TFN reports: “AllFocal Optics (formerly Lark Optics), a Cambridge-based deeptech startup pioneering nanophotonic lens technology for always-in-focus images, has secured $5.3 million in funding split into $3.6 million in equity raise and $1.7m in grant funding from Innovate UK grants.”
Cord Cutters News reports: “The battle for streaming supremacy continues to heat up, with major players like Netflix, Disney, Comcast, Google, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount pouring a record $126 billion into content creation this year. According to a new forecast by Ampere Analysis, this staggering investment represents 51% of the total global content spend, highlighting the intense competition for viewers’ attention.”
Digital Music News reports: “Core music industry funding achieved a significant year-over-year increase during October, though the YTD total remains well beneath its 2023 counterpart, according to an analysis of DMN Pro data. These and other valuable takeaways come specifically from the Music Industry Funding Tracker, DMN Pro’s searchable, filterable database of funding rounds from in and around the industry. Previously, we crunched the numbers and identified a substantial Q3 2024 industry-funding falloff from the same three-month period in 2023.”
VentureBeat reports: “Nvidia revealed new AI and simulation tools that will advance robot learning and humanoid development. The world’s biggest tech company by valuation (worth $3.432 trillion) said that the tools will enable robotics developers to greatly accelerate their work on AI-enabled robots, with tools revealed this week at the Conference for Robot Learning (CoRL) in Munich, Germany.”
Kidscreen reports: “Disney has set up a new Office of Technology Enablement division under the leadership of 14-year veteran CTO Jamie Voris to manage how the media giant uses new tech such as AI and virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR). Voris is tasked with making sense of these technologies and embracing them in ways that “enable our people, creativity and business,” said Disney Entertainment chairman Alan Bergman in an internal memo on Friday.”
Polygon reports: “Steam’s game recording capabilities are now available on PC and on Steam Deck following a beta period. The suite of features offer a ton of flexibility that compete with other PC game clipping software, notably the GeForce Experience that’s offered by Nvidia. This includes the basics that most people would expect, like auto recording or manual clipping through keyboard hotkeys.”
Broadband TV News reports: “Canal+, which launched Disney+ in the French market, is to lose the streaming service from 1 January 2025. Disney announced Monday that its content would no longer be available to Canal’s subscribers – the day that the Vivendi-owned company was celebrating its 40th anniversary. It is a major blow for the pay-TV operator that has successfully pivoted to a super-aggregator after an earlier loss of rights to French top-flight football.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Los Angeles-based investment firm Shamrock Capital has raised $1.6 billion across two new funds: the Shamrock Capital Growth Fund VI and Shamrock Capital Clover Fund I. The Growth VI fund will participate in equity investments of at least $45 million, while Clover I will participate in investments under $45 million.”
Techopedia reports: “Microsoft has released a new AI-powered chatbot, the Support Virtual Agent, aimed at helping Xbox users resolve gaming and console support issues more efficiently. Currently available for testing to US-based members of the Xbox Insider Program, the chatbot can be accessed through the Xbox support website at support.xbox.com, where users can interact with it either through text or voice.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Nintendo is finally providing fans with an official way to enjoy their favorite gaming soundtracks. The video gaming giant has forayed into the music streaming arena with the launch of Nintendo Music, an app that brings nearly four decades of iconic video game soundtracks to smart devices.”
