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Even in the age of electric cars and AI generated everything, were still using the same three technologies to insulate most of our clothing. And they work mostly the same way. Wool, down, and most recently, Primaloft (aka synthetic down) are all used to create lofta fluffy substance that traps pockets of air. Its that air thats ultimately creating a barrier between you and the outside cold to keep you warm. But now, Nike is taking this premise to its ultimate conclusion, and launching its first coats that are insulated by nothing but air. And to tweak their warmth, you can even pump them up and deflate them as you like. The technology will debut in the ThermaFIT Air Milano Jacket, which will be worn by medal winners standing on the podium at the Winter Olympics this February. Nike calls the jacket four jackets in one. Deflated, it’s supposed to feel like a windbreaker. Inflated, its somewhere close to a midweight puffer. After trying on the jacket earlier this month at Nike HQ, Id say thats precisely rightand even more so, it feels luxuriously soft to the touch. But more on the wear test in a minute. [Image: Nike] Cracking the code of inflatable outwear Nike has been designing inflatable jackets for nearly 20 years, since it first started putting air bladders in a coat for Nike ACG, its outdoor performance line. When the design team shared early experiments from its archives, I noted that all have that waterproof windbreaker lookand each uses different inflatable mechanisms, ranging from a blow straw, to a hand pump, to an iPhone and an app. But Air Milano isnt a jacket that contains some Nike air bladders inside. Instead, the entire jacket is inflatable. How is that possible? Years of iteration. First, Nike sourced a fabric that feels somewhere between a cotton comforter and a swim shirt. It somehow feels naturally soft and synthetically stretchy at the same time. [Photo: Nike] Nike takes two pieces of this fabric, and then welds them together at the seams, while adding a pattern of dotted welds in between to create baffling (think of baffling as architecture that channels air). Whereas most insulated jackets have to be constructed to keep insulation in place, with latitudinal structures that give them a ribbed look, Air Milan is created from computationally designed patterns that ensure air flow through the garment. Eighty percent of these patterns were tested in software simulations and never built. As I walk around a display of Nike’s early material tests, Im taken by the array of patterns Nike did attempt. Some baffling looks like the fine scaling of reptiles, while others look like marshmallow quilts. Some have sharp geometric diamonds, some burst radially in a way that almost feels floral. Nike ultimately went with a baffling pattern inspired by the ACG logoas this jacket will be Nikes first attempt to bring the ACG brand info the greater public consciousness. Nike CEO Elliott Hill estimates that the outdoor segment represents a $130 billion market, and Nike would like to take a bigger chunk. [Photo: Nike] From prototype to finished product Developing the jacket to functionally work was a long, difficult process. Early versions took up to seven minutes to inflate. Theyd stay inflated 30 minutes max. (The design team would actually inflate the jacket only moments before presenting its progress to executives, so that it would stay puffy for the full meeting.) Now, the jacket comes with a small electronic pump that fits in your hand. You plug it into a port near your waste, and it inflates in about 15 seconds. Im told it will stay inflated, should you like, for weeks or even months. [Photo: Nike] The sensation of the jacket filling on your body is trippy. Your arms feel it first, as they Popeye outwards and begin to constrict your skin like a soft blood pressure cuff. Then you see your chest and stomach being filled as well. Once inflated, it took only a minute before I felt the heat. I started feeling a bit steamy, and I realized that the jacket doesnt breathe (yes, Nike has some ideas to fix thatlike adding small ports that, like Gortex, can keep heat in but allow moisture out). It was just as wild to deflate it. All you have to do is pull another tab, and poooshhhhhhhhh, the jacket deflates back to where you started. Nike built this jacket as a one-off product for the Winter Olympics, and it will not be coming to market in this form. But the jacket also demonstrates what Nike does best: It creates performance innovations that advertise themselves in an irresistible way. The jacket simply looks like it works differently than any jacket youve ever worn. And the Air Milano is really gorgeous to behold in person, as the baffling catches light and shadow, you can appreciate the technical efforts and high level of taste that went into the garment. Jannett Nichol, VP, Apparel & Advanced Digital Creation Studio Innovation, confirmed that whenever Nikes inflatable technologycomes to the wider market, it wont be cheap. Instead, the company sees the future of the ACG brand as the pinnacle expression of Nike. And as a material, that inflatable Therma-FIT surface could make its way out of clothing into outdoor gear as well. Wherever Therma-FIT goes next, Im glad to see Nike working on it. Few companies have the R&D resources and experimental know-how to really impact what the future of performance garments can be. And longer term, there is simply no way that down is a more sustainable option to insulation than pure air. Besides, its just mind-bending to consider just how warm you can feel with a little fabric and a hand pump.
