The race takes off in the next big arenas of competition
The race takes off in the next big arenas of competition
https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/the-race-takes-off-in-the-next-big-arenas-of-competition
By Kevin Russell, Chris Bradley, Naveen Sastry, Suhayl Chettih, Kweilin Ellingrud, and Natalya Goryunova
Chapter 3
Omniscalers are escalating competition across arenas
The previous chapter outlined the rapid scale of investment and pace of change that is shaping the arenas. A natural next question is who is driving it. Certainly, the hyperscalers are in the mix, and we can see the rapid escalation of spend and competition. A related dynamic we explore in this chapter is “omniscalers.”
Omniscalers are a group of nine companies that are not only among the world’s biggest investors but are also playing simultaneously across multiple arenas. We are perhaps used to Amazon being both the world’s biggest e-commerce company and the leader in cloud. But the Tesla-plus-SpaceX ecosystem now spans AI, digital media, robotics, EVs and space—almost systematically ticking the boxes of the new arenas. These two omniscalers are joined by Alibaba, Alphabet, Apple, Huawei, Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung. Six of them are based in the United States, and the other three in Asia. We explain how we picked this set of companies in the next section of this chapter.
The emergence of omniscalers signals a new kind of economy of scope and scale. Omniscalers can certainly resemble conglomerates, deploying capital across diverse businesses. They differ, however, in how they scale and in the capabilities they carry across arenas. Omniscalers can deploy large pools of cash into long-payback bets. Equally importantly, they benefit from data and platform network effects, where large user bases generate data that improves products, attracting more users and partners. Today’s omniscalers can also reuse infrastructure across arenas, such as cloud and compute, and even logistics networks, so new businesses start with built-in capabilities and distribution. That lowers the marginal cost of expansion. Incremental capital often builds on existing platforms instead of starting from scratch, matching the escalatory logic of arena competition. Omniscalers integrate these advantages and capabilities, even across arenas, through sustained R&D, capital expenditures, and M&A.
As they scale, omniscalers can blur arena boundaries, influence investment-intensity levels, and disrupt value-chain structures. At the same time, scale alone is neither necessary nor sufficient for success in arenas. Many large companies do not scale across arenas, while at the same time, we see new entrants continue to gain traction. Recent examples include well-funded younger AI players such as Anthropic and Perplexity; humanoid-robotics entrants such as Figure; fast-scaling EV challengers such as Zeekr (later acquired by Geely); and space players such as Rocket Lab. As escalatory investments reach new heights in arenas with omniscalers, competition isn’t quelled; it’s changing.
In this chapter, we examine how omniscalers compete across arenas and what enables their expansion. This section describes the phenomenon rather than endorsing it. Being an omniscaler is inherently neither good nor bad, and many companies have created value through other paths.
Nine omniscalers now span many arenas—and often lead them
We analyze nine omniscalers, though there may be more. The omni-9 are Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Huawei, Meta, Microsoft, Samsung, and Tesla. Within this group, two operate as broader ecosystems or clusters of companies in which formally separate entities share leadership, capital, and capabilities. They are the cluster of companies founded by Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX, including xAI) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon, Blue Origin, and Project Prometheus).
We defined omniscalers based on two simple criteria: they ranked among the top 30 global spenders on combined R&D and capital expenditures in 2024, and they actively compete—meaning they generate publicly reported revenues—in at least three future arenas. These criteria offer the benefit of simplicity, although we acknowledge there are challenges in the measurement itself. For one thing, arena participation can take many forms, not always generating revenue directly. For example, Apple is in chip design for its own internal use. Alphabet has invested in a long-duration energy storage company to accelerate progress in batteries.
The spending and earning criteria exclude several adjacent players for now, including both large spenders and multi-industry leaders. Some companies meet the spending threshold but remain focused outside arenas; one example is Toyota Motor (more than $30 billion in capital expenditures) in traditional automotive. Others meet the threshold but are concentrated in a single future arena, such as TSMC in semiconductors. Some are investing at scale in arenas close to their core business, like Walmart’s substantial growth in e-commerce and digital advertising, and may enter the omniscaler list as they expand into other areas. Conversely, companies such as Tencent and Uber span multiple arenas but fall below the top-spender bar, and Nvidia—despite leading semiconductors and playing in several arenas—remains relatively capital-light and also falls below the investment cutoff. Finally, inclusion depends on consistent public reporting. ByteDance may be a tenth candidate based on reported investment and multi-arena activity, but it remains outside the core list in the absence of comparable financial disclosures.
