Weekly Tech Pulse
Meta’s Reality Labs faces $4.5 billion Q2 loss; GovWell automates local governments; Foccuz secures $700K for "Sales Copilot"; Wordware speeds up AI agent development.
Content
Meta's Reality Labs posts $4.5 billion loss in second quarter as former employees question its future
Federal regulator rules that Amazon is responsible for faulty products sold by third-party merchants
GovWell is bringing automation and efficiency to local governments
Microsoft’s cloud revenues rule again in Q4, as Surface continues to dip
Meta's Reality Labs posts $4.5 billion loss in second quarter as former employees question its future
Meta’s Reality Labs, which focuses on AR, VR, and metaverse projects, reported a significant loss of $4.48 billion in Q2 2024. Despite these investments, Reality Labs’ revenue remains less than 1% of Meta’s total revenue. The division has faced criticism for its lack of clear vision, frequent restructuring, and leadership without AR/VR expertise. CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that AI advancements are now expected to outpace AR developments. Over the past four years, Reality Labs’ losses have escalated, with the division losing $6 billion in 2020, $10 billion in 2021, $13 billion in 2022, and $16 billion in 2023. In June, the division laid off around 100 employees and canceled several major projects.
Source: Yahoo Finance
GovWell is bringing automation and efficiency to local governments
GovWell, a New York-based startup, aims to modernize local government operations by automating and streamlining tasks such as building permits, zoning, and fire safety inspections. Co-founders Ben Cohen and Troy LeCaire designed the platform to be customizable with no-code tools, allowing governments to tailor it to their specific needs. Since its launch in April 2023, GovWell has partnered with over a dozen local governments across seven states. The company recently raised $4.5 million to expand its team and enhance product development.
Source: TechCrunch
Foccuz, the Uruguayan-Chilean Startup Secures $700K for “Sales Copilot”
Foccuz, a SaaS platform co-founded by Gabriel García da Rosa, Martín Llofriu, and Claudia Van Os, secured $700,000 in funding despite not being market-active yet. Targeting B2B software companies, it aims to enhance sales efficiency through CRM integration and machine learning. The platform, set to debut in April, has already garnered 15 clients across Latin America. It offers three modules: Compensation, Insight, and the upcoming Analytics. With funding from notable investors, Foccuz plans to expand its client base to 50 by late 2023 and prepare for further investment, particularly focusing on the Mexican market. The idea stemmed from García da Rosa’s previous experiences highlighting a market gap.
Source: Contxto
Wordware enables anyone to build complex AI Agents 20x faster
Wordware is an IDE designed to empower domain experts and engineers to rapidly build complex AI agents and applications. It significantly reduces iteration times with prebuilt tools, API deployment, and tracing, addressing the inefficiencies of engineers handling prompting within codebases. Wordware caters to diverse clients, from AI enthusiasts to large corporations, by enabling the creation of custom AI agents—dubbed 'WordApps'—using natural language. The platform emphasizes the importance of domain expert involvement in developing high-quality LLM outputs, facilitating collaboration within cross-functional teams. Currently, Wordware is in production with seven YC companies and offers free trials or demos for early-stage companies. The founders, who met at the University of Cambridge, bring extensive experience with LLMs and successful exits in the AI field.
Source: YCombinator
Special thanks to our sponsor:
Axented helps businesses design, build, and scale their products and teams worldwide.
With over 10 years of experience and a diverse portfolio of more than 300 projects delivered in over 15 countries, Axented has established itself as a trusted partner in the tech industry.
Renowned for its expertise and commitment to excellence, Axented provides innovative solutions to help businesses thrive in a digital world.
