You are correct that as a non-employee, who knows, in theory, maybe there is all sorts of secret stuff going on that I can't be told. From what I know of what the company is (publicly) doing with barcodes, and what I know from private NDA-ed conversation, I have no reason to believe there is a shift in thinking.
The indirect model was dismissed early on as an obsolete approach to tackle technical limitations in the past. The direct commercial strategy only ever related to print ads, and they're no longer in that business, so I see no catalyst for any change in that position.
I do not own NEOM or GOOG stock. I am not going to make an investment recommendation. I am providing information which can inform your assessment of the prospects for monetizing this technology, and analysis of the company's equity vs debt position. You make the call.
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