Good evening!
Raise your hand if you were personally victimized by Amazon’s outage today. ✋
Here are the 7 things you missed today:
1. 🛑 Amazon Web Services Had a Dangerously Long Blackout
Amazon Web Services announced two waves of outages that caused widespread disruptions around the world. Several major apps like Coinbase, Fortnite, Zoom, Facebook, and Slack were all affected, with some reporting hours of downtime. AWS pointed to DNS, a system that converts web addresses into IP addresses, as the reason for the outage. (TechCrunch)
2. 🏗️ THE FUTURE OF WOOD™ IS HERE (And It's Not from Trees)
Forget what you know about construction. While some may fight over expensive imported lumber, one American company, Modern Mill, is engineering building materials for the new generation that’s made from rice hulls, looks just like wood, and planet friendly. $86M in funding. $500B market opportunity. This is how the next generation builds →
3. 👎 OpenAI Continues to Get Flack for Sora 2 Deepfakes
OpenAI announced plans to crack down on deepfakes made with Sora 2 after actor Bryan Cranston noticed AI-generated clips using his likeness without his consent. The tech startup will be working with the actor, SAG-AFTRA, and other acor unions to protect against deepfakes within the app. Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness has also been used in the app, which led to his family to request removal for “disrespectful depictions” of him. (CNBC)
4.🕹️ AEXLAB Let 365K Gamers Test the Future. Now They’re Letting You Invest
AEXLAB built VAIL VR, one of Meta Quest’s most-played shooters - with $5.5M+ in lifetime revenue, 365K+ monthly players, and partnerships with Sony and Meta.
The long-term vision? Expanding VAIL VR into a full VR gaming franchise. You can own a piece of AEXLAB through their raise on StartEngine ($1M already raised).
5. ⚖️ Cards Against Humanity Settled Its Lawsuit Against SpaceX
Gaming company Cards Against Humanity settled a lawsuit filed a year ago against SpaceX. The complaint stated that SpaceX trespassed on a parcel of land that the company owns near the Starbase facility in Texas, and dumped construction equipment and materials there. Cards Against Humainty was seeking $15 million in the lawsuit, though the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. (TechCrunch)
6. 🍎 Apple Became the Second-Most-Valuable Public Company
Apple shares closed up at 3.9% at $262.24 today, putting the tech company at a nearly $4 trillion valuation for the first time ever. This was a result of a strong demand for the iPhone 17, which outperformed the iPhone 16 by 14% in early sales in both the U.S. and China. Apple is now the world’s second-most valuable publicly traded company behind Nvidia. (Forbes)
7. 💍 Oura is Developing a Hypertension Detection Feature to Compete with Apple
Smart ring maker Oura is expanding its preventative health ecosystem and launching a blood pressure profile study later this year. Oura's goal is to develop and refine a feature that assesses users' hypertension risk, then submit it to the FDA for clearance. It's also debuting cumulative stress and stress management features aimed at helping people understand how their bodies manage chronic stress. (Bloomberg)
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*This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment.
*This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This ad may contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations.