Welcome back to Spatial Beats, where we round up all the top news and happenings from around the spatial computing spectrum, including its escalating infusions with AI and other emerging tech. Let’s dive in…
The Lede
Meta stock soars after second-quarter earnings exceed expectations. Revenue soared 22% to $39.07 billion, driven by growth in advertising and engagement. Earnings per share jumped 73% year-over-year to $4.75, fueled by cost-cutting measures and increased monetization efforts. Investors are bullish on Meta’s leadership in AI, despite widely reported fears about the escalating cost of the AI effort, and the escalating losses at Reality Labs, $4.48B this quarter alone. Meta’s founder and CEO is not backing away from his Metaverse ambitions. With results like this, he doesn’t have to.
Former Reality Labs employees express skepticism about the division’s future, citing a lack of clear vision, frequent restructuring, and leadership lacking AR and VR expertise. Yikes. They also question the viability of Meta’s augmented reality glasses project, “Orion,” due to potentially high costs and uncertain features.
Mind-blowing AI Demos from Meta. This is why the stock went up. At Meta.ai Studio you can now try its segmentation (already in Messenger and Instagram), translation, and drawing to animation AI tools, as well as Audioboc, which enables you to create an audio story with AI voices and sounds, for free!
Feeling Spatial
Bandai Namco and Supersocial launched “PAC-MAN Simulator” on Roblox. On Tuesday, the iconic arcade game is designed to appeal to both nostalgic fans and new players. In PAC-MAN Simulator, users navigate a dynamic world, build teams, consume dots for power, collect various PAC-MAN skins, and challenge GHOSTS to unlock new areas and rewards. Supersocial, which builds virtual worlds on Roblox and Fortnite, plans to expand PAC-MAN Simulator with new content and features to transform the iconic brand into a relevant place in the metaverse.
Tripp Launches Kokua XR, an AI-powered meditation guide. Kokua XR provides personalized, guided meditations tailored to each unique user. By leveraging AI, Kokua XR adapts to users’ emotional states and provides real-time feedback, enhancing the meditation experience. Tripp aims to make meditation more accessible and engaging through this innovative approach, combining technology with ancient practices for improved well-being.
Fly Brings Google Earth To Quest and Vision Pro. Earlier this week, Fly, an XR app that uses Google Earth, announced compatibility with Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets. This integration allows users to explore Google Earth in stunning VR, providing an unparalleled level of immersion and detail. The app offers a unique way to travel the world from the comfort of your own home, with realistic visuals and smooth navigation. Fly’s availability on both Vision Pro and Quest platforms expands its reach to a wider audience, potentially revolutionizing how people experience virtual travel and exploration.
Virtuix announces 15 more games for its home VR System. The developer of the “Omni One” full-body VR gaming system, has announced 15 new titles for its platform, bringing the total to over 50 games. The system, launching in September, is built around a 360-degree treadmill allowing players to physically move within VR games. The latest additions include popular titles like Sniper Elite VR, Amid Evil, and Survival Nation.
Google brings Gemini-powered search history and Lens to Chrome desktop
Trivver and Niantic 8th Wall Partner to Enhance AR Ad Measurement
iPad Pro’s Tandem OLED Display Tech Could Extend to Future Vision Pro
Auki Labs launches app to decorate spaces with NFTs in share AR
Amalgamated Vision Secures Back-to-Back Phase II SBIR Awards
PlayStation VR2 Reportedly Sold More In One Day At $350 Than All Year At $550
Is this a First Look at Microsoft Co-pilot AR Smart Glasses?
I watched the 2024 Olympics in VR on Peacock, here’s what it was like
The AI Desk
OpenAI has introduced SearchGPT. The AI-powered search engine challenges Google and Perplexity. The prototype organizes search results, providing summaries and direct links to sources, along with a “visual answers” feature. Initially accessible to a limited number of users, OpenAI plans to integrate it into ChatGPT. The prototype release allows OpenAI to refine SearchGPT before wider availability, tackling potential issues like inaccuracies. This move signifies OpenAI’s significant step into the competitive search market, expanding ChatGPT’s capabilities.
Canva Acquires Leonardo AI for an undisclosed sum. Regulators shot down Adobe’s acquisition of Canva last year, restoring the rivalry between the former sweethearts. Canva is a giant web-based graphic design SAAS platform, with nearly 15M paying subscribers. But it is not nearly as giant as publicly-traded Adobe (ADBE: NASDAQ), which is valued at $320B. The acquisition of the Austrailian gen-AI startup will help Canva compete with Adobe’s Firefly AI image generation tools, which are integrated into Adobe’s Creative Suite.
Is AI a Writer’s Best Friend, or Worse Enemy? Generative AI isn’t going to write a good novel, but it’s going to eliminate many non-fiction writing jobs like mine. By writing this, am I training my replacement?
Javi Lopez, founder of upscaling tool Magnific, shared the AI tools he used for this video.
⚡ The kind of museum I would like to visit.
Made with AI in 60 minutes using these tools:
🎬 Runway
🎬 Kling
🪄 Magnific
✂️ CapCut
🎵 Udio (song & lyrics)
👹 Dancing monsters pic.twitter.com/WrCvIMVbqr— Javi Lopez ⛩️ (@javilopen) July 25, 2024
“Embrace Yourself” is a meme created using Kling.ai that has been making its way around the world of social media. Kling AI is a text-to-video gen AI model developed by the Chinese tech giant Kuaishou Technology.
Follow the Money
Hedra Gen-AI Video Launches With $10 Million In Seed Funding. The new generative AI video creation tool has officially launched, backed by a $10M seed funding round led by Index Ventures, Abstract, and A16Z Speedrun. This is a relatively small investment for a company in the emerging video generation field, which is crowded with well-funded competitors but Hedra has a unique, consolidated generative AI video tool that makes characters talk, which potentially puts Hedra in a class of its own.
Listen In
For more spatial commentary & insights, check out This Week in XR, hosted by author Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, former studio executive and co-founder of Red Camera, and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap. This week our guest is Kerestell Smith, creator of the hit VR gaming experience, Gorilla Tag.You can find it on podcasting platforms Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.
Charlie Fink is an author and futurist focused on spatial computing. See his books here. Spatial Beats contains insights and inputs from Fink’s collaborators including Paramount Pictures futurist Ted Shilowitz.
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