David Vendrell

Entertainment

Filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov Launches Platform for Screenlife Movies

Timur Bekmambetov, director of movies like the Angelina Jolie-starring Wanted and the upcoming Chris Pratt-starring Mercy, recently launched a new platform called Screenlifer. The platform hopes to incubate and support “screenlife” projects — movies and shows in which all the action takes place on a computer, tablet, or smartphone screen. The Big (Little) Picture: Bekmambetov has become the patron saint of […]

March 5, 2025

1 min Read

Stories

Google and HP To Release 3D Video Calling

Google and HP have pulled back the curtain on a new 3D video communications platform called “Project Starline,” which it plans on rolling out this year. Why It Clicks: Despite videoconferencing becoming an economic lifesaver during COVID lockdown, Zoom fatigue is the real deal — our brain doesn’t do well with being in virtual meetings all day. But […]

March 4, 2025

1 min Read

Entertainment

The Academy Awards Reflect Growing Number of International Members

The internationalization of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ membership body is starting to have a major impact on which films get nominated for and win the biggest award in American cinema — the Oscar. The Big Picture: For decades, the Academy-Award nominations and wins have been an integral motivator for American studios to make more […]

March 4, 2025

2 min Read

Business

MIT Unveils an AI-Powered Business-Plan-Making Tool

MIT has developed a suite of AI tools, called JetPacks, designed as a starter kit for entrepreneurs to market-test and launch new businesses. The Big Plan: Getting a business off the ground takes a lot of “the two most precious resources that investors have: time and money,” according to Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship director, Paul Cheek. […]

March 3, 2025

1 min Read

Music

Snoop Dogg Ditches Spotify for Tune.FM

Snoop Dogg announced that he’s moving his entire music catalog off Spotify and exclusively onto the Web3 streaming platform, Tune.FM. The Big Play: Snoop has been one of the biggest supporters of all things Web3, NFTs, and the metaverse since they blew up in popularity during the pandemic. His ideas haven’t all taken off as expected, but the legendary rapper is […]

March 3, 2025

1 min Read

Stories

Boston Dynamics Is Teaching Its Robots Independence

Boston Dynamics, long at the cutting edge of robotics, is now touting a breakthrough in leveling up its robots for the real world. Why It Hits: Boston Dynamics is no longer the only player in the robotics game, facing competition from Big Tech players like Tesla, startups like Figure, and new entrants like Meta. If Boston Dynamics can scale […]

February 28, 2025

1 min Read

Business

MrBeast Is Raising Money at a $5 Billion Valuation

MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) is preparing to kick off a rare fundraise that would value his empire at $5 billion. The Viral Picture: MrBeast is the long-running champ of the creator economy, printing more money than most companies. As he expands both his physical and digital footprints, getting a chance to invest may be as competitive as […]

February 28, 2025

1 min Read

Gaming

Niantic Unveils 3D-Image Quest App

Niantic, the developer of popular AR games Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, has launched a new app called “Into the Scaniverse” that allows users to scan, upload, share, and explore 3D scans of places and objects all around the world. The Global Picture: Niantic has made it a mission to use technology, such as 3D scanning, AR, and the […]

February 27, 2025

1 min Read

Stories

Amazon Launches AI-Alexa Plus

After years and billions of dollars in development, Amazon unveiled its new AI-powered version of Alexa, Alexa Plus, which will start to roll out to users next month on Echo and Fire TV devices. Why It Hits: The company may be late to the game (relative to the lightning-fast rollout of its rivals) when it comes to […]

February 27, 2025

1 min Read

Culture

Chatbots and Humans Will Share the Workspace

The next era of work will introduce widespread collaboration between human employees and agentic AI chatbots — systems that can both answer questions and complete tasks. Why It Hits: The AI revolution is here. While the tech industry is pitching AI agents as an added value to a human workforce, chatbots are already replacing humans in some roles. […]

February 26, 2025

1 min Read