the user interface for AI Airbnb’s New App, Experiences and Services, Chesky’s Founder Mode — Airbnb has a new app with new offerings for experience and services; I’m not sure the economics make sense for either. An Interview with Ben Thompson at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet, and Communications Conference — An interview with Ben Thompson about AI and Big Tech. Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber Asianometry with Jon Yu How Did China’s LFP Batteries Get So Cheap? Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop A 90-Day Pause, Big Tariff Reductions and What De-Escalation Might Mean for the U.S. and China Greatest of All Talk with Andrew Sharp and WaPo’s Ben Golliver The Mavs and a Lottery Stunner, A Very Bad Night for the Celitcs, OKC-Denver and the Cavs Crash Out in Indy Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson Airbnb and Its Varied Ambitions, The High Agency Golden Era, HBO Max and the End of an Error This week’s Stratechery video is on Apple and the Ghosts of Companies Past.

Suspended Grace: A sleeping sperm whale and her calfPaul Nicklen With a full belly – look closely and you can see the tentacles of the deep-sea squid she has just feasted on, dangling from her mouth – this mother sperm whale sleeps, her calf nearby. This photograph, named Suspended Grace, was taken by photographer Paul Nicklen and is one of a host of images displayed at the photography fair Photo London this week. It exudes peace, but Nicklen was feeling a real mix of emotions when he took it in Dominica in 2019. “Even as my lungs burned and my brain tried to induce panic to take a breath from the surface that was 15 metres away, I had to stay calm,” he says. “In that moment, I focused on breathing, framing and floating still. I wasn’t disconnected from fear, but I was focused.”Advertisement As he centred himself, a sense of “awe mixed with something quieter” came over him. “There was a kind of joy to it—being accepted into their rhythm for even a few moments,” says Nicklen. “Over time, that joy has deepened into something heavier. I think about the risks [whales] face now – the rising noise levels in the ocean, plastic, ship strikes, nets, warming seas. When I revisit these images, I see a lineage that may not survive unless we change. And still, I feel lucky. Lucky to have been let in. Lucky to carry their story.” Photo London is taking place at Somerset House from 15 to 18 May. Nicklen’s work is being displayed by Hilton Contemporary, which is also showing the photography of marine biologist Cristina Mittermeier – including this evocative shot from Berenty, Madagascar, in 2008, called Laundry on the Mandare. As bright clothes dry on the cracked earth, two emaciated cows stand nearby on the dry bed of the Mandare River. Laundry on the Mandare: The dry bed of the Mandare River in MadagascarCristina Mittermeier Seventeen years on, Mittermeier remembers that her thoughts on taking the shot were clouded at the time. “Not just by illness – a tropical fever – but by guilt. Not guilt for being there, but for leaving,” she says. “The families in this village had no way to escape the drought. There are no backups, no alternate routes, no tap to turn. The Mandare dries up, and everything with it.” Today, those feelings have morphed into “a kind of respect” for the endurance of the local people there “and a deep unease that this scene is becoming more common, more permanent”, she says. “I think of the resilience in that curve of fabric, bright against the dust, and how survival here is patched together one garment, one meal, one cup of water at a time,” says Mittermeier. “It’s a record of drought, yes, but also of decisions made far away that shaped who suffers and who escapes.” Below is Nicklen’s shot, Ephemeral Palace, taken in the Antarctic Peninsula in 2012. A vast iceberg is pictured as it drifts along, destined to melt as it makes its way out to sea. Ephemeral Palace: An iceberg on the Antarctic Peninsula in 2012Paul Nicklen An unexpected visitor is shown in this final shot from Nicklen, Face to Face, taken in Svalbard, Norway, in 2008. Nicklen, winner of awards including BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, said that although they are labelled “problem bears” in Canada’s Arctic, he has encountered over 2000 polar bears in the wild in his time as a photographer and he has never had to take a life in self-defence. Face to Face: A close encounter with a polar bear in NorwayPaul Nicklen Topics:

Halfpipe, full hearts, can't loseWe got our hands on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 on this week's pod: http://xbx.lv/3S4sJEl

