Welcome again to Week in Evaluation! Tons in retailer for you at the moment, together with Wix’s newest acquisition, Meta’s new sensible glasses, a have a look at the brand new Digg, and rather more. Have an incredible weekend!
Good specs: Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a brand new pair of sensible glasses that may report 3K video, play music, deal with calls, and reply to Meta AI prompts. They begin at $399 and have double the battery lifetime of Meta’s Ray-Bans. A $499 limited-edition Oakley Meta HSTN mannequin will probably be accessible beginning July 11.
Unicorn watch: Wix purchased 6-month-old solo startup Base44 for $80 million in money after it shortly gained traction as a no-code AI software for constructing net apps. Created by a single founder and already worthwhile, Base44’s speedy rise made scooping it up irresistible.
Sand to the rescue: Finland simply turned on the world’s largest sand battery — sure, precise sand — which shops warmth to assist energy the small city of Pornainen’s heating system and lower its carbon emissions. The low-tech, low-cost system is constructed from discarded hearth soapstone, is housed in an enormous silo, and may retailer warmth for weeks, proving you don’t want fancy lithium to combat local weather change. You simply want a pile of scorching rocks.
That is TechCrunch’s Week in Evaluation, the place we recap the week’s largest information. Need this delivered as a publication to your inbox each Saturday? Enroll right here.
Information
We’re again, child: VanMoof is again from the brink with the S6, its first e-bike since chapter — and it’s sticking to its signature customized design, regardless of that being what practically killed the corporate. Backed by McLaren tech and a beefed-up restore community, the brand new VanMoof guarantees smoother rides, smarter options, and (hopefully) fewer stranded cyclists.
House lasers: Baiju Bhatt, greatest recognized for co-founding Robinhood, is now constructing lasers in area. His new startup, Aetherflux, has raised $60 million to show that beaming solar energy from orbit isn’t a fantasy, with a demo satellite tv for pc set to launch subsequent 12 months and early backing from the Division of Protection.
Oh no: One in every of SpaceX’s Starship rockets exploded throughout a take a look at in Texas, seemingly pushing again the automobile’s subsequent launch, which had been tentatively set for June 29. SpaceX says the blast, attributable to a pressurized tank failure, didn’t injure anybody, nevertheless it’s yet one more setback in a rocky 12 months for the corporate’s bold mega-rocket program.
That lossless feeling: Spotify’s long-awaited lossless audio tier nonetheless hasn’t launched, however contemporary hints buried within the newest app code recommend that it’s below energetic improvement and might be nearer than ever. However with years of delays and no official timeline, followers may need to mood their pleasure till Spotify confirms the rollout.
I can Digg it: Digg’s reboot has entered alpha testing with a contemporary iOS app geared toward turning into an AI-era Reddit various. The app gives a clear, easy design with curated communities, AI-powered article summaries, and gamified options like “Gems” and day by day leaderboards.
We would like you: The U.S. Navy is rushing up the way it works with startups, slicing pink tape and zeroing in on actual wins like saved time and higher morale. Division of the Navy CTO Justin Fanelli says it’s main with issues, trying to find game-changing tech in AI, GPS, and system upgrades. And with Silicon Valley lastly paying consideration, the Navy’s turning into a go-to associate for innovators able to shake issues up.
Money ain’t king: Mark Zuckerberg is throwing out huge money — as much as $100 million — to lure prime AI expertise from OpenAI and DeepMind. However OpenAI’s Sam Altman says none of his key folks have bitten, praising his staff’s mission over cash. In the meantime, OpenAI retains pushing forward with new AI fashions and even hints at launching an AI-powered social app that might outpace Meta’s personal shaky makes an attempt.
Earlier than you go
San Francisco’s newest startup saga? Cluely’s after-party for YC’s AI Startup College blew up on Twitter, drawing 2,000 occasion crashers, nevertheless it turned the “most legendary occasion that by no means occurred” after getting shut down by cops earlier than a single drink was spilled. Founder Roy Lee’s viral advertising might have promised chaos, however the actual occasion’s ready. Possibly as soon as the climate warms up?
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