Hello friends, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch's regular newsletter covering notable happenings in technology over the past few days.
On the agenda for this edition is Disney's innovative virtual reality treadmill, OpenAI fixing its “lazy” ai, and MIT's high-capacity, fast-charging organic battery technology. We also cover Apple's new stolen device protection feature, clever hardware from ai startup Rabbit, and app makers discussing releasing apps tailored for Apple's Vision Pro headphones.
There's a lot of news to summarize this week, so let's get to it. But first, a reminder to sign up here to receive WiR in your inbox every Saturday if you haven't already.
News
The Disney Virtual Reality Treadmill: Disney has developed a treadmill-like virtual reality system composed of hundreds of small, round “tiles” that appear to be about the size of a silver dollar, Brian writes. Each serves as a sort of mini omnidirectional treadmill.
OpenAI fixes GPT-4: OpenAI lowered prices on several ai models this week when it released a fix for its “lazy” GPT-4 models that were refusing to work and released new models for specific use cases.
Apple's new device protection: Romain writes about Apple's new Stolen Device Protection feature, which, when activated, requires Face ID or Touch ID biometric authentication for some actions, such as accessing stored passwords and credit cards.
Vision Pro applications can be: After Netflix said it would not release a dedicated app for the Apple Vision Pro, other app makers, including YouTube, are following suit. The trend does not necessarily bode well.
Analysis
Rabbit R1: ai startup Rabbit is developing what Darrell believes is a better vision of the future than the Apple Vision Pro. The r1 can supposedly do what a typical smartphone can do, but using generative artificial intelligence and natural language.
Podcasts
In Equitythe team talked about Plural VC announcing a new fund, Fantuan partnering with Chowbus, Vroom exiting the car sales business, and what's happening at Brex.
Meanwhile, Found featured Ben Goodwin, co-founder and CEO of Olipop, the gut-healthy soft drink brand that racked up $200 million in gross sales just five years after its launch.
AND Chain reaction had Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, in the pod. Solana aims to help grow the Solana layer 1 blockchain ecosystem.
TechnologyCrunch+
TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys, which you'll find out if you're already a subscriber. If not, consider registering. Here are some highlights from this week:
The rise of technological layoffs: Alex and Anna write about the increase in staff cuts at tech startups in recent weeks, flipping the script on expectations for this year.
The HPE deal for Juniper: Ron and Alex weigh in on HPE's decision to buy Juniper Networks a few weeks ago for $14 billion. The gist is that companies think the numbers look pretty good, and they actually match up well (as long as HPE doesn't get it wrong).
Fintech, down but not out: Fintech has been in the doldrums for a while, and with companies like Brex once again cutting staff as they try to control costs, you would be forgiven for assuming that the market for fintech products is struggling. But that's not necessarily the case, write Alex and Anna.
Bonus round
Lamborghini licenses battery technology from MIT: In an article for TechCrunch+, Tim reports that Lamborghini has licensed a new battery technology from MIT that could overcome the limitations of the lithium-ion batteries that are widely used today.