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E-Commerce
It looks like Im walking on Nerf darts. Twenty-two foam nubs protrude from the bottom of this shoe. When I slide it on, it almost feels like Im walking on bubble tapeor like, with every step, an octopus tentacle is suctioning to my foot. Even through a thick cotton sock and all that foam, I can feel textures underfoot. I sense the individual blades of grass on a soccer pitch, and dragging my sole along a textured running track feels a bit akin to licking the roof of my mouth. Am I calmer? Perhaps. Im certainly more mindful. But I also wonder if Id notice this sensation in an hour. This is Nike Mindthe companys first foray into apparel that puts your brain before your body, hacking your physiology to change your state of mind through applied neuroscience. Available January 2026 in two flavors (a slide called Mind 01 and a sneaker called Mind 02), the new line was designed to help amplify that dialogue between your brain and your feet, says Matthew Nurse, chief science officer at Nike. [Photo: Nike] But in fact, the possibilities behind Mind are much larger. For 45 years, Nike has been focused on tools to enhance physical performance. Now its considering how the things we wear can measurably change the way we feel. [Image: Nike] Using apparel to change how we think Nurse calls the human body one big sensory antenna. Everything around us is stimuli that ultimately affects our brain, and designers are now taking a closer look at how we can apply the past 20 years of neuroscience (in a field often dubbed neuroaesthetics) to their work. Nike is positioning Mind as a sensory intervention in an athletes pregame ritual, a way to calm down in the locker room before a big competition. What the designers have really done is create a sort of automated mindfulness that prompts you to get outside your own head and feel the world around you. [Photo: Nike] Theres a unique, specific utility for athletes, says Nurse. [But] if you just need some Zen on the way to work, if you just need something on the way home, we’re hoping this is going to work for you, too. Seven years ago, the company began building its Mind Science team of neuroscientists that would have the specialization required to bring product to market. First, the Nike team built a prototype: a sock with 40 pressure points pushing right into your foot. Why 40? The team felt that figure represented the ceiling of what your foot could perceive. It was a good proof of concept, but it wasnt really a shoe. So they kept iterating. The effort that went into the nodes themselves is extraordinary. Nike used computer modeling to iterate and simulate different geometries that it then tested IRL with athletes and EEGs. The work sounds almost silly until you poke at one of these nodes with your finger and realize its not just a piston that runs up and down. It actually captures different angles, more like a video game controllers thumbstick. Thats what gives the sensation so much fidelity. When Nike brought that Mind prototype to its manufacturers in Korea, they found their original design would take 41 steps (including gluing each node by hand) to turn into a shoetoo many steps for reasonable mass production. Over time, the team simplified the shoe to 22 nodes, and reconfigured the whole design so it could be produced in just two steps. Seeing the Mind deconstructed reveals all of its industrial design efficiencies. The midsole looks like a chunk of foam honeycomb. Into it slip the nodes, which Nike figured out how to produce in just two molded pieces (it looks a lot like one of those reusable bubble tape fidgets that were so popular with the kids a few years ago). The project also required Nike to reimagine the strobea thin fabric layer in the insole that helps make the shoe feel flexible. The problem, Nike found, was that it also absorbs the sensations of the ground (and one designer pointed out that this is even true for barefoot shoes like Vibram). So the team created a new, elastic version that wouldnt dampen sensation. [Photo: Nike] The shoes have now been tested on 2,000 athletes, doctors, nurses, and physical therapists for more than 100,000 hours on the job and in Nikes own research lab. In many cases, people were connected to EEGs to measure their brain patterns. Nike confirmed that the Mind boosts activity in the somatosensory cortex (which processes touch) and increases in alpha wave frequencies (the same signals in your brain that increase during meditation). When I ask Nurse how much of a boost they see in alpha wavesand if the shoe reaches levels akin to meditationhe says it would still be too much to call the shoes meditation light. When I ask if the effects might wear off over time, as people are more habituated to the footwear, he agrees thats possible, but notes the shoes dont disappear from your senses like a pair of glasses on your face. Because those nodes have been designed to constantly fire as you shift, on and off. What we hear from people is, if you’re standing a while, maybe you stop paying attention for a litle bit, but then [you move and] suddenly you’re aware, says Nurse. We also hear that even while people are sitting, they notice they’re just probing more. . . . You’re almost searching and exploring that feedback, because it’s new and novel. [Photo: Nike] The future of Nike Mind Mind is a fascinating product. I found the slides, which I tried in an imperfect size, to be subtle enough that I almost didnt notice. But the full sneaker felt far more activating, and I would be tempted to try them without a sock. Whats certain is that these are early days for this field, and even Nurse admits that Nikes first Mind products are just a hint of whats possible. Nurse calls Mind 01 and 02 chapter one of the feet. He notes that Nike has other chapters were interested in [beyond] the feet, with a most definite emphasis of whats possible across our skin. As for the experience of calm, its simply one sensation Nike designers are after, knowing that in different parts of your day, the goal is not always to be full Zen. You can imagine where we’re headed, Nurse says. You start thinking about tapping into [all sorts of] sensory systems. . . . Youve got a whole body.
