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Getty ImagesSome of the 12,000 attendees who flew into Miami last weekend for the biggest bitcoin event in history have started testing positive for Covid.Bitcoin 2021 drew crypto enthusiasts from around the world to the Mana Wynwood convention center in Miami’s arts and entertainment district. For three days, conference goers packed into crowded auditoriums, glad-handed and hugged. It was the first major conference since the pandemic started, and many attendees said they were relieved to be out among colleagues trading news and updates.There was no mask mandate and no proof of vaccination requirement to attend. Covid was only a talking point in the context of how thrilled everyone was to have arrived at the other side of the pandemic.That is, of course, until some conference participants took to Twitter to say they had tested positive for the coronavirus.In the spirit of full disclosure, I attended the show after receiving two doses of the Moderna vaccine this spring. A vaccination isn’t a 100% guarantee of immunity, but at the moment, I’m not presenting any symptoms. Many of my conversations with Uber and Lyft drivers started with a mutual discussion of having been vaccinated.Whether the conference is ultimately billed as a super spreader event remains to be seen.It is unclear how many people have been affected and whether the city of Miami had a contingency plan in place for this kind of outcome. The mayor’s office and conference organizers did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.On Tuesday, Florida said it will no longer report daily Covid cases and fatalities as vaccinations rise and it begins shifting to the “next phase” of the pandemic. Florida reported an average of eight new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, far below its pandemic high of 84 per 100,000. 

In this articleAAPLTim CookSource: AppleApple released several new augmented reality tools and technologies for software makers during its annual WWDC conference this week. These technologies could be vital if Apple in fact releases an augmented reality headset or glasses in coming years.Apple has never confirmed plans to release augmented reality hardware, but could reportedly announce a headset as soon as this year. Facebook, Snap, and Microsoft are also working on devices that can understand the world around them and display information in front of the user’s eyes.In order to succeed with an augmented reality device, Apple will have to come up with strong reasons for people to use it — and that comes down to useful software, just as apps like Maps, Mail, YouTube, and the mobile Safari browser helped spur adoption of the original iPhone. Getting developers on board to build augmented reality software now increases the chance of one or more “killer apps” being available at launch.Apple did not spend much time on augmented reality at its WWDC launch keynote on Monday, but announced several updates during the conference’s more technical parts shows that it remains an important long-term initiative for Apple. CEO Tim Cook has said AR is the “next big thing.””From a high level, this year, and maybe even next year’s WWDC event, will amount to a calm before an Apple innovation storm,” Loup Ventures founder and longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster wrote in an email this week. “Out of view today is Apple’s intense ongoing development related to new product categories around augmented reality wearables and transportation.”What Apple announcedDuring the week-long conference, Apple briefed its developers on its rapidly improving tools that can make 3D models, use a device’s camera to understand hand gestures and body language, add quick AR experiences on the web, a heavily Apple-backed standard for 3D content, and an intriguing new sound technology that’s like surround sound for music or other audio.Here are some of the AR announcements Apple made and how they are paving the road for its larger ambitions:Object Capture. Apple has introduced application programming interfaces, or software tools, that will enable apps to create 3D models. 3D models are essential for AR, because they’re what the software places in the real world. If an app doesn’t have an accurately detailed file for a shoe, then it can’t use Apple’s machine vision software to place it on a table.Object Capture isn’t an app. Instead, it’s a technology that allows a camera, like the iPhone’s camera, to take several photographs of an object, then stitch them together into a 3D model that can be used inside software in minutes. Previously, precise and pricey camera setups were required for detailed object scanning. Eventually, third party developers like Unity, a top AR engine maker, will include it in their software. For now, it will likely be used heavily in e-commerce.RealityKit 2. Object Capture is just one part of a significant update to RealityKit, which is its set of software tools for making AR experiences. Aside from Object Capture, there are a lot of little improvements to make app makers’ lives easier in RealityKit 2, including improved rendering options, a way to organize images and other assets, and new tools to make player-controlled characters inside augmented reality scenes.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsApple’s new city navigation feature in Apple Maps.AppleARKit 5. ARKit is another set of software tools for making AR experiences, but is more closely focused on figuring out where to place digital objects in the real world. This is Apple’s fifth major version of the software since it first came out in 2017.This year it includes something called “location anchors,” which means that software makers can program AR experiences pegged to map locations in in London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and a few other U.S. In a video session for developers, Apple said it is using the tool to create AR direction overlays in Apple Maps — a potentially useful scenario for a head-mounted AR device.AI for understanding hands, people, and faces. While Apple’s machine learnings and artificial intelligence tools aren’t directly tied to augmented reality, they represent abilities that will be important for a computer interface that works in 3D spaces. Apple’s Vision framework software can be called by apps to detect people, faces, and poses through the iPhone’s camera. Apple’s computer vision software can now identify objects inside images, including text on signs, as well as the ability to search for things inside photos — like a dog or a friend.Combined with Apple’s other tools, these AI tools can apply affects similar to Snap’s filters. One session at his year’s WWDC even goes into how it can identify how a hand is posed or moving, which lays the groundwork for advanced hand gestures, which are a big part of the interface in current AR headsets like Microsoft Hololens.

