Hi there, 

Here is this week in charts.

No way, Norway. In 2022, 79% of cars sold in Norway were fully electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla is the most popular brand in the country, accounting for 12.2% of the overall market. While the country aims to end the sale of diesel and petrol automobiles by 2025, new taxes on EVs could potentially stand in the way of achieving that goal. Learn more about early-stage EV innovation in this report.

Nice knowing you. The aggregate value of SPAC IPOs in the US dropped considerably over the course of 2022. While SPAC offerings accounted for $127.3B over the first 3 quarters of 2021, they only accounted for $12.8B over the same period in 2022. The SPAC market has been rocked by economic turbulence, regulatory issues, and other complications. Learn more about the SPAC boom and the obstacles that have arisen in this report.

Can’t escape inflation. Harvard students’ average GPA now sits around 3.8, up from 2.55 in 1950. With the average GPA approaching the 4.0 ceiling, grade inflation could soon give way to grade compression — i.e., less grade variation across the student body. To avoid being viewed as an underperformer relative to their peers, students will likely avoid newer or more difficult courses. Grade inflation isn’t the only challenge Harvard faces — we cover the companies disrupting the university here.

New romantics. The romance genre had a fantastic 2022 — the number of print copies sold in the US rose around 51% from the previous year. Contributing factors likely include the pandemic-fueled desire for escapism and positive narratives, the genre’s increased social media exposure, and greater diversity among authors in the space.

Naughty list. Ho ho holy isht.
 

I love you. 

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. What tech trends should you be watching closely this year? We identify 11 to keep top of mind in this report.

Checkered experience

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