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E-Commerce
The government shutdown has reopened debate on what has been a central issue for both major political parties in the last 15 years: the future of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.Tax credits for people who get health insurance through the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, expire at the end of the year.Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension of the expanded subsidies. Republicans say they won’t negotiate until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Lawmakers in both parties have been working on potential solutions behind the scenes, hoping that leaders will eventually start to talk, but it’s unclear if the two sides could find compromise.As Congress circles the issue, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about their health costs going up in the next year. Those worries extend across age groups and include people with and without health insurance, the poll found.A look at the subsidies that are expiring, the politics of the ACA and what Congress might do: Enhanced premium help during the pandemic Passed in 2010, the ACA was meant to decrease the number of uninsured people in the country and make coverage more affordable for those who don’t have private insurance. The law created state by state exchanges, some of which are run by the individual states, to try to increase the pool of the insured and bring down rates.In 2021, when Democrats controlled Congress and the White House during the COVID-19 pandemic, they expanded premium help that was already in the law. The changes included eliminating premiums for some lower-income enrollees, ensuring that higher earners paid no more than 8.5% of their income and expanding eligibility for middle-class earners.The expanded subsidies pushed enrollment to new levels and drove the rate of uninsured people to a historic low. This year, a record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the ACA, in large part because billions of dollars in subsidies have made the plans more affordable for many people.If the tax credits expire, annual out-of-pocket premiums are estimated to increase by 114% an average of $1,016 next year, according to an analysis from KFF. Democrats push to extend subsidies Democrats extended those tax credits in 2022 for another three years but were not able to make them permanent. The credits are set to expire Jan. 1, with Republicans now in full control.Lacking in power and sensing a political opportunity, Democrats used some of their only leverage and forced a government shutdown over the issue when federal funding ran out on Oct. 1. They say they won’t vote for a House-passed bill to reopen the government until Republicans give them some certainty that the subsidies will be extended.Democrats introduced legislation in September to permanently extend the premium tax credits, but they have suggested that they are open to a shorter period.“We need a serious negotiation,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly said. Republicans try to scale the ACA back, again The Democratic demands on health care have reignited longstanding Republican complaints about the ACA, which they have campaigned against for years and tried and failed to repeal in 2017. Many in the party say that if Congress is going to act, they want to scrap the expanded subsidies and overhaul the entire law.The problem is not the expiring subsidies but “the cost of health care,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Tuesday.In a virtual briefing Tuesday, the libertarian Cato Institute and the conservative Paragon Health Institute branded the subsidies as President Joe Biden’s “COVID credits” and claimed they’ve enabled fraudsters to sign people up for fully subsidized plans without their knowledge.Others have pitched more modest proposals that could potentially win over some Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he is open to extending the subsidies with changes, including lower income limits and a stop to auto-enrollment that may sign up people who don’t need the coverage.The ACA is “in desperate need of reform,” Thune has said.House Republicans are considering their own ideas for reforming the ACA, including proposals for phasing out the subsidies for new enrollees. And they have begun to discuss whether to combine health care reforms with a new government funding bill and send it to the Senate for consideration once they return to Washington.“We will probably negotiate some off-ramp” to ease the transition back to pre-COVID-19 levels, said Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, during a virtual town hall Tuesday. Is compromise possible? A number of Republicans want to extend the subsidies. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said most people who are using the exchanges created by the ACA “don’t really have another option, and it’s already really, really expensive. So I think there are things we can do to reform the program.”Hawley said he had been having conversations with other senators about what those changes could be, including proposals for income limits, which he said he sees as a “very reasonable.”Bipartisan groups of lawmakers have been discussing the income limits and other ideas, including making the lowest-income people pay very low premiums instead of nothing. Some Republicans have advocated for that change to ensure that all enrollees are aware they have coverage and need it. Other proposals would extend the subsidies for a year or two or slowly phase them out.It’s unclear if any of those ideas could gain traction on both sides or any interest from the White House, where President Donald Trump has remained mostly disengaged. Despite the public stalemate, though, lawmakers are feeling increased urgency to find a solution as the Nov. 1 open enrollment date approaches.Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has been talking to lawmakers since the shutdown began, trying to find areas of compromise. On Tuesday, she suggested that Congress could also look at extending the enrollment dates for the ACA since Congress is stalled on the subsidies.“These costs are going to affect all of us, and it’s going to affect our health care system,” she said. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report. Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Its been a wild 24 hours for the stock prices of Americas big four publicly traded quantum computing companies, which include D-Wave, IonQ, Quantum Computing Inc., and Rigetti. Yesterday, all four quantum firms saw their stock prices fall significantly along with a broader market selloffmostly related to fears about a growing trade war with China and disappointing tech earnings. But today, shares of the Quantum Four are up on the rumors that the Trump administration is interested in taking an equity stake in quantum computing firms. Heres what you need to know. Commerce Department reportedly interested Last night, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Commerce Department was in talks with several quantum computing companies over equity stakes in those firms in return for federal funding. Specifically, the Journal said D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti were in discussions with the federal government about the matter. The report stated that Quantum Computing Inc. and the privately held Atom Computing were considering similar arrangements. Fast Company has reached out to all the quantum firms named in the WSJs report. IonQ declined to comment. Others did not immediately reply. The exact terms of any such deal are unknown. However, the report states that minimum federal government funding awards would be for $10 million each. It is unknown how much equity the U.S. government would want in exchange for funding, though the level of equity and the amount of funding will likely be correlated. The funding would come from the Chips Research and Development Office, which is overseen by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Commerce Department did not immediately reply for comment. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); The next frontier in computing That the Trump administration is reportedly interested in an equity stake in Americas quantum computing firms is of little surprise. This past year alone, the administration has taken stakes in chipmaker Intel. and rare earths mining operator MP Materials. The link between these two companies is that they produce products and materialsadvanced chips and rare earth elementsthat are seen as vital to Americas national security supply chain. Intels chips power everything from navigation systems to military technology, and MP’s rare earths are needed to make the components that go into critical electronics used by the government and military. Quantum computing differs in that, as of now, quantum computers dont play a critical role in powering the tools behind U.S. economic, military, or security power. But that is expected to change in the years ahead as quantum computers advance and have the potential to be more revolutionary than even AI. Quantum computers are different than the classical computers we use today. A classical computer operates using bits, where each bit of data can either be a one or a zero. However, a quantum computer utilizes qubits, where each unit of data can represent a one and a zeroor anything in betweenat the same time. This means that quantum computers can carry out computation tasks in a matter of minutes or hours that would take a classical computer thousands of years or more to compute. Given the potential for quantum computers to revolutionize everything from materials science to healthcare to communications and security, its no surprise that countries, including the United States and China, are deeply interested in the development of this technology. Quantum Four stocks jump on Thursday After the WSJ report broke, shares of the four publicly traded quantum computing companies spiked in premarket trading on Thursday morning. As of the time of this writing, all quantum four stocks are currently up significantly, including: D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS): up 13% IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ): up 12% Quantum Computing Inc. (Nasdaq: QUBT): up 11% Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI): up 9% Todays price jump helps wipe out much of the losses that the Quantum Four experienced yesterday amid a broader market selloff. Yesterday, D-Wave closed 15% lower, IonQ closed down 6%, Quantum Computing Inc. lost 7%, and Rigetti lost 9%. Over the past 12 months, the stock prices of the Quantum Four have surged. As of yesterdays close, D-Wave was up 2,174%, IonQ was up 269%, Quantum Computing Inc. was up 1,215%, and Rigetti was up 2,831%