Omniscalers share a few common characteristics. First, their scope is wide. While our threshold was revenue generation in three arenas, by 2025, the average omniscaler participated in closer to six arenas. Alphabet reached nine.
Second, their depth can be substantial. Omniscalers account for a majority of revenue in cloud services, AI software and services, and digital advertising, for example. In each of these arenas, six or more omniscalers generate revenues. Yet they are more commonly new entrants in the other 15 arenas, where more focused players still hold sway. For instance, omniscalers hold just a small portion of global revenues in arenas like semiconductors, video games, and robotics, despite significant activity by them.
Third, the landscape is highly dynamic. Some arenas have become markedly more crowded in recent years, as seen in robotaxis—with Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox intensifying competition with Alphabet-backed Waymo, the early leader (together with Baidu’s Apollo-Go). A comparable map in 2010 (Exhibit 12) shows a narrower scope and reflects more tentative cross-arena moves.
Seen over the years, their expansions almost look like convergence. For most omniscalers, a strong core business became a launchpad for cross-arena growth. Some started as digital natives, others from device- or hardware-led roots. Yet today, there is considerable overlap across digitization platforms and the AI foundation. Amazon and Alibaba moved from e-commerce into cloud and advertising. Microsoft expanded from software into gaming and cloud. Samsung is an established player in semiconductor value chains, while others developed proprietary chips or deep foundry partnerships. In recent years, all nine have made sustained, large-scale bets in AI.
At the same time, differences remain, especially in electrification and hard tech. The Tesla/X cluster started with EV and battery in electrification and has since entered robotics, space, and more. Alphabet entered hard tech through Waymo robotaxis and Wing delivery drones.
Lastly, omniscalers can act as major demand anchors, especially for the many industries upstream of cognitive and physical AI. For instance, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have all signed long-term power purchase agreements with nuclear power providers to secure clean firm power for data centers—a major driver of renewed interest in nuclear in the United States.
Omniscalers generate more cash and invest it at a higher intensity
Companies in future arenas, including omniscalers and others, grew revenues by 12 percent per year between 2022 and 2025, compared with just 1 percent for companies outside future arenas. But omniscalers’ revenue is an order of magnitude larger than that of other arena companies. By 2025, omniscalers averaged about $200 billion in revenue each in future arenas, while other arena players averaged about a twentieth of that, about $10 billion each. In total, combining both future arenas and their other businesses, the omni-9 generated revenues of about $2.7 trillion in 2025. For context, $2.7 trillion is bigger than the GDP of Italy, the eighth-largest economy in the world.
Cash flow is a key enabler fueling cross-arena expansion. From 2022 to 2025, the nine omniscalers generated, on average, operating cash flows equivalent to 26 percent of revenues every year, compared with about 16 percent for other companies in arenas and about 13 percent for players in other industries. The scale is even clearer in absolute terms. In 2024, the omni-9 generated roughly $640 billion in cash, about the same as annualized US bank lending to nonfinancial businesses, and roughly three times total US equity issuance that year. And while omniscalers have ample cash on their balance sheets and innovation capabilities in common, as noted above, how they initially earned them is quite distinct.
Omniscalers invest more than other arena players. From 2022 to 2025, omniscalers invested, on average, about 31 percent of their revenues in R&D and capital expenditures. That level of investment was much higher than for other companies in arenas (22 percent of revenues) and three times as high as what’s seen in other industries (9 percent of revenues). To put this in perspective, nine omniscalers spent about $800 billion in 2025, more than half of the amount invested globally in the electricity sector that year.
The features above are only some of what differentiates omniscalers from other players, though these factors do not fully explain their success. Others, including player-specific advantages—such as risk appetite, reputation, data access, and other capabilities—also matter (see sidebar “Why cash is not enough: Innovation in the omniscaler capability stack”).
All these observations reflect recent historical performance; whether omniscalers’ scale and elevated investment translate into sustained efficiency and attractive returns over time in the arenas where they are now expanding remains to be seen.
What’s a Condotel? Or an Aparthotel? Here’s Why It Matters for Your Next Trip
Felix Mizioznikov/Shutterstock
https://www.fodors.com/news/hotels/aparthotel-vs-condotel-whats-the-difference-for-travelers
Think a condotel and aparthotel are the same? Think again.