General Motors plans to become the first to commercialize a little-known type of EV battery that could unlock more range for the same price by 2028.Called lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries, the packs use "a higher proportion of more affordable manganese, while also delivering greater capacity and energy density," GM says.GM's focus is improving range in large vehicles, particularly big trucks and full-sized SUVs. These heavy vehicles can lose range quickly, especially when towing, which is one of their main use cases. LMR packs could put their performance on-par with their gas counterparts, thanks to 33% higher energy density "at a comparable cost." That's compared with other battery chemistries available today, particularly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells.A battery breakthrough like this aims to make EV trucks with over 400 miles of range the new normal. Right now, only a few are able to achieve that number and for a high price. The Rivian R1T with a Max Pack battery gets 410 miles, and the GM Chevy Silverado EV truck gets up to a 450-mile range, both for around $100,000. GM is partnering with LG Energy Solutions, which holds over 200 patents related to LMR technology IP, with its first going back to 2010. GM says it began researching the batteries in 2015, and has been "accelerating" development by prototyping cells at its Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Michigan.Recommended by Our EditorsThe two companies plan to commercialize the packs by 2028, with "pre-production" expected to begin at an LG Energy Solution facility by late 2027. "We’re excited to introduce the first-ever LMR prismatic cells for EVs, the culmination of our decades-long research and investment in the technology,” says Wonjoon Suh, executive VP and head of the Advanced Automotive Battery division at LG Energy Solution. "GM’s future trucks powered by this new chemistry are a strong example of our shared commitment to offering diverse EV options to consumers."There are many up-and-coming battery chemistries in the works, but this is the first time we've heard a major brand invest in LMR. Chinese EV powerhouse CATL is investing in the first sodium-ion battery. In the US, a few companies are working on solid state batteries, silicon batteries, lithium-sulfur, and more.All new battery chemistries aim to solve the biggest issues today, including high cost, heaviness, range loss, and lifespan issues. All could meaningfully change how consumers use EVs, and help put traditional gas-powered engines in the past, or at least lower costs substantially.

General Motors revealed Tuesday a new battery chemistry called lithium-manganese-rich (LMR), which it says should slash costs while delivering driving range that’s just shy of the most advanced batteries on the market.  “With LMR, we can deliver over 400-mile range in our in our trucks while significantly reducing our battery costs,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery, propulsion and sustainability, told TechCrunch. LMR will also dramatically reduce the amount of nickel and cobalt compared with GM’s most advanced cells, two critical minerals that aren’t readily available from domestic sources in the United States. Today, the Chevrolet Silverado EV uses nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells to drive 492 miles on a full charge. That impressive range comes with a hefty price tag. The electric trucks start at over $73,000 for the general public (a fleet version costs less). GM is planning a version with cheaper lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells, which would drop the price by $6,000, but also cuts range to 350 miles.  The new technology would preserve the LFP price cuts without sacrificing as much range. GM says the new cells will be cheaper for a few reasons. For one, manganese is cheaper than cobalt or nickel. The LMR chemistry will have zero to 2% cobalt, 30% – 40% nickel, and 60% – 70% manganese. That’s significantly less than today’s leading NMC cells, which are up to 10% cobalt and 80% nickel. Previous attempts at manganese-rich batteries have tended to degrade quickly. GM thinks it has cracked the problem. The automaker experimented with a range of materials and manufacturing processes to arrive at the current formulation. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW LMR battery packs will contain prismatic cells instead of pouches. Today’s Ultium batteries use the latter. Kelty said switching to prismatic cells, which have a rigid shell, will help the company build a battery pack with more than 50% fewer parts. “It’s a huge, huge cost savings we’ll get,” he said. GM has big plans for LMR, with the chemistry potentially spreading throughout the EV lineup. Andy Oury, business planning manager at GM, said that LMR could “take up a huge chunk in the middle” of the market, pushing LFP to entry level vehicles and pricey NMC to applications that need long range and high energy density. The new cells will be made by Ultium Cells, GM’s joint venture with LG Energy Solution. Through Ultium, the two companies have invested billions of dollars in battery manufacturing in the United States.  Both have been pursuing LMR for years. GM has more than 50 patents on LMR, though LG has also been working on the technology itself. Kelty acknowledged it’s possible that LG could make it’s own version of LMR cells that don’t infringe on GM’s patents, making the chemistry more widely available. “It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out,” Kelty said. GM’s LMR research has been underway for a decade. Its efforts kicked into high gear in the last couple years as engineers successfully produced large-format cells similar to those in EVs on the road today. GM has made about 300 large format cells so far, and its testing regime equates to around 1.5 million miles of typical driving, said Kushal Narayanaswamy, director of advanced cell engineering at the automaker. That leaves just a few short years for the company to modify its existing manufacturing plants to accommodate the new chemistry and then scale up production. Scaling, in particular, tripped up the first Ultium cells. Kelty is confident that GM can hit the 2028 target.  “It meets all our performance metrics, we have a partner that’s going to manufacture it, and we’ve got a manufacturing location,” he said. “The other thing is, the supply chain is much more local than high-nickel or LFP, so we’re really incentivized to do this. There’s a lot of things coming together here that really make us want to go quickly.”