Pokémon Go developer Niantic is running into trouble as it builds “the real-world metaverse.” Like so many other tech companies facing turbulent economic times, the company decided to let go of 8% of its staff, affecting about 85 to 90 people. Just seven months ago, the company raised $…
Pitch Deck Teardown: WayRay’s $80M Series C deck
WayRay's deck consists of a whopping 75 slides — around 50 more than I would typically recommend — and it's clear that the founders took a different tack than what we're used to seeing these days.
Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Unity and others form Metaverse Standards Forum
As more tech companies develop virtual and augmented reality products, some oversight groups are trying to keep the industry on the same page. The newest of these is the Metaverse Standards Forum, which aims to drive open interoperability, which could make it easier for developers to build across p…
Meta is reportedly scaling back plans for its AR glasses, pivoting away from marketing Portal as a consumer device
Meta is scaling back its plans for its augmented reality (AR) glasses and is pivoting its Portal smart display device away from the consumer market, according to a new report from The Information. The report notes that the company had originally planned to launch the first version of its AR glasses…
Amazon gets into AR shopping with launch of ‘Virtual Try-On for Shoes’
Amazon is tapping into augmented reality in an attempt to appeal to sneakerheads shopping its site. The retailer this morning announced a new feature called Virtual Try-On for Shoes that will allow customers to visualize how a pair of new shoes will look on themselves from multiple angles using the…
In iOS 16, apps can trigger real-world actions hands-free
New functionality arriving in iOS 16 will enable apps to trigger real-world actions hands-free. That means users could do things like start playing music just by walking into a room or turning on an e-bike for a workout just by getting on it. Apple told developers today in a session hosted during t…
Game studio HiDef partners with Snap to develop a Bitmoji dance social mobile game
A game studio, HiDef, announced today that it is teaming up with camera company Snap Inc. to develop an off-platform Bitmoji-based dance and music social game. The game will leverage Snap’s augmented reality tech as well as Bitmoji, the personalized cartoon avatar maker. Bitmoji joined the Snap fam…
Foursquare founder banks funding for mystery 3D social network startup
The excitement around web3 and the metaverse have pulled plenty of entrepreneurs who defined the first generation of native mobile apps to begin questioning what’s next. Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley is on the co-founding team of a new startup called LivingCities, alongside Matt Miesnieks…
Niantic transcends Discord to build Campfire, an AR social app, and unveils Lightship VPS
Since the launch of Pokémon Go in 2016, players have been coordinating meet-ups in-game raids and battles on platforms like Reddit and Discord. This summer, parent company Niantic is unveiling Campfire, a social app designed to help mobile augmented reality (AR) gamers connect. Niantic’s game…
TikTok says ‘Project Texas’ will bolster security for U.S. users in wake of China data access concerns
Over the weekend, TikTok wrote to Republican Senators to assure them that it’s working on a program called “Project Texas” to bolster data security for U.S.-based users. This was in response to the Senators’ letter to the company dated June 27 that questioned its data access…