Sure thing! Here’s a more "human" remix of that article:
So, let’s get this out there first: an Italian dude just snagged a win at Wimbledon. Like, first time ever. Being Italian myself, I feel this weird itch to do something, I dunno, historic too. But like, what even? If you’ve got wild ideas, please, throw them my way in the comments. Meanwhile, I’m just gonna keep on with the usual — here’s your jumble of the week’s XR news.
Okay, top news. (Can’t we just call it “stuff” and be done with it?) Anyway, here we go…
XPANCEO and Unicorns, Not the Magical Kind
So, XPANCEO, which hails from Dubai and makes these fancy contact lenses, just landed $250M in investments. Yeah, that’s a lot of zeros. The company’s now valued at over a billion bucks, which in business speak means “unicorn” status. Why unicorn? I dunno, not like they’re mythical or anything.
Opportunity Venture stepped up, tossing cash at XPANCEO, and pretty much said, "Go make some cool eye gadgets." Rumor out there (thanks, Road To VR) suggests they might launch something by 2026. But I’m skeptical. Who knows, right?
I love these geeky lenses — tried some myself at one of those big tech fests (AWE Europe). They worked, mostly. Now, if XPANCEO can make something for niche markets, like those glucose-measuring lenses for diabetics, that would be sweet. Big shoutout to Roman and Valentyn at XPANCEO — keep doing your magic, guys! And if anyone buys me a ticket to Dubai, I’m in.
If you want more details, hit up Bloomberg or Unite AI, or, you know, any site that talks about this stuff.
Another Exhibit of VR and MR Games
Oh, and then there was the Upload VR Summer Showcase — think a bazaar for indie games. Nothing that makes you jump out of your chair — the blockbuster stuff waits for bigger, shinier platforms. But hey, indie devs need love too. I’ve scribbled down a few titles that got my attention. Get this:
- "Elsewhere Electric" — a phone player and a VR player teaming up for puzzles. Sounds like fun, right?
- "Reach" by Ndreams — action-packed, and the new trailer isn’t half bad.
- "Virtual Skate" — ever tried skateboarding without breaking your bones?
- And a quirkier one: "Fixer Undercover" where you pretend to fix things in prison. Yep.
- "How To God" — play a god, be good or bad, totally up to you.
Other news dishes out more updates, leaks, or total "maybe" promises. Samsung didn’t say a peep about Moohan at their event. I mean, awkward, right? Could be more dropping later; watch this space.
Then, in this odd plot twist, Meta dropped serious dough ($3.5B!) into Luxottica. Guessing they wanna corner the market on trendy lenses and frames.
Oh, Canon might, just might, be onto a consumer MR headset. They say it’s in the works. Hopefully, it won’t cost an arm and a leg.
Random Tidbits & Ramblings
Here’s a fun one: RealSense spun back to life from its Intel-doomed grave. How’s that for a comeback narrative?
Jeff Baz (a name I didn’t make up) threw a VR LAN party, 130 headsets all buzzing in a warehouse. Insanity or genius? You decide.
Oh, and here’s something head-scratching. You can now hop on Zoom via Quest as an avatar. But why? Honestly, I don’t get it. Would anyone? Hello?
A Plea for Goodness
As a parting note, if you have spare change, consider donating to the Red Cross for their work in Ukraine. They do some pretty crucial stuff out there.
And a heartfelt thanks to all who support my scribbles and shenanigans. You all rock. Let’s have a chat sometime, yeah?
That’s all, folks. Catch you in the next whirlwind of whatever this news thing is.
