Welcome again to Week in Evaluate! Tons in retailer for you immediately, together with Wix’s newest acquisition, Meta’s new good glasses, a take a look at the brand new Digg, and way more. Have an incredible weekend!
Good specs: Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a new pair of smart glasses that may document 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 shall be obtainable beginning July 11.
Unicorn watch: Wix bought 6-month-old solo startup Base44 for $80 million in money after it shortly gained traction as a no-code AI instrument for constructing net apps. Created by a single founder and already worthwhile, Base44’s fast 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 minimize its carbon emissions. The low-tech, low-cost system is constructed from discarded fire soapstone, is housed in a large silo, and may retailer warmth for weeks, proving you don’t want fancy lithium to battle local weather change. You simply want a pile of scorching rocks.
That is TechCrunch’s Week in Evaluate, the place we recap the week’s largest information. Need this delivered as a e-newsletter to your inbox each Saturday? Sign up here.
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We’re again, child: VanMoof is back 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 identified for co-founding Robinhood, is now building lasers in space. 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 yr and early backing from the Division of Protection.
Oh no: One in every of SpaceX’s Starship rockets exploded during a test in Texas, probably pushing again the car’s subsequent launch, which had been tentatively set for June 29. SpaceX says the blast, brought on by a pressurized tank failure, didn’t injure anybody, nevertheless it’s one more setback in a rocky yr for the corporate’s bold mega-rocket program.
That lossless feeling: Spotify’s long-awaited lossless audio tier nonetheless hasn’t launched, however fresh hints buried in the latest app code counsel that it’s beneath energetic improvement and may very well be nearer than ever. However with years of delays and no official timeline, followers would possibly wish to mood their pleasure till Spotify confirms the rollout.
I can Digg it: Digg’s reboot has entered alpha testing with a fresh iOS app aimed toward changing into an AI-era Reddit various. The app affords a clear, easy design with curated communities, AI-powered article summaries, and gamified options like “Gems” and day by day leaderboards.
We wish you: The U.S. Navy is speeding up how it works with startups, chopping crimson 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 changing into a go-to companion 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 top AI talent from OpenAI and DeepMind. However OpenAI’s Sam Altman says none of his key folks have bitten, praising his crew’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 get together crashers, nevertheless it grew to become the “most legendary party that never happened” after getting shut down by cops earlier than a single drink was spilled. Founder Roy Lee’s viral advertising could have promised chaos, however the actual get together’s ready. Perhaps as soon as the climate warms up?
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