POLICY

Not the Facebook Probe You Were Thinking Of

Let’s get the big stuff out of the way: Competition enforcers have brought a historic lawsuit against Facebook. The Federal Trade Commission and 48 state attorneys general allege it built a “personal social networking monopoly through...anticompetitive conduct.” The lawsuit calls for the spinoff of WhatsApp and Instagram. 

FB will dispute how authorities define the relevant market. It will point to competitors like TikTok. The government has a steep legal battle ahead—and it could take years to litigate. 

In the interim, let’s go back to our wheelhouse...

...where the tentacles of officialdom have reached the metaverse. At least two competition authorities have their ocular gaze trained on Facebook Reality Labs, FB’s newly rechristened mixed reality org. 

• Yesterday, the Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s Federal Cartel Office) opened a new investigation into FB’s VR practices. Bloomberg recently got wind of a similar probe from the U.S. Justice Department. 

Under investigation? Activity in broad daylight. This summer, FB controversially began phasing out Oculus log-ins for its eponymous VR headsets. A Facebook account is required to use the new Quest 2 released in October; Support for current Oculus accounts ends on Jan. 1, 2023. 

Big Blue

Why did FB precondition access to its (great + growing) VR kingdom on an identity layer in Big Blue, the core app? Why did it merge the technical back-end of its messaging services or append “from Facebook” to the branding of Instagram and WhatsApp? 

Integrating certain functions makes some technical and content moderation challenges easier. But a popular theory for the above is that it cuts regulators off at the pass by making FB more difficult to break up. Ironically, that theory can only be substantiated by regulators, who could pry necessary info from FB and publicly disseminate it. 

Bottom line: FB may triumph in court, and other probes may not materially impact the company. But tightening scrutiny could preclude further integrations and M&A activity—Kustomer deal notwithstanding. 

3D PRINTING

The Public Debut You’ll Only See Here

Yesterday, Desktop Metal officially went public in a deal that valued the 3D printer maker at $2.5 billion. The vehicle? You guessed it: a SPAC. 

The company’s M.O.: Build and sell 3D printers, especially to big manufacturers in the auto industry. VIP customers reportedly include Volkswagen, Toyota, and GM. 

• Backed by billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya and Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, Desktop Metal is a leader in the space. And now, the company’s got $575+ million at its disposal. 

Big picture: We don’t get to write about additive manufacturing too often, as adoption hasn’t quite caught up with its initial hype. But the pandemic’s widespread disruption to supply chains may change that—especially since, according to Desktop Metal, its 3D-printing system for metal is 100 times faster than the legacy tech it’s going up against. 

“We need to build resilience into our systems. Instead of shipping metals, minerals, and materials around the world, we can now ship 3D models and print designs,” Bilal Zuberi of Lux Capital, who led the firm’s investment in Desktop Metal, told us in August. 

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SPACE

Man on the Moon Is *So* 1969

In 2024, NASA plans to shoot for the moon—again—via a program called Artemis. On Wednesday, it announced the first cadre of astronauts chosen to start training. 

Who’s who: Eighteen of the space agency’s 47 active astronauts were tapped for Artemis, and nine are women. One of them will likely become the first woman to set foot on the moon. (TBD on whether any of them plans to revise Neil Armstrong’s famous quote). 

Meet a few of the chosen ones: 

• Christina Koch, the recent record-setter on longest-duration spaceflight for a woman 
• Jessica Meir, who participated in the first all-women spacewalks alongside Koch 
• Kate Rubins, one of five NASA crew members currently living in orbit 

The 18 astronauts will start training together, but it’s important to note these aren’t official crew assignments. More astronauts will be chosen down the line. Some will remain in low Earth orbit, some will fly around the moon, and others will experience the craters first-foot. 

+ While we’re here: No word yet on whether the Biden Administration plans to slow down NASA’s 2024 launch timeline or stick with the same plan. 

BITS & BYTES

Stat: SoftBank has sold Boston Dynamics to Hyundai for $921 million, The Korea Economic Daily reports. 

Quote: “I know there are questions about whether Uber has any ‘big, bold’ bets left. I understand that question, but I think it misses the big, bold bets right in front of us: to become the undisputed global leaders in both mobility and delivery.”—Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, in a note to employees seen by the NYT. 

Crosspost: Twitter users on iOS can now add tweets directly to Snapchat Stories. 

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WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Uber Connect, an in-app option to deliver packages, is launching in cities across the U.S. An initial step toward becoming a global leader in delivery? 
• Cruise has started testing driverless cars in San Francisco. 
• C3.ai, an enterprise software AI company, went public Wednesday with the $AI ticker. Its stock shot up more than 100% in the first day of trading. We interviewed CEO Tom Siebel back in May. 
• SoftBank is debating a new strategy to go private: a “slow-burn buyout,” per Bloomberg. 
• Google is adding a new feature to search: coronavirus vaccine info panels.
• AirPods Max have “lots to prove,” The Verge writes in its initial review of the headphones. 

GOING PHISHING

Three of the following news stories are true, and one...we made up. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Beer is delivered via drone on Michael Jordan’s golf course. 
2. NYC's mayor got in another Twitter fight with an autonomous delivery robot. 
3. France gave the green light for “bionic soldiers” with brain microchip implants.
4. Xbox is giving parents a “pause” button. 

TECH THINGAMABOBS

For things that go “boom”: Drone footage captured the collapse of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory—including the fall of a suspended 900-ton structure. No one was hurt. 

For secret Santa: A TikTok user poses a good question—what’s stopping Jeff Bezos from taking on Santa’s duties? After all, he’s got the drones, our addresses, our wishlists…and enough $$$ to make it happen. 

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions: 

• Uber offloads self-driving and flying taxi units 
• New research: Bringing AI to IoT 
• Amazon re:Invent recap 

GOING PHISHING ANSWER

The mayor didn’t recently go head-to-head with a delivery bot—it was just the one time.