Second Order Effects of Ozempic, Marvel Moment of Microsoft & New Networks

1/ Second Order effects of Ozempic

While everyone is focused on the AI disruption, turns out the secret disruption that is happening across the U.S is the little known drug called Ozempic. Its not a secret that 1 in 3 people in the U.S are considered over-weight and 1 in 4 is considered obese. Ozempic has become a miracle drug that is helping people to reduce their weight drastically. This drug not only is reducing the weight but also changing the people’s consumption patterns and is said to reduce the appetite of its users. Walmart, Coke and other retailers are closely watching the second-order effects of this drug and its variants.

For now its not clear if it can change food consumption patterns for the better but the early signals seem promising. The sugar-industrial complex that is making America fat is on the watch and I hope this drug makes a dent. I will be watching it closely.

The company behind the drug Ozempic has also become the largest company by market cap in Europe - Novo Nordisk.

2/ Marvel moment for Microsoft

Microsoft leadership has shown exception clarity on its strategic moves in the last couple of years. While the entire industry was focused on finding the next big thing and was falsely focused on Crypto or Metaverse, Sathya quietly unveiled the next big thing by collaborating with Open AI. He literally opened the flood gates for the AI era. But the latest genius comes from the official closure of $67B acquisition of Activision Blizzard - the company that makes Call of Duty.

In my mind this is like Disney acquiring Marvel which led to creation of the biggest movie franchise in the history. It led to box office returns of $30B for Disney. Every year Activision will add $7-8B of revenue to Microsoft’s balance sheet.

In an era where a big tech company cannot make an acquisition pulling this deal off is an absolute business jujitsu from Microsoft leadership.

3/ Are you meeting enough new people?

Last week I was in a small gathering with 10 interesting people (someone who worked with Bill Gates & Sathya, real estate entrepreneur, PE manger etc.,). If you are the smartest person in the rooms you are in, you are in the wrong rooms. I was defiantly the youngest and not the smartest in the room and it was a great experience to hear people from diverse backgrounds share their experiences. In a remote first world having a way to consistently meet new people and cultivate new relationships is a super power.