Funding Flow Evolution: Hedra, Cartwheel, Schemata Garner Capital as Google and Meta Display Investment Intentions
Dive into the latest tech news, and let's discuss what's been shaking up the AI/XR world! 🤖🌐
First off, Meta'sRay Ban smart glasses got a boost this week with the Llama app upgrade. In response, Apple is green with envy as it scrambles to catch up. The Metaverse is quite the battleground, with Meta pouring cash into Horizon Worlds, a preteen-dominated virtual world. Despite their efforts, they haven't quite managed to best Roblox or Fortnite yet. Could there be a game Meta can't conquer?
Now, let's delve into Google's industry-leading AI video generator, Veo. While we await updates from Google I/O next week, the current version, Veo 2, is impressing experts with its ability to generate astonishingly realistic 4K video clips from text prompts, with pinpoint control over cinematic elements like camera angles and lens types. It's not just text-to-video; it does image-to-video as well, and it's now accessible via Gemini Advanced and Google AI Studio. Rumors abound about a possible Veo 3 announcement, along with updates to Gemini – maybe even a Gemini Ultra!
Speaking of big bucks, check out Hedra AI, which just secured a generous $32 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz's infrastructure fund. This 2021 startup is revolutionizing digital avatars by blending text, images, and audio to produce lifelike digital characters, helping brands create animated mascots or virtual spokespersons. The funding round also saw participation from a16z speedrun, Abstract, and Index Ventures, valuing the company at a cool $200 million.
Now, how about some 3D AI animation? Startup Cartwheel has launched with a $10 million funding round, led by Craft Ventures. Their browser-based platform generates rigged character animations from text or video in mere minutes, supporting professional workflows with exports to Maya and Unreal, while remaining accessible to non-technical users. Experts predict a slew of early adopters from DreamWorks, Roblox, and Take-Two.
Meanwhile, Stanford-born AI startup Schemata has emerged from stealth, boasting a $5 million seed funding round. Their platform combines 3D reality capture, spatial AI, and contextual data to create personalized, photorealistic simulations – already a hit with the U.S. Department of Defense.
In other news, Meta has finally unveiled its long-awaited Builder Bot, a Horizon World Prompting Tool, to streamline the creation of immersive environments. Expect this AI miracle to set the tech industry abuzz!
Meta has also launched a chatbot competitor for iOS and Android, offering standard AI features, a "Discover" feed for interacting with content shared by friends, and an experimental "full-duplex" voice mode. The app has gone live in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, hopes to rival popular platforms, and even replaces the former View app forMeta's Ray-Ban smart glasses.
We've also got some exciting updates from Roblox, which now allows creators to sell physical products within their experiences, using Shopify integration – Fenty Beauty, for instance, is launching a unique lip gloss shade exclusively via their Roblox experience. VRChat, too, has finally introduced a creator economy, enabling users to sell avatars made by other users directly on the platform.
Lastly, Apple is gearing up to enter the AI smart glasses market in 2026 with a display-equipped model following soon after. Their goal? To outdo Meta's Ray Ban's with a top-notch custom chip handling multiple cameras for superior wearable AI capabilities.
Stay tuned to our AI/XR podcast – co-hosted by futurist and Red Camera co-founder, and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap, Mako Robotics, and Synthbee AI – for more updates on these exciting developments and more! 🚀🤖🌐
Investing in technology continues to be a lucrative venture, as evidenced by Hedra AI securing a $32 million Series A round for its digital avatar revolutionizing technology. Moreover, the real-estate in the virtual world, particularly in the Metaverse, is a hotbed for financial activity, with massive corporations pouring capital into platforms like Horizon Worlds and Roblox.