In travel, as in life, we rarely stop at naming something plainly when we can give it a baffling portmanteau instead. Enter two dueling terms travelers are increasingly encountering while booking accommodations: the aparthotel and the condotel. They sound interchangeable, read like typos of one another, and promise some version of “more space, fewer rules.” But in practice, they deliver very different experiences.
Here’s what to know before booking the “Bennifer” of stays.
First, What Do These Names Actually Mean?
A condotel is, at its core, a property made up of individually owned units.
“With a condotel, you have individual owners,” says Philip Bates, CEO and co-founder of TMC Hospitality. “Those owners want to make extra income, so they hire a management company to rent them on their behalf.”
The confusion starts because a condotel is also a legal designation. Tim Smith, the owner of Casago, a property management firm in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, notes that technically, the term refers to a structure in which unit owners collectively operate within a condominium framework that’s registered and run as a commercial hotel. For most travelers, though, the simpler takeaway is this: you’re staying in a building where many of the rooms are privately owned and rented out by one entity.
An aparthotel, by contrast, typically has a single owner or operating company. Instead of individually owned units, the property functions like a traditional hotel but offers apartment-style accommodations—think larger layouts, multiple bedrooms, and kitchens designed for groups or longer stays. That’s the model Bates uses at Bode in Nashville, which has about 60 units designed to accommodate bigger parties while still delivering a hotel-style experience.
Who Owns the Room—and Why That Matters
From a traveler’s perspective, room ownership can shape everything from aesthetics to consistency. It can mean the difference between checking into a cohesively designed space, where every rental follows the same look, layout, and brand standards. Or opening the door to a two-bedroom unit that reflects an individual owner’s taste, down to DIY wallpaper choices.
That variability is more common in a condotel setup. That said, managers like Smith encourage condo owners to renovate and refresh their units regularly to keep them competitive and appealing to guests. Ultimately, though, he notes, “it’s at the discretion of the owner.”
That makes condotels somewhat like the Airbnb experience, where design, amenities, and overall quality can vary from unit to unit—even within the same building.
At an aparthotel, like London’s Ember Locke, where guests are sold “studio living,” rooms appear more like a traditional hotel in that they pretty much look the same with some small variations, but ultimately with a similar color palette and design accents.
What About Check-in? Front Desk? Lockbox?
Among Gen Z travelers, 82% prefer contactless check-in, according to Travolution. In reaction to that surge, accommodations across every category are evolving to keep pace. That includes both condotels and aparthotels.
“We have a 24-7 kind of front desk,” says Bates of his Bode aparthotel. But the property’s rooms are also equipped with door codes. “There’s often been a lot of frustration with the hotel check-in experiences. You know, you’ve traveled for six hours. You have all your luggage with you. Then you have to stand in line to get your key card. Your key card doesn’t work. So, we just want to give people that option.”
Smith notes that all his Florida beach vacation rentals are equipped with coded lockboxes, allowing access codes to be texted to guests before arrival. However, he keeps a front desk in some properties as his demographic skews older.
“They do like having a front desk to chat and pick up a parking pass,” Smith says.
Housekeeping, Amenities, and the Fine Print
While amenities vary by property, one thing to keep in mind when booking a condotel or aparthotel is that the experience is designed to be more like a home than a hotel. At Bode, that means that housekeeping is by request only and comes with an additional cleaning fee.
Similarly, at Casago, the guest is responsible for pre-departure cleanup, such as trash removal. That said, Smith provides linen service upon request.
Other amenities, like access to a pool, often come with a condotel stay, provided that the unit owner’s HOA allows it. It’s worth checking in advance. The amenities at an aparthotel could include a bar, outdoor gathering spaces, or a cafe.
Why Is This Segment Growing?
Smith says long-term stay vacation rentals have long been in demand. Airbnb’s rise has only accelerated the trend, encouraging group travel and fueling interest in destination rentals that offer more space.
“I’d say it’s primarily leisure travelers arriving with friends and family,” Bates says. And the segment is only expected to grow, as evidenced by Hilton’s recent entrance into the market.
“At Hilton, we are continually innovating to meet the evolving expectations of today’s travelers, which is why we recently introduced Apartment Collection by Hilton,” says Gary Steffen, Hilton’s SVP and global category head.
The brand’s Apartment Collection is expected to be bookable in the first half of this year, offering fully furnished apartments, ranging from studios to four‑bedrooms.
