Major Movements in VR Entertainment and the AR Market

Quantious Team

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Quantious

4 min readJun 7, 2024

Emerging Tech Roundup — June 7

The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.

This week in tech: The Tribeca Festival will feature five short films made using OpenAI’s Sora, Google and Magic Leap have announced a strategic partnership to revolutionize augmented reality, AMD has unveiled its latest AI chips, Meta is rolling out updates for Quest headsets, Google shared its new startup program bringing AI to public infrastructure, eBay’s newest AI feature allows sellers to replace image backgrounds with AI-generated backdrops, and Google has expanded its NotebookLM AI-powered research tool.

Tribeca Festival to Debut Short Films Made Using OpenAI

(Hollywood Reporter, May 31)

The Tribeca Festival will feature five short films made using OpenAI’s Sora, a text-to-video model that generates video clips from textual descriptions. This marks the first time films using this technology will be showcased at the festival. Co-founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises, Jane Rosenthal, emphasized the festival’s belief in the power of storytelling to inspire change, highlighting the innovative inclusion of AI-generated short films.

Google and Magic Leap Team up To Revolutionize Augmented Reality

(Spice Works, June 3)

Google and Magic Leap have announced a strategic partnership to revolutionize augmented reality (AR) experiences by blending digital and physical worlds. This collaboration leverages Magic Leap’s optical expertise and Google’s technological prowess, signaling Google’s renewed interest in the AR market. The partnership positions Google to compete with AR/VR leaders Meta and Apple, potentially integrating innovative AI features.

AMD Unveils Latest AI Chips, Accelerated Chip Update Timeline

(Wall Street Journal, June 3)

AMD has unveiled its latest AI chips, resulting in a 4.25% increase in its stock price, and plans to release new products annually to challenge Nvidia’s dominance. The MI325X accelerator, available in the fourth quarter, aims to meet the growing computing demands of AI data centers. With Nvidia holding over 80% of the AI chip market, AMD is gaining traction amid a chip shortage — with plans to launch the MI350 series in 2025 and the MI400 series in 2026.

Meta Quest Software Update Adds a Better Way to Watch Netflix and a Travel Mode

(Engadget, June 4)

Meta is rolling out user enhancements for the Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets, including a new way to watch Netflix directly from the built-in browser in high resolution. This update improves upon the existing standalone app by offering a better viewing experience, with options for a flat 2D virtual screen or a simulated theater view. Additionally, Meta has introduced a dedicated travel mode for air travel, automatically connecting to in-flight Wi-Fi and adjusting for airplane jostling. It has also partnered with Lufthansa to offer Quest 3 headsets on select business class flights.

Google’s New Startup Program Focuses on Bringing AI to Public Infrastructure

(Tech Crunch, June 5)

Google shared its newest startup program, “Google for Startups AI Academy: American Infrastructure,” aiming to bring AI technology to the public sector. The twelve-week, equity-free program will provide participants with an AI curriculum developed by Google’s People + AI Research (PAIR) team, advanced sales workshops, industry connections, and access to Google’s AI tools. Graduates will join an alumni community of infrastructure-focused companies, contributing to fields like air pollution monitoring, commercial real estate decarbonization, and traffic fatality reduction.

eBay Debuts AI-Powered Background Tool to Enhance Product Images

(Tech Crunch, June 5)

eBay’s newest AI feature allows sellers to replace image backgrounds with AI-generated backdrops, now available for iOS users in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, with an Android rollout planned in the coming months. This tool — similar to those launched by Amazon and Google — enhances product imagery by automatically removing backgrounds and adding customizable backdrops, benefiting sellers who lack professional photography skills or equipment. Powered by the open-source model Stable Diffusion, this feature improves on eBay’s previous white background offering and follows last year’s introduction of an AI tool for generating product titles and descriptions.

Google’s NotebookLM Gets Gemini 1.5 and Extra Tools

(Engadget, June 6)

Google has expanded its AI-powered research tool, NotebookLM, by upgrading it to the Gemini 1.5 Pro model and extending access to over 200 countries and territories. This tool, which uniquely utilizes only user-provided resources, now supports uploads from Google Slides and web URLs — offering enhanced features like asking questions about images and providing inline citations that link directly to supporting passages. Additionally, the new Notebook Guide feature converts sources into clear formats such as FAQs and briefing documents.