Meta's Vision of the AI Future

TECH IN THE NEWS

UAE AI Talks - Biden to host the UAE president to discuss AI plans and access to US tech to build its industry. TSMC, Samsung are also discussing UAE megafactories.

OpenAI Device - Ex Apple designer Jony Ive confirms he is working with Sam Altman on an AI hardware project funded by Ive and the Emerson Collective. The venture reportedly aims to raise $1b by year-end.

Rival Bids - Struggling chipmaker Intel now has a $5b turnaround offer from asset management firm Apollo to rival the recent Qualcomm takeover bid.

Telegram Submits - Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said the company will now share user info with legal authorities in response to “valid legal requests.”

COMPANIES TO WATCH

MemGPT Maker - Letta, a much-anticipated AI startup from UC Berkeley’s Labs startup factory emerged from stealth with a $10M seed at $70M post-money led by Felicis’ Astasia Myers with angels like Google’s Jeff Dean.

Anthropic - The Amazon-backed foundational model maker is reportedly in talks to raise funds at a valuation of up to $40b, ~double its most recent valuation.

Polymarket - The popular blockchain-based prediction market covering elections and the Super Bowl, is in discussions to raise $50M+ and may launch a native token.

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THE HOTTEST THING IN TECH
Meta's Glimpse of the Future of AI and Smart Glasses

Meta’s annual Connect conference on Sept 25-26 is expected to unveil a suite of new hardware and software, with a particular emphasis on AI and smart glasses. The event will likely offer a glimpse into Meta's vision for a future where AI is seamlessly integrated into everyday life. However, Meta is in a race to achieve the first “killer app” with the best in the game. Former Apple designer Jony Ive confirmed he’s been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on an AI hardware device project with a team of former Apple designers at his firm, LoveFrom. The project is funded by Ive and Emerson Collective and reportedly aims to raise $1b by year-end.

Next-Gen Meta Smart Glasses

Central to Meta's AI strategy are its smart glasses that seek to balance style and cutting-edge tech. To this end it recently extended its partnership with eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica "into the next decade," with the goal of making smart glasses "the next major technology platform." CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes there's a significant opportunity to transform these glasses into fashionable tech essentials.

At Connect we can anticipate updates on the existing Ray-Ban smart glasses, potentially including expanded AI features and a broader international rollout. We might also get a reveal of details on the next generation model, rumored to feature a small built-in screen alongside the existing camera, speaker, and microphone.

AR/VR Headsets Still a Thing

Also on the agenda are VR/XR headsets. Rumors are Meta won’t announce a new expensive VR headset, but has been teasing a cheaper headset, the Meta Quest 3S. It will be at least as powerful as the Quest 3, but heavier, and with lower resolution and two sets of three cameras. It should run the platform’s upcoming Batman game.

Meta will even potentially tease a concept device for Orion, advanced AR glasses platform. This standalone device aims to deliver immersive augmented reality experiences with digital overlays seamlessly integrated into the real world with holographic displays, microphones, cameras and AI integration.

AI Connect-ing It All Together

Meta's AI ambitions appear to be to create an AI-enabled social and entertainment ecosystem. Connect should reveal its AI and chatbot integrations across various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Quest. Improvements to Llama 3.1 might also be showcased. This could potentially involve advancements in translation, math, and general knowledge since it is now powered by a massive AI datacenter only eclipsed by xAI’s “Colossus”. Meta is also expected to announce new AI features allowing users to generate personal AI avatars and custom chatbots.

Other competition could come from Snap, which revealed the fifth generation of its (pretty ugly looking) Spectacles last week. But more concerning for Meta, is recent news that Apple is also considering a foray into the Smart Glasses sector. All this activity means that Zuck’s bet on the vertical is looking more, well…visionary. The question is whether Meta can build a solid hardware distribution system and really get the mass adoption Zuck anticipates on its ecosystem before the other big players arrive. One other factor in its favor is the fact that Llama is an open source platform, which will make it more attractive to third party AI and XR developers.

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Open Deals

Request an intro to founders - invest@thetech.buzz

1. 🔥⏱️ Robotics for Agricultural Efficiency - Pittsburgh - Built & deployed robotic hardware for the largest U.S. tree nurseries, reducing costs and increasing efficiency by 50x. Hardware and AI data layer. Beginning to scale globally. Post-revenue, at capacity. (Seed+)
   

2. 🔥⏱️ Quant Trading Software Company - New Jersey - Large-scale automated day-trading algorithm designed for volatile U.S. equity markets. Profitable through extensive backtesting and live simulation. Seeking equity investment for software company.

3. Cricket for the Modern World - India - Physical and virtual ecosystem fostering cricket experiences for enthusiasts and upcoming pros. Data-driven, locally proven, globally scaling. (Seed)

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1. Struck Capital Venture Associate, ex-West2East (Russell Wilson) Director of Special Projects, ex-Phoenix Holdings Investment Associate. Harvard BA. Vietnamese pro basketball player.

2. Lockheed Martin Software Engineer, ex-Rutgers Junior Full Stack Developer. Secret clearance. Expertise in C++, PHP, SQL. Rutgers BA in Computer Science.

TRENDING TOOLS AND BUZZY TECH
Tools

Plaud.AI Pin - $169 AI “AI Agent” device extracts info by recording meetings etc.

Cloudflare - To launch marketplace for AI scraping of websites for training data.

MemGPT - Build, deploy LLM agents with long term memory/state management.

NotebookLM - Audio Overviews generates audio podcasts from your writing.

Tech

Nuclear Energy - 1. U. Nevada - Heat change of plasma tracked at 200k°F in a first. | 2. Price of Enriched uranium has tripled since 2022.

MIT - 3D printable glass bricks that take same pressures as concrete blocks.

Asteroid Prevention - Scientists successfully ‘nuke asteroid’ in a lab mock-up.

Ideas Generator - AI generates more original research ideas than 50 scientists.

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