“Guests will be thoughtfully hosted, with dedicated team members available on‑site 24/7 to provide support, and enjoy chef-ready kitchens, spacious separate living areas, and on-site laundry in the heart of sought-after destinations,” Steffen adds. That includes properties in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, all of which are bookable through Hilton.com.
Which One’s Better for Families, Remote Workers, and Weekend Escapers
How do you pick between a condotel and an aparthotel? Proximity might be the biggest driver. In places like Florida, Smith says the condotel dominates the beachfront landscape, a perk for those looking for fun in the sun. In a place like Nashville, however, you can have an urban experience with a large group at an aparthotel like Bode. Unlike an Airbnb that can leave you driving miles to get to the heart of a destination, these two booming accommodation options might just be the winning solution to a big group getaway.
If You’re Feeling Kinky, Head to the Pacific Northwest
Rotozey/Shutterstock
https://www.fodors.com/news/news/pacific-northwest-kink-guide-dungeons-galas-consent
Come for the coffee and weed, stay for the rental dungeons, fetish galas, and an unapologetic credo of sex positivity.
Kink is more mainstream than ever—from Alexander Skarsgård as a leather daddy in Pillion to the rise of dark romance books, thanks to TikTok—more people are becoming curious about the world of BDSM and fetish. Though in the Pacific Northwest, it’s not a counterculture—and hasn’t been for a long time.
FetLife, one of the oldest and most popular social media platforms for the BDSM and fetish community, is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. San Francisco has the historic Folsom Street Fair and a legacy of gay leather fetish, and in Oregon and Washington, you’ll find the land of sex-positive journalist Dan Savage (and his HUMP!), kink conferences with equitable scholarship programs, and a community of kinksters both online and IRL with a brick-and-mortar infrastructure to support healthy “play.”
Kink is thriving in the Upper Left Corner of this country, and if you’re a newbie, there’s no better place to visit.
According to Feeld, one of the leading dating apps for the kink community, Portland and Seattle earned a slew of superlatives last year. In the 2025 Feeld Raw report, Portland and Seattle are the top two cities in the world for several roles within power exchange dynamics, also known as dominant and submissive (D/s). Portland also has the most submissives and switches (those who fluctuate between dominant and submissive roles) in the world—and Seattle is right behind in second place for both.
Additionally, Portland has the most bottoms per capita. And Seattle has the most tops. (While these terms have historically—rather, stereotypically—been used in the gay community, sapphic and straight kinksters use them, too.)
A representative for Feeld provided Fodor’s with additional PNW data not included in the annual report, and, again, Oregon and Washington took top honors. Portland and Seattle were the No. 2 and No. 3 cities in the world that expressed “brat” as a desire. (Thanks to Charli XCX, the term is more popular than ever, but within kink, it’s a subcategory of feisty submissives.) Seattle and Portland were also No. 2 and No. 3 worldwide for the most open relationships, and were the top two cities with the highest couple-to-singles ratio. And Portland was Feeld’s No. 2 city worldwide for users who expressed role-play as a desire. As for number one? That distinction goes to the city of San Francisco.
A spokesperson for BeeDee, a leading dating app for the BDSM community, told Fodor’s that the PNW is one of the app’s busiest regions. Portland and Seattle are two of its largest hubs where the app sees the most traffic, but it’s also the IRL experiences and historic institutions in the PNW that continue to mark this region as the kink capital of the U.S.
While Portland’s Jupiter Hotel—like most boutique properties these days—has curated content on its website with foodie guides, adventure guides, and advertorial copy that creates a sense of place for guests, it also has a local kink guide, with insider spots that run the gamut, from naked karaoke to leather-and-lace masquerades. And this is not posted as a touristy gimmick, but with the same nonchalant attitude you’d ask housekeeping for extra towels.
“The Pacific Northwest has always attracted people who are willing to question norms and build their own communities, and Portland’s kink scene reflects that spirit,” a spokesperson for the Jupiter Hotel told Fodor’s. “There’s a strong emphasis on consent, education, openness, and mutual respect, which makes the city appealing not just to locals, but to travelers looking for a place where curiosity is welcomed rather than judged.”
