Web3 VC funding drops

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📉 Web3 VC funding drops anew

👜 LV’s iconic Speedy 40 now an NFT

🥽 VR headset marks Lenovo’s bid for enterprise metaverse

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Web3 VC funding drops anew [Link]

Web3 funding from venture capital funds plummets 76% in Q2 of 2023 compared to the same period in the past year, according to a new Crunchbase report.

Some of the sobering findings:

• In 2022, web3 startups raised nearly $1B in the 1st half, while this year’s totaled just $3.6B, translating to a 78% decrease.

• AI startups are the apple of the eye of investors, seeing $25B in funding in the 1st half of the year.

• Significant funding rounds in the 1st half include $115M in a Series C round for Sam Altman’s crypto project Worldcoin, along with $120M for crypto protocol LayerZero as backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Christie’s.

Amid lower funding levels, many prominent players remain optimistic on web3’s future, with a16z’s 2nd annual State of Crypto report highlighting web3 gaming as a bright spot for the industry.

In related news, CoinFund doubles down on its web3 investment with a new $158M fund, which initially targeted a $125M fundraising goal. The fund will support pre-seed and seed-stage web3 investments, which still manage to pop up and raise capital in the crypto ecosystem amid a bear market.

LV’s iconic Speedy 40 now an NFT [Link]

Louis Vuitton brings its iconic Speedy bag to the NFT world through the VIA Treasure Trunk, an NFT collection offering exclusive access to the luxury fashion house’s web3 community and its exclusive product releases, events, and launches.

The brand collaborates with its creative director Pharrell to create the Speedy’s NFT version, available exclusively to Treasure Trunk NFT holders but with a physical counterpart to be released in January 2024.

Pharrell was the first to show off the bag’s physical version during the LV runway show at the 2024 Paris Fashion Week.

VIA Treasure Trunk is the gateway to web3-savvy LV’s efforts in the space, with the digital assets launched on June 8th for a staggering $42K per piece.

VR headset marks Lenovo’s bid for enterprise metaverse [Link]

In helping users reimagine the workplace and creating an immersive 3D work environment, Lenovo is nurturing its ThinkReality VRX as part of its ThinkPad ecosystem and vision for a practical, useful metaverse.

Packed with a serious personality, the ThinkReality VRX has the following features and enticements as Lenovo’s answer to enterprise VR needs:

• It’s a headset built specifically for work, productivity, meetings, and training.

• Starting at $1299, it works as a standalone device as well as plugged into one’s laptop or desktop for wired use.

• Per Yanko Design, it’s the productivity-focused version of Meta’s Quest Pro headset, sans the “dark design pattern and data-grabbing tendencies.”

Lenovo’s metaverse ambitions also comprise hardware like the Glasses T1, consumer-grade AR glasses creating a massive virtual monitor for work.

Infosys inks $2B AI deal [Link]

Infosys, India's second-largest software services exporter, announces a major contract to supply AI and automation and maintenance services for the next 5 years.

The company estimates the client's spending to reach $2B during the duration of the contract. The client's identity was not revealed, but the deal is reflective of the increasing investment in AI tech following OpenAI's ChatGPT success in late 2022.

In line with its commitment to AI, Infosys introduced Infosys Topaz, a platform dedicated to generative AI, in late May. It is set to report its 1st-quarter results on July 20, with strategic investments in AI likely to play a crucial role in future growth.

Wix’s AI site generator helps small biz build websites

Wix introduces AI Site Generator, a tool enabling users to create websites by describing their intent. Utilizing generative AI models and algorithms, users can generate websites with custom designs, content, e-commerce, scheduling, homepages, inner pages, and business-specific sections.

Small businesses often find it difficult to build websites from the ground up due to lack of technical knowledge and web dev expertise, which can take away focus from other vital business activities.

Wix's CEO Avishai Abrahami believes the tool will provide customers with real value and streamline the process of building their sites and growing their businesses.

