【TIMELINE】2023/10#2
◉Financing in the Metaverse sector
Beijing-based virtual technology company Global Mofi Metaverse has completed its IPO pricing at $5 per share on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “GMM”. The company was officially listed on NASDAQ on the 10th (US Eastern Time). It's known that Global Mofi is a tech enterprise providing customized services to the Metaverse industry, with a core focus on virtual digital assets.
Recently, Iambic Therapeutics, formerly known as Entos and based in San Diego, California, utilized its generative AI discovery platform to develop new therapies and completed a $100 million Series B financing. This round was co-led by Ascenta Capital and Abingworth, with NVIDIA as a new investor and Sequoia Capital among the existing investors participating.
On October 10th, Cleanlab, a startup founded by three PhDs from MIT, announced the completion of a $25 million Series A financing round, co-led by Menlo Ventures and TQ Ventures. The company aims to tackle the data challenges of AI models.
Shanmu (Shenzhen) Biotech Ltd., a micro domestic AI health management robot developer, recently announced a strategic financing round in the tens of millions, with Cloud Whale Intelligence as the investor. Shanmu, established in 2020, mainly develops micromedical robots based on self-developed digital microfluidic chipsets and AI algorithms.
Metaverse infrastructure developer Hadean has completed a new round of financing, with Yuga Labs investing an undisclosed amount. Hadean provides key technologies for Yuga's platform, optimizing for high-fidelity virtual experiences and bringing creators and players together on a large scale.
◉NFT-chain & "s"R
According to data from Bitcoin investment firm NYDIG, Bitcoin price saw a cumulative decline of 11.1% in Q3 this year, only performing better than long-term treasury bonds among major asset classes.
Resonite, a VR social platform, is now freely accessible on Steam. It supports PC and VR mode operations and allows players to interact in a virtual space.
Meta is reportedly planning the roadmap for the follow-up to Quest 3, with a particular concern about Apple and the Vision Pro product. They are striving to find a breakthrough without sacrificing screen resolution while making the product more affordable.
As of October 10th, the Meta Quest 3 headset and accessories have been made available for purchase in China through Amazon's overseas shopping platform. The headset comes in two versions, 128GB and 512GB, priced at CNY 3502.48 and CNY 4532.62 respectively.
Apple is expected to launch the Vision Pro spatial computing product in the US market early next year, offering a new 3D interactive experience for consumers.
Recently, a patent filed by Apple for a “controller device with detachable portions” was published, indicating a controller device that can be used with various networked devices including VR and AR devices.
Snap is closing down its AR enterprise services department ARES, leading to an estimated layoff of 170 people. ARES was established in February of this year to provide AR services to retail companies.
◉Top
The UK think tank Policy Exchange has recently released a comprehensive report on Web3, offering several suggestions to boost the UK's Web3 competitiveness. Amidst increasing regulatory uncertainty in the US, large companies like a16z, Coinbase, and Fidelity have set up operations in the UK. Revolut and Gamestop are closing their blockchain applications in the US to avoid potential regulatory dissatisfaction. The UK now has the opportunity to fully utilize the Web3 companies leaving the US. Furthermore, Policy Exchange estimates that with reasonable regulation, the UK can occupy about £29 billion in transaction volume, assuming that reasonable regulation will not stimulate further growth in the industry, although it could actually stimulate growth. This equals an additional £10.7 billion in assets and over 36,000 jobs. These are industries with huge potential, rapidly developing, bringing many innovative new companies, consumer goods, high-skilled job opportunities, and tax revenues to the UK. The report points out that the UK needs to reassess the KYC requirements of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for cryptocurrencies, and explore and develop "alternative and innovative technologies", including on-chain identity and blockchain analysis tools to achieve regulatory purposes. Another important suggestion is to clarify the limited legal liability of individuals in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO).
Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Xu Zhengyu, stated in a program interview that if NFTs have the nature of "collective investment" or "securities", they must obtain Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) permission to be publicly sold. If they exist only in digital form as collectibles, they are not regulated by the SFC. Additionally, Xu Zhengyu mentioned that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is preparing public consultation on stablecoin regulation.
According to The Information, Meta is paying celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, MrBeast, and Charli D'Amelio to use their likenesses to create virtual AI characters. Insiders revealed that for several top creators, the compensation over the years could reach millions of dollars. Currently, these characters mainly exist as text-based chatbots on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, though Mark Zuckerberg indicated that voice functionality will be launched early next year.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed concern about the US government's stance on cryptocurrency issues. He believes the US government is launching a "war" on cryptocurrency and wants to "control" Bitcoin. Altman is worried about the state's control of currency and opposes CBDCs. On Joe Rogan's podcast, he said, “I am disappointed with the recent actions of the US government, but I think in this war on cryptocurrency, we can't give up, we will control "Bitcoin and cryptocurrency", which makes me very sad about this country." Altman also expressed excitement about Bitcoin, thinking that having a global currency not controlled by any government is a very logical and important step in technological evolution.
According to a report by Quantum Bit on October 9, it's rumored that OpenAI is planning to establish the OpenAI Institute, expected to launch by the end of 2023. It could be a free online teaching system accessible to everyone, where teachers can interact with GPT-5 during the course, receiving feedback and guidance.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Oxford University have developed an AI tool called EVEscape that can predict how viruses evolve into new variants. The research results were published in the journal Nature on October 11, showing that EVEscape can accurately predict COVID-19 variations, identify signs before variation, and determine the effectiveness of antibody therapies after virus mutation. This tool also holds promise in successfully predicting the mutation trajectories of other viruses like HIV and influenza.
As reported by Sci-Tech Board Daily, citing The Guardian, Australia recently announced that from 2024, including ChatGPT, AI will be allowed in all Australian schools. Australia will release the "Australian Schools Generative AI Application Framework" to guide school staff, teachers, and students on the "safe and ethical" use of generative AI. This framework, revised by the country's AI working group and unanimously approved at its Thursday education ministers' meeting, will be released in the coming weeks. To keep up with technological updates, the Australian government has committed to reviewing the regulatory framework every 12 months.
◉Open
According to insider information, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed to employees this week that OpenAI's annual revenue has reached 1.3 billion USD. Altman's words imply that OpenAI's monthly income exceeds 100 million USD, up 30% since this summer when the annual income of this Microsoft-backed startup was 1 billion USD. Since the launch of the paid version of ChatGPT in February this year, this revenue speed has achieved significant growth, mainly from user subscriptions to its conversational chatbot. Last year, the company's revenue was only 28 million USD, which means if the revenue this year is 1.3 billion USD, it's a YoY growth of 4500%.