Curiosity is at the heart of Seattle’s kink scene, too, especially with nonprofits Center for Sex Positive Culture (CSPC), which has been around since the 1990s, and Kink Center, which opened in May 2025 in the historically-queer Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The CSPC is considered by many as the “backbone of the community,” providing a “home base” with weekly programming, workshops, and play parties. It’s membership-only, though you can attend an orientation (which is an hour of lessons on everything, from sexual health and how arousal in the heat of the moment alters your brain chemistry and decision-making skills to an empowering exercise in consent and saying “no”) and purchase a temporary membership if you’re visiting and would like to attend a play party.
While the Kink Center hosts events, too, it’s a “third space” with an emphasis on socials—a.k.a. “munches”—which are ideal for newbies looking for community just as much as looking for kink itself. “While we are kink-based, not all of the events hosted at our venue are kink-focused,” said the director of marketing for Kink Center, who asked to be identified as Luna. “Events such as Kinky Craft Night and various support groups are hosted at our venue, which gives people low-pressure opportunities to connect with each other.”
“Seattle has always been a safe harbor for alternative and queer lifestyles,” said the executive director and co-founder of Kink Center, who asked to be identified as Raven. “It’s not a surprise that kink and fetish lifestyles thrive here and are a little more in the spotlight than in other cities. More and more queer business owners and openly-queer workers keep reinforcing this social contract and making it safer and safer for organizations like ours to succeed.”
Beyond play and educational entertainment, there’s a strong sense of pride throughout Seattle’s sex-positive community. And the Seattle Fetish Ball is one of the marquee events in town for being unapologetically kinky. Gabriel Milian, founder and producer of this “Gala for the Deviants,” wanted to create a place where “the focus is on radical self-expression.”
“For a long time, kinky spaces were often relegated to basements or strictly ‘play-focused’ environments,” said Milian. “Seattle Fetish Ball is about celebration and presentation. We enforce a strict dress code because we believe that when you dress with intention and purpose, the energy of the room shifts. It becomes a living art gallery of leather, latex, and avant-garde fashion.”
The third annual Seattle Fetish Ball is set for March 28. However, if you’re not ready to see and be seen in your bondage wear, you can always rent private time at The Crow’s Nest Escape, a highly themed and immersive BDSM and fetish play studio, outfitted with all the furniture, toys, and gear to explore a cornucopia of scenes and role play.
And, yes, Portland has a playroom, too, at Sub Rosa. The boutique dungeon even has kink coaches, giving a whole new meaning to the “skillcation” trend.
Marriott jumps into luxury wellness
Deal with Italy’s Leali family gives the giant its 39th brand and opportunity to grow a dedicated wellness brand.
https://www.hotelinvestmenttoday.com/Development/Brands/Marriott-jumps-into-luxury-wellness?
BETHESDA, Maryland – Marriott International and the Leali family, founders of luxury, holistic wellness brand Lefay, have entered into a joint venture to bring the brand into the Marriott portfolio. It marks Marriott’s first brand dedicated exclusively to luxury wellness.
Lefay’s two existing and three pipeline resorts will operate under long-term hotel management agreements with the new joint venture, to which Lefay will contribute existing brand and intellectual property assets. The Italian real estate assets will continue to be held by the brand’s founders. Together, the parties intend to grow the brand around the world.
Founded in Italy in 2006 by Domenico Alcide and Liliana Leali, Lefay is known for its immersive resorts in natural settings and its proprietary Lefay SPA Method, which blends scientific research with holistic wellness traditions. The brand’s philosophy centers on space, serenity, and sustainability and aims to redefine modern luxury through wellbeing and authenticity.
The Lefay portfolio features resorts in Lago di Garda and Dolomiti – both located in nature‑rich leisure destinations. Additionally, the brand’s pipeline includes properties under development in Tuscany, Southern Italy, and the Swiss Alps.
Each Lefay property is designed as an eco‑resort, emphasizing architectural harmony with the natural environment, expansive indoor‑outdoor spaces, sustainable materials, and wellness programs that integrate movement, nutrition, and preventative health. Guests may choose from à‑la‑carte treatments or structured multi‑day wellness programs, all rooted in Lefay’s holistic philosophy.
The relationship between Marriott and the Leali family reflects a shared vision to preserve Lefay’s distinct identity and Italian heritage while supporting its long‑term growth through carefully selected destinations that align with the brand’s values.
“Luxury is increasingly defined by wellbeing, purpose, and meaningful experiences. We are excited to introduce Lefay to our customers around the world and thoughtfully expand Marriott’s presence in the luxury wellness space,” said Marriott President and CEO Tony Capuano.
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