A video shows that the process is fast and the resulting website impressive. Wix users will have control to customize the site, while Wix will be responsible for any copyright infringements.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Roblox is going to let developers offer subscriptions in their experiences as a new revenue stream. (Link)

• Halo co-creator Alex Seropian launches new game studio Look North World, which has then rolled out its 1st game, Outlaw Corral, on Unreal Engine. (Link)

• Solana Labs announces software tool GameShift, letting game devs use a host of 3rd-party crypto apps to build their games on the Solana network. (Link)

• Blockchain mavens on how Ubisoft’s 1st web3 title Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles helps shape the future adoption of blockchain in gaming. (Link)

• Blockchain gaming shines in Q2, with 36% industry engagement and active wallet increases for Klaytn and Oasys. (Link)

• With the recent sale of the Golden Mint Pass for $130K, here’s how Cross the Ages is doing in web3 gaming and NFTs. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Orgasm NFTs? NARS teams up with SuperRare and digital artists to drop NFTs for National Orgasm Day. (Link)

• Evolution and revolution: When games and fashion converge. (Link)

• Microsoft Teams is adding Maybelline’s AI-powered “makeup” filters for your work meetings. (Link)

• In line with trends of brands tapping into Roblox and other virtual experiences, backpack brand JanSport gets a headstart in back-to-school shopping with GenZ targeting via TikTok influencers. (Link)

• Kabuki and other traditional Japanese performing arts garb turn into digital collectibles. (Link)

• John Lewis’s new service allows customers to virtually try on their potential rental purchases. (Link)

• Now that speculative NFT buyers have left the chat, Draup and Rstlss are finetuning their collections, and storytelling. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• SimWin Sports forges a new alliance with Immutable for strategic advisory, community building and virtual asset drops. (Link)

• Amid the ongoing crypto winter, Italian soccer club AC Milan extends BitMEX’s crypto sponsorship. (Link)

• Rich AI tech + receptive athletics industry = dramatic changes in the way we train for, play, and watch sports. (Link)

• The Professional Fighters League taps GameOn for digital collectibles in its next-gen fantasy competition. (Link)

• Pickleball gets its 1st mobile game - with a little help from AI. (Link)

• Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, travels to Japan to team up with AI basketball shooter Cue6 in this Red Bull project. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• K-pop's biggest music label HYBE looks to lift the language barrier with AI. (Link)

• WhatsApp launches a standalone smartwatch app for Wear OS. (Link)

• Look back: The metaverse ushers in new problems, opportunities for music licensing. (Link)

• Hello Kitty and Metagaia launch radically new metaverse experiences. (Link)

• Doodles launches real-world play experience in Chicago with camp. (Link)

• IMVU and Freak City collaborate for a metaverse after-party. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Museums and galleries are embracing digital art and exploring AI. (Link)

• UnityMeta Token will launch the limited-ed NFT collection Kangaroo Kingdom on OpenSea. (Link)

• Why Jackson Pollock’s historic paint-splattered floor is being immortalized as NFTs. (Link)

• GXRLS Revolution: Pioneering gender equality in the digital art scene. (Link)

• AI opens doors for NFT artist Ellie Pritts at Bitforms gallery in NYC. (Link)

• Axie Infinity transforms cute monsters into lifelong allies with dynamic NFTs. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Apple is testing a ChatGPT-like AI chatbot anew. (Link)

• The A-Z of AI: A quick list of 30 terms to understand artificial intelligence. (Link)

• AI runs risk of normalizing child sexual abuse as graphic images erupt online. (Link)

• Using AI, scientists are unlocking what’s possible for anti-aging medicine and longevity. (Link)

• Google Meet is testing AI-generated backgrounds for video calls. (Link)

• Japan needs a computing power surge to stay in the AI race. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Cosmic Wire raises $30M in a seed round to ramp up its web3 and blockchain offerings. (Link)

• ZK virtual machine developer RISC Zero lands $40M in Series A funding. (Link)

• GGWP raises $10M for an AI-based platform to moderate multiplayer games. (Link)

• Unstructured, which offers tools to prep enterprise data for LLMs, secures $25M in new funding. (Link)

• FedML raises $11.5M to combine MLOps tools with a decentralized AI compute network. (Link)

• Alchemy Pay partners with Neo to accelerate innovation at Neo APAC Hackathon. (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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