Gucci is publishing the “enhanced edition” of “Who is Sabato De Sarno? A Gucci Story” exclusively on the Vision Pro. “Who is Sabato De Sarno? A Gucci Story,” a 20-minute short documentary narrated by Paul Mescal, transforms within the Vision Pro into an experience that is as expansive or concise as desired. The piece, downloaded as the GUCCI app on the Apple App Store within the Vision Pro, is segmented into interactive and immersive vignettes, which narrate the events of the week leading up to the debut runway show of Sabato De Sarno, Gucci’s newest creative director, who assumed the role in January 2023. Viewers have the opportunity to engage in numerous ways, such as closely examining Gucci’s iconic loafers in 3D from every perspective, experiencing augmented reality that, at one moment, simulates the film’s rainy weather conditions, or being virtually transported to the live, elegantly lit runway show. The integration of real and virtual elements aptly defines this as a “mixed reality” experience. On top of this, Gucci has disabled the screen recording feature, potentially to heighten the exclusivity and allure of the experience. This decision, while enhancing the sense of specialness, also exemplifies the limitations and controlled nature of such immersive ventures. It raises questions about accessibility and the balance between creating an exclusive experience and fostering broader engagement and connection with the brand’s wider audience.
Andreessen Horowitz Raises $7.2B for a second gaming fund targeting Web3 games Amongst Others
VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has announced the successful raising of $7.2 billion to be invested across various technology sectors, with a particular focus on gaming and artificial intelligence. The largest portion of the raised capital, amounting to $3.75 billion, will be allocated to the firm’s “Growth” venture strategy, which encompasses a collection of funds supporting early-stage startups. The “Infrastructure” strategy will receive $1.25 billion, while the “Apps” strategy will receive $1 billion, as stated in an official statement released on April 16. Out of the remaining funds, $1.2 billion will be evenly divided between the “Games” fund, which focuses on gaming-related ventures, and the newly established “American Dynamism” fund. The latter is dedicated to investing in founders and companies that contribute to United States national interests in aerospace, defense, safety, education, and manufacturing. The $600 million allocated to the Games fund will be utilized to establish a second fund dedicated to gaming.
TikTok’s parent to integrate its cloud-native data warehouse with blockchain Sui’s full-node data to promote Web3 gaming and AI
BytePlus — the enterprise technology arm of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company — has announced a move into Web3 through a strategic partnership with Mysten Labs, the developers behind the Sui layer-1 blockchain. BytePlus explained how it plans to use its existing knowledge and experience in AI and data warehousing to empower the Sui ecosystem, with a particular focus on Web3 gaming and SocialFi projects. The partnership will see BytePlus integrate its cutting-edge solutions, including ByteHouse — a cloud-native data warehouse — with Sui’s full-node data. A BytePlus integration could potentially boost Sui’s analytics capabilities by enabling infinite scalability and real-time data processing. Mysten Labs will benefit from the high-performance, low-maintenance nature of ByteHouse, which could ultimately accelerate data delivery for users on the Sui network.