What’s going on here?

Apple’s big upgrade to its CarPlay software hit a roadblock, with carmakers rejecting the system and opting to keep dashboards in-house.

What does this mean?

You’re probably familiar with CarPlay: Apple says that it’s in 98% of new cars in the US and over 600 million drivers use it daily. This “CarPlay Ultra” upgrade is an ambitious step up, integrating with vehicle systems to display speed and fuel gauges and offer climate control. But carmakers from Mercedes-Benz to Volvo are pushing back, choosing to omit it from their vehicles. That’s a reversal from 2022, when Apple said 14 brands were on board. See, CarPlay Ultra requires carmakers to let Apple into their systems, and some think that’s a bridge too far. But with surveys showing that many buyers won’t purchase a car without at least the standard CarPlay, saying no may come at a cost.

Why should I care?

For markets: Carmakers, take the wheel.

This isn’t just a turf war for the $2.3 trillion dashboard industry: it’s a battle for data. General Motors pulled Apple and Google’s systems from its vehicles entirely in 2023 to capture its own driver data. Carmakers want to use that info to inform future design decisions and build precisely what their drivers want. Making actually good in-house dashboard systems is easier said than done, though. Only Tesla and Rivian have really succeeded so far – and they’re as much tech firms as they are car companies.

The bigger picture: Apple has fingers in pies.

Apple has one eye on CarPlay and the other on search. The firm’s reportedly considering making an offer for AI startup Perplexity. That’d help Apple build its own Google or OpenAI alternative, and give it a much-needed AI credibility boost. Perplexity’s valued at $14 billion, so it’d be Apple’s biggest purchase ever – sending a clear signal that the firm is serious about AI.

What’s going on here?

Novo Nordisk broke things off with Hims & Hers, after the telehealth platform refused to stop selling knockoff versions of its weight-loss drug Wegovy.

What does this mean?

The split sent Hims stock plummeting 35% on Monday – its steepest one-day drop ever – and Novo’s shares down 5%. Investors clearly think the fighting is mutually destructive. See, when weight-loss injections first came out, the world went bananas for them – so much so that Novo and US rival Eli Lilly couldn’t keep up with demand. So the FDA put the drugs on its shortage list, allowing any old lab to make them. And telehealth platforms sold plenty of the – far cheaper – knockoffs. Now, that shortage is over and the FDA has taken Wegovy’s active ingredient off the list. Only, platforms like Hims are continuing to sell the off-brand meds via a legal loophole. Unhappy about Hims – ahem – eating its lunch, Novo pulled Wegovy from the platform and severed the partnership altogether.

Why should I care?

For markets: The effects are wearing off.

Novo once soared on the promise of Wegovy, even becoming Europe’s most valuable company at times. But the stock’s shine has dimmed, with shares falling 54% over the last year. Not only have Novo’s next-generation obesity drugs not lived up to the hype, but Eli Lilly’s been pulling ahead with sales of its weight-loss drug, Zepbound. So Novo’s now left hunting for partners to help fill in its drug pipeline – not to mention keep its place in the lucrative weight-loss market.

Zooming out: Novo knows where it’s wanted.

Novo may be clamping down in the US, but it’s opening up elsewhere. The drugmaker just launched Wegovy in India – for a quarter of the price that it charges in the US. The country is one of the world’s fastest-growing obesity markets, after all, with over 100 million people affected. Makes sense that Novo wants to tap into that demand, stat.