AR/VR

Reality check

Mark Zuckerberg has called mixed reality “the holy grail.” 

One-fifth of his fiefdom—10,000+ employees—work in Facebook’s Reality Labs division. And in terms of consumer virtual reality hardware, its Oculus line is the category leader: Nielsen’s now-defunct gaming group SuperData projected the Oculus Quest 2 would account for 87% of all VR headset sales in 2021. 

The only problem? 

According to a June 2021 Morning Brew-Harris Poll survey, US consumers would prefer to purchase AR/VR hardware from Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, or Microsoft before purchasing from FB. And it’s not particularly close:

Of these companies, Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft are working on consumer AR/VR devices. There’s a host of other competitors playing here as well, like LG, PlayStation, its parent Sony, HTC, and Vuzix. 

Facebook’s virtual reality headsets do have a recognizable standalone brand of their own in Oculus, but the company has made a series of moves over the last year that signal its desire for consumers to view the hardware as part of the FB family. 

• Last August, it was announced that Oculus users will eventually need to have Facebook accounts in order to use the devices. 
• In the same month, the company rebranded its mixed reality division from Oculus to Facebook Reality Labs, but maintained the Oculus brand as a product name. 

Bringing Oculus more explicitly under the Facbook umbrella could backfire. Consumers have shown a strong preference for an AR/VR device from Apple over FB, with 35% naming Apple as their first choice, compared to just 5% for Facebook, according to data from our Morning Brew-Harris Poll. And more general brand trust surveys consistently show that consumers trust Apple more.

A nightmare for FB? Apple CEO Tim Cook also seems to think AR and VR are the next big thing, and his company is the runaway favorite for future products in this space. If Apple can figure out how to ship a good device—aka...do what Apple does best—it could overtake Facebook’s Oculus.—DM 

AI

Protein shake-up

DeepMind released a free, open-source, big-deal database last week containing AI predictions for the shapes of every protein in the human body. That’s ~20,000 3D blueprints that weren’t public before. 

Not only is it the most complete picture of the human proteome (full set of proteins) to date, according to the London-based AI lab—it’s also “doubling humanity’s accumulated knowledge of high-accuracy human protein structures.” 

Why this is big

Deepening our understanding of protein structures can lead to major leaps forward in understanding diseases, as well as in drug and vaccine development. That could help allay anything from neglected diseases to the next pandemic. 

Recap: In December 2020, AlphaFold, DeepMind’s neural network, made a breakthrough in protein folding—a biological mystery that’s puzzled scientists for 50 years. 

• The breakthrough helped scientists understand Covid-19 early on and is already shedding light on new drugs for disease treatment. This month, DeepMind published the corresponding scientific paper and source code. 

+ While we’re here: Besides the human proteome, DeepMind’s new database also contains the proteomes of 20 other organisms used in research, from fruit flies and mice to yeast and E. coli. That totals ~350,000 protein blueprints—and soon, DeepMind says, it plans to expand to more than a million structures, “covering almost every sequenced protein known to science.”—HF

SPONSORED BY ASANA

A Workplace Breakup for the Ages

No, we’re not talking about calling it quits with a cutie coworker. We are finally over the workplace silo. 

We can’t get anything out the door on time. We feel lonely and separated from people we think are cool and smart. We spend more time figuring out what needs to be done rather than doing it. And, put simply, we deserve better. And so do you. 

It’s time. Time to reclaim your time, energy, and creativity. If you need extra convincing, see why we’re officially ending the worst relationship of our lives in our breakup letter to silos. 

It helped us move on, and hopefully it’ll help you see the light after the silo darkness too. 

Read the article now. 

HARDWARE

Semi-global

You may have noticed GlobalFoundries (GF), a US-based semiconductor manufacturer, finding its way into world news over the past few weeks.

In the last month, the Malta, NY-based company 1) announced a plan to build a new $4 billion fabrication plant in Singapore 2) unveiled its plans to expand its HQ in the States and 3) was rumored to be the target of a proposed $30 billion acquisition by Intel. 

• The new American factory will increase GF's output, and the company plans to invest another $1 billion to upgrade its existing factory and boost output by 150K chips. 

Some no-background: Though it’s HQ’d in NY, GlobalFoundries is owned by UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. GF is one of the top 5 largest chip production companies in the world, making advanced semiconductors for big names like Apple, Intel, and Amazon.

• It spun off from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor in 2009, and has since grown to capture up to 7% of the foundry market share by revenue. 
• Living up to its ~ global ~ billing, GF has offices in upstate New York, Vermont, and overseas in Singapore and the EU. 

Looking ahead: There are hurdles the Intel deal would need to overcome. AMD, which maintains close ties to GF and is Intel’s direct rival, recently agreed to a $1.6 billion chip component supply deal with GF that could complicate an Intel acquisition. Additionally, GF CEO Tom Caulfield dismissed rumors of an Intel takeover, saying GlobalFoundries is sticking to its plan to go public in 2022.—JM

SPONSORED BY NADEX

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BITS & BYTES

Stat: Bitcoin is up more than 12% over the last 24 hours. As of press time, the largest cryptocurrency’s price is above $38,400.

Quote: "While GM had hoped to resolve the trademark infringement matter with Ford amicably, we were left with no choice but to vigorously defend our brands and protect the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market."—GM is suing Ford over the name of its driver-assist system 

Read: Rest of World wrote about Kenya’s tech ecosystem and the funding bias benefitting expats.  

Cannabis 5.0: Is your portfolio prepared for the, wait for it, FIFTH wave of cannabis? Check out this NASDAQ article to learn why vertical integration is going up in smoke and how the cannabis supply chain is going global. Get the deets here.*

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Instacart is installing robots in some of its grocery fulfillment centers. 
• Amazon Fresh has expanded to DC. The store uses Amazon’s “just walk out” technology. 
• Researchers created an AI-powered drone that beat two human drone pilots in a race. 
• Facebook is partnering with faith organizations in the US to reshape religious experiences and court new users.
• Indiana is testing magnetized cement (“magment”) that could one day charge EVs on the road, as people drive them. 

THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING

Tuesday: Earnings: Google, Apple, Microsoft, AMD. 

Wednesday: Earnings: Qualcomm, Facebook, Spotify, Shopify, PayPal. 

Thursday: And more earnings: Samsung, Amazon. 

ICYMI

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

• Argo deepens its Miami, Austin, roots with Lyft partnership
• Oculii, the autonomous vehicle vision company, has a big new partnership
• Call centers eye AI for automation, emotion analysis

✳︎ A Note From Nadex

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