Welcome back to review week! Check out Wix's latest acquisition, Meta's new smart glasses, and new Digg. Have a great weekend!
Smart Specs: Meta and Oakley have been working on a new pair of smart glasses that can record 3K videos, play music, handle calls and answer meta AI prompts. They start at $399 and double the battery life of Meta Ray-Ban. Starting July 11th, the limited edition Oakley Meta HSTN model for $499 will be available.
Unicorn Watch: WIX quickly gained traction as a no-code AI tool for building web apps, then bought six-month solo startup Base44 for $80 million. It has remained attractive thanks to the rapid rise of Base44, which was created by a single founder and already profitable.
Sand Sand: Finland has turned on the world's largest sand battery – yes, it's actual sand. It powers the heating system in the small town of Pornon and stores heat to reduce carbon emissions. The low-tech low-cost system is built from discarded fireplace soapstones and housed in a massive silo, allowing you to store heat for weeks and proves you don't need flashy lithium to combat climate change. You need a mountain of hot rocks.
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We're back, Baby: Van Morph is back from the brink with the S6, the first e-bike since bankruptcy. Bolstered by McLarenTech and the Beef Up Repair Network, the new vanmoof promises smoother vehicles, smarter features, and (hopefully) truncated cyclists.
Space Laser: Co-founded, most famous of Robinhood, Baiju Bhatt is currently building lasers in space. His new startup, AetherFlux, has raised $60 million to prove that beam solar from Orbit is not a fantasy.
Ah: One of SpaceX's Starship Rockets exploded during testing in Texas, possibly pushing back the next launch of the vehicle, which was provisionally set for June 29th. SpaceX says the blast caused by a compressed tank failure was not injured to anyone, but yet another set-off in the rocky year of the company's ambitious mega rocket program.
That feeling of losslessness: Spotify's long-awaited lossless audio layer hasn't been launched yet, but fresh tips buried in the latest app code suggest that it is under active development and is closer than ever. However, with years of delays and no official timeline, fans may want to ease the excitement until Spotify confirms the development.
I can make it a digg: restarting the digg entered the alpha test in a fresh iOS app intended to be an alternative to A-era reddit. The app offers a clean and simple design with curated communities, summary of AI-powered articles, and gaming features such as “GEMS” and the Daily LeaderBoard.
We want you: The US Navy is focusing on real victory like faster how it works with startups and saves time and better morale. Navy CTO Justin Fannelli says he is leading the game-changing technology with AI, GPS and system upgrades, hunting and leading the game-changing technology. And with Silicon Valley finally taking note, the Navy has become a go-to partner for innovators ready to shake things up.
Cash Ai n't King: Mark Zuckerberg is dumping up to $100 million in huge cash to seduce the talents of Openai and Deepmind's top AI. However, Openai's Sam Altman says none of his important people have been bitten and praises his team's mission for money. Meanwhile, Openai continues to drive new AI models, suggesting launching social apps with AI that surpass Meta's own unstable attempts.
Before you go
San Francisco's latest startup saga? YC's AI Startup School's afterparty exploded on Twitter, drawing 2,000 party crushers, but became “the most legendary party ever” after being shut down by police before a single drink spilled. Founder Roy Lee's viral marketing may have promised confusion, but the actual party is waiting. Maybe the weather warms up?