Microsoft threatens Google, Hermès and NFT artist spar in US court and RealWear valued at $376 mil.
Microsoft threatens Google, Hermès and NFT artist spar in US court and RealWear valued at $376 mil.
This week...Google’s Head of VR to form an AI company, Google releases new Google Cloud tool: Immersive Stream for XR and XR makes mark in space travel.
Good morning Metaverse Business Brief readers. Let’s jump into the most relevant news from the immersive world in our weekly roundup.
Top Stories
Google’s Head of VR to form an AI company. Clay Bavor will be founding a new AI startup with Bret Taylor, a former Meta CTO and former co-CEO of Salesforce, they are aiming to apply AI to solve some of the most important problems in business says Bavor.
IIT Madras to develop XR astronaut training. In collaboration with ISRO the Indian Institute of Technology Madras plans to develop a training module for the Indian Spaceflight Programme using Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality.
Microsoft Bing will be powered by ChatGPT. Microsoft has announced that its search engine Bing, will incorporate OpenAI's ChatGPT technology, which has taken the world by storm since its launch last year. The move is by far the biggest threat that Google has seen in years.
Google releases Immersive Stream for XR. The tool lets you scan a QR code or click a link to access a mixed reality experience that is hosted rendered and streamed by Google Cloud GPUs. Google says it’s already using the technology for its new immersive view in Google Maps.
In Funding
RealWear valued at $376 million in SPAC deal. RealWear said that it plans to go public in a deal that values the business at $375.5 million. RealWear will go public by merging with a publicly traded investment fund known as a special purpose acquisition company, better known as a SPAC.
Ascent Ventures to Invest $250k in StellarX Pre-seed: A Revolutionary and User-friendly, Collaborative XR Platform and a content creation tool that helps businesses and individuals access the metaverse through AI.
Mawari Raises $6.5 Million. Mawari, the based cloud rendering startup has taken in a seed round of $6.5 M co-led by Blockchange Ventures and Decasonic. Mawari has an XR-delivery solution for low-latency real-time XR cloud streaming for delivery to 5G mobile devices.
Spatial Labs has raised $10 million in seed funding. Marina del Rey-based hardware and infrastructure company secured funding led by Blockchain Capital with participation from returning VC firm Marcy Venture Partners.
Keep an eye on
Accenture Invests in Looking Glass. Accenture has made a strategic investment in Looking Glass Factory, a leading hologram company. Technology like Looking Glass offers the opportunity to connect 3D digital experiences in the metaverse to the physical world.
Hermès and NFT artist spar in US court. Luxury retailer and creator of Birkin bag takes Mason Rothschild’s MetaBirkin project to court. The dispute will decide how digital artists can depict commercial activities in their art and could examine whether brands are protected in the metaverse.
Vogue X Snapchat heads to London Fashion Week. Vogue x Snapchat: Redefining the Body, an exhibition that explores the future of fashion and how it harnesses augmented reality and the online world, comes to London Fashion Week.
MIT engineers full-color microscopic LEDs for AR and VR devices. MIT has announced that their engineers have developed a new way to make sharper, defect-free displays, with the invention of vertical, full-color microscopic LEDs for AR and VR devices.
Events to be at
February 14 Online | Insights Live: Art and the Metaverse: From Creation to Market
March 14 Online | Insights Live: The Great Debate: Entertainment in the Metaverse – LBE vs Home Entertainment
April 11 Online | Insights Live: Growth of Web3 and Retail
March 10 Austin | SXSW Conference
March 16 Paris | Virtuality Web3 Summit
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments to team@aixr.org.
January 13 2023 Edition - Issue 6