Business

American Paper Optics holds totality of eclipse glasses market

The US’s largest producer of eclipse glasses is in the path of totality this year (well, 98%). But Memphis-based American Paper Optics is far from afraid of the dark: the glasses-maker sees its revenue 5X in an eclipse year, with the bulk of its sales coming from big orgs like NASA.

APC also churns out online orders and set up a pop-up shop this year. North America won’t have its next total eclipse until 2044, but don’t worry too much about APC: its main business is 3D glasses.

#1 producer of eclipse glasses in the US
500%
How much revenue spikes in an eclipse year
45M
pairs sold for 2017 eclipse
70M+
pairs sold for 2024 eclipse
500k to 1.5M
pairs made daily
95% pairs sold in an eclipse year are eclipse glasses

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

Stacked Cars in Parking Lot

With gas prices soaring, the humble sedan is making a comeback

Recent US sales data reveals a “sedanaissance” among major automakers like Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota.

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