🎯 Android XR Unveiled, Microsoft’s Phi-4, Teens’ Tech Habits
Good morning. It’s Friday, December 13. Today we are covering:
I saw Google's plan to put Android on your face
Microsoft's smaller AI model beats the big guys: Meet Phi-4, the efficiency king
Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024
Technology Windows: The Unseen Force Driving Your Startup
Fleet Space raises $100M to scale satellite-enabled mineral prospecting tech
Let’s dive in
I saw Google's plan to put Android on your face
By Victoria Song via The Verge
Google and Samsung unveiled Android XR, a mixed reality OS designed for headsets and smart glasses, aiming to redefine augmented reality experiences with real-time translation, AI-driven context awareness, and seamless app integration.
Gemini, Google’s multimodal AI, enhances user interactions by enabling natural language processing, contextual understanding, and hands-free commands, positioning it as a key driver of the XR ecosystem.
Project Moohan, Samsung's upcoming XR headset launching in 2025, promises immersive AR, VR, and mixed reality experiences, blending features from Meta Quest 3 and Apple’s Vision Pro, with an emphasis on comfort, customization, and advanced AI-powered functionality.
𝕏: First ever live demo of Samsung’s mixed reality headset running Android XR! Gemini AI built right in, the Google apps you know and love with a very intuitive UX. Also cool to see Google maps immersive view playing a key role which I cofounded & led product for while at Google! - Bilawal Sidhu (@bilawalsidhu)
Microsoft's smaller AI model beats the big guys: Meet Phi-4, the efficiency king
By Michael Nuñez via VentureBeat
Microsoft unveiled Phi-4, a 14-billion-parameter AI model that outperforms larger competitors like Google’s Gemini Pro 1.5, redefining the "bigger is better" mindset in AI development through superior efficiency and mathematical reasoning capabilities.
Phi-4’s streamlined architecture significantly reduces computational costs, making advanced AI more accessible to businesses with limited resources, potentially reshaping enterprise AI economics by lowering operational expenses.
Microsoft emphasizes AI safety and responsible deployment, offering Phi-4 through Azure AI Foundry with a controlled research license, ensuring secure access, content filtering, and robust evaluation tools for developers.
𝕏: Phi-4 is here! A small language model that performs as well as (and often better than) large models on certain types of complex reasoning tasks such as math. Useful for us in @MSFTResearch, and available now for all researcher on the Azure AI Foundry! - Peter Lee (@peteratmsr)
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Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024
By Sara Atske via Pew Research Center
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat remain the most popular platforms among U.S. teens, with YouTube leading at 90% usage, while platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) have seen steep declines in teen engagement.
Teen online behavior shows that nearly half report being online almost constantly, with usage patterns varying significantly by gender, race, and income, reflecting broader digital divides in platform preferences and screen time.
Device access is nearly universal, with 95% of teens having a smartphone, while desktop/laptop computers and gaming consoles are more common among higher-income households and boys, respectively.
𝕏: I have been saying for a while that @YouTube is the future of content. This finding from @pewresearch shows me I am wrong. YouTube is the present of content. - Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza)
Technology Windows: The Unseen Force Driving Your Startup
By James Currier via NFX
Technology windows define the optimal timeframes for launching startups, driven by technological shifts that create opportunities before incumbents dominate through scale, network effects, and regulation.
Founders must identify their position within a tech window or sub-window, adapting strategies based on whether the market is in its early creative phase or later stages marked by intense competition and consolidation.
With the AI technology window still open but highly competitive, startups must act quickly, find unique market wedges, and leverage emerging sub-fields like AI-powered SaaS, robotics, and fintech to succeed before incumbents close the window.
𝕏: Every technology has a window for starting new companies. Once it closes, it gets 90% harder. I've hesitated to publish this, but it keeps coming up in every conversation with colleagues and founders. You have to know where you are in the window. - James Currier (@JamesCurrier)
Fleet Space raises $100M to scale satellite-enabled mineral prospecting tech
By Aria Alamalhodaei via TechCrunch
Fleet Space Technologies raised $100 million in a Series D round led by Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG), doubling its valuation to $525 million, with participation from major investors like Blackbird Ventures and Horizons Ventures.
The funding will accelerate the development of ExoSphere, Fleet’s satellite-enabled mineral prospecting platform that uses AI-powered sensors and satellite data for real-time mineral exploration and drill targeting.
Fleet is also preparing a lunar mission in 2026, deploying a payload on Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander to collect seismic data from the moon’s surface, advancing subsurface mineral research.
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