Gm. New year, new metaverse.

TECH

Meta Acquires Luxexcel

It is no secret that Meta's Metaverse efforts did not bear fruit in 2022:

• 11,000 employees laid off.

• $9.4 billion in losses through Q3 for Meta's Metaverse division.

• Stock price is down 64%.

• Widespread doubts about the Metaverse strategy.

• Consulting CTO John Carmack resigning.

However, it appears that Zuck is undeterred, as Meta has just acquired smart lensmaker Luxexcel.

An AR Future

Luxecel is a smart glasses maker. If you're like me and had no idea what that means, it basically refers to incorporating augmented reality experiences within regular prescription glasses.

So, if you wear Luxecel glasses, you gain the ability to ability to see but also are able to project holographic images into your vision.

Futuristic AF.

Doubling Down

An acquisition like this is par for the course for Meta's Metaverse division, as they have historically favored acquiring smaller high-tech companies rather than building the tech themselves, as they did with Oculus.

It also signifies that Meta is not backing away from the Metaverse strategy, which Reality Labs (Meta's Metaverse Division) CTO Andrew Bosworth confirmed a couple of weeks ago in a blog post.

However, acquiring Luxecel does invite more regulatory scrutiny. The FTC is already on Meta's case about its planned acquisition of Within, attempting to block the deal because it is anti-competitive. It's very possible they do the same with Luxecel.

— Stephen Flanders (@SteveFlanders22)

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: $136,250: The amount of rent that Twitter is being sued over by the landlord of its office space in San Fransisco. $50 says Twitter moves to Austin this year.

Story we're watching: According to the WSJ, white-collar workers are becoming less ambitious. The effect on the economy is one to watch in the coming years.

Rabbit hole: Optimism Is Always The Best Strategy (Pluripotent).

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• The programming language Java is seemingly in decline.

• Tesla might have broken some labor laws by telling workers not to discuss pay.

• Croatia is joining the Eurozone.

• An open-source version of ChatGPT is on the way.

MONDAY MUSIC

Been bumping You Can Do It Too by Pharrell Williams for the last 5 years.

Not stopping anytime soon.

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across this weekend that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.

📆 Atomic Habits by James Clear was made for New Years Resolutions.

✈️ I just got a United Club Business Card for my LLC. Got a free subscription to Doordash DashPass and 75,000 miles. Time to ball.

🤝 Fellow crypto nerds, it's a good day. Check out Balaji Srinivasan's fireside chat with Ryan Melkis from Messari.

FRESH POWDER

Looking at three startups that recently topped up their coffers.

Congrats y'all