Filmmaker James Cameron’s venture, Lightstorm Vision, will help scale the creation of 3D entertainment experiences for Meta Quest mixed reality (MR) headsets.
The two companies have formed a multiyear partnership in which they will scale the creation of these experiences across live sports and concerts, feature films and TV series, and in which Meta Quest will be Lightstorm Vision’s exclusive MR hardware platform, the companies said in a Thursday (Dec. 5) blog post.
“I’m convinced we’re at a true, historic inflection point,” Cameron said in the post. “Navigating that future with Meta will ensure all of us have the tools to create, experience and enjoy new and mind-blowing forms of media.”
The partnership aims to make it easier for creators to produce 3D content and for people to enjoy that content at home and on the go, according to the post.
Meta and Lightstorm Vision will work together to improve access to 3D production tools in the entertainment industry, lower the production costs associated with 3D content, and co-produce original content, delivering “a steady stream of mainstream immersive shows,” per the post.
“More people are using virtual and mixed reality headsets than ever before, opening up exciting new possibilities for immersive storytelling,” the post said. “Through our collaboration with Lightstorm Vision, we’re committed to moving media forward and to improving content creators’ ability to make high-quality stereoscopic content through the use of advanced tooling, including employing AI.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the latest edition of the company’s headset, the Meta Quest 3S, in September. That headset features the same advanced processing capabilities as the Quest 3, but at a more accessible price point, PYMNTS reported at the time.
The Quest 3S is designed for high-quality mixed reality experiences, boasting 4.5 times the resolution and improved graphics compared to its predecessor, the Quest 2.
During an October earnings call, Meta Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said that the company’s Reality Labs segment — home to virtual reality and augmented reality efforts — is expected to see continuing and increasing operating losses “due to our ongoing product development efforts and investments to further scale our ecosystem.”
Block’s Cash App is reportedly making progress in its efforts to offer banking services to customers who mostly use the app to make payments.
The number of the app’s users who have their paychecks directly deposited into their Cash App account rose by 25% year over year to reach 2.5 million in December, Bloomberg reported Thursday (April 3).
This is a key metric because those who have set up direct deposit are most likely to use the company’s other banking services, according to the report.
Cash App’s efforts are meant to expand its customer base from the underbanked people it has traditionally served to anyone earning up to $150,000 a year, the report said. It has 57 million active users.
“Our long-term goal is to be the primary provider of banking services to the vast majority of Americans,” Block Executive Officer and Business Lead Owen Jennings said, per the report. “In order to do that, you need to cross the chasm in terms of reputation and brand recognition from a simple peer-to-peer app to a full-fledged suite of banking services.”
The company’s most recent efforts to promote its banking services include a marketing campaign in 15 cities in January and approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to issue short-term consumer loans through Block’s Square Financial Services, the report said.
At the same time, Cash App faces challenges in drawing customers to its banking services. These include customers’ uncertainty about using the app for all their everyday banking; competition from FinTech rivals like Chime Financial, Robinhood Markets and PayPal Holdings’ Venmo; and a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in which the regulator found that Block’s investigations into unauthorized transactions on Cash App were “woefully incomplete,” according to the report.
Square Financial Services’ receipt of approval from the FDIC to make consumer loans directly to borrowers, using Cash App Borrow, represented a shift, PYMNTS reported last month. Before making the move, Square Financial Services focused on offering Square sellers business loans and savings accounts, and Block made the consumer loans through its external banking partner.
