Meta's $58B gamble

A typical cloud weighs around 1 million tonnes. Those fluffy white clouds floating overhead pack the weight of about 200,000 elephants. So next time you look up, remember that’s a literal ton of water vapour chilling in the sky.

What’s in store:

• What does $58 billion gets you in the world of VR?

• Who is Red_panda? And how are they winning the AI art game?

• Around the web: Google Maps’ new features make city driving simpler.

• Clone yourself with Colossyan!

Read Time: 5 minutes

META

Meta’s billion-dollar gamble

Did you forget about the Metaverse? Despite a successful demo of its Orion AR glasses in September, Meta continues to invest billions in its VR metaverse goals.

Meta’s Reality Labs, the division focused on VR and AR, reported a $4.4 billion operating loss for Q3 2023.

This loss was slightly lower than the expected $4.68 billion.

Revenue for Reality Labs rose by 29% year-over-year to $270 million but fell short of the $310.4 million forecast.

Most of Reality Labs’ revenue comes from selling Quest VR headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Meta’s push into VR began in 2013 with its $2 billion purchase of Oculus.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes VR and AR could be central to the next generation of personal tech.

However, costs have been high — Reality Labs has posted over $58 billion in losses since 2020.

Here’s a look at the latest numbers and products:

• Reality Labs reported a $4.4 billion Q3 loss, slightly below expectations.

• Revenue rose 29% to $270 million, missing the $310.4 million forecast.

• Meta is focused on developing Orion AR glasses and affordable VR products like Quest 3S.

Reality’s price tag

At Meta’s September Connect event, Zuckerberg showcased the Orion glasses, sparking internal optimism about Meta’s future in AR.

The Ray-Ban Meta glasses, developed with EssilorLuxottica, have performed better than expected, and Meta now aims to attract developers to create apps for Orion.

In addition, Meta has introduced the Quest 3S, an affordable VR headset starting at $299, aiming to make VR more accessible.

Meta’s long-term goal is to drive wider use of VR and AR by making these technologies both affordable and practical.

Meta really said “spend billion first, worry later.” Same Zucks, same.

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On This Day

November 1st 1800 -John Adams became the first U.S. President to live in the Executive Mansion, later renamed the White House.

Riddle Me This

I have lakes with no water,

mountains with no stone,

and cities with no buildings.

What am I?

Nifty Numbers

The journey of car innovation began with Karl Benz’s first automobile in 1886, which opened new possibilities in personal and commercial transport. The Ford Model T in 1908 revolutionised car ownership with mass production. Today, innovations like GPS and autonomous driving are setting new standards for convenience and safety in the automotive industry.

AI IMAGE GENERATION

Who’s behind this mystery image generator?

Red_panda, a new AI image generator, recently climbed to the top of the leaderboard on Artificial Analysis, a site where users vote on which AI image fits a prompt better.

Currently, red_panda has a 72% win rate, meaning it wins most “battles” against other image generators.

Known for its seven-second image generation and high ELO (quality) rating, its price per image and other details remain unknown.

Some think red_panda might be a rebranded version of other tools, like Midjourney or Baidu’s AI, though its origin isn’t confirmed.

It stands out by handling text comfortably and avoiding the glossy look many AI images tend to have.

During testing, some technical issues arose, including repeated images, prompt mismatches and challenges with text handling, raising questions about the system’s accuracy and score reliability.

Here’s the key bits:

• Red_panda leads the leaderboard with a 72% win rate, fast generation time, and high ELO score.

• Its origins and pricing are unknown, prompting curiosity about its creators.

• Some users report issues such as duplicate images, prompt mismatches, and text errors.

Leaderboards don’t lie

Red_panda’s strong leaderboard position has made it noteworthy, though only time will tell if it can maintain its lead in the competitive AI image generation space.

So, we’ve got a new AI mystery on our hands.

Mindstream Picks

Space: CAS Space, a Chinese Academy of Sciences spinoff, seeks international expansion after four successful Kinetica-1 rocket launches.

Crypto: During Binance Blockchain Week Dubai 2024, Changpeng Zhao shared a cautiously optimistic view on crypto, stating he remains positive about its long-term future despite short-term uncertainties.

Games: NetherRealm Studios announced Ghostface from Scream as a guest fighter in Mortal Kombat 1, releasing on November 26, 2024.

Sports: Formula 1 heads to Sao Paulo with potential showers expected throughout the weekend’s Sprint event.

Don’t Miss: Google Maps is introducing better navigation features in November to make city driving easier, including lane guidance and visuals for crosswalks, signs and lame restrictions, available across 30 US cities on Android and iOS. Additional updates will show building entrances, parking, and adverse weather alerts, while AI aids discovery and improves recommendations.

AI Art

Our Image of the Day

Daily Image Prompt

Submit your artwork to Mindstream →

Yesterday’s Poll

“Can Google keep this streak up?”

Yes, competitors should be scared! - 53% ✅

No, they’re in for a fright - 47%

Your Views:

“Google has come back from behind, impressed and expect them to continue” - laurencet

“The efficiency gains will only go so far” - hot_planet

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