Apple launches Intelligence, Mistral raises $600 million, new AI-powered text-to-video creation

“Siri Gets an AI Brain Transplant,” writes Brian X. Chen of The New York Times. With the “Apple Intelligence” upgrade this fall, Siri will become better at understanding us and “learn” our preferences. It will also be able to “look” at the smartphone screen to understand what's going on. Apple added “Playground,” where users can generate images from text prompts and create animated “Genmoji.” For more complex requests, Siri will call ChatGPT. Other Gen-AI tools, such as Google Gemini, may be connected in the future as well. The AI ​​feature is only available on iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, and on iPads or Macs with M1 or later chips, and only when the language is set to English. The feature will roll out in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia this fall.

Vision Pro has received some much-needed updates and is now available worldwide. Among the new features is the ability to upgrade 2D photos to 3D photos. Guest mode also got some much-needed attention. There was also a nice upgrade for the Apple ecosystem. A new feature allows you to capture your smartphone screen on other devices.

Paris-based AI startup Mistral raises $600 million Founded last year by former Google Deepmind engineers, the company is working on developing foundational models that aim to rival the current best-performing models, such as OpenAI's GPT-4o, Anthropic's Claude 3, and Meta's Llama 3. The investor list includes a long list of companies, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, and Salesforce Ventures. The investment values ​​the new company at more than $100 billion. $6 billion.

Ethereum Game The Sandbox Valued at $1 Billion in New FundingPropelled by partnerships with over 400 celebrities and brands, including Snoop Dogg, Gucci, and Paris Hilton, The Sandbox is one of the most talked-about blockchain games. However, the price of an NFT land parcel has fallen from 3.9 ETH ($11,700) in 2022 to 0.08 ETH ($300) today. The funds will go towards improving creator tools, new social and gameplay features, and a mobile version due next year.

VR chat causes 30% of staff to be laid offThe metaverse giveth, the metaverse taketh. The popular social VR platform cited slowing growth, over-hiring during the pandemic, and a slower adoption of a “more traditional corporate structure” for the closure. Founded in 2014, VR Chat secured $80 million in Series D funding led by Anthos Capital, bringing its total outside investment to $95.2 million and valuing the company at more than $1 billion. The investment has yet to materialize on the company's plans to implement a Roblox-like virtual economy.

Spiideo raises $20 million to automate sports broadcasting. The Swedish startup claims to revolutionize sports broadcasting with its AI-driven camera system. The technology mimics professional camera operators and has been trained to fully automate broadcasts of 15 different sports. Spiideo says more than 6,000 venues and 4,000 teams (including major football clubs and NBA franchises) are already using the company's advanced video analytics and live game data products.

LumaLab Launch an amazing text-to-video AI that challenges Sora and everyone. And it's now publicly available for a free trial. “AI is very time-consuming, so by the time you get back from your coffee, Luma's Dream Machine has quickly transformed hours of work into a groundbreaking masterpiece,” said AI filmmaker and creator of Cinematic AI's Mermaid Toast course. “The speed and realism of Dream Machine is groundbreaking for quickly creating pitches. It's absolutely amazing!”

Kling, China's answer to OpenAI's Sora. In addition to Luma Labs, Kling, a Chinese competitor to Sora, has also released a text-to-video AI example that looks impressive. Registration is limited to Chinese email addresses. Earlier this year, Vidu AI made waves as China's first Sora, capable of creating 16-second videos in crisp 1080p resolution.

Body Of Mine, an award-winning VR experience about gender identity, launches on Quest Store during Pride Month. The winners of the 2023 SXSW Special Jury Awards have been announced.

This column was formerly called “This Week in XR” and is also available as a podcast. The show is hosted by author Charlie Fink, former studio executive and co-founder of Red Camera Ted Szylowitz, and Magic Leap founder Ronnie Abovitz. This week's guest is Jeri Ellsworth, founder and CEO of Tilt5. Listen on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.

What we're reading

Play MR Chess (upload)

Can Apple save the Vision Pro? (New York Times)