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E-Commerce
In a companys early days, culture is forged through proximityshared desks, late nights, and the push-and-pull of turning ideas into reality. Decisions happen on the fly, and everyone knows each other by name. But as you scaleespecially as a remote-first organizationthat sense of connection can quietly fade. Suddenly, you realize you cant attend every onboarding, celebrate every milestone, or even recognize every face on a Zoom call. That moment should give you pause. In fact, if it doesnt, youre missing a red flag. At Appfire, weve gone from a small crew to nearly 800 people across multiple continents. Our remote-first approach lets people work where they wake up, but it also brings a new set of leadership challenges. In a world defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), the old playbook of hallway conversations and impromptu lunches doesnt cut it. Staying connectedand relevantrequires intentional, adaptable systems for communication, empathy, and trust. Heres what Ive learned (often the hard way): what works for 50 people absolutely breaks at 800. Here are four principles I rely on to keep our culture intact as we growno matter how turbulent or complex the environment. Communicate Consistently to Anchor Culture When you cant rely on physical presence, communication from leadership becomes your presence. Within my first month at Appfire, I started recording biweekly Loom videosshort, informal updates on everything from board meeting takeaways to customer feedback, industry trends, and whats keeping me up at night. Theyre deliberately unpolished. The point is authenticity, not production value. But its not just about me talking at people. Company-wide meetingsvirtual or otherwiseare vital for transparency and alignment. Switch up the format: one month, an unscripted Q&A; the next, a focused all-hands on product milestones or wins. Routine is good, but predictability can breed apathy. Variety keeps people engaged and shows that leadership is present, listening, and investedeven across time zones. In VUCA environments, these touchpoints become cultural anchorssteadying the ship when the waters get rough. Lead with EmpathyEspecially Through Change Growth brings change: new processes, shifting priorities, new faces. This can breed friction, especially when people feel overlooked or misunderstood. Empathy isnt just a soft skillits table stakes for leadership, particularly in uncertain or ambiguous circumstances. You dont need every answer, but you do need to listenreally listen. Ask questions. Make it clear youre aware of the daily realities people face, whether theyre your tenth hire or your 900th. Empathy creates psychological safety, unlocking collaboration and innovationeven as the ground shifts beneath us. And in a globally distributed, remote-first workforce, empathy means honoring differences: work styles, time zones, communication preferences. Flexibility and inclusion arent perkstheyre strategic imperatives in a complex world. Assume Positive Intentand Seek to Understand First As companies scale, silos form. Communication happens over Slack, Zoom, or emaileasy recipes for misinterpretation. My default? Assume positive intent. When something doesnt make sense, I encourage teams to seek understanding first, not just to be understood. This mindset is a buffer against the ambiguity that naturally creeps in as organizations grow and evolve. Its especially critical during moments of changenew tools, shifting strategies, re-orgs. Curiosity over judgment fosters better collaboration, healthier conflict, and ultimately, stronger relationships. As a leader, you have to model this. It sets the tone for everyone else, especially when things get messy. Focus on What You Can Control Lets be honest: the world isnt getting any simpler. Markets swing, technologies disrupt, geopolitics intrude. In a volatile, complex landscape, the temptation is to hunker down or get distracted by what you cant control. Resist it. We cant manage macroeconomics or global events. But we can control the quality of our products, the strength of our partnerships, the depth of our customer relationships, and the authenticity of our culture. We can prioritize creating real value over chasing hype. We can show up for each other. Grounding teams in whats controllable fosters resilience, clarity, and focuseven amid chaos. Intention Over Scale Scaling isnt about headcount. Its about evolving how you lead when the old rules no longer apply. CEOs of remote-first, high-growth companies cant lean on proximity or familiarity. We have to be intentionalabout communication, empathy, trust, and clarity. These arent nice-to-haves. In a VUCA world, theyre the infrastructure of sustainable growth. At Appfire, I may never know every employee personallybut I want every employee to feel like they know me. Not through perfect videos, but through a cadence of authentic, consistent leadership. Staying connected isnt about scale. Its about deliberate intention in the face of complexity and uncertainty. Thats how you build a culture that scalesand survivesin a remote, unpredictable world.
Category:
E-Commerce
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