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Hello,
I think I truly understood the meaning of the word “silo” from Hugh Howey’s series of sci-fi books, aptly titled Silo. It explores a world where the thousand-odd surviving people live underground. They don’t leave the multi-level subterranean structure for fear of the air outside being toxic.
I had forgotten just how significant the practice of reuse and recycle, of breaking down things to the smallest possible and then using it to build something was to this world, till Howey’s stories under Silo were adapted to a series currently streaming on Apple TV.
Despite taking place in the future, the story’s post-apocalyptic, dystopian setting means that even though time has moved forward, the tech hasn’t kept pace. In fact, it’s forbidden to build anything with a super-magnifying prowess, or an elevator to take people up and down the 144 levels the silo has.
Stories like this often make me reflect on the many different futures possible for us, as well as how those futures will be shaped by the things happening today.
A chunk of these changes are happening in corners we aren’t paying enough attention to, like the uptick in lithium-ion waste. India-based Attero, a waste recycling firm that is currently setting up shop in Indonesia, noticed this and expects this stream to be a significant moneymaker for the firm.
Profitable for several years now, Attero’s revenue grew 100% between 2021 and 2022 – my colleague Shadine dives into the company’s growth in this edition’s Big Story.
In the other Big Story, my colleague Collin takes a look at Singapore-based Crayon Data’s cost-cutting strategies at a time where layoffs seem to have become a “default option,” in the words of CEO Suresh Shankar.
I’ll also be looking at how cutting salaries of those involved in what turned out to be a bad bet – like in the case of Temasek and FTX – may not send all the right signals.
— Nikita
THE BIG STORIES
1️⃣ This profitable firm’s $1b bet on recycling relies on Indonesia, EV batteries
Image credit: Made by Tech in Asia using AI
After 100% revenue growth in 2022, India-based Attero is looking at lithium-ion batteries as its new moneymaker.
MAKING WAVES
FYI
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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