This photo, taken in March 2019, shows Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.felixmizioznikov | iStock Editorial | Getty ImagesApple has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW who focused on electric cars, Apple confirmed to CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Thursday.The hire is the latest sign that Apple is serious about building an electric car to compete with automakers such as Tesla.Hyundai said earlier this year it was in talks with Apple to manufacture its car before walking its comments back and confirming it was no longer in discussions.Apple has never confirmed it is building a car but has hired talent from the automotive industry and tested self-driving software in California. In 2018, Apple hired Doug Field from Tesla, who worked on Tesla’s Model 3. With its expertise in supply chains, battery technology and user experience, Apple would represent a major competitor to existing automakers if it ever releases a car. Apple’s car project has been restructured several times, most recently in early 2019.Apple did not say whether Kranz will work on Apple’s car project, which is called Special Projects Group or SPG. But Kranz has extensive experience building teams focused on electric cars.Before joining Apple, Kranz was a co-founder of Canoo, which is working on a self-driving electric car. At BMW, he led the company’s electric car development program, which resulted in the electric i3 vehicle and a hybrid sports car called the i8, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the hire.

In this articleMSA logo of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing displayed on a building in Hangzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.STR | AFP | Getty ImagesChinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing on Thursday filed to go public in what could be one of the largest tech IPOs of this year, positioning large shareholders Uber and SoftBank for a win.The company reported $21.6 billion in revenue last year. It also posted a profit this past quarter on $6.4 billion in revenue. Specifically, the company reported net income of $837 million before certain payouts to shareholders, and comprehensive net income of $95 million for the quarter.Uber owns 12.8% of the shares in the company after selling its Chinese ride-hailing business to Didi in 2016, while SoftBank’s Vision Fund holds 21.5%.Between 2019 and 2020, Didi’s revenue shrunk almost 10% as the Covid pandemic struck China hard last year. However, prior to the pandemic, revenue grew 11% between 2018 and 2019. Additionally, revenue has bounced back in the first quarter as the pandemic recovery is in full swing, with 107% growth in Q1 from the previous year’s quarter.Some of the company’s profitability in Q1 can be credited to gains on investments of $1.9 billion related to spin-offs and divestments.By way of comparison, Uber reported a net loss of $108 million on revenues of $2.90 billion in its first quarter. For all of 2020, Uber’s net losses amounted to $6.77 billion on $11.14 billion in revenue.Didi was most recently valued at $62 billion following an August fundraising round, according to PitchBook data, and is backed by investment giants such as SoftBank, Alibaba and Tencent. Bloomberg reported the company could have a $100 billion valuation at the time of its IPO.The listing, which could be one of the largest tech debuts globally this year, comes as demand for ride-hailing and travel companies return due to a decrease in Covid-19 cases and a roll out of vaccines. Its American counterparts, Uber and Lyft, have both said they’ll be profitable on an adjusted basis by the end of this year, thanks to the recovery.Didi acquired Uber’s China business in 2016 in a complicated transaction that involved both companies taking shares in each other. Didi said it sold all of its shares in Uber in November and December of last year.Founded in 2012, Didi said it has 493 million annual active riders, and 15 million annual active drivers. Didi has been named to the CNBC Disruptor 50 list four times.(The precise name of the company as registered on the F-1 is Xiaoju Kuaizhi.) Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are underwriting.Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.