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Meta Teases First AR Glasses Unveiling, Merging VR and AI Capabilities
+ 8 other breaking tech news stories to read.
Kristoffer Lindström
April 04, 2024
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TECH BRIEF
Meta's Reality Labs division, celebrating its 10th anniversary, has hinted at its next product launch: its first-ever AR glasses. The specs are expected to combine the best of Meta's AR and VR hardware and AI capabilities. According to Meta, the AR glasses would not replace its mixed-reality headsets, indicating a smartphone-like role for these new devices. Despite excitement amongst users, an official launch date has not been revealed, with speculations ranging from 2025 to 2027.
Spotify is set to raise subscription prices by $1 to $2 in key markets, including the UK, Australia, Pakistan, and later, the US, in a move towards long-term profitability. Additionally, it plans to introduce a new basic tier, audiobooks, for its current individual premium plan cost. Spotify is also considering a "premium" plan offering high-fidelity audio. These changes come amid efforts to diversify revenue sources in the wake of consistent annual losses since going public in 2018.
Google is considering introducing a paywall for certain AI-powered search functionalities, marking a major shift in its business model. This 'premium' offering would build on Google's already available Gemini AI assistant in Gmail and Docs. However, Google's traditional free search engine and advertisements will remain. This change comes as the company faces challenges in adapting to innovative AI tech without hurting its principal profit source - last year, the search and related ads generated $175bn, over half of Google's total revenue.
Stability AI's audio generation model, Stable Audio 2.0, now lets users upload their own audio samples and transform them into AI-generated songs. Unlike its predecessor, Stable Audio 2.0 allows for longer sound clips and the creation of full songs with intros, progressions, and outros. It's free and publicly available, differing from similar models, though not yet Grammy-ready. The company embarked on partnerships with AudioSparx and Audible Magic to avoid copyright issues.
Facebook unveils a fresh update to its mobile video player, switching to the TikTok-inspired vertical format for all content. The redesign, effective on Reels, Facebook Live and longer videos, will be introduced on iOS and Android platforms in the US and Canada shortly, with a worldwide release scheduled in the following months. An in-built feature allows automatic orientation to vertical videos, even offering a full-screen option for most horizontal videos.
EQT Private Equity has agreed to acquire Avetta, the world's largest supply chain risk management network, from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. Avetta's cloud-based platform is well-positioned to manage complexities of global supply chains. With EQT's support, Avetta plans to develop new products, adopt AI/automation, and expand globally to enhance its value proposition. The transaction is pending customary approvals and conditions.
US venture capital investments fell to $36.6B in Q1 2024, lowest since 2017, with a total of 2,882 deals, down from 2023's $51.6B across 4,026 deals. The slower market was due to limited outsized deals and low capital availability, though valuations saw a slight increase at the median across several stages. Despite this, investors remain cautious and recession remains possible. The quarter saw notable IPOs from Reddit and Astera Labs, accounting for 73.4% of the total exit value.
A substantial earthquake hit Taiwan, temporarily halting production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), a key supplier of processors for Apple's product lineup. Though no damages to TSMC facilities are reported, the company evacuated some plants as a safety measure. There's growing interest in TSMC's plans for chip fabrication plants outside Taiwan, including in the US and Germany.
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