Louis Vuitton unveils digital trunk

Today we are covering…

👜 Iconic Louis Vuitton trunk goes phygital

💰 Binance lawsuit prompts $700M in withdrawals

🍸 1st of its kind AI beverage launches

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Iconic Louis Vuitton trunk goes phygital

Louis Vuitton has reinvented its iconic travel trunk, first sold to the world some 160 years ago, into the phygital Treasure Trunks collection - the first time that the French luxury house is selling NFTs and providing customers with an access pass to future products and experiences.

The luxe inside details:

• The VIA Treasure Trunk costs €39,000 ($41,755) apiece, with only several hundred pieces to be made available and the project comprising traceability and event-focused NFTs set to reward holders.

• “Via,” the Latin word for road, is a nod to LV’s objective of creating an elite path toward experiences that are otherwise inaccessible to many - a key trend in branded NFT collections today.

• Customers in the US, Canada, France, UK, Germany, Japan and Australia can buy one of the trunks by registering to a waiting list on a dedicated website on June 8th.

LV is no stranger to web3 innovation, previously taking part in the Aura blockchain project, using the tech for its LV Diamonds collection to promote better transparency and traceability. It also celebrated its founder Louis’s 200th anniversary via the video game Louis The Game, where players hunted 30 NFTs hidden within its metaverse.

Binance lawsuit prompts $700M in withdrawals

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, saw a large outflow of funds in the last 24 hours, with withdrawals surpassing $700M following the SEC's lawsuit against the company for misusing customer funds and operating an unauthorized exchange platform in the US.

The SEC complaint alleges several tokens, including Binance's BNB, Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Coti, Algorand, Filecoin, Cosmos, Sandbox, Axie Infinity, and Decentraland, to be securities. These tokens experienced significant declines during the Asia trading day, with SAND and MANA leading the losses:

• SAND dropped by 13% to $0.52, MANA decreased by 11.6% to $0.45

• BNB fell by 8% to $276.48

• CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) remained relatively unchanged, declining by 0.08%

Artifact armed with ‘Mark as Clickbait,’ other new features [Link]

Artifact, an AI-enabled news aggregator app created by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, with Robby Stein, has become widely popular since its launch 5 months ago.

Now it has received multiple significant updates:

• “Mark as Clickbait”: An AI tool to rewrite clickbait headlines based on the article's content, aiming to improve the accuracy and reliability of news stories on the platform.

• AI Integration: To transform the news and content experience through innovative product design.

• Collaboration with OpenAI: To enhance its offerings and provide an even more refined user experience.

Upon learning that most of the articles it shows don’t receive clickbait reports, Artifacts has sought to provide an AI-powered improvement on the experience.

1st of its kind AI beverage launches; robotics transform poultry processing

In the continuing saga of AI shaking things up across industries - including food and beverage - Swiss retailer Migros develops a beverage with the help of ChatGPT, generative AI programme Midjourney, and real-time 3D creation tool Unreal Engine.

Vivi Kola concocted the refreshing drink made from ingredients like water, lime juice, and haskap berry juice, with AI creating the recipe and Midjourney taking care of the look in collaboration with Unreal Engine.

Back in the US, 4 research institutions frontline the development of poultry industry AI and robotics for the processing sector, as backed by a 4-year $5 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The collaborative effort among University of Arkansas, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Fort State Valley University ensures the merging of AI, machine learning, and robotics in enhancing chicken meat processing operations and sanitation.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Twitch co-founder Justin Kan's Fractal creates code-free tools for game developers to build NFT games - will it pull web2 devs into the space? (Link)

• Gala Games launches the 2nd playtest of the interactive game Eternal Paradox. (Link)

• BinaryX prepares to launch what it touts the 1st ever VR game heavily featuring VR and artificial intelligence game content (AIGC). (Link)

• Here’s how AI is helping deaf gamers communicate. (Link)

• Super League Gaming works with the American Heart Association to introduce new Heart Hero characters into Roblox. (Link)

• Netflix announces 2 new games: the strategy battle game LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed and puzzle adventure game Paper Trail. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• House of Blueberry and Rebel Girls pay homage to women and girl gamers in Roblox. (Link)

• Fashion tech insider Jessica Couch’s app helps stylists monetize their influence. (Link)

• CULT&RAIN launches the digital experience CULTR PAD for its CULTR WORLD metaverse. (Link)

• Farfetch’s luxury accelerator Dream Assembly Base Camp moves beyond its core focus of visually appealing digital fashion startups like DressX. (Link)

• The WWD Tech Symposium mulls over the future of fashion. (Link)

• Forever 21 deploys a new customer data platform (CDP) to bring omnichannel shopper information into a single location. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Amid the French regulatory spotlight, web3 sports pioneer Sorare updates its operating model in France. (Link)

• Tech innovation is rapidly improving sports fans’ at-home viewing experience, but the venue experience is playing catch-up. (Link)

• Ex-football pro Garrick Jones plans a "community-owned" sports franchise bought through NFTs. The buy-in: anywhere from $100 to $50K. (Link)

• What’s in it for sports fans worldwide to access Chiliz blockchain for a web3 experience? (Link)

• This Hong Kong Jockey Club nonprofit boosts AI literacy to empower the local youth. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• The Tamagotchi Uni device showcases the “metaverse of the Tamagotchi World.” (Link)

• How is AI transforming music creation in web3? (Link)

• Web3 and tech communities react to the Apple Vision Pro. (Link)

• Instagram appears to be developing an AI chatbot with 30 personalities to choose from. (Link)

• Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker tests AI by having it generate a script for a show episode. (Link)

• VNCCII, a frontrunner for XR-centered music, explores the genesis of XR music and entertainment, and the great potential for artists. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Photographer Fidel Amos brings to light the overlooked world of homelessness in a solo web3 exhibition. (Link)

• Japan announces groundbreaking regulations on AI to protect artists. (Link)

• NFC Lisbon: 5 artists to watch at the NFT event. (Link)

• As a token of appreciation, French electronic and NFT artist Agoria gives his fans and collectors a shared stake in the royalties from his upcoming songs. (Link)

• Mark Cuban collaborates with Book.io to release an NFT e-book on Polygon. (Link)

🤖 AI

• In the ongoing fight against disinformation, Europe wants platforms to label AI-generated content. (Link)

• Australia opens public consultation on banning “high-risk” AI tools. (Link)

• Google and Priceline create a sophisticated AI chatbot for planning trips, suggesting hotels, and maneuvering travel marketing. (Link)

• The Netherlands argues for governments to regulate AI and for companies to be more transparent. (Link)

• How AI helps the average taxpayer. (Link)

• A peek into Intuit’s generative AI operating system with custom-trained financial LLMs. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Volcano Energy secures $1B for a revolutionary bitcoin mining project in El Salvador. (Link)

• GameStop announces strategic partnership with Illuvium and sets limited D1sks NFT sale. (Link)

• Haun Ventures leads $10M seed round for web3 gaming studio Argus. (Link)

• Onebeat secures $10M series B funding for AI-enabled supply chain solutions. (Link)

• Crypto gaming startup Argus Labs raises $10M in seed funding for Ethereum gaming networks. (Link)

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

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